Charles Schultz was an American cartoonist who was born in Minneapolis on November 26, 1922 and died February 12, 2000 at the age of 77 in Santa Rosa California.
He was best known for his “Peanuts Comic Strip.” Here are 10 interesting facts about Charles Schultz and Peanuts:
1. His uncle nicknamed him “Sparky” after the horse Spark Plug in the Barney Google comic Strip.
2. He started making Peanuts in 1950, until 2000 and it appeared in more than 2,600 newspapers and in over 75 countries.
3. He drew a picture of his dog Spike and sent it to you “Ripley’s Believe It or Not.”
4. Like Charlie Brown’s parents, Shultz’s farther was a barber and his mother a housewife.
5. Shultz had a dog when he was young, but it wasn’t a beagle like Snoopy it was a pointer.
6. A Charlie Brown Christmas was the first Peanuts television special.
7. “The animated version of Peanuts differs in some aspects from the strip. In the strip, adult voices are heard, though conversations are usually only depicted from the children’s end. To translate this aspect to the animated medium, Meléndez famously used the sound of a trombone with a plunger mute opening and closing on the bell to simulate adult “voices”.” (Source: Wikipedia)
8. MetLife usually uses Snoopy in its advertisements as opposed to other characters: for instance, the MetLife blimps are named “Snoopy One” and “Snoopy Two” and feature him in his World War I flying ace persona.
9. “Peanuts characters even found their way to the live stage, appearing in the musicals You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Snoopy!!! — The Musical, and in “Snoopy on Ice”, a live Ice Capades-style show aimed primarily at young children, all of which have had several touring productions over the years.
You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown was originally a successful off-Broadway musical that ran for four years (1967–1971) in New York City and on tour, with Gary Burghoff as the original Charlie Brown. An updated revival opened on Broadway in 1999, and by 2002 it had become the most frequently produced musical in American theatre history. It was also adapted for television twice, as a live-action NBC special and an animated CBS special.” (Source: Wikipedia.com)
Here’s a picture of the cast when my school put on the play, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.”
10. The character, The Little Red-Haired Girl” was inspired by Donna Johnson, an accountant with whom Shultz fell in love with.
Here’s a picture of me when I played “The Little Red-Haired Girl” in the play.
THANK YOU CHARLES SCHULTZ FOR GIVING US PEANUTS!
