Charlie Brown is a name that has been popularized through the decades. Your parents have probably sat you down during the holidays and forced you to watch one of the many movies, and then he just so happens to appear on screens worldwide. This iconic character is the lovable loser from The Peanuts comic strip. Despite the widespread knowledge of the name, how much do we actually know about him, his friends and the actual creator?
The Peanuts are the brain child of Charles M. Schultz; he took and debuted the comic strip on Oct. 2, 1950. But this was just the start. Within years, The Peanuts went from a humble regional paper to a sensational hit, becoming the longest story ever told by only one person. The group, consisting of Charlie and his friends, were strangely likeable. Even Lucy, the crabby older sister to Linus, had her quirks that drew the attention of many. And of course, you can’t forget the star of the show, Snoopy. Who would’ve thought a hand sketched beagle could transform into a character that appears everywhere. We’ve got snoopy pillows, we’ve got snoopy pens, just name it at this point.
Still, there is so much more to The Peanuts than that. Did you know the actual creator, Schultz, originally hated the name The Peanuts? When the United Feature Syndicate bought it, they insisted on the change of the original title, to the now iconic Peanuts. Despite Schultz’s distaste, it was under that name that the comic strip was premiered on seven US papers.
PC: Unsplash; Flying kites of Charlie Brown and Snoopy among other cartoon characters
The 1950-70s were the golden age for The Peanuts. This was the era in which Snoopy was solidified as the breakout star. By the 1960s he had evolved to stand on two legs and had a host of personas. The 60s weren’t only a time of fame for cartoon dogs, but a huge moment for society and the world as whole. It was the beginning of a huge tide of major civil rights struggles. In the middle of all the turmoil and change, Schultz added Franklin, the first character of color. This resulted after a school teacher wrote to him wanting to promote racial harmony after the assasination of Martin Luther King Jr. The comic strip then made the jump to the screen and cinema in 1965. The creation of A Charlie Brown Christmas had been considered risky at the time, but as we all know in hindsight, led to a massive success. Even with skepticism, fifty-two more animated installments were created, including the most famous of all A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.
Throughout the years, Charles M. Schultz had denied the help of any ghostwriters, creating all 17,897 comic strips all by himself. The Peanuts, in spite of hating the name, were his creation and his only. But unfortunately, things can’t go on forever. After fighting a long battle against colon cancer, Schultz passed away peacefully in his sleep on Feb. 11th, 2000.
The next day, as a tribute to his many accomplishments and works, the original Sunday Peanuts strip was published one last time in the papers. Even all these years later, we can all look back and truly appreciate everything that these characters have done and represented to our society. Time has passed, but like clockwork, many of us take the time to relax, sit back and watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving during November.