Charles Schulz created the Peanuts comic strip, featuring beloved characters like Snoopy and Charlie Brown, which ran for 50 years. Schulz was a decorated WWII veteran and based many characters on people in his life. He also owned an ice arena inspired by Peanuts and retired in 2000, shortly before his death. Schulz has been honored with tributes in Santa Rosa and St. Paul, including a museum and an airport named after him. His legacy continues through TV specials and his beloved characters.
Charles Schulz was one of the most beloved cartoonists in history, most notably for his creation of the Peanuts daily comic strip. This strip, which featured popular characters Snoopy, Charlie Brown and their friends, ran continuously for 50 years between 1950 and 2000. Schulz is remembered for his gentle satirical humor, memorable characters and his love of sports and aviation.
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1922, Charles Schulz would become a precocious artist as an only child. In 1943, Schulz was drafted into the United States Army and fought in the European Theater during World War II. After returning from the war as a decorated sergeant and teaching art for several years, Schulz began pitching comic strips originally titled L’il Folks to a local newspaper. In 1950, Charles Schulz approached United Features Syndication with examples of his comics, which they began publishing nationally under the name Peanuts.
The strip’s lead character, Charlie Brown, was based in part on the life and frustrations of Charles Schulz himself. According to some reports, Charlie Brown’s obsession with the little red-headed girl was an homage to a woman in her own life who had rejected her marriage proposal. Charlie’s dog Snoopy was based on a dog Schulz had owned as a boy who was notorious for eating metal and sharp objects. Many of the other characters were named for friends of the Schulz family, or intended as sometimes mocking tributes to people in Schulz’s life.
Charles Schulz and his family moved around the country for several years before finally settling in the northern California Bay Area. It was here that the first Peanuts television special was conceived, which was released in 1965 as A Charlie Brown Christmas. The short film has become an animation classic and is part of the Christmas telecasts every year. The television special began Schulz’s lifelong association with two partners, director and producer Bill Melendez and jazz composer Vince Guaraldi. This partnership would lead to many more Peanuts films and solidify the characters in the minds of fans around the world.
Once settling in the small town of Santa Rosa, California, Schulz built and owned the Redwood Empire Ice Arena to satisfy his longtime love of hockey and ice skating. The arena, known as Snoopy’s Home Ice, is inspired by the world of Peanuts and hosts several hockey championships each year as well as the Snoopy’s World Senior Hockey Tournament for international teams. Schulz built his own office across the street from the arena, and he can be seen working there for nearly thirty years.
In 2000, Schulz announced his retirement from comics just weeks before he succumbed to cancer. Her last new daily strip appeared on February 13, 2000, one day after his death. On May 27, 2000, tribute strips were released in an additional 42 weekly comics, honoring Schulz’s legacy, characters, and impact.
The cities of Santa Rosa, CA and St. Paul, MN host a variety of tributes to the Charles Schulz. Both cities have adopted a program in which artists and sponsors paint and decorate dozens of statues of one character a year, which are then displayed around the city. Favorite bronze statues can also be found in both cities.
In Santa Rosa, the county airport was renamed the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport, and a Charles Schulz Museum recently opened on the same property as the ice skating rink. Although Schulz’s will stipulates that no new strips with his signature characters should ever be produced, through TV specials and their creator’s extensive legacy, it is doubtful that Charlie, Snoopy and their gang of friends will ever stop acquiring new fan.
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