Franklin (Peanuts)

Publication

After the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Los Angeles schoolteacher Harriet Glickman wrote to Schulz on April 15, 1968, urging him to introduce a black character. Their correspondence led to Franklin's creation.

Schulz later recalled a Southern editor who objected to showing Franklin and Peppermint Patty together in school; Schulz did not answer him. Larry Rutman, president of United Feature Syndicate, tried to get Schulz to change the character, but Schulz threatened to quit if the strip was not printed as drawn. The Charlie Brown Dictionary referred to Franklin's skin tone in its definition of "black."

Personality

In his early appearances, Franklin seemed puzzled by the oddities of Charlie Brown's neighborhood, particularly Linus and the Great Pumpkin. Schulz noted that Franklin and Charlie Brown met at the beach because they attended different schools, but they enjoyed playing ball.

Franklin quoted the Old Testament and displayed no anxieties or obsessions. In animated specials, he is a skilled dancer, leading Marcie in a waltz in Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown and performing break-dancing in It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown and It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown. He also plays guitar in Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!.

In other media

Franklin appears frequently in Peanuts television specials and movies. His first animated appearance was a silent role in the 1972 movie Snoopy Come Home at Snoopy's farewell party. His first speaking role came in the 1973 special There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown, voiced by Todd Barbee. A February 2000 SNL cold opening featured Tim Meadows as a grown-up Franklin eulogizing Schulz.

The 1994 special You're in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown gave Franklin the full name Franklin Armstrong, a surname Schulz chose as a nod to African-American cartoonist Robb Armstrong, who gave permission. This surname is not mentioned in the comic strip or most other specials. Franklin appeared in the 2015 film The Peanuts Movie. In November 2020, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a radio play titled Franklin about the character's creation.

The 2024 special Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin, co-written by Robb Armstrong, again uses the surname Armstrong.