Historical Figures Codexery

Charles M. Schulz

Creator of Peanuts, one of the most influential comic strips in history.

Charles M. Schulz

Roger Higgins, World Telegram staff photographer · via Wikipedia: Charles M. Schulz · Public domain

Schulz died in his sleep of a heart attack on February 12, 2000, at age 77.[1]

Quick Facts

Birth name
Charles Monroe Schulz
Born
26 November 1922
Birthplace
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Died
12 February 2000
Place of death
Santa Rosa, California, U.S.
Notable works
Peanuts
Children
5, including Meredith and Craig

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Schulz enjoyed reading Billy DeBeck's comic strip Barney Google, and his uncle gave him the nickname "Sparky" after the horse Spark Plug from that strip.[2] From June 1947 until January 1950, the St. Paul Pioneer Press published Schulz's first regular weekly cartoon series, a one-panel feature called Li'l Folks.[3] Schulz brought Li'l Folks to United Feature Syndicate, which, for legal reasons, renamed the strip Peanuts—a title Schulz accepted reluctantly.[4] Across nearly five decades, Schulz produced a total of 17,897 Peanuts strips that were published.[5]

Schulz received induction into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983 and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1996.[6]

What the cited sources add

The Guardian article notes that Schulz's authorized biography described him as "a mass of resentments and phobias" stemming from emotional traumas in his youth.[7] The same article reports that Schulz's unit took part in the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp.[8] In his essay "My Life with Charlie Brown," published in 2010, Schulz wrote that his three years of army service taught him everything he needed to understand about loneliness.[8] However, Schulz did provide crucial guidance to Davis, especially regarding merchandising and franchising strategies.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Charles M. Schulz" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Miller, "Deseret News archives: Final new 'Peanuts' strip printed a day after Charles Schulz died in 2000", Deseret News, 2025-02-13; Staff writer(s), "Honoring Charles Schulz on the 23rd anniversary of his death", The Press Democrat, 2023-02-13 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Charles M. Schulz" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Groth, Gary, "The Complete Peanuts 1965–1966", Fantagraphic Books, 2007, p. 322; "Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Barney Google", www.toonopedia.com; Harris, "The Life and Legacy of Charles Schulz, Creator of Peanuts", Minnesota History, 2023, p. 206–215 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Charles M. Schulz" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Clark, "Charles M. Schulz: The Art and Life of the Peanuts Creator in 100 Objects", Weldon Owen, November 1, 2022; Michaelis 2007, p. 79 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Charles M. Schulz" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Michaelis 2007, p. 79 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Charles M. Schulz" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kidd Spear 2015, p. back cover; Boxer, "Charles M. Schulz, 'Peanuts' Creator, Dies at 77", The New York Times, February 14, 2000; "Good grief! Schulz takes leave to mark 75th birthday", The Standard-Times, November 26, 1997 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Charles M. Schulz" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hertzfeldt, "i happened across a mistake in an old “peanuts” strip", X (formerly Twitter), June 4, 2021; Robinson, "Talking to director Steve Martino about modernizing The Peanuts Movie for the big screen", The Verge, November 7, 2015 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. "Oh boy, Charlie Brown", The Guardian, October 11, 2008. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
  8. Lawrence, "'Peanuts' creator Charles Schulz's experiences in WWII shaped the character of Charlie Brown", Stars and Stripes, December 25, 2020. facts only, no text reused. stripes.com
  9. Wikipedia, "Charles M. Schulz" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tardive, "Peanuts vs. Garfield: Charles Schulz Secretly Considered Jim Davis His Arch-Rival", ScreenRant, 2024-06-19 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Charles M. Schulz (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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