Charles M. Schulz

1922-2000

CREATOR OF PEANUTS

• BORN IN MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA

• HE WAS NICKNAMED SPARKY BY HIS UNCLE

• HE AND HIS FATHER HAD A RITUAL AS A BOY OF READING THE FUNNIES(COMICS) TOGETHER

• HE ALWAYS KNEW HE WANTED TO BE A CARTOONIST

PUBLISHED AT 15

• SPARKEY MOVED TO CALIFORNIA WHEN HE WAS 6 FOR A YEAR BEFORE MOVING BACK TO MINNESOTA

• CHARLES HAD A FAMILY DOG NAMED SPIKE(WHICH WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR SNOOPY)

• CHARLES WAS VERY PROUD WHEN RIPLEY’S BELIEVE IT OR NOT PUBLISHED HIS DRAWING OF THE FAMILY DOG AT 15

ART ON HOLD

• CHARLES SERVED IN THE MILITARY DURING WWII, THEREFORE HE PUT HIS CAREER ON HOLD.

• HE SKETCHED EPISODES OF DAILY ARMY LIFE.

• IN 1945 HE RETURNED TO ST. PAUL MINNESOTA TO CONTINUE HIS CARTOONING CAREER.

SUBMITTING HIS WORK1947-1950

• CHARLES DREW A WEEKLY COMIC STRIP FOR THE LOCAL PAPER

• HE ALSO SOLD 17 COMIC GAGS TO THE SATURDAY EVENING POST

• HE HAD MANY REJECTIONS FROM PUBLICATIONS THAT DID NOT WANT HIS WORK

PEANUTS IS BORN

• After several rejections, Schulz sold his Li'l Folks strip to United Feature Syndicate. They renamed his strip Peanuts, a title he never liked.

• October 2, 1950 —Peanuts debuted in seven newspapers. The syndicate paid him $90 for his first month of strips.

PEANUTS MAKING HISTORY

• 1960 — Hallmark created the first Peanuts greeting cards, and Peanuts art and animation was first used by the Ford Motor Company for their popular Ford Falcon advertising campaign.

• Peanuts was on the cover of TIME magazine in 1965

• 1965- CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS debuted on television

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1969-1990

• April 28, 1969 — Grand Opening of the Redwood Empire Ice Arena(currently known as Snoopy's Home Ice) in Santa Rosa, California, starring 1968 Olympic Gold Medallist Peggy Fleming and the Vince Guaraldi trio.

• May 1969 — Charlie Brown and Snoopy accompanied astronauts on Apollo X.

• December 4, 1969 — The first full-length, animated Peanuts movie debuted at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The film was later nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score.

• January 1, 1974 — Schulz presided as the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California.

• 1975 — Peanuts celebrated its 25th anniversary. It was carried in approximately 1,480 U.S. and 175 foreign newspapers with 90,000,000 readers. The 14th television special, You’re a Good Sport, Charlie Brown, aired in October and later won an Emmy for Outstanding Children's Special.

• December 5, 1975 — The second major theatrical performance based on Peanuts characters, Snoopy!!! The Musical, premiered at the Little Fox Theatre in San Francisco. Within the next ten years it would also appear off Broadway at Lamb's Theatre and in London's West End at the Duchess Theatre. It had revivals in London and New York in the 2000s.

• 1978 — The International Pavilion of Humor in Montreal named Schulz "Cartoonist of the Year."

THE PASSING OF CHARLES M. SCHULZ

• February 12, 2000 —Charles Schulz died Saturday evening in his home in Santa Rosa of complications from colon cancer; he was 77 years old.

• February 13, 2000 — The final Sunday Peanuts strip appeared in newspapers around the world.