Charles Schulz

Background

Charles M. Schulz is one of the greatest artists to ever live. He was a celebrated cartoonist as well as a role model to many others. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was born to Carl Schulz and Dena Halverson and was their only child. He grew up in Saint Paul. The nickname “Sparky” was started by his uncle referring to a horse in “Barney Google,” a comic strip by Billy DeBeck which was known as Spark Plug. His interest in art and drawing started at an early age. He would regularly draw his family dog, which was known as Spike. He once drew Spike in 1937 and sent the drawing to “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” His drawing was featured on Robert Ripley’s edited panel with the caption that said, “A hunting dog that eats pins, tacks, and razor blades is owned by C. F. Schulz, St. Paul, Minn.” as well as “Drawn by Sparky.”

He went to Richards Gordon Elementary School in Saint Paul. He later moved to Central High School, where he was timid as he was the youngest in his class. While in high school, his drawing got rejected by his high school yearbook, a story he narrates in “Peanuts” later on. 60 years later, the school erected a five-foot-tall statue of Snoopy at the school’s main office. Schulz’s first work was published in 1947 with him doing four one-panel drawings per issue. It consisted of a weekly series of one-panel jokes known as “Li’l Folks.” His work was published in the “St. Paul Pioneer Press.” The name Charlie Brown originated from “Li’l Folks” and stuck. There was also a dog similar to Snoopy in the series. His career started to take off when he sold his first one-panel art to “The Saturday Evening Post” in 1948 and within the next two years, his work had become a regular feature.

In 1950, he approached United Feature Syndicate with “Li’l Folks” and their interest was piqued. During that time, he had also created another comic strip, using four panels rather than one and the syndicate liked that one better. They however had to change the name to “Peanuts” due to legal reasons. In 1950, “Peanuts” made its debut in seven newspapers. It gradually became the most sought-after as well as the most influential comic strip of all time. In 1956, he worked on the gag cartoon, “Young Pillars,” which featured teenagers, for the publication “Youth.” In 1957, he provided illustrations on two volumes of Art Linkletter’s “Kids Say the Darndest Things.” In 1964, he published a collection of letters, “Dear President Johnson,” with Bill Adler. “Peanuts” went on to be published daily in 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries, in 21 languages.