Sparky and His Peanuts Gang

Snoopy in Planet Snoopy at Cedar Point

      Charles Monroe Schulz (November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000), nicknamed Sparky, was an American cartoonist, best known for the comic strip Peanuts (which featured the characters Snoopy and Charlie Brown, among others). He is widely regarded as one of the most influential cartoonists of all time, cited as a major influence by many later cartoonists. Calvin and Hobbes-creator Bill Watterson wrote in 2007: "Peanuts pretty much defines the modern comic strip, so even now it's hard to see it with fresh eyes. The clean, minimalist drawings, the sarcastic humor, the unflinching emotional honesty, the inner thoughts of a household pet, the serious treatment of children, the wild fantasies, the merchandising on an enormous scale -- in countless ways, Schulz blazed the wide trail that most every cartoonist since has tried to follow."

      At its height, Peanuts was published daily in 2,600 papers in 75 countries, in 21 languages. Over the nearly 50 years that Peanuts was published, Schulz drew nearly 18,000 strips. The strips themselves, plus merchandise and product endorsements, produced revenues of more than $1 billion per year, with Schulz earning an estimated $30 million to $40 million annually. During the life of the strip, Schulz took only one vacation, a five-week break in late 1997 to celebrate his 75th birthday; reruns of the strip ran during his vacation, the only time reruns occurred while Schulz was alive.

Peanuts animations

      Schulz said that his routine every morning consisted of first eating a jelly donute, and then going through the day's mail with his secretary before sitting down to write and draw the day's strip at his studio. After coming up with an idea (which he said could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours), he began drawing it, which took about an hour for dailies and three hours for Sunday strips. Unlike many other successful cartoonists, Schulz never used assistants in producing the strip; he refused to hire an inker or letterer, saying that "it would be equivalent to a golfer hiring a man to make his putts for him."

      The first book collection of Peanuts strips was published in July 1952 by Rinehart & Company. Many more books followed, and these collections greatly contributed to the increasing popularity of the strip. In 2004, Fantagraphics began their Complete Peanuts series. Peanuts also proved popular in other media; the first animated TV special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, aired in December 1965 and won an Emmy award. Numerous TV specials were to follow, the latest being Happiness Is A Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown in 2011. Until his death, Schulz wrote or cowrote the TV specials and carefully oversaw production of them. Read more...

See these links and many more on one pinboard - "The Peanuts Gang Pinboard" by Kathy Grimm

^{General Links to Sites Specific to Schulz's Legacy:}

1. Schulz's home page
2. Charles Schulz Museum
3. Charles Schulz interview (12 minutes), Fresh Air, National Public Radio, December 1990
4. Works by or about Charles M. Schulz in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
5. "Good Ol' Charles Schulz", American Masters, PBS, October 2007
6. "Happiness is hearing an intellectual laugh!" (mp3) Charles Schulz interviewed in his study by Gail Rudwick and John Whiting (October 30, 1962)

The Peanuts Gang:

1. Good Old Charlie Brown and short clips: ***
2. Peppermint Patty,  Peppermint Patty + Marcie and short clips: ***
3. Snoopy and short clips: ***
4. Linus Van Pelt and short clips: ****
5. Woodstock and short clips: ****

You Can Find Snoopy in the Most Unexpected Places:

1. the funny papers on wheels by isewcute 
2. Retro Space Images: Astronaut Tom Stafford and Snoopy
3. Snoopy at the Nation's Capital
4. Snoopy Transportation
5. A Giant Snoopy Snowdog!
6. Snoopy wrapped on vans
7. Snoopy on coin operated machines in Japan
8. In the shrubbery or more accurately, as shrubbery
9. Snoopy in the Sand
10. As an Ice Sculpture in a Competition
11. As another snow sculpture here and here again
12. Snoopy's dog house as a gingerbread house
13. Creeping through high rise windows!

Peanuts Doin' The Art Scene:

1. Snoopy and Woodstock made from cans
2. The Peanuts gang become high art in Louvre exhibit
3. The Peanuts Sculptures in Saint Paul and more and more

Get Graphic With Peanuts:

• Photo of the Day: The Peanuts Gang as Peanuts

Get Crafty With Peanuts:

• Charlie Brown Christmas Tree: Embroidered Gift
• Snoopy quilts: quilt from WineDiva here * flying ace quilt here **** 

Folks Like to Build Peanuts from Legos:

• Snoopy and Woodstock
• Woodstock on Top of Snoopy

Peanuts in Sweet Treats, Entrees and Coffee Houses:

1. Peanuts in my Latte!
2. Charlie Brown Breakfast
3. Charlie Brown Pumpkin Cookies
4. Snoopy Aviador para o Enzo 
5. Peanuts in my lunch box!
6. Snoopy cake pops
7. photo of Peanuts Character Cookies
8. Peanuts, Snoopy & Woodstock Christmas Cupcake Photo