Historical Figure
Charles M. Schulz
d. 2000
American cartoonist (1922–2000)
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Biography
Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz was an American cartoonist who created the comic strip Peanuts, featuring the characters Charlie Brown and Snoopy.
In Their Own Words (5)
I just draw what I think is funny, and I hope other people think it is funny, too.
Address to the Sonoma County Press Club as quoted in the Sonoma County Press Democrat (13 February 2000) , 2000
The only thing I really ever wanted to be was a cartoonist. That's my life. Drawing.
Address to the Sonoma County Press Club as quoted in the Sonoma County Press Democrat (13 February 2000) , 2000
If I were a better artist, I'd be a painter, and if I were a better writer, I'd write books — but I'm not, so I draw cartoons!
1992, as quoted by Tom Tomorrow in his comic strip This Modern World (21 February 2000) , 1992
I never give my work to somebody else and say, "What do you think about that?" I just don't trust anybody. If I think it's funny, or if I think it's silly, I send it in anyway because I'm just trying to please myself. I never try to please a certain audience. I think that's disastrous. There's no way in the world you can anticipate what your reader is going to like or dislike.
National Cartoonist Society talk, 1994 , 1994
A cartoonist is someone who has to draw the same thing day after day without repeating himself.
You Don't Look 35, Charlie Brown! (1985) , 1985
Timeline
The story of Charles M. Schulz, told in moments.
Drafted into the Army during World War II. Served in France, Germany, and Austria as a staff sergeant with the 20th Armored Division. He saw limited combat.
First Peanuts strip appeared in seven newspapers. The syndicate renamed it from Li'l Folks. Schulz hated the name Peanuts and never got over it.
A Charlie Brown Christmas aired on CBS. The network expected it to fail. It won an Emmy and a Peabody. Over 15 million people watched.
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