Newsletter

Number 12

Feb. 13, 2000 --Charles M. Schulz, 77, creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip, died at about 9:45 p.m., in his sleep at his home in Santa Rosa, California, on February 12, 2000, after a three-month battle with colon cancer that had forced him to give up drawing the strip. Ironically, Schulz died the night before his final Peanuts strip appeared in print.

Charles Schulz

His last strip, appearing in February 13 Sunday editions, showed Snoopy at his typewriter and other Peanuts regulars along with a "Dear Friends" letter thanking his readers for their support. "I have been grateful over the years for the loyalty of our editors and the wonderful support and love expressed to me by fans of the comic strip .... Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy ... how can I ever forget them..."

"Peanuts," published for nearly half a century, appeared in 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries and 21 languages. It was estimated to have a daily readership of 350 million people -- more than any other newspaper comic strip.

Schulz, who endured criticism of his primitive drawing style when the strip debuted on October 2, 1950, was estimated to have amassed a fortune of about $55 million. The strip introduced dozens of phrases and images that would turn up in dictionaries -- like Linus' security blanket -- or routine expressions like: "Good Grief," "Aaaaaaaaaaargghh!" and "You blockhead."

Final Peanuts strip

There have been more than 50 animated Peanuts specials, and fans have snapped up more than 300 million copies of some 1,400 Peanuts books. It's a franchise that generates more than $1 billion per year in global retail sales. In Japan alone, Peanuts sales totaled $550 million in 1997, while greeting card publisher Hallmark has sold more than 1.5 billion Peanuts cards since 1960.

Schulz was born in St. Paul, Minn., on November 26, 1922, and studied art after he saw a "Do you like to draw?" ad. He was drafted into the Army in 1943 and sent to the European theater, although he saw little combat. After the war, he did lettering for a church comic book, taught art and sold cartoons to the Saturday Evening Post. His first feature, "Li'l Folks," was developed for the St. Paul Pioneer Press in 1947. In 1950, it was sold to a syndicate and the named changed to "Peanuts," even though, he recalled later, he didn't much like the name.

The strip brought Schulz international fame. He won the Reuben Award, comic art's highest honor, in 1955 and 1964. In 1978, he was named International Cartoonist of the Year, an award voted by 700 comic artists around the world.

Schulz had a clause in his contract dictating the strip had to end with his death. While battling cancer, he chose to retire it right then, saying he wanted to focus on his health and family without the worry of a daily deadline.