HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FAVORITE CARTOONIST OF ALL TIME, CHARLES SCHULTZ!
In honor of his birthday, I thought I would share this brief biography found at http://www.schulzmuseum.org.
Here are some little known Peanuts characters that you may have never heard of…
Belle: First appeared June 28, 1976. Belle is Snoopy’s sister. She lives in Kansas City, Missouri and has a son who is very tall and thin. In Snoopy’s fantasies as the WWI Flying Ace, he periodically reunites with Belle and his brother Spike on the Western Front, where Belle serves as a nurse in the Red Cross.
Faron: First appeared May 24, 1961. “The cat [Faron] was a mistake. First, I found I couldn’t draw a cat very well. Second, he played off poorly against Snoopy, making the strip too ‘cat-and-doggish.’ It hurt in other ways as well, so I’m afraid Faron is gone forever…. He is now invisible, that ‘cat next door’—and as such can play off better against Snoopy.” - Charles M. Schulz (1975)
Olaf: First appeared January 19, 1989. Olaf first appeared as Lucy’s contestant in an “Ugly Dog” contest—which he won! Olaf is chubbier than his other brothers and sister, and is distinguished by his hunting cap. In later appearances Olaf can usually be seen wandering with another brother (and frequent traveling companion), Andy; from Alaska to the desert and many places in between (often as a result of getting lost).
José Peterson: First appeared March 20, 1967. “I had a dream in which I dreamed a new character whose name was a combination of Mexican and Swedish. Why in the world I had such a dream and would think of such a name as José Peterson is a mystery to me. Most of the time things that are a complete riot when you are dreaming are not the least bit funny when you wake up. In this case, however, it seemed like a good idea, so I developed a story about the arrival of José Peterson in the neighborhood, and he has remained ever since, usually playing on Peppermint Patty’s baseball team.”- Charles M. Schulz (1975)
Thanks Mr. Schultz, for all the memories and happy times that Peanuts has brought to my life and to the lives of many others!
