A Charles Schulz Centennial Celebration!
November 26, 1922: The birthdate of Charles Monroe Schulz, creator and cartoonist, known for imagining and building a world of “Li’l Folks” that was later called Peanuts (rolling his eyes and groaning “Good grief” was his likely response), and a career, as well as a warm and welcoming universe, was born.
When Schulz died, at age 77, in February 2000, I admit I cried a bit. No heavy heaves or sobbing, but a tear or two for the man who not only brought me joy as a child, but also showed me how to express child-like feelings on paper, as an adult, without being cloying, condescending, or trivial.
Schulz, like another creative and captivating “Chuck”….Jones, created solely to make himself laugh. “Sparky” knew enough about his psyche to write what his heart told him to, knowing it’d rarely be over the heads of his younger audience, and would enlighten and challenge the adults in the room.
In fact, his gentle, yet poignant humor was as profound as it was comforting and familiar.
Similarly, Chuck Jones, the Warner Bros. cartoon director and animator (whose original 1999 artwork is shown above) who gave us Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies at the Studio’s “Termite Terrace,” crafted his toons with a similar knowing nod and a wink as Schulz did so easily for his audience.
See “The Debt That All Cartoonists Owe to Peanuts.”
It would be pointless for me to even try to expound on the master’s art or eloquence; for this Centennial Celebration of the man’s birth and talent, we’ll peruse a few of his best-loved works and characters.
Feel free to share your favorite Peanuts moments (whether in print, on vinyl, onstage, at Knott’s Berry Farm, at theatres, or on TV) in the comment section!
Peanuts.fandom.com: Peanuts Wiki
Short Takes
Hi, everyone! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. It’s been almost two weeks since the last post, and I wanted to share a set of shorter items before a longer series makes its debut tomorrow. Moving Forward “Moving Forward,” my feature story that looks at the aftermath of the Santa Fe, Texas, school shooting, appears in the current edition of America…
2 years ago · 5 likes · 2 comments · Glenn Cook
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