Charles M. Schulz

Hello there. My name is Charles M. Schulz, but you can call me Sparky. That’s the nickname an uncle gave me when I was just a baby, named after a horse in a comic strip called Barney Google. It stuck with me my whole life. I was born on November 26th, 1922, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and I grew up in the nearby city of St. Paul. My childhood took place during the Great Depression, a time when many families didn’t have much money, but we had a lot of love. The best part of my week was Sunday morning. That’s when my dad, Carl, and I would spread the newspaper out on the floor and read the “funny pages” together. We loved comics like Mickey Mouse and Popeye. Seeing those drawings and stories made a little spark light up inside me. I knew, right then and there, that I wanted to be a cartoonist. My best friend back then wasn't a person, but my black-and-white dog, Spike. He was incredibly smart and could understand about fifty different words. I even drew a picture of him and sent it to a newspaper feature called Ripley's Believe It or Not!, and they published it. It was my very first taste of seeing my art in print, and it felt amazing.

Life isn't always like a funny cartoon, though. Sometimes, it feels more like my character Charlie Brown trying to kick a football, only to have it pulled away at the last second. In high school, I was shy and often felt like I didn't quite fit in. I loved to draw, and I poured my heart into my artwork for the school yearbook, but the editors rejected every single one of my drawings. It was a huge disappointment, and it stung for a long time. The world was facing a much bigger challenge then, too. World War II had begun, and soon after I graduated, I was drafted into the United States Army in 1943. Just before I was sent overseas to fight in Europe, my dear mother, Dena, passed away from cancer. It was one of the saddest moments of my life. Losing her and then heading off to war was incredibly difficult, but those experiences taught me about loss, courage, and the importance of holding on to your dreams, no matter how tough things get. These feelings of hope and disappointment would later find their way into every line I drew.

When I returned home from the war in 1945, I was more determined than ever to make my dream a reality. I worked several jobs, including teaching at an art school, but I never stopped drawing. I started selling a weekly comic panel to my hometown newspaper called 'Li'l Folks.' It featured a group of smart, funny little kids who talked about big ideas. An editor from a big company, United Feature Syndicate, saw my work and liked it. They offered me a contract, but they wanted to change the name. They decided on 'Peanuts.' I have to be honest, I never really liked that name. I thought it sounded insignificant. But it was my big chance, so I agreed. On October 2nd, 1950, the first 'Peanuts' strip appeared in seven newspapers across the country. In it, I introduced the world to some characters who would become my lifelong friends: the kind, ever-hopeful, but perpetually unlucky Charlie Brown; the loud and bossy Lucy van Pelt; her thoughtful, blanket-carrying brother, Linus; and, of course, a very special beagle named Snoopy. Snoopy was inspired by my childhood dog, Spike, and he soon took on a life of his own, becoming a writer, a World War I flying ace, and just about anything else his imagination could conjure.

I never expected what would happen next. My little comic strip about a group of kids and a dog started to grow. Soon, 'Peanuts' was appearing in newspapers all around the world. People seemed to connect with the characters' everyday struggles and small victories. In 1965, a television producer asked if I wanted to create an animated Christmas special. We made 'A Charlie Brown Christmas,' and the TV executives were worried. They thought it was too slow, the music was strange, and that a children's show shouldn't talk about religion. But I believed in our story, and when it aired, families loved it. It became a holiday tradition that continues to this day. Through all the success—the TV shows, the books, the toys—one thing remained constant: my personal connection to the strip. For nearly 50 years, I did everything myself. I wrote every joke, drew every panel, and hand-lettered every word. In total, I created 17,897 comic strips. It was my life's work, and I loved every minute of it.

After almost half a century of drawing the Peanuts gang, my health began to fail. In December of 1999, I made the difficult decision to retire. It was hard to say goodbye to the characters that had been my companions for so long. I felt so grateful that I had been able to share them with the world. I passed away peacefully in my sleep on February 12th, 2000. By a strange and touching coincidence, it was the night right before my very last original Sunday comic strip was published in newspapers. Even though my own story had ended, the stories of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and all their friends live on. They are still here to remind us all that it’s okay to feel a little insecure, that friendship is one of life’s greatest gifts, and that even if you strike out, there’s always another chance to get back up and try again.