Good-morning, kittens and dawgs! First thing let me make a quick announcement. The winner of April 15th BoTB is The Mills Brothers by an overwhelming 11 to 3! Their tally included my vote. Their harmonies and rich tones transported me in time.
In today’s edition of All Things Vintage, I’m sharing with you my all-time favorite cartoon character, none other than the beloved beagle Snoopy and the Peanuts’ Gang Creator Charles Shultz!
Charles Shultz (1922-2000) was an only child. As a child, he advanced two-half grades in school. He developed an introverted personality no doubt due to the age difference of his high school peers making him a shy and isolated teenager.
Shultz loved to draw, especially his dog Spike who did rather unusual things such as pins and tacks. He sent one of his drawings to Ripley’s Believe It or Not that published in 1937 with the caption “A hunting dog that eats pins, tacks, and razor blades…” under the pen name “Sparky” his childhood nickname.
He served in WWII for two years fighting in the infantry in Europe, then after he returned home in 1945 he became an art teacher in Minnesota. Prior to his draft, he subscribed to art correspondence classes. In the late 40s, Shultz first cartoon publications Lil’ Folks. This series was the forerunner to The Peanuts’ Gang.
Drawing inspiration from his experiences and people he knew, he created his characters. “Charlie Brown” was Charles Shultz, “Snoopy” his dog, Spike, Linus and Sherman good friends of Shultz, Peppermint Patty a cousin on his mother’s side, and the Little Red-head Girl was an art instructor he proposed who turned him down. Chaplin’s quote I used Wednesday reminds me of Shultz. He used his artist ability and humor to the truth at least in part.
Now, I wanted to share my favorite Peanuts’ gang member, Snoopy, and his many faces.
Snoopy as “Joe Cool”
Snoopy the “WWI Flying Ace”
Snoopy the “Athlete”
Snoopy the “Scout Leader”
Snoopy being “Snoopy”
Snoopy the “Writer”
Snoopy the “Perfect Friend”
Have you met Charles Shultz? Do you identify with any of The Peanuts’ Gang characters ? What do you like most about Snoopy?
Applauds and special thanks to the incredible A2Z Team for hosting all the April fun!
Arlee Bird @ Tossing it Out
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Heather M. Gardner
Jeremy @ Hollywood Nuts
AJ Lauer
Pam @ An Unconventional Librarian
Damyanti Biswas @ Daily Write
Zalka Csenge Virág @ The Multicolored Diary
Joy Campbell @ The Character Depot
John Holton @The Sound of One Hand Typing
Now, I invite you to hop with me in checking out some of the amazing A2Zers playing along this year and I hope you’ll come back tomorrow for Treasures.
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Snoopy is the best. Flying Ace and The Writer are my favourites. I was so thrilled to take my kids to the Peanuts movie this past year… and that they LOVED it. They all came home dancing like Snoopy and determined to find a stuff Woodstuck to cuddle. Woodstock is my mom’s favourite.
Oh, Snoopy, gotta love Snoopy. And all we ca do is be ourselves … as everyone else is taken (as the saying goes). Great post.
I love the Peanuts gang and Snoopy is one of my favorites. Have you seen the new Peanuts movie?
Snoopy is one of my all-time favorites. I’ve been watching and reading the Peanuts cartoons since I was a kid, and Snoopy was always the best part. He’s such a unique character.
Not surprised by the Mills Bros. win.
The Peanuts gang has been a part of my life as long as I’ve been reading the newspaper comics which is a rather long time. Nice job featuring the work of Charles Schultz.
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out
Snoopy is great. I read him all the time growing up.
I don’t know how kids today can grow up without Charlie Brown and Snoopy. They are missing out. I love Snoopy and the whole gang.
I think the bouncy Snoopy marked 1980s up there is the cutest Snoopy. Of the cartoons that you shared, my favorite is the one in which he kisses Peppermint Patti. Sweet!
Have a blessed day. 🙂
This is awesome! Where on earth did you find all this info… fantastic. An absolutely great job my friend. Thanks for sharing. So many things I didn’t know. Have a great weekend.
I never met Charles Schultz but I met his son a couple of times.
When my kids were small, I would take them on Saturday after Thanksgiving to the Charles Schultz Museum and the Redwood Empire Ice Arena in Santa Rosa. We would eat at the Warm Puppy Cafe and if we were lucky (we sat there three times) we would sit at Charles Schultz’s favorite table (it is marked) and then go down for the program and the free ice skate. His son Craig was the MC and go around and meet and great people. It was a really cool deal.
Hi, dear Cathy!
i voted for the Mills Brothers and yet I am surprised to learn they won by such a wide margin. I suppose I’m not used to being on the winning side in these contests. 🙂
I love Snoopy. What I like best about the Peanuts comic strip is that the characters are likable and down to earth, the situations resonate with us because we have all been there, and the punchlines do indeed reveal truth. Strange as it might seem, “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron,” the novelty single by the Royal Guardsmen, a group from Ocala, FL, that recorded the song here in Tampa, was a big hit with the soulfully inclined gang at the Shady Dell from Christmas 1966 through the winter of ’67.
Thank you very much, dear friend Cathy!