Throughout his youth Sparky was awkward socially. He was not actually disliked by the other students; no one cared that much. He was astonished if a classmate ever said hello to him outside of school hours. There’s no way to tell how he might have done at dating. Sparky never once asked a girl to go out in high school. He was too afraid of being turned down.
Sparky was a loser. He, his classmates . . . everyone knew it. So he rolled with it. Sparky had made up his mind early in life that if things were meant to work out, they would. Otherwise he would content himself with what appeared to be his inevitable mediocrity.
However, one thing was important to Sparky - drawing. He was proud of his artwork. Of course, no one else appreciated it. In his senior year of high school, he submitted some cartoons to the editors of the yearbook. The cartoons were turned down. Despite this particular rejection, Sparky was so convinced of his ability that he decided to become a professional artist.
After completing high school, he wrote a letter to Walt Disney Studios. He was told to send some samples of his artwork, and the subject for a cartoon was suggested. Sparky drew the proposed cartoon. He spent a great deal of time on it and on all the other drawings he submitted. Finally, the reply came from Disney Studios. He had been rejected once again. Another loss for the loser.
So Sparky decided to write his own autobiography in cartoons. He described his childhood self - a little boy loser and chronic underachiever. The cartoon character would soon become famous worldwide. For Sparky, the boy who had such lack of success in school and whose work was rejected again and again, was Charles Schultz. He created the "Peanuts" comic strip and the little cartoon character whose kite would never fly and who never succeeded in kicking a football, Charlie Brown.
Charles Schulz dies just as his farewell 'Peanuts' hits doorsteps
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) -- Monte Schulz, eldest son of the "Peanuts" creator, saw his father's spirits sag as the cartoonist battled illness and was forced to give up his beloved comic strip.
For the son, it was no coincidence that Charles Schulz's last strip featuring Snoopy and the gang was published on the very day the artist died.
"He just didn't seem all that willing and interested to fight the colon cancer," Monte Schulz said. The diagnosis came in November, and the cartoonist announced plans to retire his strip a month later.
The 77-year-old cartoonist died in his sleep Saturday at home with his wife, Jeannie. The exact cause of death wasn't known. A public memorial service was tentatively set for Feb. 21 in Santa Rosa, the artist's adopted hometown.
In addition to his wife and son Monte, Schulz is survived by son Craig and three daughters, Meredith Hodges, Amy Johnson and Jill Schultz Transki; two stepchildren and 18 grandchildren.
Schulz's final strip showed Snoopy at his typewriter and other "Peanuts" regulars along with a "Dear Friends" letter thanking readers for their support.
"I think maybe he decided that his true passion was in the strip, and when that was gone, it was over," Monte Schulz said. "He had done what he had wanted to do, and that was it for him ..."
Year after year in "Peanuts," the long-suffering Charlie Brown faced misfortune with a mild, "Good grief!" Tart-tongued Lucy handed out advice at a nickel a pop. And Snoopy, Charlie Brown's wise-but-weird beagle, re-fought World War I atop his doghouse.
It was an intensely personal effort. While some cartoonists hire assistants, Schulz would have none of it, said Sergio Aragones, a longtime friend and colleague.
"He sat there and he drew," he said.
Schulz had a clause in his contract dictating that no one else could ever draw "Peanuts." His last daily comic ran in early January, though old strips will continue to be published.
Fans and colleagues hailed Schulz as an irreplaceable artist whose work had become infused in American popular culture. Even in orbit, the crew of space shuttle Endeavour heard the up-tempo "Peanuts" theme song early today.
"I think 'Peanuts' has been, for most of its existence, the best comic strip in history," said Mell Lazarus, who draws the "Momma" and "Miss Peach" strips and was a friend of Schulz's for 42 years.
At the Santa Rosa ice rink built by Schulz, 8-year-old Trevor Jones offered a bouquet of flowers decorated with a drawing of the cartoonist on skates. "I lik you," it read.
At the International Museum of Cartoon Art in Boca Raton, Fla., Schulz fans became mourners as they came to see an exhibit featuring his work.
"I said when they called me, 'It's not true,"' said a tearful Jeanne Greever, the museum's director of operations.
Schulz was born in Minneapolis on Nov. 26, 1922, and was raised in St. Paul. He 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 "Peanuts" made its official debut in seven newspapers on Oct. 2 of that year. Eventually, it ran in more than 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries.
"It had that rare ability to appeal to 5 year olds and 85 year olds," said Greg Evans, creator of the "Luann" cartoon, who lives in San Marcos, Calif.
Schulz went on to win 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.
The 1965 CBS-TV special, "A Charlie Brown Christmas," won an Emmy and became a holiday classic, paving the way for more television specials. A play, "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown," debuted off-Broadway in 1967 and was revived on Broadway in 1999.
Several times, Schulz was listed as one of Forbes magazine's best-paid entertainers. But despite his success, he struggled with depression and anxiety, according to his biographer, Rheta Grimsley Johnson.
The emotional turmoil only improved his work, she found, as he poured those feelings of rejection and uncertainty into the strip, turning Charlie Brown into Everyman.
"Rejection is his specialty, losing his area of expertise. He has spent a lifetime perfecting failure," Johnson wrote in her 1989 book, "Good Grief: The Story of Charles M. Schulz."
Schulz himself left little doubt about the strip's role in his life.
"Why do musicians compose symphonies and poets write poems?" he once asked. "They do it because life wouldn't have any meaning for them if they didn't. That's why I draw cartoons. It's my life."
Only last Wednesday, Schulz spoke to local radio station about his retirement. He said he had had difficulty speaking and seeing after suffering a series of strokes since November and couldn't draw the way he used to.
"All of a sudden, one day, it's taken. It's gone. I can't do it," he said.
The last "Peanuts" cartoon, appearing in February 13, 2000's Sunday Comics
