Who Was Charles Schulz?
“Peanuts” Creator Speaks to CSUH Graduates
Charles Schulz (1922-2000) was a cartoonist whose work has had an enormous impact on popular culture. He created the characters of Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy and Linus, who, with their schoolmates, made up the Peanuts gang. Schulz created his last original Peanuts strip in 1998, and yet his cartoons continue to run in newspapers today, and holiday television shows featuring his creations are aired every year. The dejected demeanor of Charlie, the acerbic retorts of Lucy, and the philosophic musings of Snoopy (a dog!) have been seen as influenced by everything from the Bible to Freud and have had their own impact on amusement parks, Broadway shows, television, generations of cartoonists, and ordinary individuals. Charles Schulz lived for many years in Santa Rosa, and the Library at nearby Sonoma State University is named in his honor. As the Senior Court here at CSUEB reminds us, Schulz spoke at the 1967 Hayward campus commencement, a testament to the fact that his work was revered by people of all types - students, politicians, and faculty members!
Cartoonist Charles Schulz created the wildly popular “Peanuts” comic strip in the early 1950s. He addressed graduating CSUH students at the height of his popularity in the mid-1960s.