_______________________, read first time and referred to Committee on
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION memorializing Charles M.
Schulz, the creator of the Peanuts comic strip.
Whereas, Charles M. Schulz, the creator of the Peanuts
comic strip, died Saturday, February 12, 2000, on the eve of
the last publication of his comic strip. Schulz was 77 years
of age;
Whereas, Schulz, who was diagnosed with colon cancer
and suffered a series of small strokes during emergency
abdominal surgery in November 1999, died in his sleep about
9:45 p.m.;
Whereas, Schulz, who retired a few weeks after his
surgery, stating that he could no longer meet the rigorous
demands of a daily deadline, stipulated in his contract that
no one else should ever write his now famous comic strip;
Whereas Peanuts - the trials and tribulations of Charlie
Brown, his friends, and his dog Snoopy - appeared in 2,600
newspapers and reached an estimated 355 million readers
daily in 75 countries;
Whereas, The final Sunday strip appeared February 13,
2000, and the final daily strip was published January 3,
2000;
Whereas, Charles Schulz's first feature, Li'l Folks, was developed for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1947 and was sold to syndication on October
2, 1950, under the name Peanuts, a name Mr. Schulz did not
originally like;
Whereas, The rest, as they say, is history;
Whereas, The main character in the strip, Charlie Brown,
is named after an art school friend of Charles Schulz and
was, to some extent, the cartoonist's alter ego;
Whereas, Charles Schulz, who struggled with anxiety and
depression, according to his biographer, Rheta Grimsley
Johnson, poured these feelings of uncertainty into his strip
and turned Charlie Brown into Everyman;
Whereas, The little red-haired girl is modeled after a girl
who, according to Johnson, rejected Schulz's proposal of
marriage in 1950;
Whereas, Snoopy, his wise but weird beagle, was inspired
by a dog Charles Schulz had as a child that he recalled as
"the smartest and most uncontrollable dog that I have ever
seen";
Whereas, Although Charles Schulz remained mainly a
private person, the comic strip brought him international
fame;
Whereas, In 1955 and 1964, Charles Schulz won the
Reuben Award, comic art's highest honor, and in 1978 was
named International Cartoonist of the Year, an award given
by the 700 comic artists around the world;
Whereas, In 1965 CBS first aired the television special "A
Charlie Brown Christmas", which won an Emmy and rerun
immortality. Many more specials followed;
Whereas, There was even a hit Broadway musical based
on the popular comic strip;
Whereas, Peanuts' popularity is due in large part to the fact that it is a reflection of everyone's life, and the characters display a little bit of the characteristics that we all see in ourselves and our friends;
Whereas, Everyone, at one time or another, has identified
with Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, or Snoopy;
Whereas, The identification with Charlie Brown's
character becomes even more direct when you happen to
have the same name;
Whereas, Representative Charlie Brown, Gary, Indiana,
corresponded with Charles Schulz on January 25, 2000, to
let him know just how his now famous name has affected his
life;
Whereas, Charles M. Schulz's Charlie Brown represented
the best of all of us: he was ever the underdog, yet he faced
misfortune with a mild "Good grief!" and continued to try to
overcome the obstacles placed in his way, even in the face of
odds that always seemed insurmountable: Therefore,
SECTION 1. That the Indiana General Assembly wishes to express
its sincere condolences to the family of Charles M. Schulz on the
occasion of his death and also to let the family of this talented
cartoonist know just how much we appreciated and loved the comic
strip Peanuts and will miss Mr. Schulz and his wonderful characters.
Our lives will never be the same without the daily insight provided by
Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Snoopy and all the rest of the beloved
Peanuts characters.
SECTION 2. That the Principal Clerk of the House of
Representatives transmit a copy of this resolution to the family of
Charles M. Schulz.