1 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:06,279 Speaker 1: I guess what, mango, what's that? Well, it is officially 2 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:10,119 Speaker 1: Charlie Brown season. I know, I am so excited. You know, 3 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: right between Thanksgiving and Christmas is when my family buckles 4 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:17,599 Speaker 1: down and we watch all those specials, and it is wild. 5 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:19,400 Speaker 1: That's been over fifty years since some of the big 6 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:22,480 Speaker 1: ones actually came out. But what is weirdest to me 7 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:25,599 Speaker 1: is that my kids are so into Charlie Brown, like 8 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:29,440 Speaker 1: it's almost quaint. Ruby had a Peppermint Patty birthday party 9 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: when she turned three because she assumed everyone was into 10 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:35,159 Speaker 1: Peppermint Patty too, uh, And so we just hand out 11 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:37,880 Speaker 1: headbands and did at the gym. I love this fact, 12 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:40,480 Speaker 1: and the fact that probably more than half the kids 13 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:43,280 Speaker 1: had no idea who Peppermint Patty was, at least going 14 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:45,839 Speaker 1: into the party. I'm sure Ruby told him all about her. 15 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:48,680 Speaker 1: But anyway, So, so, why are they so into the specials? 16 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 1: You know, I have no idea of something just clicked 17 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: with them. But like Henry actually based his Thanksgiving speech 18 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:57,520 Speaker 1: a few years ago completely on the one that I 19 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 1: think Charlie Brown gives and Thanksgiving special and and we've 20 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:04,320 Speaker 1: definitely watched It's a great pumpkin Charlie Brown and Charlie 21 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 1: Brown Christmas a whole bunch of times. But you know, 22 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:09,840 Speaker 1: they're even into some of the oddball ones like Race 23 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:12,280 Speaker 1: for Your Life Charlie Brown, which is about the gang 24 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:16,280 Speaker 1: going to camp. That's very good. I mean, you did 25 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:17,720 Speaker 1: hit on some of the big ones there, but I 26 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:20,200 Speaker 1: do think you forgot one of the most important of 27 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:23,840 Speaker 1: them all. Really. Oh yeah, of course, It's Arbor Day 28 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:27,759 Speaker 1: Charlie Brown. I do not think we watched that one. 29 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:29,840 Speaker 1: Is that a real thing? We're just making that up? Oh, 30 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:31,800 Speaker 1: it's absolutely a real thing. It was just one of 31 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:35,479 Speaker 1: the forty five Charlie Brown specials out there, forty five. 32 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 1: I had no idea that that many. Oh man, I'm surprised, 33 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:41,199 Speaker 1: Like you don't watch It's the Easter Beagle Charlie Brown 34 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:43,240 Speaker 1: every single east. I don't know how could be Easter 35 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:46,880 Speaker 1: without that special. And actually there's also It's Your First 36 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:49,640 Speaker 1: Kiss Charlie Brown, which is another classic and also I 37 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 1: guess kind of weird. But we've got a lot of 38 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: catching up to do here, and with the holiday season 39 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:57,360 Speaker 1: upon us, what we thought now would be the perfect 40 00:01:57,360 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: time to look into the history of our favorite melon 41 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: colleague Grade schoolers. So we'll talk about the origin of 42 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 1: the comics trip, including the real life inspiration behind some 43 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 1: of the characters, the story of how the beloved Christmas 44 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:11,280 Speaker 1: Special came to be, and how it was very nearly 45 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 1: canceled in production. Now, of course, we'll also talk a 46 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:17,280 Speaker 1: little bit about the reason why creator Charles Schultz hated 47 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:21,120 Speaker 1: the name Peanuts and why some fans can't stand Snoopy. 48 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 1: There's a lot to cover, so let's dive in. Hey there, 49 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson, 50 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 1: and as always I'm joined by my good friend Man 51 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:52,280 Speaker 1: gues Ticketer and on the other side of the soundproof 52 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 1: glass just shuffling a stack of buttered to It's kind 53 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: of like it's a deck of cars. It's our friends 54 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 1: and producer Tristan McNeil, and I do have to admit 55 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: when Tristan said he wanted to recreate the famous meal 56 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:07,600 Speaker 1: from the Peanuts Thanksgiving Special, I really never dreamed it 57 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:10,600 Speaker 1: would be this theatrical. But it's really quite a show. 58 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:13,640 Speaker 1: Don't you think you didn't think Tristan would be theatrical? 59 00:03:13,919 --> 00:03:16,920 Speaker 1: I don't know, I don't know. It's just surprised me. Yeah. 60 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:18,640 Speaker 1: I mean, I have no idea how he's doing this. 61 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 1: He's wearing those slices like he's a black jack dealer 62 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,040 Speaker 1: or something. But I like that he's giving the Thanksgiving 63 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:26,640 Speaker 1: Special a little love, and I feel like it's always 64 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 1: the one that gets overshadowed by both, like the Hallyween 65 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:32,359 Speaker 1: Special and the Christmas Special. But you know, we've had 66 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: a saft spot for Charlie Brown Thanksgiving at my house, 67 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 1: especially where um Snoopy puts together that last minute feast 68 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:41,760 Speaker 1: for Charlie Brown and he's got all that popcorn and pretzels. 69 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:44,880 Speaker 1: But when the kids are gone, Snoopy and Woodstock are 70 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:47,280 Speaker 1: just back of their doghouse and they've got a lavish 71 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 1: spread for themselves with like pumpkin pie, roast and vegetables, 72 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: even this giant cooked turkey, and they're basically living it 73 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 1: off while the kids are just eating you know, snack food. 74 00:03:57,520 --> 00:03:59,400 Speaker 1: I mean, it's kind of a jerk move, but when 75 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: you think about that, it's it's that mix of whimsy 76 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:05,560 Speaker 1: and low key meanness that are sort of par for 77 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,120 Speaker 1: the course for peanuts that actually, for instance, did never 78 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:10,800 Speaker 1: strike you as just a little bit weird that Woodstock 79 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:14,080 Speaker 1: would help Snoopy carve and eat the turkey. I mean, 80 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:18,359 Speaker 1: Woodstock is a bird if you haven't noticed. You know 81 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:20,320 Speaker 1: what's funny about it is that I never actually gave 82 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 1: it much thought. But it turns out you're not alone 83 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:25,160 Speaker 1: in this. Lee Mendelssohn, who was the executive producer on 84 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 1: the Peanuts specials, he actually objected to that scene because 85 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:31,479 Speaker 1: he was so weird it out by it, But because 86 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:34,040 Speaker 1: the idea had comes straight from Charles Schultz, the Peanuts creator, 87 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 1: he was just overruled and the scene aireds planned. But uh, 88 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:39,560 Speaker 1: you know what was funny is that Mendelssohn did eventually 89 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:42,479 Speaker 1: get his way. So all these years later, CBS asked 90 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:44,560 Speaker 1: Mendelssohn to cut three minutes from the special so they 91 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: could fit in, you know, more commercials, and Mendelssohn sees 92 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:51,240 Speaker 1: the chance and he removed that scene of Woodstock eating turkey, 93 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:53,880 Speaker 1: so you can only see him eating pie instead. But 94 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:55,559 Speaker 1: then a few years later, the rights of the special 95 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:57,880 Speaker 1: move to ABC and the network decided to air it 96 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:03,200 Speaker 1: on cut, meaning Woodstock is once again accountable. It feels 97 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:05,279 Speaker 1: a little bit odd to be kicking off our Peanuts 98 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:08,320 Speaker 1: show with a fact about bird cannibalism, but it also 99 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:11,200 Speaker 1: kind of feels appropriate, you know, given how dark Charlie 100 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,160 Speaker 1: Brown and his chums could often be. Actually, in fact, 101 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:17,960 Speaker 1: have you ever seen the very first Peanuts trip? I have, 102 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:20,159 Speaker 1: and I don't remember it. Yeah, So it shows a 103 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:22,839 Speaker 1: boy and a girl just sitting on the sidewalk and 104 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:26,360 Speaker 1: this boy, Scheremy is his name. He says, well, here 105 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:30,600 Speaker 1: comes good old Charlie Brown. Good old Charlie Brown. Yes, sir, 106 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:33,360 Speaker 1: good old Charlie Brown. And then when Charlie Brown is 107 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:39,039 Speaker 1: out of sight, Cheremy adds, how I hate him, you know, 108 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:41,200 Speaker 1: and that's the punch line. So yeah, there's there's definitely 109 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:43,360 Speaker 1: some darkness to the world of Peanuts, no matter how 110 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:47,280 Speaker 1: cute or simplistic the characters might look. But there's also 111 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:50,960 Speaker 1: incredible warmth and humor there as well, and it feels 112 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:53,640 Speaker 1: like it's that unique mix that really made Peanuts this 113 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:56,479 Speaker 1: enduring part of pop culture, not only in the US 114 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:59,599 Speaker 1: but all around the world. So we've definitely got a 115 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:01,440 Speaker 1: lot to go through today. But where do you think 116 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:03,240 Speaker 1: you want to start? Why don't we spend a few 117 00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:06,760 Speaker 1: minutes on the man behind the Peanuts himself, Charles M. Schultz. 118 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:09,840 Speaker 1: So This name sounds familiar enough because we've all seen 119 00:06:09,839 --> 00:06:12,360 Speaker 1: his name a million times. It's signed at the bottom 120 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:16,120 Speaker 1: of each and every Peanuts strip, all seventeen thousand eight 121 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:20,599 Speaker 1: of them. But despite the constant exposure, lots of people 122 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:24,200 Speaker 1: still misname him as Schultz with the T. It's actually 123 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:27,320 Speaker 1: s C h U l z. And according to Medium, 124 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 1: the misspelling is so common that's actually appeared wrong in 125 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 1: more than thirty thousand articles to Day, as well as 126 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,239 Speaker 1: the original opening to the Peanuts Christmas Special. I guess 127 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 1: someone caught it at the very last minute, but there 128 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:41,479 Speaker 1: was an error that was gonna be aired in the 129 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:44,560 Speaker 1: premier You know, I guess I've actually never thought about this, 130 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:47,120 Speaker 1: and I'm sure that I'm guilty of making the same mistake. 131 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:49,760 Speaker 1: But what kind of name is Schultz? Like it is? 132 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:52,800 Speaker 1: Is it German? Yeah? His dad, Carl Schultz, immigrated from 133 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:56,159 Speaker 1: Germany to Minnesota, which is where he met charles mom Dina, 134 00:06:56,360 --> 00:07:00,280 Speaker 1: and Charles was this only child. He was born in too. 135 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:02,839 Speaker 1: He grew up in St. Paul. But what's interesting is 136 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:04,160 Speaker 1: that St. Paul is one of the few places in 137 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:07,480 Speaker 1: the country that has both super hot summers and freezing 138 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:11,360 Speaker 1: cold winters, and It's the same for the Peanuts Kids, right, Like, 139 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:13,480 Speaker 1: there's so many strips that are centered on these summer 140 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:17,960 Speaker 1: activities like playing baseball, flying kites, selling lemonade on hot days. 141 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:20,080 Speaker 1: But then you have a ton of strips where there's 142 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:21,880 Speaker 1: like a foot of snow on the ground and everyone's 143 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:25,360 Speaker 1: playing ice hockey. So then it is Peanuts actually set 144 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 1: in St. Paul. I mean, there's some debate about that. 145 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: Some fans think the strip is set near Santa Rosa, California, 146 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:34,880 Speaker 1: which is where Schultz lived once the Peanuts became a hit. 147 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:37,320 Speaker 1: But you know, that doesn't make much sense when you 148 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:39,119 Speaker 1: look at all all the strips set in the winter. 149 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:42,080 Speaker 1: But what little evidence there is in the strips does 150 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:45,200 Speaker 1: kind of point to either St. Paul or Minneapolis as 151 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:49,000 Speaker 1: their hometown. For instance, there's a strip in nine seven 152 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:51,960 Speaker 1: that implied that the character has lived in Hennepin County, 153 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:54,880 Speaker 1: which is in Minnesota, and two years before that there 154 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:57,520 Speaker 1: was one where Schroeder confesses he always thought his hero 155 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:00,640 Speaker 1: Beethoven was a native in Minnesota, which you know is 156 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:03,440 Speaker 1: presumably just like him. All right, Well, although that makes sense, 157 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:05,960 Speaker 1: and you'd actually expect the cartoonists to set the strip 158 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:09,320 Speaker 1: about childhood in their hometown. That wouldn't be that surprising, 159 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:12,080 Speaker 1: and it would be pretty on theme for Schultz, because 160 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:14,360 Speaker 1: when you look at the comics, so many elements of 161 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:17,800 Speaker 1: the Peanuts strip turn out to be somewhat biographical. I mean, 162 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:21,240 Speaker 1: just listen to this breakdown. Shuremy was a childhood friend. 163 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:24,200 Speaker 1: Schroeder was a caddy at the golf course Schultz worked 164 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:27,240 Speaker 1: at as a teenager. Linus and Lucy van Pelt got 165 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:29,880 Speaker 1: their last name from a man's Schultz served in the 166 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:33,880 Speaker 1: army with. Meanwhile, Lucy's character was inspired by Schultz's first 167 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:36,439 Speaker 1: wife and his mother. I guess there's a lot to 168 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:39,840 Speaker 1: unpack there, but that does seem to be the case. Actually, 169 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:43,120 Speaker 1: I was reading this tribute to Charles Schultz from Bill Waterson, 170 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:46,000 Speaker 1: who is my hero and uh who did the Colvinant 171 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:49,240 Speaker 1: Hobbs strips, and he thought of Peanuts as the gold 172 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:51,880 Speaker 1: standard of comic strips, and this is his take on 173 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:55,200 Speaker 1: Lucy quote. I was struck less by the fact that 174 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:57,959 Speaker 1: Schultz drew on his troubled marriage for material than by 175 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:00,679 Speaker 1: the sympathy that he shows for his torment, and by 176 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:03,600 Speaker 1: his ability to poke fun at himself, which is actually 177 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:06,560 Speaker 1: pretty interesting, like, like, you know, Lucy is annoying and 178 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:10,120 Speaker 1: mean spirited, but you don't ever really hate her for it. Now, 179 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 1: that's true. And you know he was looking for inspiration everywhere. 180 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:16,680 Speaker 1: Even line is his famous blue blanket came straight from 181 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:20,280 Speaker 1: Schultz's life when his daughter was younger, she was obsessed 182 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:23,560 Speaker 1: with her own security blanket. Yeah. I mean, of course 183 00:09:23,559 --> 00:09:25,400 Speaker 1: you're gonna be stealing from life when you've got like 184 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:28,920 Speaker 1: a daily deadline and and working at that sort of volume. 185 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:31,400 Speaker 1: But I think the one character I always think about 186 00:09:31,559 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 1: is the little red haired girl who goes unnamed, And uh, 187 00:09:35,280 --> 00:09:37,160 Speaker 1: you know, that's the one that Charlie Brown always had 188 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:40,240 Speaker 1: that huge crush on. She was apparently based on Schultz's 189 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:43,360 Speaker 1: girlfriend in the late forties, this redhead named Donna May Johnson, 190 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:46,079 Speaker 1: and after the war, the two of them worked together 191 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:49,000 Speaker 1: at this correspondent school in Minneapolis, and after a few 192 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:51,160 Speaker 1: years of dating, Shells finally worked at the Nerve to 193 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:54,240 Speaker 1: propose to her, But then Donna May turned him down 194 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:56,199 Speaker 1: and married a different guy a few months later, and 195 00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:59,360 Speaker 1: it was obviously this huge blow to his pride, but 196 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:02,560 Speaker 1: in end, the ordeal actually inspired one of Schultz's most 197 00:10:02,559 --> 00:10:06,040 Speaker 1: famous characters, and supposedly he and Donna May remained friends 198 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:08,960 Speaker 1: for years later. I mean, there are some definite shades 199 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:11,480 Speaker 1: of Charlie Brown to that story, and you can see 200 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:14,439 Speaker 1: that throughout his work. Yeah, definitely, And it makes sense 201 00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:18,080 Speaker 1: because both Charlie Brown and Snoopy they're often considered stand 202 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:21,800 Speaker 1: ins for Schultz himself. In fact, Charles's son, Craig Schultz 203 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:24,880 Speaker 1: once said about him, each of the characters represents a 204 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:28,040 Speaker 1: piece of our dad. Charlie Brown was his real self 205 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:30,800 Speaker 1: and Snoopy was what he wanted to be, which is 206 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:32,680 Speaker 1: kind of funny to think about, but it makes sense 207 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:36,640 Speaker 1: and it's both characters also had real world counterparts too. 208 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:39,000 Speaker 1: Charlie Brown was actually the name of a friend that 209 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:42,440 Speaker 1: Charles worked with prior to creating Peanuts, and Snoopy was 210 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:46,240 Speaker 1: based on charles His own childhood dog, this English Pointer, 211 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:49,440 Speaker 1: not a Beagle who was named Spike and whose name 212 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:52,480 Speaker 1: would later be used for one of Snoopy's brothers. So 213 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:55,199 Speaker 1: if Schultz had a dog named Spike, then where's the 214 00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:59,040 Speaker 1: name Snoopy come from? Well, apparently Charles had originally planned 215 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,160 Speaker 1: to call his dog Sniffy, but then he found out 216 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:04,839 Speaker 1: that another comic featured a dog with the same name, 217 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 1: so he had to change it to something else. But 218 00:11:07,160 --> 00:11:09,439 Speaker 1: luckily he had this backup. You know, when he was 219 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:12,679 Speaker 1: a kid, his mother suggested if they ever got another dog, 220 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:15,120 Speaker 1: they should name him Snoopy, and so that's where the 221 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:18,160 Speaker 1: name came from. Anyway, back back to the real world 222 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:21,600 Speaker 1: Snoopy for a second. It's pretty striking how devoted to 223 00:11:21,679 --> 00:11:24,520 Speaker 1: his dog. Charles was, just like Charlie Brown would later 224 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:27,520 Speaker 1: be with Snoopy. So how how do you mean? Well, 225 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:30,720 Speaker 1: the very first drawing that Charles ever published was of 226 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:33,680 Speaker 1: his dog Spike. So Charles was just fifteen years old 227 00:11:33,679 --> 00:11:36,200 Speaker 1: at the time when he submitted this drawing and actually 228 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:39,080 Speaker 1: a fact along with it to Ripley's Believe it or Not, 229 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:42,400 Speaker 1: and it got published nationally. I mean, that's pretty cool. 230 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:45,000 Speaker 1: But what was so unbolouivable about Spike that got him 231 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:48,640 Speaker 1: published in Ripley's. Well, the drawings caption said that Spike 232 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:51,760 Speaker 1: was quote a hunting dog that eats pins, tax and 233 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:56,079 Speaker 1: razor blades, so he didn't exactly have Snoopy's refined palette. 234 00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:59,720 Speaker 1: But it does sound like Spike shared his taste for adventure. 235 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:02,120 Speaker 1: That was this article and mental flaws about this that 236 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:04,400 Speaker 1: was talking about. You know, the dog would make a 237 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:07,199 Speaker 1: break for freedom anytime the door was open and only 238 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:10,000 Speaker 1: come back because he loved going on car rides. So 239 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:13,120 Speaker 1: whenever Spike got loose, Charles would run to his dad's 240 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:15,680 Speaker 1: car and basically just honked the horn as a way 241 00:12:15,679 --> 00:12:18,600 Speaker 1: to lure the dog back. I mean, we we actually 242 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:20,760 Speaker 1: had a dog like that growing up. She'd run off 243 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:22,200 Speaker 1: for the only way to get her back was to 244 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:25,760 Speaker 1: unwrap a slice of American exactly. That's what always works. Yeah, 245 00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:29,439 Speaker 1: I mean it's so weird that, like that plastic peel 246 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:31,560 Speaker 1: sound like when it was coming off the craft slices, 247 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:33,280 Speaker 1: that's what would make her race back to the house. 248 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:36,160 Speaker 1: But you know, having a dog you keep losing sounds 249 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:38,719 Speaker 1: very Charlie Brown to me as well. And and uh 250 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:41,520 Speaker 1: speaking which, some of my favorite Peanuts facts are the 251 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:44,680 Speaker 1: ones that overlap between Charlie Brown's childhood and Charles Schultz. 252 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:47,760 Speaker 1: Is like, there's a surface level stuff, but both of 253 00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:50,200 Speaker 1: them had fathers who were barbers. But but then they're 254 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:53,360 Speaker 1: also those like wonderfully tragic tidbits from Schultz's life that 255 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 1: feels so Charlie Brown, Like his dad used to give 256 00:12:57,080 --> 00:12:59,560 Speaker 1: him haircuts but when customers came in, he'd have to 257 00:12:59,559 --> 00:13:01,440 Speaker 1: hop out of the chair. So you just have to 258 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:03,920 Speaker 1: grump around and wander about with half a haircut until 259 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:06,920 Speaker 1: that finished it up. I which does sound so very 260 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:09,360 Speaker 1: Charlie Brown. It's pretty great, yeah, I know. And there 261 00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:12,000 Speaker 1: was actually one time when Shultston line at a movie 262 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:14,120 Speaker 1: theater because they were handing out candy bars to the 263 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:17,480 Speaker 1: first kids to buy tickets that day, and of course 264 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:20,400 Speaker 1: Schultz was the hundred first kid in line. You know. 265 00:13:21,559 --> 00:13:23,720 Speaker 1: When when he was in high school, Schultz's teacher convince 266 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:25,640 Speaker 1: him to draw some comics for a senior year book. 267 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:29,520 Speaker 1: And so Schultz, of course, being super timid and socially awkward, 268 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:32,480 Speaker 1: he's a little nervous, but he desperately wants to be 269 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:36,080 Speaker 1: a cartoonist, so he overcomes a shyness he submits artwork, 270 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:38,800 Speaker 1: and then when the yearbook comes out, of course everyone 271 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:41,160 Speaker 1: had forgotten to include his work, Like, not a single 272 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:44,560 Speaker 1: one of his cartoons got used. That's a tough break, 273 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:46,720 Speaker 1: but you know, it is interesting to see that that 274 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:50,920 Speaker 1: not every aspect of Peanuts is drawn from Schultza's own experience. 275 00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:53,600 Speaker 1: You know, if you take the character Franklin, for instance, 276 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:56,520 Speaker 1: he was introduced as the comic strips first black character. 277 00:13:56,559 --> 00:13:59,280 Speaker 1: And now this was in July of nineteen sixty eight, 278 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:02,439 Speaker 1: and this was just a few months after the assassination 279 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:06,600 Speaker 1: of M. L. K Jr. Yeah, it's amazing that that's 280 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:09,679 Speaker 1: fifty years ago this year. And and uh and this 281 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:12,280 Speaker 1: was based on a reader's suggestion, right, yeah, that's right. 282 00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:14,880 Speaker 1: The reader was a mother of three named Harriett Glickman, 283 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:17,040 Speaker 1: and she wrote to Schultz just a few days after 284 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:19,880 Speaker 1: the death of Martin Luther King. And now in that note, 285 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:22,560 Speaker 1: the Glickman noted the power that mass media has to 286 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:25,840 Speaker 1: shape what she called the unconscious attitudes of our kids. 287 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:28,600 Speaker 1: So she has Schultz to add one or more black 288 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:31,400 Speaker 1: characters to his trips. And this was so that children 289 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:34,720 Speaker 1: could see that respect and friendship was possible between people 290 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:38,240 Speaker 1: of all races. And Schultz was pretty moved by the idea, 291 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:41,720 Speaker 1: but he didn't add the character immediately. He was actually 292 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:43,960 Speaker 1: a little bit nervous that the move might seem to 293 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:47,840 Speaker 1: be patronizing to black readers. But as Glickman continued to 294 00:14:47,840 --> 00:14:50,760 Speaker 1: correspond with him over the course of several months, you know, 295 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:52,960 Speaker 1: he decided to change his mind on this and on 296 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:55,760 Speaker 1: July one, he wrote to say that Glickman should watch 297 00:14:55,760 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: for the new character to appear by the end of 298 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:00,960 Speaker 1: the month, which of course he did. And so does 299 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:03,840 Speaker 1: show suffer any blowback from from this when when when 300 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:06,360 Speaker 1: the strip comes out, Well, you know, you had some 301 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:09,160 Speaker 1: black readers that did argue that Franklin was a bland 302 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:14,040 Speaker 1: character and therefore somewhat patronizing, but in general readers appreciated 303 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:17,640 Speaker 1: the added representation as well as you know how kind 304 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:21,240 Speaker 1: and worry free Franklin was compared with other Peanuts kids. 305 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:24,360 Speaker 1: But it still it was undoubtedly a tense time for 306 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:27,080 Speaker 1: America for an artist to debut what was essentially the 307 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:31,080 Speaker 1: first minority character in a mainstream comic strip. But other 308 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:33,880 Speaker 1: than this brief exchange where Franklin mentions that his father 309 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:37,920 Speaker 1: was a soldier in Vietnam, there's really nothing overtly political 310 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:41,480 Speaker 1: about his inclusion. Like Charlie Brown loses his beach ball, 311 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:43,880 Speaker 1: only to have it found and returned to him by 312 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:46,400 Speaker 1: a boy named Franklin, and then the boys decided to 313 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:50,320 Speaker 1: build a sandcastle together, which is of course very sweet. Yeah, 314 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:53,160 Speaker 1: but they're definitely a bit of backlash from this. You 315 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:56,200 Speaker 1: had several newspaper editors from southern states that wrote to 316 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:59,840 Speaker 1: Schultz demanding that he stopped using the character, or at 317 00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:02,600 Speaker 1: the very least that he Alwaids showing Franklin in school 318 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:06,080 Speaker 1: with the other white characters, which is just mind boggling 319 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:08,960 Speaker 1: to think about. But his response was pretty straightforward. So 320 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:12,040 Speaker 1: here's what he told an interviewer years later about the incident. 321 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:14,880 Speaker 1: I never paid any attention to those things. And I 322 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:18,880 Speaker 1: remember telling United Features President Larry Rutman at the time 323 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:21,680 Speaker 1: about Franklin. He wanted me to change it, and we 324 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:23,720 Speaker 1: talked about it for a long while on the phone, 325 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:27,160 Speaker 1: and I finally sighed, and I said, well, Larry, let's 326 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:29,440 Speaker 1: put it this way. Either you print it just the 327 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:32,280 Speaker 1: way I draw it, or I quit. How's that? So 328 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:35,080 Speaker 1: that's the way it ended. I mean, that is so awesome, 329 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:38,200 Speaker 1: and it's nice to hear that, like, despite whatever reservations 330 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:40,640 Speaker 1: he might have had at the beginning, she ultimately went 331 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:43,280 Speaker 1: to bat for Franklin in this really big way. Yeah, 332 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:45,400 Speaker 1: and you know, I know we wanted to talk about 333 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:48,720 Speaker 1: an earlier occasion when Schultz butted heads with upper management, 334 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:51,280 Speaker 1: and this time about what the strip should be called. 335 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:56,000 Speaker 1: But before we get into that, let's take a quick break. 336 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:11,840 Speaker 1: You're listening to Part Time Genius, and we're talking about 337 00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:15,639 Speaker 1: cartoonists Charles Schultz and his beloved Peanuts comic strips. So, 338 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:17,760 Speaker 1: you know, to be clear, there was one thing that 339 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:20,640 Speaker 1: she definitely did not love about his own strip, and 340 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:23,679 Speaker 1: that was the title. So back in n when he 341 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:25,720 Speaker 1: first pitched the strip to be carried by the United 342 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:29,520 Speaker 1: Feature Syndicate, Schultz insisted the title should be Little Folks, 343 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:35,399 Speaker 1: which maybe wasn't the most creative title, but it does seem, 344 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:37,200 Speaker 1: i don't know, somewhat fitting if you think about how 345 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:39,840 Speaker 1: so many of his characters they read like these little 346 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:43,320 Speaker 1: kids with grown up type worries, and like they're plagued 347 00:17:43,359 --> 00:17:47,160 Speaker 1: by this level of anxiety and almost neurosis that's typically reserved, 348 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:50,239 Speaker 1: you know, for adults. Yeah, but whether it's fitting or not, 349 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:52,760 Speaker 1: the executives had this different problem with it. So there 350 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:55,920 Speaker 1: was already a strip called Little Folks, except with the 351 00:17:55,960 --> 00:18:00,040 Speaker 1: word little all spelled out instead of little like it, 352 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:03,359 Speaker 1: and then there was also a little abner the comic strip. 353 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:06,199 Speaker 1: So they're worried that readers might confuse the titles, or 354 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:08,240 Speaker 1: worse that the creators of the rival strips might sue 355 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:12,240 Speaker 1: them for copyright infringement. So instead, the production manager at 356 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:15,400 Speaker 1: the syndicate decided to call the strip Peanuts. And I 357 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:17,840 Speaker 1: guess this was a reference to the Howdy Duty show 358 00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:20,119 Speaker 1: that was pretty popular at the time. When kids came 359 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:22,879 Speaker 1: to tapings, they sat in the Peanut Gallery. So the 360 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:25,600 Speaker 1: production manager thought, you know, like he'd rip off that 361 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:28,320 Speaker 1: idea and just called the small Kids Peanuts. I do 362 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:30,760 Speaker 1: like that their solution to not being sued was to 363 00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:34,719 Speaker 1: rip off a TV show instead, but either, I know, 364 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:36,640 Speaker 1: I mean, the other theory is that they just thought 365 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:38,920 Speaker 1: Little Folks was a weak title, but they didn't want 366 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:42,479 Speaker 1: to upset Shultz. Um not that he wasn't upset anyway. 367 00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:46,240 Speaker 1: In the interview, he was still angry about the Peanuts title, 368 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:49,760 Speaker 1: and he said, quote, it's totally ridiculous, has no meaning, 369 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:53,160 Speaker 1: is simply confusing, and has no dignity. And I think 370 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:57,160 Speaker 1: my humor has dignity, which is sad that you never 371 00:18:57,200 --> 00:18:59,480 Speaker 1: got to change the name. But you know, of course, 372 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:01,840 Speaker 1: once this strip took off, he was kind of stuck 373 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:04,600 Speaker 1: with the title. And uh, what's funny to me is 374 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:07,480 Speaker 1: that schill Is actually avoided using the title himself, like 375 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:09,680 Speaker 1: he claimed that whenever someone asked him what he did 376 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:11,960 Speaker 1: for a living, you just tell them I draw that 377 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:16,680 Speaker 1: comic strip with Snoopy in it, Charlie Brown and his Daughter. Well, 378 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:19,480 Speaker 1: whatever you call it, there's no question that Schultz's comic 379 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:21,880 Speaker 1: was a runaway hit once the strip gained a little 380 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:24,320 Speaker 1: bit of steam. So it was published in just seven 381 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:27,680 Speaker 1: US newspapers when it debuted back in October of nineteen. 382 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:30,359 Speaker 1: Well by the end of its fifty year run and 383 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:33,399 Speaker 1: two thousand, the comic was being translated in over twenty 384 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:37,440 Speaker 1: different languages, published in seventy five different countries, and had 385 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:40,600 Speaker 1: grown its global readership to his staggering three hundred and 386 00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:45,240 Speaker 1: fifty five million people. So in total, over fifteen thousand 387 00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:50,200 Speaker 1: daily strips and Sunday strips were produced, all written, inked, 388 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:53,159 Speaker 1: and lettered by Charles Schultz himself. I mean, it was 389 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:57,160 Speaker 1: this unprecedented run, and actually so unprecedented that the media 390 00:19:57,200 --> 00:19:59,960 Speaker 1: scholar Robert Thompson once called the fifty year story of 391 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:03,760 Speaker 1: Charlie Brown and his Pals arguably the longest told story 392 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:07,400 Speaker 1: by a single artist in human history. I mean, that's 393 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:10,280 Speaker 1: really incredible to think about. So what do you think 394 00:20:10,359 --> 00:20:13,520 Speaker 1: made it click with people? For such a long time. Well, 395 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:15,199 Speaker 1: I think a big part of it goes back to 396 00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:17,040 Speaker 1: something that we mentioned at the top of the show, 397 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:19,359 Speaker 1: which is the way the strip really found this middle 398 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:22,320 Speaker 1: ground in terms of tone. I mean, it was funny 399 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:25,640 Speaker 1: and sometimes sweet, but there was always kind of this prickly, 400 00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:29,960 Speaker 1: world weary feeling underlying the humor there. And you know, 401 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:32,760 Speaker 1: as it turns out, this was all by design. So 402 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:36,760 Speaker 1: Schultz believed that happiness and humor didn't really mix, which 403 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:39,600 Speaker 1: is of course why Charlie Brown never does get to 404 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:42,960 Speaker 1: kick that football. And he know. Shultz also dealt with 405 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:45,880 Speaker 1: bounts of depression in his own life, and one way 406 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:49,359 Speaker 1: he found relief was by channeling his anxieties directly into 407 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:52,480 Speaker 1: his art, which makes a lot of sense, And the 408 00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:55,920 Speaker 1: result is a strip with a somewhat despairing worldview and 409 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:58,600 Speaker 1: and one where as Schultz once explained, here's what he 410 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:01,880 Speaker 1: said about He said, all the loves are unrequited, all 411 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:04,320 Speaker 1: the baseball games were lost, all the test scores or 412 00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:08,000 Speaker 1: d minuses, the great Pumpkin never comes, and the football 413 00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:11,520 Speaker 1: is always pulled away like when you described so hopefully 414 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:15,439 Speaker 1: it really does. Yeah, it's funny that Sills like completely 415 00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:18,720 Speaker 1: stuck to that formula for the strip's entire run. Uh so, 416 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:21,159 Speaker 1: I guess things did get a little cheerier in the 417 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:23,919 Speaker 1: mid to late sixties once the TV special started like 418 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:27,560 Speaker 1: and and uh, well, that merchandizing really kicked into high gear. 419 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:29,840 Speaker 1: I've actually heard that most fans use the rise of 420 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:32,080 Speaker 1: Snoopy and pop culture is kind of a turning point 421 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:35,240 Speaker 1: in the strips run. And uh, you know, there's this 422 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:37,360 Speaker 1: first decade or so where Snoopy is more or less 423 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:39,560 Speaker 1: this normal dog in the strip. He he walks on 424 00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:43,200 Speaker 1: four legs, He he doesn't communicate through toop balloons, and 425 00:21:43,359 --> 00:21:45,400 Speaker 1: he doesn't even have a clear owner in the strips 426 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:49,000 Speaker 1: like much less this tricked out doghouse. And weirdly, this 427 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:51,320 Speaker 1: is also the period where the human characters were what 428 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:54,600 Speaker 1: the creator of Little Abner called good, mean little bastards 429 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:58,359 Speaker 1: eager to hurt one another. But as the sixties donned, 430 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:01,679 Speaker 1: Shills began to capitalize in his creation with licensing deals 431 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:04,919 Speaker 1: and product tie ins, which caused that public perception of 432 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:08,080 Speaker 1: Peanuts to shift, and suddenly the characters were seen as 433 00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:11,359 Speaker 1: much sweeter and kinder than the strips had ever really been. 434 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:14,760 Speaker 1: And while the newer strips never really lost their edge completely, 435 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:17,840 Speaker 1: and Charlie Brown remained the world's you know, punching bag. 436 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:20,480 Speaker 1: Snoopy did begin to take on more and more of 437 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:24,600 Speaker 1: the limelight, and as this happened, the character became less 438 00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:27,359 Speaker 1: and less like a real dog. By the late sixties, 439 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:30,320 Speaker 1: Snoopy was walking on two legs, He was composing love 440 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:32,760 Speaker 1: letters with a typewriter in his doghouse. He was also 441 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:35,199 Speaker 1: spending a lot less time around the human characters, and 442 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:37,720 Speaker 1: instead he was either hanging out with his new animal 443 00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:40,800 Speaker 1: friends like Woodstock, or he was off by himself, sort 444 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:44,000 Speaker 1: of waging these imaginary wars against the villainous Red Baron. 445 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:47,120 Speaker 1: But you know, in other words, things took a much 446 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:50,520 Speaker 1: zanier turn, and lots of Peanuts fans kind of think 447 00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:52,960 Speaker 1: of that as when the strip kind of jumped the shark. 448 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 1: I don't know. Some people must have liked these changes, though, 449 00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:58,399 Speaker 1: right because Snoopy never became a normal dog again, So 450 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:01,320 Speaker 1: it feels like something must have been working. Yeah, I 451 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:03,240 Speaker 1: mean so, some readers thought the new Snoopy was the 452 00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:05,720 Speaker 1: breath of fresh air, especially in contrast to how bleak 453 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:08,280 Speaker 1: the kids could be sometimes, And and that really does 454 00:23:08,359 --> 00:23:10,280 Speaker 1: make sense when you think about how the other character 455 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:13,840 Speaker 1: has never really react to Snoopy's changes. Um, you know, 456 00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:16,680 Speaker 1: he suddenly has this whole inner world that's generally much 457 00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:19,240 Speaker 1: more positive and upbeat than that of the kids, but 458 00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:21,680 Speaker 1: they still kind of just treating him like a regular dog. 459 00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:24,399 Speaker 1: Which is interesting because I wonder what such a sharp 460 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:27,840 Speaker 1: turn and characterization says about what was going on, you know, 461 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:29,960 Speaker 1: for Schultz at the time, like in his own life. 462 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:32,960 Speaker 1: And you know, I got this new freewheeling Snoopy who 463 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:36,760 Speaker 1: was supposedly the person or the character. I guess that 464 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:39,440 Speaker 1: Schultz always wanted to be, you know, somebody who was 465 00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:42,840 Speaker 1: adventurous and care free instead of being bogged down by 466 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:45,919 Speaker 1: doubt and worry all the time. And so, you know, 467 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:48,919 Speaker 1: you think about this time in his life, and maybe 468 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:51,560 Speaker 1: by the sixties and seventies, you know, all this fame 469 00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:55,119 Speaker 1: and fortune that Schultz finally made made him feel like 470 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:57,680 Speaker 1: that kind of person. I guess if he was happier 471 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:00,080 Speaker 1: in his personal life, it would make sense to he 472 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:02,560 Speaker 1: might want to revel in that feeling and focus more 473 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:05,679 Speaker 1: on Snoopy. Yeah. I think there's probably some truth to that, 474 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:09,360 Speaker 1: but from many fans perspectives, the new Snoopy, and by extension, 475 00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:12,240 Speaker 1: the new Schultz were nothing to celebrate. They saw the slicker, 476 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:16,240 Speaker 1: flashy air Snoopy as kind of like hard proof that Schultz, 477 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:19,280 Speaker 1: who is now this millionaire cartoonist, had kind of lost 478 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:21,959 Speaker 1: touch with those insecurities that had made Charlie Brown so 479 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:24,960 Speaker 1: relatable in the first place. So The Atlantic actually did 480 00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:26,720 Speaker 1: an article on this, and they subbed up the feeling 481 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:31,040 Speaker 1: this way quote. There was something fundamentally rotten about the 482 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:33,800 Speaker 1: new Snoopy, whose charm was based on his total lack 483 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:37,080 Speaker 1: of concern about what others thought of him. His confidence, 484 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:39,600 Speaker 1: his breezy sense that the world may be falling apart, 485 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:42,679 Speaker 1: but one can still dance on was worse than irritating. 486 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:46,639 Speaker 1: It was morally bankrupt. Two legged Snoopy with his airs 487 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:51,720 Speaker 1: and fantasies, peerless Snoopy, rich Snoopy, popular Snoopy, world famous Snoopy, 488 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:56,879 Speaker 1: contented Snoopy that spoiled everything good Lord, I mean, like 489 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:00,399 Speaker 1: so overthought on the one hand, but I mean, I 490 00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:02,480 Speaker 1: guess I get what they're saying, but it still feels 491 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:05,960 Speaker 1: pretty harsh to pin all of that on Snoopy. And 492 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:08,680 Speaker 1: when you think about the strips where Snoopy's imagining all 493 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:11,960 Speaker 1: of these wild and kind of high flying adventures. They 494 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:15,080 Speaker 1: usually end with a reality bursting his bubble in some way, 495 00:25:15,119 --> 00:25:17,520 Speaker 1: and like all of a sudden, Snoopy feels cold, so 496 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:19,679 Speaker 1: we're back on top of his doghouse and sharing the 497 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:22,560 Speaker 1: desert or wherever. But I don't know, things like that 498 00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:25,040 Speaker 1: always made me feel like Snoopy's flights of fancy were 499 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:27,680 Speaker 1: there were really just another coping mechanism for how tough 500 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:30,520 Speaker 1: life can be. Where that was like Linus's blanket or 501 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:33,440 Speaker 1: Lucy's hot temper. But I don't know, that just seems 502 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:35,960 Speaker 1: like such a harsh reaction, And you think about this. 503 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:38,119 Speaker 1: Snoopy would talk a good game, but at the end 504 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:41,679 Speaker 1: of the day, he's just a pop So I don't know. 505 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:46,040 Speaker 1: To me, there's something endearing about that. Yeah, I mean, 506 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:48,920 Speaker 1: I agree with that, and I think Schultz would as well. 507 00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:52,640 Speaker 1: In was being interviewed on the Tonight Show just as 508 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:55,919 Speaker 1: he was announcing his retirement, and he observed that quote. 509 00:25:56,359 --> 00:25:58,959 Speaker 1: Snoopy likes to think that he's this independent dog who 510 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:01,399 Speaker 1: does all these things and leads his own life, but 511 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:03,520 Speaker 1: he always makes sure that he never gets too far 512 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:07,320 Speaker 1: from the suffer dish. All right, Well, now that we've 513 00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:10,040 Speaker 1: talked a little more about the unique tone and mood 514 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:12,119 Speaker 1: of the Peanuts strips, what do you say we take 515 00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:15,120 Speaker 1: a look at how that translated into all those TV 516 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:33,960 Speaker 1: specials and definitely, but first let's take a quick break, Okay, mangoes. 517 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:37,200 Speaker 1: So we established earlier that you didn't exactly do your 518 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:41,480 Speaker 1: homework by watching n is It's Arbor Day Charlie Brown. 519 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:43,600 Speaker 1: So I guess we'll have to talk about that in 520 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:46,680 Speaker 1: a later episode, maybe a dedicated episode just to that. 521 00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:50,280 Speaker 1: But it's actually not the only unusual title. I mean, 522 00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:53,320 Speaker 1: there's some other chestnuts in the mix, like Someday You'll 523 00:26:53,359 --> 00:26:56,119 Speaker 1: find her Charlie Brown, which sounds a little bleak, and 524 00:26:56,440 --> 00:27:01,520 Speaker 1: my personal favorite, why Charlie Brown? Why? Why? Indeed? That's 525 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:05,800 Speaker 1: that's a crazy title. Well, I think because money Mango. 526 00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:08,679 Speaker 1: I mean, the first Peanuts special was such a giant 527 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:12,760 Speaker 1: ratings hit for CBS that the network immediately commissioned four 528 00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:17,040 Speaker 1: more specials and obviously many more to follow that, which 529 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:19,399 Speaker 1: is fair enough, but I think for everyone's sake, whould 530 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:23,000 Speaker 1: probably just stick to a special that people have actually seen. So, 531 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:24,680 Speaker 1: but why don't we talk a little bit about the 532 00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:27,400 Speaker 1: one that people will be watching for the million time 533 00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:30,880 Speaker 1: in the next few weeks, which is to Charlie Brown Christmas. 534 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:32,480 Speaker 1: That makes sense. So what do you want to say 535 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:35,000 Speaker 1: first about it? Well, how about the fact that nobody 536 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:37,440 Speaker 1: involved in the special thought it was actually going to work. 537 00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:41,440 Speaker 1: And it's actually hard to imagine this now, but you know, um, 538 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:43,320 Speaker 1: there were a lot of factors working against it while 539 00:27:43,359 --> 00:27:45,760 Speaker 1: it was in production, and a lot of those actually 540 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:50,199 Speaker 1: stemmed from controversial choices that Schultz himself insisted on, like 541 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:53,760 Speaker 1: what so for starters, Schultz insisted that the Peanuts kids 542 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:56,800 Speaker 1: be voiced by real children, and this meant the crew 543 00:27:56,840 --> 00:27:59,280 Speaker 1: would be working with mostly non professionals, many of whom 544 00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:02,160 Speaker 1: were too young memorize their lines or even to read 545 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:04,680 Speaker 1: in some cases, so most of the child actors had 546 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:06,520 Speaker 1: to have their lines fed to them a few words 547 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:09,280 Speaker 1: at a time. It was all done by that long 548 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:13,680 Speaker 1: suffering director and the voice of Snoopy, Bill Melendez. I mean, 549 00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:15,840 Speaker 1: just hearing that it does make me realize that in 550 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:19,600 Speaker 1: the specials the voices do sound a little choppy, like 551 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:23,439 Speaker 1: the way kids talk isn't exactly seamless. Yeah, I mean, 552 00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:25,399 Speaker 1: there's not a lot of rhythm to the senses, and 553 00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:27,240 Speaker 1: if you listen close enough, you can actually hear the 554 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:29,800 Speaker 1: scenes between the words, where like different parts of the 555 00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:33,640 Speaker 1: line were stitched together and post But these untrained actors 556 00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:35,760 Speaker 1: were just the first of many notes that ended up 557 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:38,880 Speaker 1: jeopardizing the project, and these were all coming from Schultz. 558 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:41,600 Speaker 1: So another shake up came when Schultz refused to let 559 00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:44,720 Speaker 1: the network use the laugh track to I guess kind 560 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:47,440 Speaker 1: of cue the viewers on the jokes, which is so 561 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:50,080 Speaker 1: strange because it is hard to imagine it now with 562 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:53,400 Speaker 1: a laugh track. Yeah, but I guess laugh tracks were 563 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:56,280 Speaker 1: common practice at the time, even in cartoons like uh 564 00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:59,000 Speaker 1: you know, the Flintstones obviously relied on rue and I 565 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:02,160 Speaker 1: think the Jetsons to. But but when uh Lee Mendelssohn 566 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:04,920 Speaker 1: mentioned the idea to Schultz, the artist simply got up 567 00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:07,520 Speaker 1: and left the room, And then a few minutes later 568 00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:09,840 Speaker 1: Schultz came back and carried on the conversation as if 569 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:13,959 Speaker 1: nothing had happened, which does sound a little bit like 570 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:17,680 Speaker 1: a George Costanza tactic. You know, it's pretty funny, Yeah, totally, 571 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:20,160 Speaker 1: And I guess Mendelssohn read between the lines on that 572 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:23,120 Speaker 1: and never brought up the laugh track again. Wow, what 573 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:25,200 Speaker 1: about some of the heavier stuff in the special, like 574 00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:29,120 Speaker 1: the commercialization of Christmas? And that's see where Linus reads 575 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:31,880 Speaker 1: from the Bible, like with Shultz behind those kinds of 576 00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:35,440 Speaker 1: decisions too. Yeah, definitely, it was really important to him 577 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:37,840 Speaker 1: that the special explore what he called the true meaning 578 00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:40,240 Speaker 1: of Christmas, which is why Linus reads the story of 579 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:43,440 Speaker 1: Jesus's birth straight from the Gospel of Luke. And this 580 00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:46,680 Speaker 1: was a super risky move at the time because, according 581 00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:49,600 Speaker 1: to The Atlantic, less than nine percent of Christmas episodes 582 00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:53,040 Speaker 1: and specials from the era contained any religious references of 583 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:57,360 Speaker 1: any kind, much less direct quotes from scripture. So surprisingly, 584 00:29:57,360 --> 00:29:59,880 Speaker 1: CBS didn't object to this inclusion, and not that it. 585 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:03,800 Speaker 1: Coca Cola, who was the special sponsor um the producer, though, 586 00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:06,360 Speaker 1: was super nervous, and he told shots that no animated 587 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:09,360 Speaker 1: character had ever read from the Bible before, which was 588 00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:12,760 Speaker 1: all the more reason to Schultz, and he told Mendelssohn, well, 589 00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:15,400 Speaker 1: if we don't do it, who will. I mean, I 590 00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:17,680 Speaker 1: guess that's true, but that was still a pretty big 591 00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:19,920 Speaker 1: gamble at the time. I mean, CBS and Coke must 592 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:21,800 Speaker 1: have really liked what they saw if they let the 593 00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:25,480 Speaker 1: reference pass without you know, much more scrutiny. Yeah, I 594 00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:28,600 Speaker 1: mean you think so. But this executive from Coke's ad 595 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:31,760 Speaker 1: agency actually visited the crew halfway through production and he 596 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:34,440 Speaker 1: said the special was shaping up to be a total disaster. 597 00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:37,320 Speaker 1: And and CBS thought the same thing when they screened 598 00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:39,200 Speaker 1: like this early cut of it just a few weeks 599 00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:41,880 Speaker 1: before the premiere. They said there was two little action 600 00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:45,360 Speaker 1: that the whole thing moved way too slowly, and not 601 00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:48,720 Speaker 1: to mention the low energy voice acting and the jazzy soundtrack, 602 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:52,000 Speaker 1: which they just found grading for some reason. But Bill 603 00:30:52,080 --> 00:30:54,440 Speaker 1: Melendez later said that the network would have scrapped the 604 00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:57,200 Speaker 1: entire special except that they had made this commitment to 605 00:30:57,240 --> 00:30:59,200 Speaker 1: Coke and it was kind of too late to back out. 606 00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:02,720 Speaker 1: So the show went on as scheduled, and to everyone's shock, 607 00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:07,640 Speaker 1: viewers just tuned in and droves. Like I want to say, um, 608 00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:10,560 Speaker 1: half of all American households with the TV tuned in 609 00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:13,800 Speaker 1: to watch the special that night, which was apparently fifteen 610 00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:16,560 Speaker 1: million people at the time. And a few months later, 611 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:18,960 Speaker 1: Charles Schultz and Lee Mendelssohn were on stage at the 612 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:23,280 Speaker 1: Emmy's actually accepting the award for Outstanding children's program. It 613 00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:25,800 Speaker 1: was the surprise hit that no one had seen coming, 614 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:29,640 Speaker 1: and that included Charles Schultz himself. He later told TV 615 00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:33,760 Speaker 1: Guide in the continued success of the special has surprised 616 00:31:33,800 --> 00:31:36,200 Speaker 1: me as much as anyone. A lot of the drawings 617 00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:41,200 Speaker 1: are terrible, and of course those terrible drawings are based 618 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:44,840 Speaker 1: on his own designs. Yeah, I guess we shouldn't be 619 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:47,400 Speaker 1: too surprised that Schultz would, you know, take this class 620 00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:50,800 Speaker 1: half empty approach when judging oone work. But uh, you know, 621 00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:54,720 Speaker 1: for all the fanciful touches in his stories, like kite 622 00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:59,200 Speaker 1: eating trees and Canaan fighter pilots, you know, Peanuts is 623 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:02,720 Speaker 1: really a strip about simple truths. It's characters are vulnerable, 624 00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:04,640 Speaker 1: just like the creator and all of us, really and 625 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:08,880 Speaker 1: and there's no grand finale or cathartic resolution to the stories, 626 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:11,360 Speaker 1: and that's probably what makes the strips, you know, ring 627 00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:13,960 Speaker 1: so true to us. Yeah, you know, I've actually been 628 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:16,400 Speaker 1: thinking a lot this week about a quote that Schultz 629 00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:18,960 Speaker 1: gave in an interview, and it was actually with Penthouse, 630 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:21,600 Speaker 1: of all places, but he was talking about how much 631 00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:24,040 Speaker 1: of his own life is wrapped up in the strip 632 00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:26,520 Speaker 1: and what he hoped to accomplish with it, and and 633 00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:28,800 Speaker 1: here's what he had to say about it. Of course 634 00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:31,600 Speaker 1: I could grind out daily gags, but I'm not interested 635 00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:34,600 Speaker 1: in simply doing gags. I'm interested in doing a strip 636 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:37,800 Speaker 1: that says something and make some comment on the important 637 00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:41,160 Speaker 1: things of life. And I really think that Mantra bleeds 638 00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:44,640 Speaker 1: through in every single one of his strips, and they 639 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:46,680 Speaker 1: show us that life is made up of both small, 640 00:32:46,880 --> 00:32:51,160 Speaker 1: hard one triumphs and these bitterly felt disappointments, and not 641 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:54,160 Speaker 1: always an equal measure either. But you know the important 642 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:56,840 Speaker 1: thing is to pick yourself up and never stop trying. 643 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:00,360 Speaker 1: And you know Charles Schultz understood that, and I feel like, 644 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:02,920 Speaker 1: thanks to his work, lots of other people, including us, 645 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:06,680 Speaker 1: do too. Definitely. But you know, before we dive into 646 00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:09,640 Speaker 1: this delicious feast of buttered toast and jelly beans that 647 00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:12,000 Speaker 1: Tristan has prepared for us, but what do you say 648 00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:13,800 Speaker 1: we sneak in a quick fact off. I don't know 649 00:33:13,840 --> 00:33:24,040 Speaker 1: if I can hold off, but let's try. M So, 650 00:33:24,120 --> 00:33:26,320 Speaker 1: did you know that NASA gives out an award every 651 00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:30,440 Speaker 1: year called the Silver Snoopy. It's actually a silver pin, 652 00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:33,680 Speaker 1: and instead of going to astronauts, it actually is the 653 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:36,400 Speaker 1: astronauts who give the awards to the staff and the 654 00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:40,200 Speaker 1: researchers that helped support them. So this program started in 655 00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:44,239 Speaker 1: the sixties, and you're probably wondering why Snoopy. Well, at 656 00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:47,120 Speaker 1: the time, NASA had just suffered the disaster with the 657 00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:50,440 Speaker 1: Apollo one mission and they were looking for something uplifting 658 00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:53,719 Speaker 1: that people could really get behind, and there was nothing 659 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:57,040 Speaker 1: bigger than Snoopy at the time. So today the pins 660 00:33:57,080 --> 00:33:59,960 Speaker 1: go for about a thousand dollars on eBay and now 661 00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:03,360 Speaker 1: claims every pen goes to space and comes back before 662 00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:06,920 Speaker 1: it's handed out. Oh, I really like that. So you know, 663 00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:10,960 Speaker 1: when when Charles Schultz moved away from Minnesota as an adult, 664 00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:14,320 Speaker 1: he he never actually gave up his love of ice hockey, 665 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:17,279 Speaker 1: So when one ice skating rink that was close to 666 00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:20,080 Speaker 1: his home in California closed in the sixties, he actually 667 00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:23,200 Speaker 1: had one built and according to mental Flass, he loved 668 00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:26,359 Speaker 1: the Swiss alpine themed arena so much that he ate 669 00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:29,480 Speaker 1: both breakfast and lunch there every day at its warm 670 00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:32,960 Speaker 1: puppy snack bar. And he also used to play pickup 671 00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:36,719 Speaker 1: games every week with his son's I Guess on Tuesday nights, 672 00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:39,319 Speaker 1: which is kind of fun. Well, apparently that Charlie Brown 673 00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:43,640 Speaker 1: Halloween Special had a huge impact on kids, and particularly 674 00:34:43,680 --> 00:34:46,480 Speaker 1: the scene where Charlie Brown opens his Halloween bag and 675 00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:49,320 Speaker 1: finds that he's just got a bunch of rocks instead 676 00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:52,520 Speaker 1: of candy. So kids thought this was so unfair that 677 00:34:52,560 --> 00:34:55,359 Speaker 1: for years they would try to share their treats with him, 678 00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:58,080 Speaker 1: and so they would send bags of candy to Charles 679 00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:02,160 Speaker 1: Schultz's office care of Charlie Brown. So here's the super 680 00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:05,200 Speaker 1: weird one about musician Vince Coralty, who did all that 681 00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:08,279 Speaker 1: jazzy music for the specials. Apparently, one night, while he 682 00:35:08,320 --> 00:35:10,719 Speaker 1: was composing music for the Halloween Special, he decided to 683 00:35:10,719 --> 00:35:13,480 Speaker 1: take a shower, but when he heard a noise outside, 684 00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:16,640 Speaker 1: he ran down to see what it was, and somehow 685 00:35:16,719 --> 00:35:19,400 Speaker 1: he locked himself out of his house in the process, 686 00:35:19,400 --> 00:35:22,080 Speaker 1: completely naked. I don't know why he didn't have a 687 00:35:22,120 --> 00:35:24,279 Speaker 1: towel with him, but the only way to get back 688 00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:27,080 Speaker 1: into his house was to climb and break into his 689 00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:30,400 Speaker 1: own house, and of course the neighbors called the cops 690 00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:32,960 Speaker 1: on him. So apparently, when the police came up to 691 00:35:33,040 --> 00:35:35,560 Speaker 1: this naked man breaking into his own house and asked 692 00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:38,040 Speaker 1: him to identify himself, he did keep his sense of 693 00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:41,080 Speaker 1: humor and he said, don't shoot, I'm the great pumpkin 694 00:35:41,680 --> 00:35:45,320 Speaker 1: of course. All right, well, here's a super quick fact 695 00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:48,839 Speaker 1: about the trouble with working with kid actors. So during 696 00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:51,640 Speaker 1: the taping of the Christmas Special, there was a child 697 00:35:51,640 --> 00:35:54,960 Speaker 1: actress who portrayed both Violet and Freedom, and she would 698 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:58,600 Speaker 1: get so nervous before reading each time that after she 699 00:35:58,719 --> 00:36:01,960 Speaker 1: was done recording every all time, she would throw up. Now, 700 00:36:02,040 --> 00:36:07,759 Speaker 1: luckily she didn't have that big of a role kid actors. Yeah, well, 701 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:10,640 Speaker 1: here's the one that's kind of heartwarming. Uh So, so 702 00:36:10,680 --> 00:36:12,440 Speaker 1: we all know that Lucy loves to pull that football 703 00:36:12,440 --> 00:36:14,680 Speaker 1: away from Charlie Brown just as he's about to kick it, 704 00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:17,799 Speaker 1: and often she says mean things right before or after, 705 00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:21,720 Speaker 1: like uh apparently she'll ask him don't you trust anyone anymore? 706 00:36:21,960 --> 00:36:25,239 Speaker 1: Or putting the football out, or she'll let him know 707 00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:27,759 Speaker 1: after she's pulled it away that don't you know a 708 00:36:27,800 --> 00:36:31,319 Speaker 1: woman's handshake isn't binding, which is a strange bit of 709 00:36:31,400 --> 00:36:33,960 Speaker 1: legally is there. But you know that there was one 710 00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:36,480 Speaker 1: moment where she let him kick the ball, and this 711 00:36:36,560 --> 00:36:39,840 Speaker 1: was in nineteen seventy As Slate reports, um there was 712 00:36:39,880 --> 00:36:42,719 Speaker 1: actually a sequence where Charlie Brown gets very ill and 713 00:36:42,760 --> 00:36:45,080 Speaker 1: when Lucy Here's that he's sick and might not come 714 00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:47,759 Speaker 1: back from the hospital, she says how much he means 715 00:36:47,800 --> 00:36:49,759 Speaker 1: to her and and then promises to let him kick 716 00:36:49,800 --> 00:36:52,200 Speaker 1: the football if he gets better. And then when he 717 00:36:52,239 --> 00:36:54,600 Speaker 1: does recover, she lives up to her promise and holds 718 00:36:54,600 --> 00:36:57,120 Speaker 1: that ball out for him, but of course he slips 719 00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:01,680 Speaker 1: and misses it. Anyway, Well, it is nice to know 720 00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:03,880 Speaker 1: that for once she gave him a chance and I 721 00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:06,000 Speaker 1: like that factor. So I think you get to take 722 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:08,799 Speaker 1: home today's trophy. Thank you, Will, and thanks for all 723 00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:11,000 Speaker 1: of you out there for tuning into another part time Genius. 724 00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:13,680 Speaker 1: You know, I'm sure you have wonderful Snoopy and Charlie 725 00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:16,440 Speaker 1: Brown memories. So if you've got facts of stories, we 726 00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:18,880 Speaker 1: definitely want to hear them. Or if you've got topics 727 00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:21,239 Speaker 1: you want us to cover, we're actually looking for those two. 728 00:37:21,360 --> 00:37:23,799 Speaker 1: So it just emails as part Time Genius at how 729 00:37:23,840 --> 00:37:26,280 Speaker 1: stuff Works dot com or hit us up on the socials. 730 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:29,000 Speaker 1: But from gave Tristan, Will and me thank you so 731 00:37:29,080 --> 00:37:46,360 Speaker 1: much for listening. Thanks again for listening. Part Time Genius 732 00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:48,319 Speaker 1: is a production of How Stuff Works and wouldn't be 733 00:37:48,320 --> 00:37:51,239 Speaker 1: possible without several brilliant people who do the important things 734 00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:54,239 Speaker 1: we couldn't even begin to understand. Tristan McNeil does the 735 00:37:54,360 --> 00:37:56,640 Speaker 1: editing thing. Noel Brown made the theme song and does 736 00:37:56,680 --> 00:37:59,800 Speaker 1: the mixy mixy sound thing. Jerry Rowland does the exact 737 00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:02,360 Speaker 1: for user thing. Gabe blues Yer is our lead researcher, 738 00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:05,360 Speaker 1: with support from the Research Army including Austin Thompson, Nolan 739 00:38:05,400 --> 00:38:07,680 Speaker 1: Brown and Lucas Adams and Eve. Jeff Cook gets the 740 00:38:07,719 --> 00:38:09,880 Speaker 1: show to your ears. Good job, Eves. If you like 741 00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:11,799 Speaker 1: what you heard, we hope you'll subscribe, And if you 742 00:38:11,840 --> 00:38:13,799 Speaker 1: really really like what you've heard, maybe you could leave 743 00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:16,280 Speaker 1: a good review for us. Did we did we forget Jason? 744 00:38:16,560 --> 00:38:17,080 Speaker 1: Jason who