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The Leonard Lopate Show / October 24, 2007 / Charles Schulz and Peanuts

Charles Schulz and Peanuts

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

The endearing Charlie Brown and his friends made Peanuts one of the most popular comic strips of all time. But according to a new biography, Peanuts creator Charles Schulz, was a deeply troubled and unhappy man. David Michaelis sorted through personal papers and family archives to create a revealing portrait of the comic’s creator in Schulz and Peanuts.

Schulz and Peanuts is available for purchase at amazon.com

”American Masters: Good Old Charles Schulz” airs Monday, October 29 at 9pm on PBS. To learn more about the documentary, visit the American Masters website


Comments

  • [1] Ian J from Manhattan October 24, 2007 - 10:59AM

    While this book has had much acclaim, the family of Schulz has a few problems with it. At first I expected that they were just bitter, but they bring up several good points. In the words of his son, Monte:

    “The point of objection to this biography of my father is how much is simply untruthful, and deliberately so. There are many factual errors throughout the book; there are people who are give authority to speak about our family who have no insight to do so; and there are so many elements of my father’s life that David deliberately left out of the book, that it really is impossible for anyone outside of our family, or Dad’s circle of friends, to come to any genuine conclusions. I can tell you absolutely that he was not a depressed, melancholy person, nor was he unaffectionate and absent as a parent. Honestly, the quote I’ve really wanted to give the press, after reading both the early of the manuscript and the final book, is this: “The book is stupid, and David Michaelis is an idiot.” ”

    The conversation is interesting, and it makes you think about what happens when a biographer goes into a project like this with a narrative in their heads. Read more about it in the comments here: http://www.cartoonbrew.com/books/more-on-the-schulz-book#comment-34417
  • [2] Ian J from Manhattan October 24, 2007 - 12:32PM

    Sorry for the malformed URL in my comment. Please try this one: http://www.cartoonbrew.com/books/more-on-the-schulz-book
  • [3] Johnny S from Cranford, NJ October 24, 2007 - 12:55PM

    I always loved the theological discussions in early Peanuts strips. I wonder if Schulz was religious?
  • [4] Bob Andelman from St. Petersburg November 24, 2007 - 09:50PM

    You might enjoy this audio interview with “Schulz and Peanuts” biographer David Michaelis (with transcription): http://www.mrmedia.com/2007/11/david-michaelis-schulz-and-peanuts.html .

    Bob Andelman

    Author

    Will Eisner: A Spirited Life

    http://www.aspiritedlife.com/blog/


This thread is closed.


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