Karen,
Excellent! Never heard that one before.
Charles M. Schulz, Creator of PEANUTS, To Retire
NEW YORK, Dec. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Charles M. ("Sparky") Schulz, creator of
the PEANUTS comic strip, will retire January 4th, 2000. In a letter to his
readers, colleagues, fellow cartoonists and friends, Schulz wrote:
"I have always wanted to be a cartoonist, and I feel very blessed to have
been able to do what I love for almost 50 years. That all of you have
embraced Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy and Linus and all the other PEANUTS
characters has been a constant motivation for me.
"It is important for me to tell you personally that I have decided to
retire from drawing the PEANUTS comic strip, after the daily release of
Monday, January 3rd, 2000, (and Sunday release of February 13th), in order to
concentrate on my treatment for and recuperation from colon cancer. Although
I feel better following my recent surgery, I want to focus on my health and my
family without the worry of a daily deadline.
"Thank you for your kindness and support over the years and for the
outpouring of good wishes since my surgery."
In accordance with the wishes of Mr. Schulz, his last original daily strip
will appear on Monday, January 3rd, and his last original Sunday will appear
on February 6. Beginning on Tuesday, January 4th, for dailies (and February
20th for Sundays), we will be offering our PEANUTS clients comic strips
originally drawn in 1974.
The year 1974 was chosen as the roll-out year for Classic Peanuts because
it incorporates the characters of the strip's very early days (Charlie Brown,
Lucy, Schroeder and Snoopy) with popular characters that were introduced in
later years such as Peppermint Patty and Woodstock. The strips that he drew
in 1974 unite the genius of comic timing and dialogue with the artwork of a
master.
On October 2, 1950, Charles M. Schulz's PEANUTS comic strip first appeared
in seven newspapers. Growing from that original seven to more than 2,600
today, PEANUTS is the most widely syndicated comic strip in history. On a
daily basis, PEANUTS reaches more than 355 million readers in 75 countries and
21 languages. Its timeless and endearing humor has expanded into more than
50 animated television specials, more than 1,400 books selling 300 million
copies, and four feature films.
United Media (UM) is a fully integrated, worldwide licensing and
syndication company that focuses on building brand equity around a wide range
of creative content through its two syndicates: United Feature Syndicate (UFS)
and Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA), and licensing: United Media
Licensing (UML). UM licenses and/or syndicates a variety of properties
including PEANUTS (http://www.snoopy.com), Dilbert (http://www.dilbert.com),
For Better or For Worse, Raggedy Ann & Andy, and Rainbow Fish. United Media
(http://www.comics.com) is an E.W. Scripps Company.
SOURCE United Media
-0- 12/14/1999
/CONTACT: Diane Iselin, 212-293-8713, or Mary Anne Grimes, 212-293-8626,
both of United Media/
/Web site: snoopy.com
CO: United Media; E.W. Scripps Company
ST: New York
IN: ENT PUB
SU: PER
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