Interview with Peanuts Creator CHARLES SCHULZ (1984)

[jannyrcobs]

Has anyone ever noticed a similarity between the late, great Charles Schulz and director David Lynch--the voice more than anything?

[Candido1881]

Grazie Charles per essere vissuto in questo pianeta!...

[ri394]

this man has a heart of gold.

[LoriRainbow21]

Can anyone help me with a biography i am doing on him for school? thanks!

[SpoonsAtMidnight]

@LoriRainbow21 Is it on Schulz?

[Blindguardian523]

I once broke into his house and shaved his pubes while he was sleeping

[maxwestcomics]

Schulz was a great influence on my work - his art may be been rough and minimal, but that guy could definitely write!

[FranthonyZarcoza]

Mister Schulz reminds me of Mister Roger from Roger's neighborhood. :]

[ReiOn8]

Wow...Charles Schulz appears charismatic yet described as gentle and reserve? I'd be shivering, speaking on public television... :P RIP Charles Schulz, will always cherish your creations and past them down to my own children too.

[231thedream]

@ReiOn8 I wish I could thumbs up your comment more than once.

[ReiOn8]

@231thedream ^_^ You're most welcome!

[mattblack77nz]

Daughter is HOT!

[artytoons]

Great interview. "People Are Talking" was the show that took over "The Price Is Right" time slot for over ten years on CBS affiliate KPIX. No Bob Barker in the Bay Area for a long while.

[mightyarmadillo]

charles schulz was so awesome. in my reading class, we're doing these projects, and i'm actually doing mine on charles schulz.

[Josh3455]

Enjoy your last 16 years on Earth.

[Yroko]

i so miss the peanuts gang. born in 85, watched it with my dad ever since i could watch tv, and read(the comics were old school) Snoopy, and Woodstock FTW!!!

[avatarfangirl27]

i have read these comments and noticed a lot of arguments about Charles Schulz relating to his biography "Schulz and Peanuts". i would just like to say that a lot of what anyone reads in that book cannot be trusted. Whether David Michaelis had good intentions or not, that book has many lies on the wonderful life of Charles Schulz. if you love snoopy, peanuts, or even this great man, please don't read that book. choose any other biography, there are lots!! trust me, that is my grandfather. thnx

[FamousBirthdays]

Happy Birthday to Charles Schulz...RIP

[kigunonomiko84]

Charles Schultz is an uncreative, complain-aholic whose only motivation for creating is to bitch about how nobody wants to sit and listen to him bitch and complain. His own family couldn't stand him because he was so damn negative about everything and everyone. His cartoons are depressing and don't relate to real life situations in any way, shape or form. I would say he's rotting in hell right now, but the devil probably kicked him out for being too negative and sarcastic

[cnedwick]

what kind of crap is that? charles schultz was a force for good. still is. stick to what you understand.

[TheJayBee1988]

Well if he's so bad and uncreative... I would love to be like him an earn 300 million dollars a year...

Get over yourself. This guy was a genius, and you're the one looking like a real loser...

[TheJayBee1988]

30 million*

[vickyalvarez0]

CHARLES SCHULZ AwESOMER!!!

[vickyalvarez0]

CHARLIE BROwN IS PURE GREATNESS!

[Writtenjustice]

Schulz is made of blessings and win.

Truly an amazing man.

[contractki11er]

Charles Shultz is an alumni at my school!

[oldedrum]

I always associate Charles Schulz with Norman Rockwell. Both very talented artists in their own special way.

[shakirafan97]

he lived in santa rosa,ca my town

[samdawg999]

Yeah I go to his ice rink quite often. I met him before he died.

[holtaprid]

I love his Minnesotan accent. It's not quite American, not quite Canadian, it's unique

[livemannsf]

He died the day before the last Peanuts strip went to print. A very sad day in Sonoma County history.

[SmirnTea]

He was 77 when he died.

[SmirnTea]

No, he died in 2000.

[ppg07863]

woops I ment 1st ^_^ hehe my name is Jill too but not Schulz. Wish it was ^_^

[ppg07863]

I love him. Snoopy was the firt character I ever draw! ^_^ He is my idol. I wrote to him once before he did. We miss you Charles! Ya look like my Grandpa 80% true. Love you. Peanuts forever. I use to collect the comics in the papers.

[coffeecub]

clemburke, do you hate christians or what?? you post the same thing on every posting of charlie brown. what is your point? he said he was a secular humanist. that doesn't necessarily constitute atheism, but whatever.

[tefisher1984]

Happy belated 86th birthday Charles Schultz!

[Krivcsa]

No way. Its Schulz.

[siffil8]

Yes I remember that interview. I remember it being from 1992. I've also been waiting for someone to post that.

[knightflyte]

Has anyone seen the Whoopie Goldberg interview with Schulz when she had her show in the late 90s?

I had always heard Charles was somewhat reclusive with regards to interviews, so I was delighted to see it.

Alas I've not seen the Whoopie/Charles interview since. I haven't found it on YouTube. It was brilliantly fawning.

[owlie14]

In the book Schulz and Peanuts, it said that he hated the comic strip Garfield because of its ethics and status as a strip, referring it as "the ugliest thing" he had ever seen. So I wonder if he was just kidding when he told his daughter, "If I find out you have a Garfield, I'm gonna get mad."

[gloss26]

WOW! I just wanted to see Ross and Anne, and look at what I found; a discussion on religion. Typical Americans. It's totally funny reading all of the banter between Clem & LaLa. I'll say this, I love Charles and I love his rink and what it did for his community. And if I'm not mistaken, Atheists aren't anti-God, they are (Understandably) anti-org. religion. Considering the overwhelming level of hatered in the Christian ranks, I don't blame them for being anti-org. religion. Good luck you two!

[ReiOn8]

@gloss26 I totally agree on the anti-org. religion. That's a different attitude altogether from religion and God as it is. I truly respect Charles and his views and how he expresses them subtly through his cartoons.

[thatgracefulledge]

wow his daughter had that 80s hotness.

[iceballerina88]

Yes... I think this daughter, Jill, resembles him a little. His first daughter, Meredith, resembles her mother VERY MUCH (Schulz's first wife Joyce). Very very very very much. They almost looked like twins... :)

[avatarfangirl27]

which is strange, because meredith was adopted haha

[avatarfangirl27]

oh wait, adopted from her previously marriage. i read that wrong XD don't listen to me lol

[iceballerina88]

@avatarfangirl27 oh darling, yes, she's joyce's biological child from a former love.... the man abandoned her when she was pregnant, she was only 20 years old and alone with her baby. when she and mr schulz got married, meredith was very little so he adopted and raised her as his girl..... :)

[amoozers]

Thank you for posting this:)

[iAmBeaTLes]

This is AMAZING to watch...

Gosh I'm such a dork :)

I'd contribute to the athiest argument, but I'm not done the book yet. It's open in front of me.. It's so long!

[hypercatjohn]

how on earth has this turned into a religion argument, the man was a wonderful human being with a beautiful imagination, thats all that matters!

[pershing7e]

I know some people will say/do anything to discredit someone and sometimes religion is a factor. charles was a wonderful person that brought us the most beloved cartoon of our time. I dont know why people cant see that instead of if he was athiest,or christian...hell he might have been a muslim...buddist...muslim...sc­ientologist

who cares!

[chapeauetbarbe]

cute...

[chapeauetbarbe]

I saw this argument about Schultz's religious beliefs so i went to wikepedia where there is no information about him being an atheist. There is plenty information stating that Shultz often liked to slip in segments from the bible. Cut daughter, i hope Hollywood was kind to her...

[Clemburke1111]

Charles ,is one of my Favorite Atheist

[rastlas]

He wasn't an atheist at all.

He was a Christian.

[Clemburke1111]

No! He was an Atheist , I read his Biography that has been out for a while, and he is an Atheist plain and simple. He was raised a christian but became an Atheist. Please read his book!

[dwzobell]

Um, he did not become an atheist. Nowhere in "Schulz & Peanuts" is that implied at all. He became non-denominational but not atheist.

[Clemburke1111]

dwzobell, He was certainly not a christian, I have quotes to prove that, do you have quotes to says that he was a christian?

[avatarfangirl27]

every quote by linus is proof he wasn't atheist. Schulz put a little of himself into all his characters. as you can tell by the christmas special, linus is the religious one, and that was based off the religious side of him. please trust me, he was NOT atheist!!!

[Clemburke1111]

dwzobell, He has made several statements saying that prayer in comics and talking of the baby jesus makes him sick,,I think that would stop the christian rumores right in there track.I assure you that christians think all great men are christian and all losers are atheist , agnostic etc.

[IronMongr]

Bull-SH**; 'Knowing your own' and it making him sick. You tell me someone else who uses the likes of Luke 8 as dramatic climax in their work. Just because some things may be taken as an unorthodox view of Christianity, does not mean you can drag him into your ranks of belief in nothing. Not to be confused with non-belief in something, that is dividing by zero. You choose to believe in nothing, that is your faith. I think he certainly believed in something...

[Clemburke1111]

Iron,,My Father knew Mr Schulz & had several coverstaions,,My dad Retired From NASA in 1994, and Schulz took a private tour with My Dad,,and both were Atheist,,,,and my Pop still is at age 79. What ever you want to believe,,,I and many others know different.

[Clemburke1111]

Iron , THe Wright Brothers , Thomas Edison , Mark Twain ,and the Creator of Star Trek along with Bill Gates are all Atheist,,it doesnt make you any less of a person, it actually is refreshing.

[lalala1234123]

seriously clemburke, you seem unaware of the fact that you need to BELIEVE shulz was an atheist and its not grasping this simple irony that you seem to be confused on what an atheist actually is

[Clemburke1111]

lala, I was raised by two very well educated Atheist, both who did wonderful things in their life. My Father is a retired NASA Scientist, and my Mother is a retired Lawyer who helped defend Angela Davis, in the early 70's

[lalala1234123]

well simply proves that two eductaed people dont necessarily produce intelligent offspring

[Clemburke1111]

lala, What exactly do you disagree with that makes you want to insult me? I have no idea what is angering you,,and your correct I am not an smart as either of my parents or my siblings, I am just a firefighter, but I do enjoy reading.

[lalala1234123]

what annoys me is that heres sweet guy talking about his creation& characters& i love his smile when he discusses them,&on almost all the vids of him on here ur bringing up the atheist thing,when he hasnt discussed it,hes talking about chuck etc, also ur arrogance of bein well read yet misquoting him &blankly using few sources to support your arguement,hes not discussing religion in these so its not relevant to bring it up, will add additional as feel i should respond fully

[Clemburke1111]

lala, would it make any difernece that he was an Atheist? Thomans Edison , Albert Einstein, The Wright bros, and thousands of other greats were Atheist, and they were good men as well. In all actuallity Atheist have been found to have more morals than any god believers,,this survey is called The Barna Study ,,,is done by a Christian Dr. George Barna, In America Christians have a higher divorce rate and a higher prison rate that atheist. So it does not take any thing away from Schulz greatenss.

[oblongfan1]

couldndt have said it better myself.

[Clemburke1111]

oblong, thank you.

[lalala1234123]

also i dont like that u say that atheists are a collected grp "i know my own" u sound like u belong to a religion of atheism& that annoys me also,,also u use a quote from schulz somwhere about him not liking the use of jesus etc in comics as an argument for his atheism when he is refering to the use of god etc as plot and gimmick devices not to do with his derision of them, i dont mean to cause offence but its not appropriate to use him for whatever atheist agenda u have ;)

[Clemburke1111]

lalal , I do not have an Atheist agenda, but Shulz was an Atheist ,he is even in the famous YouTube "Atheist" vidio" you may want to look at. Atheism is not a "belief" or a "Religion",also the only "agenda Atheist have is toy keep people from amaking laws that involves one's religion for example keeping gay marriage from being legalized.

[lalala1234123]

your comment contradicts itself,,,,u have an agenda and your stupidly annoying

[Clemburke1111]

lala,,how did my comment contradict it self?

[sycoraxrock]

Well, he did quote scripture a lot in his strip and shows (Linus's speech at the end of the Christmas special, various references to Lot's wife and the book of Job here and there), but he always did that through Linus. Linus was a character Schultz obviously had a lot of love and respect for, but he's also the kid who insists the Great Pumpkin is real. Atheist or not, Schultz at least found faith to be admirable, which sets him apart from your more obnoxious Hitchens/Dawkins types.

[Clemburke1111]

Sy, back in the 1930's and 1940's and 1950's, there were many many movies made about Christianity wether it be a Christiams story or a Movie about simple faith , These movies were mainly made by Jews, that were smart enough to realize that over 90% of the veiwing audience were Christians. Even Abe Lincoln prayed with the public but was disguted with christians.Its Politics as useual,I would have done he same thing.

[Clemburke1111]

Lincoln was any thing but a Christian and Men like Mark Twain and Thomas Edison were out and out rude about perclaiming their atheism. Some like Schulz was careful not to offend,, but we atheist know our own.

[avatarfangirl27]

please DON'T read his book. there are many other good biographies about charles schulz, but most of "schulz and peanuts" is NOT the truth, as said so by his family. look it up. if you love charles schulz and snoopy at all, you will not trust david michaelis

[Clemburke1111]

avatar, My Father actually knew Mr. Schulz,,and he was an Atheist. Being an atheist is not a bad thing, Thomas Edison was one of many greats that were.

[avatarfangirl27]

i knew him too, he is my grandpa :) and that is my aunt jill in the video. who is your father? maybe i know him. i didn't say it was a bad thing, i'm just saying he's not. and david michaelis's book is wrong about a lot of things. my mom was on the news about it, go look it up.

[Clemburke1111]

avatar, I never said Linus was an Atheist, It is the Author who is an Atheist ,,if you read the book you will se that,,and he did not have any grandchildren,,nice try bunky. Do you know what a huminist is? He called himself a humanist and that little boy is an Atheist

[avatarfangirl27]

the religious side of linus was based of the religious side of schulz. everything linus said, schulz believed. and like i said, that book doesn't contain the truth. his daughter, amy, was on the news about it, you can look it up here on youtube!!

[avatarfangirl27]

david michaelis also said he never played with his children, but there are pictures to prove he did. he also said that schulz was a workaholic. in an interview with schulz's daughter, you can see that she didn't even know he had a job, cuz everytime they'd walk in the studio, he'd put down his pen and play.

[avatarfangirl27]

are you trying to tell me i don't exist?? i do, i know i do. everyone knows he has grandkids, you can find that out on wikipedia, for goodness sake

[Clemburke1111]

avatar, he may have had grandkids ,,but your not one for goodness sake.

[Clemburke1111]

avatar so your saying he was a chriostian?

[avatarfangirl27]

ok well i honestly don't care if you believe me or not about me being his grandchild. i probably wouldn't believe it either: it's the internet after all.

but the point is, yes, he is christian. he believes in everything he said in the christmas special, about Christ's birth

[Clemburke1111]

avitar,,now I know your a liar,,there is nothing any where that has a quote of Charles saying he is a christian,,and every thing saying he was a Humanist. Wow Kid there are a million of youtuber fakes and your one of them.

[avatarfangirl27]

i don't care if you believe me about being his grandchild, that's pretty hard to believe, i admit.

humanist or christian, fine, just please don't think he's atheist because he most definitely is NOT. can we agree on that?

are there really other youtubers saying they are his grandchildren? i would like to meet them. what a random thing to claim.

[Clemburke1111]

Humanist is an Atheist just like Buddist are atheist, he was a humanist,,he even hated Family Circus because of all of the christian stuff in the cartoons. Kid your not related, so stop annoying me about your delussions.

[avatarfangirl27]

humanist IS an atheist? but he wasn't atheist. he believed in God and in Christ. just go watch the Christmas Special!

but what if i am? he has grandchildren, and what if one of them happens to like avatar and got a youtube account? and what if she was only 8 when her grandpa died and misses him and looked up videos on youtube so she could hear him again? if i wasn't totally in love with charles schulz, would i really read every single comment posted here? you said that thing a year ago

[Clemburke1111]

Avatar, Every one who has read his book knows Shulz was a humanist a man in another Shulz video just apologized to me because he had not finished the book, and he too found Shulz a humanist to his suprise HUMANIST ARE ATHEIST and Budhist are Atheist as well,,please educate your self and get a mental evaluation because your delussional

[Clemburke1111]

Many hollywood producers and directors were Jewish or Atheist made religious films to sell during the holiday season.

[myroflcopterisnice]

well either he was a non-beliver or retarded, if you describe yourself as a secular humanist, you don't belive in god....

[avatarfangirl27]

why do you keep referring to that stupid book? it was all over the news when it came out: schulz's family was outraged. the book is full of lies. i'm not making that up, it really was all over the news. fox 13. why don't you just go ask one of his kids what he was instead of arguing over youtube? go send someone an email

[myroflcopterisnice]

what??? This is my first post here...

I'm just saying that Schulz was very clear on his humanism.

"I do not go to church anymore... I guess you might say I've come around to secular humanism, an obligation I believe all humans have to others and the world we live in"

[avatarfangirl27]

i'm sorry, i wasn't arguing against you. i really don't know who you are haha.

ok clemburke, i want to settle this. give me your father's name. if he knew schulz, he probably knew some of schulz's kids, correct? one of those kids is my mother. if my mom knows your dad, maybe we can get this figured out. because i just talked to my mom (this whole thing is kinda upsetting me) and she just told me he was christian. maybe he WAS humanist, idk! but she told me he was christian, and i believe her.

[myroflcopterisnice]

i'm not clemburke:S

i'm just saying that people who describe themselves "secular-humanists" don't belive in god, and better so... The fact is, people without the christian god are in fact better people... (Like Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln;)

[avatarfangirl27]

yeah i know, i was talking to clemburke :P haha

well that's nice and all, but charles schulz wasn't a secular humanist. and i'm not sure you can attribute thomas jefferson and abraham lincoln's greatest to that. great people come from all religion.

if you guys believed me that i really is charles schulz's granddaughter, would you believe me that i say he's christian?

[myroflcopterisnice]

Jefferson was a deist... Ever heard of the Jefferson bible?

Now your right atheists are not "better" people than Christians, but still, religion affects politics, especially in the US. And you are certainly not a secularist country anymore.

[madbassskills]

I don't think it matters, His humanism (which actually pretty much means atheism) did not motivate him, it was not what was most important to him.

[myroflcopterisnice]

i never really said that it mattered, i was there for the debate ;)

[iambarking]

Thanks for the clip. I love Schulz.

[jazzmanEE]

genius

[IMEnchMan]

thanks for the post. i would give just about anything to ask him about patty and marcy's relationship and how it's perceived by imaginative readers. did he intend for them to be viewed that way? i always wonder.

[sycoraxrock]

He said, in one late interview (can't remember where) that they weren't gay, they were just good friends, and they actually both had a crush on Charlie Brown (which, I think, was backed up in one of the specials - the one where Charlie's in the hospital and Marcie's looking up at his window telling Patty how much she'd like to marry him.)

Then again, they do have a very close friendship, and as the Peanuts gang is supposed to be "pre-sexual", you never know.

[clownnumber123]

Charles M. Schultz A hero

[bassnick62]

I thoroughly liked the fact that Mr. Schulz never felt the need to undermine the "Peanuts" children's intelligence. The same goes for C.S. Lewis.

[aaronfledge]

I share your reading taste...the one is my favourite cartoonist of any kind, the other my favourite 20th century author.

[webbydoodles]

Where did you find this, by the way?

[siffil8]

on an old videotape

[MAGIC32vsKOBE24]

a real legend

[amigodasophia]

Thanks, Charles.

[Jguy27]

Thank you for posting this. I grew up loving Charlie brown and peanuts and I finally have footage of the great Charles Schulz. Kids today don't know good classic cartoons unless they see these. Thanks.

[webbydoodles]

Thank you so much for uploading this! I've been looking for footage of Charles Schulz! Thanks again! :)

[sycoraxrock]

Yes, kids - people really used to look like that.

[knightflyte]

That is soooooooooooooooooo Pat Benitar