“Good ol’ Charlie Brown… How I hate him!” That was the punchline of the very first “Peanuts” strip, published 76 years ago today, on October 2, 1950. Charles Schulz’s comic debuted in just seven newspapers through the United Feature syndicate, according to MinnPost, and the round-headed kid was getting picked on from panel one.
Schulz never even liked the name. He had called his strip “Li’l Folks,” and it was the syndicate that renamed it “Peanuts,” a title Schulz openly disliked for the rest of his life. The strip’s numbers ended up beyond argument. By the time he retired, “Peanuts” ran in 2,600 newspapers and reached 335 million readers across 75 countries, per KARE 11.
‘Peanuts’ Almost Had A Different Name
The ending remains one of the most poignant in American publishing. Schulz died in his sleep on February 12, 2000, the night before his final original Sunday strip ran on February 13. The characters never left us, though. Just this week we covered how ‘It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown’ is celebrating its 60th anniversary with special events and collectibles.
Seventy-six years on, Charlie Brown still has not kicked that football. Somehow that is exactly why we love him.
