NATIONAL PEANUTS 50TH CELEBRATION

CHARLIE BROWN TOWN

FOR THE LOVE OF LUCY

PARTY IN THE PARK

PARTY IN THE PARK II

Here's where you will find news items about the Peanuts Gang from around the world.  Please visit the credited web sites for full information on all of the stories below.  Most current stories are at the top of the page.

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HALLMARK FLOWERS OFFERS "CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS" CENTERPIECE WITH 40TH ANNIVERSARY ORNAMENT
DATE:  NOVEMBER 9TH, 2005
SOURCE:  HALLMARKFLOWERS.COM

Remember the first time you and your family watched “A Charlie Brown Christmas” together? You can recapture that nostalgic fun when you send a bright and merry gift celebrating the 40th anniversary of the holiday TV classic. 

Titled "A Charlie Brown Christmas," this Hallmark Flowers exclusive delivery includes a live miniature Italian stone pine in a container depicting a favorite scene from the movie. Eight miniature red glass ball ornaments add a bright touch, and the included Charlie Brown Christmas 40th anniversary white glass ornament is perfect for display on the collector's tree. This special bouquet is available through HallmarkFlowers.com or 1-800-HALLMARK. It comes with a full-sized Hallmark card and is available for overnight delivery throughout the U.S.  It retails for $49.95 plus delivery on HallmarkFlowers.com.

"A CHARLIE BROWN THANKSGIVING" TO AIR ON THANKSGIVING AND NEWS OF A BRAND NEW TV SPECIAL!
DATE:  NOVEMBER 9TH, 2005
SOURCE:  ABC MEDIA NET

ABC Television Network will celebrate the start of the holiday season with the classic half-hour animated Thanksgiving-themed PEANUTS special, "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving," created by late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, airing with Spanish audio as part of "The Wonderful World of Disney," THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24 (7:00-7:30 p.m., CST), on the ABC Television Network. 

PEANUTS focuses on the anxieties and joys of childhood as expressed by an ensemble cast of children who often seem wise beyond their years. Among them are the lovable Charlie Brown, who perseveres despite continuous failure; the philosophical, blanket-carrying Linus; the fussbudget Lucy, who dispenses psychological advice for a nickel from behind a concession stand; and toy-piano virtuoso Schroeder. Central to the comic strip is Charlie Brown's dog, Snoopy, who first stood on his hind legs in 1956 and became extremely popular for his imaginative adventures as a number of characters.

In the 1973 special, "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving," Charlie Brown wants to do something special for the gang. However the dinner he arranges is a disaster when the caterers, Snoopy and Woodstock, prepare toast and popcorn as the main dish. Humiliated, it will take all of Marcie's persuasive powers to salvage the holiday for Charlie Brown.

The cast includes Todd Barbee as Charlie Brown, Robin Kohn as Lucy, Stephen Shea as Linus, Hilary Momberger as Sally, Kip DeFaria as Peppermint Patty, Jimmy Ahrens as Marcie and Robin Reed as Franklin.

The specials were executive-produced by Lee Mendelson and created and written by Charles M. Schulz. Bill Melendez is the producer and director and Vince Guaraldi is the music composer.

"A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" will air with Spanish audio via secondary audio programming (SAP). This program carries a TV-G parental guideline.

Brand New PEANUTS Television Special "He's a Bully, Charlie Brown" Coming Soon

ABC has announced they will be airing a new PEANUTS television special entitled "He's a Bully, Charlie Brown" during the 2005-2006 season. This special is based on a story that appeared in the Peanuts comic strip in April 1995, where Rerun loses his marbles to a hustler, and Charlie Brown goes up against the hustler to try to win them back. Charles Schulz was working on the idea for this special when he passed away, although he did not complete a script for it. No specific broadcast date has been announced yet.

"A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS" CELEBRATES 40 YEARS AND AIRS AGAIN ON ABC IN DECEMBER ALONG WITH "CHARLIE BROWN'S CHRISTMAS TALES."
DATE:  NOVEMBER 2ND, 2005
SOURCE:  ABC MEDIA NET

"THE COMPLETE PEANUTS" SERIES UPDATE!  COVER OF VOLUME 5 UPDATE!
DATE:  OCTOBER 8TH, 2005
SOURCE:  WWW.FANTAGRAPHICS.COM

Volume 4 of "The Complete Peanuts," will feature all of the Peanuts comic strips from 1957-1958.  Volume 4 is now available.  Jonathan Franzen will be writing the introduction for Volume 4. Mr. Franzen is the author of three novels— The Twenty-Seventh City (1988), Strong Motion (1992), and The Corrections (2001)— and a collection of essays, How to Be Alone (2002). His honors include a Whiting Writers Award in 1988, a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1996, the American Academy's Berlin Prize in 2000, and the National Book Award (for The Corrections) in 2001. He writes frequently for The New Yorker, and he lives in New York City. 

This volume will feature 156 Peanuts comic strips that have never been reproduced since they were first published in the newspaper comic sections and another 80 comic strips that were only reproduced once in a now hard to find reprint book.  As the 1950s close down, Peanuts definitively enters its golden age. Linus, who had just learned to speak in the previous volume, becomes downright eloquent and even begins to fend off Lucy's bullying; even so, his security neurosis becomes more pronounced, including a harrowing two-week "Lost Weekend" sequence of blanketlessness. Charlie Brown cascades further down the hill to loserdom, with spectacularly lost kites, humiliating baseball losses (including one where he becomes "the Goat" and is driven from the field in a chorus of BAAAAHs); at least his newly acquired "pencil pal" affords him some comfort. Pig-Pen, Shermy, Violet, and Patty are also around, as is an increasingly Beethoven-fixated Schroeder. But the rising star is undoubtedly Snoopy. He's at the center of the most graphically dynamic and action-packed episodes (the ones in which he attempts to grab Linus's blanket at a dead run). He even tentatively tries to sleep on the crest of his doghouse roof once or twice, with mixed results. And his imitations continue apace, including penguins, anteaters, sea monsters, vultures and (much to her chagrin) Lucy. No wonder the beagle is the cover star of this volume,

The Complete Peanuts Volume 5 will reproduce comic strips from 1959-1960.  The introduction will be written by comedian Whoopi Goldberg.  Whoopi Goldberg has been a long time fan of the Peanuts comic strip and was the host of the "Making of A Charlie Brown Christmas" television special.  The Peanuts character featured on the cover of Volume 5 will be Patty (not to be confused with Peppermint Patty).  Volume 5 will contain 91 Peanuts comic strips that have never been reproduced since they first were published in the newspaper comic sections.  Volume 5 is due out in early 2006.


The Complete Peanuts Volume 6 will reproduce comic strips from 1961-1962.  The Peanuts character likely to be featured on the cover will be Schroeder.  Volume 6 is due out in late 2006.  

NEW EXHIBITS FEATURED AT THE CHARLES M. SCHULZ MUSEUM - UPDATED!
DATE:  OCTOBER 8TH, 2005
SOURCE:  CHARLES M. SCHULZ MUSEUM

COMMON THREADS:  PEANUTS IN STITCHES

Creativity in cloth is what you'll see when you step into the Museum's downstairs Changing Gallery.  Common Threads:  Peanuts in Stitches, open now through January 30th, 2006, is a testament to Charles Schulz's international appeal.  This exhibition features twenty-two hand-made quilts by Japanese fabric artists who have found inspiration in Charles Schulz's famous strip. 

ODE TO SCHROEDER

Ode to Schroeder is open now

"Although Schulz never stated it, it is interesting to look upon Schroeder and his piano as a symbolic representation of Schulz and his comic strip, said guest curator Stephan Pastis, cartoonist of Pearls Before Swine. "As Schroeder sought excellence at his piano, so did Schulz at his drawing table. Both creator and creation spent countless hours in deep concentration hunched over their respective instruments, be it a piano or drawing desk and pens. "

Charles Schulz's Peanuts character Schroeder was named after a boy he used to caddy with in his youth at Highland Park Golf Course in St. Paul, Minnesota. Schroeder made his first appearance in the Peanuts strip on May 30, 1951 and first played the piano on September 24, 1951. Schulz's inspiration for Schroeder's piano playing came from a small toy piano that had been purchased for his daughter, Meredith, at age two.

COMING SOON......

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" turns forty this December! Though it seems unimaginable now, the animated classic was almost cancelled due to initial concerns about the show's leisurely pace, jazz soundtrack, religious theme, and use of children's voices. However, thanks to a tight deadline and no time for substitution, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" aired for the first time on December 9th, 1965. Nearly half of America's television sets tuned in that night to see the Peanuts characters come to life, set to the smooth Bossa Nova soundtrack provided by composer/musician Vince Guaraldi. Schulz, Mendelson, Melendez, and Guaraldi received critical acclaim for their efforts, and the program was awarded an Emmy Award (currently on display at the Schulz Museum) and a Peabody Award for excellence in children's programming.

From November 15 through January 9, 2006, the Schulz Museum will commemorate the anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas with an exhibition of books, figurines, and archival artifacts from the last forty years…including the toy piano used to record Schroeder's plinking piano notes from his reluctant rendition of Jingle Bells.

"PEANUTS" COMIC STRIP TURNS FIFTY-FIVE!
DATE:  OCTOBER 2ND, 2005

On October 2nd, 1950, the "PEANUTS" comic strip debuted in just seven newspapers across America.  The first PEANUTS strip featured Charlie Brown, Shermy and Patty.  Snoopy would follow two days later.

October 2nd, 2005 marks the 55th Anniversary of the first PEANUTS comic strip.  PEANUTS creator Charles M. Schulz died in early 2000 the night before the very last original PEANUTS comic strip ran in thousands of newspapers across the world.  Today, the comic strip still runs as reruns in many newspapers and the classic holiday television specials continue to be aired year after year.  PEANUTS is still running strong at fifty-five.  Congratulations!

SANTA ROSA TO HOST 2ND STATUE TRIBUTE TO SCHULZ IN 2006
DATE:  SEPTEMBER 29TH, 2005
SOURCE:  SNOOP-O-RAMA NEWSLETTER

Here's a little news flash: the public art project honoring Schulz will continue next year with artists being invited to personalize statues of another character.

Which one? Sparky's son Craig will reveal only, "It definitely won't be Charlie Brown and it definitely won't be Garfield."

TOM EVERHART CHARLIE BROWN STATUE STILL HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER
DATE:  SEPTEMBER 29TH, 2005
SOURCE:  SNOOP-O-RAMA NEWSLETTER

HARDLY PEANUTS: When I reached Linda Shefner-Holden in Miami, she was gracious but still stinging from the auction of Charlie Brown statues in Santa Rosa.

Linda's the lifelong collector who fully intended to take home the statue of Blockhead painted by artist Tom Everhart, but gave up when Lebo Newman bid $54,000.

She said Charles Schulz's characters are so important to her that she has tens of thousands of pieces of "Peanuts" memorabilia in her house. Now 49, she celebrated her 40th birthday with a party where everyone came dressed as members of Charlie Brown's gang.

She said she'll definitely return to Santa Rosa next to bid for whatever figure Everhart paints for the city's '06 statue celebration. And she may make Lebo an offer for his.

"But right now," she said, "it's still very raw to me."

STORIES OF THE STATUES:  WHO GOT THOSE CHARLIE BROWN STATUES IN SANTA ROSA?
DATE:  SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2005
SOURCE:  SANTA ROSA PRESS DEMOCRAT

The bidding knocked their socks off

By CHRIS SMITH
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Going into the auction of the Charlie Brown statues, Craig Schulz and other organizers thought it would be great if the 16 figures brought in $4,000 or $5,000 apiece.

Good grief, if the bidding in Santa Rosa were any hotter, it would have melted the ice in the late Charles Schulz's skate rink. The winning bids averaged nearly $19,000, and the one by ex-Santa Rosan Lebo Newman alone raised the temperature several degrees.

Lebo, a community dynamo who moved to Nevada after selling Redwood Landscaping in 1998, decided on the spur of the moment he wanted the Charlie Brown that was painted by artist Tom Everhart -- the only person on Earth authorized to include Peanuts characters in his works.

Lebo didn't know this: A Florida woman named Linda Shefner-Holden had come to the auction determined to add that statue to her collection.

Linda went to St. Paul when it honored native son Sparky Schulz with its own statue project, and she was the high bidder for four Peanuts figures by Everhart. She wanted his Santa Rosa piece -- "Who Let the Dots Out?" -- in the worst way.

But in St. Paul she'd paid only about $60,000 for all four of her Tom Everhart figures. In Santa Rosa on Sunday night, she wasn't prepared for this guy Lebo to bid and bid and bid against her, up to $54,000.

Lebo didn't know beforehand about Linda's quest to expand her collection. He said that if she wants his Charlie Brown badly enough to make him an offer, he'll listen.

If he sells, he'll donate anything above $54,000 to the Schulz museum.

BRAVO, TOO, to community-minded Santa Rosa hotelier Pierre Ehret. He came to the auction on a whim and wound up spending $69,660 for three statues, including the one signed by Barry Bonds and all the San Francisco Giants.

Pierre plans to rotate his Blockheads in and out of the lobby at his Flamingo Resort Hotel.

THE WINNING TICKET: One of the Chucks -- the one dressed as a Wine Country tourist -- was given away in a raffle won by Santa Rosa's Kristy O'Shaughnessy.

Kristy, who owns a bookkeeping firm and bought a hundred $1 tickets, said her family's Charlie Brown will go in the back yard.

Kristy said her kids, Conor, 12, and Shannon, 9, "are very excited to have a new brother."

CHARLIE BROWN STATUE AUCTION RAISES $300,000 IN SANTA ROSA, CA
DATE:  SEPTEMBER 26TH, 2005
SOURCE:  SANTA ROSA PRESS DEMOCRAT

Popular kid on block

Auctioning of 16 of Charlie Brown statues raises about $300,000 for art scholarships for local students

By MARTIN ESPINOZA
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

One by one, the adorable Charlie Brown statues slipped through 9-year-old Teresa Kay's hands Sunday afternoon at the Redwood Empire Ice Arena.

Every time the Santa Rosa girl raised her bidding paddle, someone else would top her bid. With her father's hand securely on her paddle, Teresa watched the bidding go to $10,000, $12,000 and $13,000.

But when "Maestro Brown," a statue of Charlie Brown dressed in a conductor's uniform and holding a baton, went up for bid, Teresa's father, Murray Kay, kept tapping her on the back, his sign that she could keep bidding.

The little girl could barely contain her joy when guest auctioneer John Bain announced she had the winning bid.

"I feel really, really excited and happy," said Teresa. Kay, a real estate investor, will pay $16,000 in cash for Maestro Brown.

After spending all summer in various locations in Santa Rosa, 16 of the 55 Charlie Brown statues brought in about $300,000 at Sunday's auction. The highest bid, $54,000, went to the colorful statue titled, "Who let the dots out," by well-known artist Tom Everhart.

Lebo Newman, the owner of Liberty Enterprises in Reno and a former Sonoma County businessman, couldn't resist the Schulz/Everhart combination.

"I haven't been in Sonoma County for four years," said Newman. "I haven't been able to support the community. This was a good way to do it."

A statue of Charlie Brown dressed in a Giants baseball uniform - signed by all the current players including Barry Bonds, as well as Giants legends Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda - brought a winning bid of $43,000. The statue, titled "Say Hey, Charlie Brown," and three other statues were purchased by Pierre Ehret, the owner of the Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa.

For months, Santa Rosa hosted 55 Charlie Brown statues in an arts and community project called "It's Your Town, Charlie Brown." The project, spearheaded by Charles Schulz's son Craig Schulz, marked the 55th anniversary of the Peanuts cartoon.

Parents and grandparents took little ones all over Santa Rosa on a treasure hunt to find the Charlie Brown statues. The auction was the culmination of a project that captured the hearts of many Sonoma County residents, as well as visitors from all over the world.

In the days leading up to the auction, many locals got the chance to see 53 of the statues all in one place, where they surrounded the baseball diamond next to the Charles M. Schulz Museum on Hardies Lane in Santa Rosa.

The statue autographed by the Giants players and Everhart's statue were both on display in the museum.

Several of the artists who worked on the Charlie Browns were on hand Sunday, posing for photographs and signing autographs for many who had grown fond of the statues.

Zenny Warren of Petaluma was busy getting autographs for her two granddaughters who live in Alameda. Warren said she took her granddaughters to visit 40 Charlie Browns during the summer.

"Charlie Brown brings a smile to your face," said Warren, who works in admissions and records at Santa Rosa Junior College. "People relate to him because he's just a regular ol' guy."

Craig Schulz said he got the idea to bring the statues to Santa Rosa after he saw how successful a similar project was in St. Paul, Minn., where Charles Schulz was born. Schulz said he was proud of the work of local artists who participated in the project.

"I was most pleasantly surprised at how the Santa Rosa artists stepped up to the plate and made the designs as good as they are," he said.

The money raised in the auction will go toward art scholarships for local students, as well as the construction of a bronze statue of Charlie Brown and Linus for the Charles M. Schulz Airport.

Schulz said the art project will continue next summer, with another character from the Peanuts comic strip. But he wouldn't say which character it would be, only that it would be announced late December or early January.

Before the auction began, Schulz took an unofficial survey of the audience in the arena to find out who they wanted the next character to be memorialized.

Snoopy and Woodstock got the loudest cheers.

NEW VINCE GUARALDI DOCUMENTARY AND NEW CD'S ON THE WAY
DATE:  SEPTEMBER 15TH, 2005
SOURCE:  VINCEGUARALDI.COM

Vince Guaraldi documentary planned for Summer 2006 release

Cold Nectar Films has made a lot of progress on their documentary on Vince Guaraldi. The film, complete with interviews from David Guaraldi and various sidemen that worked with Vince, is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2006.

"Vince Guaraldi with the San Francisco Boys Chorus" now available on CD

"Vince Guaraldi with the San Francisco Boys Chorus" was the only Guaraldi record produced under his own record label and is now available on CD for the first time ever.

This CD re-issue features two bonus tracks not on the original record: an alternate version of “Newport Theme” and a lively rendition of “Peppermint Patty,” which was hidden on the B side of one of the two singles D&D Records pressed to promote this album ... even though this Peanuts song did not appear on the album itself. Aside from Guaraldi’s keyboard work and the vocals of the San Francisco Boys Chorus, the various recording sessions utilized the talents of guitarist Eddie Duran, three bass players (Tom Beeson, Kelly Bryan and Roland Haynes) and two drummers (Lee Charlton, John Rae).

Because Vince Guaraldi with the San Francisco Boys Chorus is the last of the jazz pianist’s original LPs to make the transition to CD, this re-issue is a landmark event for jazz fans in general, and followers of “Dr. Funk” in particular. The CD will initially be available at www.vinceguaraldi.com and amazon.com.

More Guaraldi PEANUTS cues coming to CD in the future

All of the Vince Guaraldi "lost tapes" have now been transferred to digital audio files.  These tapes contain hours and hours of Guaraldi recordings including many of the sessions devoted to recording PEANUTS cues for PEANUTS animated television specials.  State-of-the-art recording software and hardware were used to capture every ounce of sound from the original tapes, and transfer the music to high-resolution audio files.  It will still be a few years before all of the music is released to the public -- because there is just so much of it! 

BE A PART OF A NEW PEANUTS PROJECT!
DATE:  APRIL 26TH, 2005
SOURCE:  PEANUTS COLLECTOR CLUB NEWSLETTER

Peanuts stories.

We've all heard them; many of us have lived them.

Sharing such personal tales always is a popular part of any gathering of three or more Peanuts fans in the same room!  We've often thought, after hearing a particularly poignant story, that somebody should be jotting them down for posterity.  

Well, call this an answer to such desires.  Don Fraiser, a longtime Peanuts licensee and PCC friend, has embarked on an archival project to collect and (eventually) publish a collection of such stories.  Patterned after the popular "Chicken Soup for the Soul" titles, this planned book will feature anecdotes - and pictures - from people whose lives have been touched, in some way, by Charles Schulz and his characters.

Do you have a particularly memorable Peanuts tale?  It can be amusing, poignant or merely interesting in some way.  One requirement, however, is that it must be short:  no more than 500 words.

If you have such a tale, type it up and send it to Don Fraiser at P.O. Box 192, St. Helena, California, 94574.  Don't include any pictures; if your story warrants being used, Don will get in touch with you and discuss photos at that time.  Naturally, submission does not guarantee inclusion and all stories are subject to editing for clarity, length and content.

VINTAGE PEANUTS GOES HOLLYWOOD
DATE:  MARCH 29TH, 2005
SOURCE:  PCC NEWSLETTER AND SNOOP-O-RAMA

In November, United Media launched the new Vintage Peanuts line designed by JEM Sportswear's Awake division at the hip, exclusive Los Angeles boutique, Kitson.  The boutique may only be three years old, but it already has become a favorite shop for celebrities and the Who's Who in Hollywood, as well as being mentioned continuously in trendy magazines such as InSyle, US Weekly, and Allure.

To support the exclusive launch, Kitson featured Vintage Peanuts in its front window for two weeks.  Shoppers received customized Vintage Peanuts/Kitson shopping bags with any purchase, and Peanuts PEz candy dispensers were given out with each Vintage Peanuts purchase.  Shoppers also were able to go online to purchase Vintage Peanuts products at www.shopkitson.com

Top Hollywood celebs are sold on Vintage Peanuts -- the new retro-fashion line from JEM is hot. According to Los Angeles retailer, Kitson, Paris Hilton and Hilary Duff have been spotted purchasing the hot tops, which launched last fall at the popular west coast store and are now available nationwide at Nordstrom and Lord & Taylor. ABC stars Amy Davidson ("8 Simple Rules") and Masiela Lusha ("George Lopez") are fans, and Lindy Newton, star of the Hallmark Channel's upcoming movie, "Thicker than Water," also confirms that Snoopy is still top dog among fashionistas.

Vintage Peanuts will roll out to better specialty stores and department stores nationwide later this year..

Please send questions and comments about this web site to EAW Peanuts

EAW Peanuts 2005© is an EAW Productions 2005© venture and is written and produced by Eric A. Wildgrube.
EAW Peanuts 2005 is a personal home page and has no affiliation and/or association implied or otherwise with United Features Syndicate, Creative Associates, or United Media.
Snoopy, the Peanuts characters, and Camp Snoopy are registered trade marks of United Features Syndicate, Inc.
All images of Snoopy and Peanuts characters on this web site are images of items from the author's personal collection.