Charles Schulz Biography of Snoopy and the Peanuts Gang

An article written by Charles Schulz, creator of the Peanuts gang, his biography of the character Snoopy.

Snoopy: The Authorized Biography of a Great American

By Charles M. Schulz

It is difficult to write an accurate biography of Snoopy because many of his recollections seem to be marred by fanciful dreams. We are led to believe that he was very active in W.W.I and that he was actually the victim of the accurate gunfire of Baron von Richthofen on several dramatic occasions. Military records are vague about these encounters.

One thing is sure, however. He was born at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm. His father's occupation was probably much like that of other beagles. He chased his quota of rabbits and retired early. We know little about his mother, although at one time we almost discovered her whereabouts when Snoopy set off to find her. The high point of that journey was the supposed sighting of his mother and his rushing across a field toward a farmyard shouting, "Mom! Mom! Mom!" only to be brought up short when he discovered that it wasn't his mom. He had been deceived by the fact, on his own admission, that to him all beagles look alike.

We are not sure how many brothers and sisters Snoopy has, but we do know that one brother lives in Washington and the other in Texas. One sister lives in St. Louis, one in Hollywood, and one in Kansas. A family reunion was arranged at one time, but it turned out to be rather a letdown. To quote Snoopy, "The anticipation far exceeded the actual event." When he was asked to describe what went on at the reunion, he said that none of them spoke the same language. The years had turned them into strangers. His advice from Lucy, when he felt guilty about being disappointed in the reunion, was simply not to feel guilty about it. "Just because you are related to people," she said, "doesn't mean you have to like them."

Snoopy's memories of the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm seem to be mostly good ones. We are told that he used, especially, to enjoy the beautiful summer evenings. One thing he described was how they sat around and sang, while someone strummed a banjo, although, upon being pressed for details, he admitted that perhaps no one actually played the banjo, and they didn't really sing, but what happened was they merely howled a lot. Snoopy has revisited his birthplace several times, but on his last trip, he was horrified to discover that the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm no longer exists. It has been replaced by a multistoried parking lot. Upon seeing this monstrosity, he cried out, "You stupid people, you're parking on my memories."

His career as a W.W.I. flying ace has been replaced with that of a barnstormer. He is also well into a career as a novelist and has had a fair amount of success with the publication of a stirring drama called It Was a Dark and Stormy Night. He almost gained immortality as a baseball player when he had the opportunity to become the 1st player to tie Babe Ruth's home-run record of 714 home runs. Unfortunately, in his last time to bat, in the last game of the season, Charlie Brown got picked off 2nd, thus ending the game, and Snoopy was beaten out by Hank Aaron.

There are many dreams left, and dreams of the future are just as good as dreams of the past. Lying on top of a doghouse enables one, also, to look upward. This is the advantage that he has over the rest of us.

The Author: Creator of the most widely circulated and most widely read comic strip in the world, Peanuts, Charles M. Schulz has fathered such memorable characters as Charlie Brown, Lucy, and Snoopy.

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