Editing Charlie Brown (section)

== History ==
=== 1940s–1950s ===
<!-- FAIR USE of First Peanuts comic.png: see image description page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:First Peanuts comic.png for rationale -->[[File:First Peanuts comic.png|thumb|upright=2.5|First ''Peanuts'' strip, October 2, 1950 (from left-to-right: Charlie Brown, [[Shermy (Peanuts)|Shermy]], [[Patty (Peanuts)|Patty]])]]
The character's name was first used on May 30, 1948, in an early Schulz comic strip titled ''[[Li'l Folks]]''. The character made his official debut in the first ''Peanuts'' comic strip on October 2, 1950. The strip features Charlie Brown walking by, as two other children named [[Shermy (Peanuts)|Shermy]] and [[Patty (Peanuts)|Patty]] look at him. Shermy refers to him as "Good Ol' Charlie Brown" as he passes by, but then immediately reveals his hatred toward him once he is gone on the last panel. In the very early days of the strip, Charlie Brown was explicitly identified as being four years old;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1950/11/03|title=Peanuts by Charles Schulz for November 03, 1950 &#124; GoComics.com|first=Charles|last=Schulz|date=November 3, 1950|website=GoComics}}</ref> he would age very slowly over the next several years, being old enough to attend elementary school by the 1960s.  During the strip's early years, Charlie Brown was much more impish and lighthearted and not the dour defeatist he would soon become. He was something of a smart-aleck and would often play pranks and jokes on the other characters. On December 21, 1950, his signature zig-zag pattern first appeared on his formerly plain [[T-shirt]]. By April 25, 1952, his T-shirt was changed to a [[polo shirt]] with a collar and the zig-zag.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kidd |first1=Chip |title=Only What's Necessary: Charles M. Schulz and the Art of Peanuts |last2=Spear |first2=Geoff |date=2015 |publisher=Abrams Comic Arts |isbn=978-1-4197-1639-3 |location=New York}}</ref> On the March 6, 1951, strip, Charlie Brown first appears to play baseball, as he was warming up before telling Shermy that they can start the game; however, he was the catcher and not yet the pitcher and manager of his team.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 6, 1951 |title=Peanuts cartoon 06 March 1951 |url=http://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1951/03/06 |access-date=September 28, 2014}}</ref>

Charlie Brown's relationships with other ''Peanuts'' characters initially differed significantly from their later states, and their concepts were grown up through this decade until they reached their more-established forms. An example is his relationship with [[Violet Gray]], to whom he was introduced in the February 7, 1951, strip.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 7, 1951 |title=Peanuts comic strip 07 February 1951 |url=http://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1951/02/07 |access-date=September 28, 2014}}</ref> The two constantly remained on fairly good terms, a bit different from their later somewhat tepid relationship. In the August 16, 1951, strip, she called Charlie Brown a "blockhead", being the first time Charlie Brown was referred by that insult.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 16, 1951 |title=Peanuts comic strip 16 August 1951 |url=http://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1951/08/16 |access-date=October 3, 2014}}</ref> The strip for November 14 of that year featured the first appearance of the famous football gag, with Violet in the role that would later be filled by [[Lucy van Pelt|Lucy]].

On May 30, 1951, Charlie Brown is introduced to [[Schroeder (Peanuts)|Schroeder]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 30, 1951 |title=Peanuts cartoon 30 May 1951 |url=http://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1951/05/30 |access-date=September 28, 2014}}</ref> As Schroeder is still a baby, Charlie Brown cannot converse with him. On June 1 of the same year, Charlie Brown stated that he felt like a father to Schroeder;<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 1, 1951 |title=Peanuts cartoon 1 June 1951 |url=http://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1951/06/01 |access-date=September 28, 2014}}</ref> in fact, for quite some time, he sometimes acted like a father to him, trying to teach him words and reading stories to him. On September 24 of that year, he taught Schroeder how to play the piano, the instrument which would later become Schroeder's trademark.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 24, 1951 |title=Peanuts cartoon 30 May 1951 |url=http://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1951/09/24 |access-date=September 28, 2014}}</ref> On that year's October 10, strip, he told Schroeder the story of [[Beethoven]] and set in motion the piano player's obsession with the composer.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 10, 1951 |title=Peanuts cartoon 10 October 1951 |url=http://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1951/10/10 |access-date=September 28, 2014}}</ref> Charlie Brown placed the Beethoven bust on Schroeder's piano on November 26, 1951.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 26, 1951 |title=Peanuts comic strip 26 November 1951 |url=http://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1951/11/26 |access-date=September 28, 2014}}</ref> Later, Schroeder and Charlie Brown were portrayed as being about the same age, and Schroeder became Charlie Brown's closest friend after [[Linus Van Pelt]].  Schroeder became the  catcher on Charlie Brown's baseball team for the first time in the April 12, 1952, strip.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 12, 1952 |title=Peanuts cartoon 12 April 1952 |url=http://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1952/04/12 |access-date=December 31, 2024}}</ref>

In early 1959, Charlie Brown (and other ''Peanuts'' characters) made his first animated appearances after they were sponsored by the [[Ford Motor Company]] in commercials for its automobiles, as well as for intros to ''[[The Ford Show|The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show]]. ''The ads were animated by [[Bill Melendez]] for Playhouse Pictures, a cartoon studio that had Ford as a client.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}

=== 1960s ===
In the 1960s, the ''Peanuts ''comic strip entered what most readers consider to be its [[Golden Age]], reaching its peak in popularity, becoming well known in numerous countries, with the strip reaching 355 million readers.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2022-11-24 |title=60 interesting facts about Charles Schulz |url=https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/specialsections/all-about-schulz/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Santa Rosa Press Democrat |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1965, the [[Coca-Cola Company]] approached Lee Mendelson about sponsoring a ''Peanuts'' Christmas [[television special]]. The next day Mendelson called Schulz and proposed a Christmas special featuring Charlie Brown and the ''Peanuts ''characters, in which he would collaborate with both Schulz and Melendez. Titled ''[[A Charlie Brown Christmas]]'', the special was first broadcast by the [[CBS]] network on December 9, 1965. The special's primary goal is showing "the true meaning of Christmas". Before ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' was broadcast, several of those involved in the special's creation were worried that it might be poorly received, with its unorthodox soundtrack and overt religious message; however, it turned out to be a huge success, with the number of homes watching the special an estimated 15,490,000, placing it at number two in the ratings, behind ''[[Bonanza]]'' on [[NBC]].<ref name="makingof">{{Cite AV media |title=The Making of ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' |date=2004 |last=[[Whoopi Goldberg]], [[Lee Mendelson]] |publisher=Paramount Home Entertainment |medium=DVD |display-authors=etal}}</ref> The special's music score made an equally pervasive impact on viewers who would later perform jazz, among them [[David Benoit (musician)|David Benoit]]{{sfn|Solomon|2013|p = 49}} and [[George Winston]].{{sfn|Bang|2012|p = 190}} ''A Charlie Brown Christmas''  was honored with both an [[Emmy Award|Emmy]] and [[Peabody Award]].

The success of ''A Charlie Brown Christmas ''was followed by the creation of a second CBS television special, ''[[Charlie Brown's All-Stars]]'', which was originally broadcast on June 8, 1966. In October of that year,a third ''Peanuts'' special was broadcast on CBS: the Halloween-themed ''[[It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Cooper|first=Gael Fashingbauer|title=It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown back on public TV after a year away|url=https://www.cnet.com/how-to/its-the-great-pumpkin-charlie-brown-back-on-public-tv-after-a-year-away/|access-date=November 8, 2021|website=CNET|language=en}}</ref>

The stage adaptation of a concept album titled ''[[You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown]]'', based on Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, Schroeder, and Patty, went into rehearsal in New York City on February 10, 1967. Prior to its opening, the musical had no actual libretto; it was several vignettes with dialogue adapted from ''Peanuts'' strips and a musical number for each one.<ref name="CB2" /> Since Patty was such a weakly defined character in Schulz's strip, she became a [[composite character]] in the musical, with much of her material originating with Violet and Frieda in the strip.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} On March 7, 1967, the musical premiered [[off-Broadway]] at [[Theatre 80]] in the [[East Village, Manhattan|East Village]], featuring [[Gary Burghoff]] as Charlie Brown.<ref name=CB2>{{Cite web |title=FAQ Part II: Composers & Writers and their works - ''You're A Good Man Charlie Brown'' |url=https://www.juglans.demon.co.uk/Tim/Theatre/theatre_part2.txt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121075312/http://www.juglans.demon.co.uk/Tim/Theatre/theatre_part2.txt |archive-date=January 21, 2012 |access-date=November 14, 2011 |publisher=juglans.demons.co.uk}}</ref>

On December 4, 1969, ''[[A Boy Named Charlie Brown]]'',  the first feature-length animated film based on ''Peanuts'' was released. The film was a box office success, earning 6 million dollars at  the box office, against its 1&nbsp;million dollar budget. The film was generally well received by critics.
[[File:Apollo 10 command module.jpg|thumb|The Command Module of Apollo 10 which was named after Charlie Brown]]
Charlie Brown and Snoopy reached new heights on May 18, 1969, when they became the names of the [[Apollo Command/Service Module#Command Module (CM)|command module]] and [[lunar module]], respectively, for the [[Apollo 10]] mission.<ref>{{Citation |title=Newsroom for February 14, 2000 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0002/14/nr.00.html |work=CNN |access-date=October 12, 2007 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806082853/http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0002/14/nr.00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> While not included in the [[:File:Apollo-10-LOGO.png|official mission logo]], Charlie Brown and Snoopy became semi-official mascots for the mission.<ref name="NASA1">{{Cite web |title=Snoopy on Apollo 10 |url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/mirrors/images/images/pao/AS10/10075088.jpg |access-date=October 17, 2007 |archive-date=October 25, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025181648/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/mirrors/images/images/pao/AS10/10075088.jpg |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="NASA2">{{Cite web |title=Charlie Brown and Snoopy at Apollo 10 Mission Control |url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/mirrors/images/images/pao/AS10/10075138.jpg |access-date=October 17, 2007 |archive-date=June 19, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010619231200/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/mirrors/images/images/pao/AS10/10075138.jpg |url-status=dead }}</ref> Charles Schulz drew an original picture of Charlie Brown in a spacesuit; this drawing was hidden aboard the craft to be found by the astronauts once they were in orbit. Its current location is on a display at the [[Kennedy Space Center]].

=== 1970s ===
During the 1970s, Charlie Brown appeared in twelve ''Peanuts'' television specials that were produced as a result of the success of the earlier TV specials. Charlie Brown also appeared in two animated feature films (''[[Snoopy Come Home]]'' and ''[[Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown]]'', released on August 9, 1972, and August 24, 1977, respectively).{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}

=== 1980s ===
Fourteen more ''Peanuts'' television specials were produced in the 1980s, two of which were musicals (one is the animated version of ''You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown'').{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}

Another full-length animated ''Peanuts'' film, titled ''[[Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!)]]'' was released on May 30, 1980.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Melendez |first1=Bill |title=Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!) |date=May 30, 1980 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080461/ |type=Animation, Adventure, Comedy |publisher=Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Bill Melendez Productions, Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates |access-date=March 14, 2022 |last2=Roman |first2=Phil}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!) |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1296467457/ |access-date=March 14, 2022 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref>

=== 1990s ===
Six television specials featuring Charlie Brown were produced during this decade.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}

Within the comic strip, a storyline got Charlie Brown the character Peggy Jean as a girlfriend; this relationship lasted for roughly nine years.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}

=== Final comic strip appearance ===
<!-- [[WP:NFCC]] violation: [[File:Last peanuts comic.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Final Sunday Strip, which came out on February 13, 2000; one day after the death of Charles M. Schulz.]] -->
Charlie Brown made his final appearance in the very last original ''Peanuts'' strip, which was published on February 13, 2000—the day following Schulz's death. Despite ending its original run in 2000, repeats of the comic strip are still being published as of 2024.<ref>{{cite web|last=Berman|first=Marc|url= https://programminginsider.com/today-in-history-the-last-peanuts-comic-strip-appears-in-2000/|title= Today in History: The Last 'Peanuts' Comic Strip Appears in 2000|date=February 13, 2021|access-date=September 5, 2021}}</ref>

=== Post-comic strip appearances ===
After the comic strip ended, Charlie Brown continued to appear in more television specials. On November 20, 2006, the special ''[[He's a Bully, Charlie Brown]]'' beat a Madonna concert special with its 10 million views, although ''Peanuts'' was no longer in its heyday. As of 2016, the latest of Charlie Brown's original television appearances is ''[[Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown]]'', which came out on October 1, 2011.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}

=== ''The Peanuts Movie'' ===
{{main|The Peanuts Movie}}
An animated film starring Charlie Brown, ''[[The Peanuts Movie]]'', was released on November 6, 2015. The film was directed by [[Steve Martino]], produced by [[Blue Sky Studios]], and distributed by [[20th Century Fox]]. The director said of the character: "We've all been Charlie Brown at one point in our lives".<ref name="TWPGoodPlan2">{{cite news|last1 = Cavna|first1 = Michael|title = You're a Good Plan, Charlie Brown: A peek into the meticulous vision behind 2015's 'Peanuts' feature film|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2014/04/07/youre-a-good-plan-charlie-brown-a-peek-into-the-meticulous-vision-for-the-peanuts-feature-film-in-2015|access-date = October 18, 2014|newspaper = The Washington Post|date = April 7, 2014}}</ref>

The film received largely positive reviews from critics<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Peanuts Movie (2015) |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_peanuts_movie/ |access-date=January 26, 2016 |website=Rotten Tomatoes}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Peanuts Movie reviews |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-peanuts-movie |access-date=January 7, 2016 |website=Metacritic}}</ref> and audiences alike,<ref name="BOWknd1">{{Cite magazine |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |date=November 9, 2015 |title='Spectre' $70.4M Opening: Still 2nd Highest 007 Debut Behind 'Skyfall', But Not That Far From 'Quantum Of Solace' – Monday AM |url=https://deadline.com/2015/11/spectre-the-peanuts-movie-james-bond-box-office-1201610575/ |magazine=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |access-date=November 10, 2015}}</ref> and grossed $246&nbsp;million worldwide against its $99&nbsp;million budget,<ref name="Peanuts BOM">{{Cite web |title=The Peanuts Movie (2015) |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=peanuts2015.htm |access-date=April 1, 2016 |website=[[Box Office Mojo]]}}</ref> making it a box office success.