"Peanuts" is one of the most beloved comic strips of all time. A rumor has surfaced that its creator Charles Schulz took advantage of the series to send his mistress secret messages. Is this true?
Well, it is true that between the late 1960s and early 1970s, Schulz was involved in an affair with a younger woman, causing the end of his first marriage. Tracey Claudius, the woman in question, also went and auctioned the love notes and letters sent to her, affirming not just the affair but also how Schulz used characters in his comic strip to convey his feelings. What could have possibly sparked the rumor of secret messages being sent to Claudius was the daily strips that ran in 1970, from around Jul. 10 to 18.
In the strips, Snoopy was telling his own love story, getting all whimsical about meeting "her" while lost in the smoke during a riot at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm, where he went to give a speech. The famous beagle then starts writing his "Sweetie" letters, telling her that he thinks about her all the time and can't wait to meet her again.
Snoopy even goes on to think that he's in love.
Charlie Brown is having none of this love fest, however, refusing to take his dog back to the puppy farm, reprimanding Snoopy for being obnoxious and telling the beagle to stop making long-distance phone calls.
This reference to long-distance phone calls is possibly the closest to Schulz ever coming close to any kind of secret message because the strip it was featured in ran about the same time his then-wife found out about his long-distance calls to Claudius.
"Peanuts" recently hit the big screen and the gang debuted strong, raking in $44.3 million on its opening weekend. The idea for the movie, however, had been around as early as eight years ago but the project was set back because the Schulz family was not satisfied with the options they were being provided. But thanks to a script by Craig and Bryan Schulz and Cornelius Uliano, along with direction from Steve Martino and CG work from Blue Sky, "The Peanuts Movie" was brought to life exactly the way the Schulz family wanted to honor Charles Schulz's legacy.
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