Herald editorial cartoonist Rod Emmerson chats with Jeannie Schulz, wife of Peanuts creator Charles (‘Sparky') Schulz.
It's 1994 and the fog drifting in from the Pacific Ocean has blanketed the Sheraton Grande at Torrey Pines just north of San Diego.
Inside, the Reuben Awards are in full swing. These awards are the annual knees-up for America's cartoonists from all sides of the drawing board, and anyone and everyone is here.
Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury), Lynn Johnston (For Better or Worse), Jim Borgman (Zits), Kal, Mad's Mort Drucker, the animators behind The Simpsons, Jerry Robinson (created the Joker) ... it's a very long list.
For me, as a relative newcomer to cartooning, I'm quietly pinching myself to be accepted in such company. My primary interest is editorial cartooning but here I was, surrounded by my childhood heroes at every turn.
If there was one person at this gala function that everyone held with the utmost reverence, it would definitely be Peanuts creator, Charles ('Sparky') Schulz. Or "God", as one at my table put it.
Tall, softly spoken, reserved and a consummate gentleman; the creator of a simple but highly infectious cartoon strip that became a timeless American icon.
I was travelling with a small group of cartoonists from down under, including my Davis Cup companion, Jim Russell (The Potts). Jim was a long time member of this American band of scribblers. A genuine friend of many, including Schulz. Such was this friendship, that Jim would end every Reubens event with a visit to the Schulz home.
So care of Jim, a few days later, we found ourselves in Schulz's Santa Rosa studio, East of San Francisco. Apart from the relaxed and welcoming atmosphere extended to us by "Sparky", this was also a window into a genuine friendship of two eminent cartoonists from either side of the globe. A rare privilege I have cherished ever since.
Schulz died in 2000 aged 77 and Jim a year later at a very youthful 92, both leaving a fabulous legacy for the next generation of scribblers.
Jeannie and 'Sparky' Schulz pictured in Jeannie's favourite shot of them together.
Flash forward to 2014, and I'm chatting to the president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, Mark Fiore at their 2014 Satire Fest in San Francisco. Editorial cartoonists are here from as far as Pakistan, Cuba and Paris. This was the last night of almost five days of intense workshopping, when Mark tells me that Schulz's wife, Jeannie has been one of those quietly working behind the scenes to make all this happen. I tried in vain to track her down in those closing hours, but eventually managed to make contact on my return to NZ.
Once connected, Jeannie tells me she still has a picture of Jim on her fridge, such was their friendship. I'm still smiling from that insight.
Since Schulz's death, The Peanuts phenomenon has marched on tirelessly, steered by Jeannie. She has now become a pillar of the cartoon industry and a good friend of the cartooning world. When word surfaced of the imminent release of the Peanuts film, Jeannie agreed to chat about living with the real Charlie Brown.
You've embraced the Peanuts world with open arms. When Sparky died, you could easily have decided 'okay, that's it. That's the end of an era. Peanuts will live on in the memory'. Or perhaps you had long committed yourself to Sparky's world and the joy it brings to people around the globe.
When Sparky died, we were in the middle of building the [Charles M. Schulz] Museum.
We had the ground breaking four months after he died, with city officials and dignitaries there for the occasion. The next two years, I was full-bore on the building and we finally opened in August of 2002.
So I suppose you could say that I had committed myself to it when we decided to build the museum. Frankly, no one else could have done it.
After we opened, I continued to stick my nose into everything because I had strong opinions about what Sparky would expect in all the aspects of the museum. And I am learning all the time, about Sparky ... and just more about what a museum can and should be. I like learning and I like being busy.
Left to Right - Jim Russell AM MBE and Charles 'Sparky' Schulz - in Schulz's studio, Santa Rosa
There aren't many cartoonists who have the ability to reach out and truly touch people. Do you think he really understood the bond that people make with Peanuts?
Yes and no. More than once, he came home with the story someone had written about being sick for a year or more during childhood, and the thing that saved them was having those little Fawcett paperbacks to read. He would say something like: 'this letter was amazing, this boy wrote so plainly.'
He knew his impact on some people, but I don't know that he comprehended completely. And Sparky believed that he, and all people in the public eye, had to be careful not to take themselves too seriously lest they lose sight of the work that they are doing.
Was Sparky drawing Peanuts from his life experiences and personality?
Sparky said that all the characters were parts of his personality: Charlie Brown - the insecure; Schroeder - the completely dedicated; Lucy- the cranky one; Linus - the philosophical one - and so on.
