For Release: 2007-10-15 00:00:00
Armed only with security blankets and vivid imaginations, the Peanuts gang endured unrequited love, loneliness, resentment and despair for almost 50 years. Creator Charles M. Schulz poured out his heart on the comics page and helped readers laugh at life's toughest struggles. In "Good Ol' Charles Schulz ," American Masters presents a portrait of the man behind the most popular comic strip in history. The program airs Monday, Oct . 29 at 9/8 p.m. C T on KET2 and Thursday, Nov. 1 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET1 ."Good Ol' Charles Schulz" includes excerpts from classic Peanuts television specials, archival footage, personal photos and home movies. Archival interviews with Schulz himself offer insight into a humble man who reached the pinnacle of his profession but still described himself as ordinary. Original interviews include Schulz' widow and three oldest children, the real-life inspirations for Linus and the "little red-haired girl," prominent cartoonists who knew "Sparky" Schulz and David Michaelis, author of Schulz and Peanuts, who served as consultant to the film.
The program explores the many connections between Schulz' life and art, from wintry images of a Minnesota boyhood and the echoes of a first marriage in the relationship between Lucy and Schroeder to the dismal family Thanksgiving that found its way into a holiday special.
Immediately following American Masters, Peanuts Gallery examines the extraordinary friendship between Schulz and composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, which ultimately led to the creation of Peanuts Gallery for Piano and Orchestra .
Through interviews with Zwilich and Mrs. Schulz, along with footage of Schulz himself, the program explains how Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the gang went from the daily comics to Carnegie Hall. This program also features a performance of Zwilich's Peanuts Gallery by the Florida State University Symphony Orchestra.
American Masters "Good Ol' Charles Schulz" is co-produced by WNET/New York, Twin Cities Public Television and Lumiere Productions. Peanuts Gallery is produced by WFSU/Tallahassee. More information about KET programming and education services, as well as how to support KET, can be found at www.ket.org.
Contact: Amanda Stroud
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Charles Schulz drawing Charlie Brown.
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