Schulz retired
in 1999, at age 77. Rather than see the strip
in other hands,
he decided to end it. The final new
Peanuts daily appeared on Saturday,
Jan. 3, 2000,
and the last Sunday on Feb. 13 of that year,
after which, it went into reruns.
By that time, the strip was read every day by
355 million people in 75 countries,
and was being translated into 21
languages.
On Saturday, May 27, 2000 — the day of that
year's Reuben Awards Banquet — Schulz's
fellow cartoonists honored him in a unique
way. On that day, practically every comic
strip in
America made a reference, of one kind or
another, to Peanuts. The tribute had
been intended as a
surprise for Schulz; instead, it was a
memorial. Schulz had died quietly in his
sleep during the
night of Feb. 12 — just as newspapers
containing the final new Peanuts strip
were being printed.
The Gang
Ya gotta
love em!
And so it
ends
I'm sure
you are as appreciated in Heaven as you
were here.
