5 Forgotten 'Peanuts' Characters That Charles Schulz Abandoned in the Comic Strip
Better a has-been than a never-was, right?
Five Forgotten Peanuts Characters Abandoned by Schulz
Charles Schulz, the creator of Peanuts, phased out several of his original characters early on in the comic strip's history. Among these forgotten characters were Shermy, Patty, Violet, and Five.
Shermy, based on Schulz's childhood friend Sherman Plepler, was one of the comic's core protagonists during its first year. However, as Schulz introduced more interesting characters, Shermy's appearances rapidly dropped off. The straight man of the group, Shermy had his final speaking role in June 1969.
Patty, named after Schulz's cousin Patricia Swanson, also had a short stint in the strip. Initially appearing in the first-ever Peanuts strip, she was later repositioned as an upper-crust neighborhood snob. Patty appeared in most of the classic animated specials but became increasingly absent from the comic strip by 1960.
Violet, introduced in 1961 as a vain and chatty girl, had a brief but notable run in Peanuts. Known for her pride over her naturally curly hair and flirtations with Schroeder, she was eventually relegated to cameo status by 1985.
Five, a parody of the newly introduced ZIP postal codes, appeared in Peanuts from 1963 to 1983. Named after his birthplace's ZIP code, Five was a one-joke character, often mistaken for an inexplicably clean Pig-Pen. His final appearance came in 1983, making him one of the longest-running characters with a single joke.
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