Linus Van Pelt
Linus van Pelt is Charlie Brown's best friend in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. He first appeared on September 19, 1952; however, he was not mentioned by name until three days later. He was first referenced two months earlier, on July 14.
Though very young, Linus is unusually smart, and he acts as the strip's philosopher and theologian, often quoting the Gospels. He also had uncanny physical abilities as a baby, such as mastering a basketball seconds after being introduced to it and blowing a balloon into the shape of a cube. He also invented his own quasi-religious being after confusing Christmas and Halloween together during one strip, who (like Santa Claus) mysteriously appears every year, bringing presents. The Great Pumpkin, however, appears on Halloween and only at the most sincere pumpkin patch, which Linus invariably believes is his own. Linus is the only one who believes in the Great Pumpkin. Though he occasionally convinces other characters the Great Pumpkin is real, they always lose faith, while Linus keeps his.
Perhaps paradoxically, given his advanced intellect, Linus is almost never without his blue blanket (or one of several), which he holds over his shoulder while sucking his thumb. It was in fact he who coined the term "security blanket." Ridicule of the habit is not a major concern for him as shown when one friend warned him at summer camp that he would be viciously teased for it. In response, Linus uses his blanket like a whip and shears off a tree branch with intimidating power and notes "They never tease me more than once." The blanket, it turns out, has something of a personality of its own (albeit, a nonverbal one), and it once engaged Lucy in a knock-down drag-out fight. Possession of the blanket is often sought after by Snoopy, who has used many tricks and subterfuges to relieve Linus of it. In later strips, he is shown with it less and less, and Charles Schulz admitted in 1989 that Linus had outgrown the blanket, and it was only in the strip when the humor of a strip was dependent on its presence.
Charlie Brown's little sister, Sally Brown, is in love with Linus and calls him her "sweet babboo." Linus in turn has an innocent crush on his school teacher, Miss Othmar (later Mrs. Hagemeyer). In more recent strips he developed some kind of interest in the girl who sits behind him who keeps changing her name. He also fell for several different girls in various animated television specials. He also had a crush on a girl called Truffles, who he and Snoopy met whilst looking for the fungi bearing her name.
Linus is meekly dominated by his older sister Lucy, who has been known to clobber him at the drop of a hat. Linus did finally challenge her to a fight when he thought he could beat her in a boxing match, only to get knocked out.
However, Linus often defuses Lucy's temper through passive resistance and clever use of his intellect, either logically talking Lucy out of hitting him or confusing her into submission. Later in the strip, the pair got a younger brother, Rerun, who looks nearly identical to Linus, though smaller. Coincidentally, this occurred at the same time Lucy kicked Linus out of the house, leading her to cry "A new baby brother? But I just got rid of the old one!"
Linus generally plays second base on Charlie Brown's Little League team; Linus inappropriately stands on top of second base when taking his position. Sometimes, when for some reason Charlie Brown can't pitch, Linus takes the mound and is unhittable to the opposition. Charlie Brown's team always wins games when Linus pitches. Part of the reason is that Linus uses his blanket to sling a fastball at unhittable speeds.
Facts about Linus
- The character was shown with a security blanket for the first time on June 1, 1954. [1]
- Said his first words in 1955.
- On one occasion his birthday was stated to be November 22, but in another strip he stated he was born in October.
- An Italian magazine, publishing Peanuts and many other comics starting from the 1960s, is named after Linus.
- Christopher Shea first voiced Linus Van Pelt in 1965. His younger brother, Stephen, voiced Linus from 1971 until 1975. Various actors had played Linus since then.
- Most famous for reciting Scripture on national television: in the Christmas special A Charlie Brown Christmas he quotes from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2, verses 8 to 15.
- In the strip, he quotes the 2 Timothy 4:21, where his name is mentioned.
- Expressed a desire to be a Polled Hereford rancher. Wanted to write to "Secretary Freeman" to see if the Department of Agriculture gave away cows through 4-H.
- Also expressed the desire to be the 47th man on the moon.
- In 1962, Linus became the first Peanuts character to don eyeglasses, although he later stopped using them.
- He hates coconut candy.
Trivia
- The term "security blanket" originated from the strip, which insurance companies - including MetLife, whom Peanuts became the spokescartoon for - used to describe complete coverage.[citation needed]
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