Franklin (Peanuts)
Encyclopedia
Franklin is a character in the long-running comic strip
Peanuts
, created by Charles M. Schulz
. Introduced on July 31, 1968, Franklin was the first African-American character in the strip. He goes to school with Peppermint Patty
and Marcie. In his first story arc
, he met Charlie Brown
when they were both at the beach. Franklin's father was a soldier fighting in Vietnam
, to which Charlie Brown replied "My Dad's a barber...he was in a war too, but I don't know which one." Franklin later paid Charlie Brown a visit and found some of Charlie Brown's other friends to be quite odd. His last appearance was in 1999.
and race relations were an ongoing national debate in the United States, the introduction of Franklin proved somewhat controversial. Schulz, however, insisted that there was no political motivation in his introduction. Rarely was it expressly mentioned in the strip that Franklin was black, most characters merely accepting him as part of the gang. In an interview in 1997, Schulz discussed receiving a letter from a Southern editor "who said something about, 'I don't mind you having a black character, but please don't show them in school together.' Because I had shown Franklin sitting in front of Peppermint Patty, I didn't even answer him." Franklin's skin color, however, was mentioned in The Charlie Brown Dictionary, a picture dictionary
using the Peanuts characters. Franklin was referred to in the definition of "black" in showing a picture of him talking on the telephone; the color of the phone is black. The description also says that "black may also refer to Franklin's skin tone, which is also known as a Negro
person."
of her baseball team. Franklin acts as a thoughtful counterpart to Linus
, and is as adept at quoting the Old Testament
as Linus is. One connection that Franklin and Charlie Brown have is their mutual interest in their grandfathers; with Franklin describing his as energetic and content with his age with the motto, "When you're over the hill, you pick up speed." Franklin has few anxieties or obsessions and the novelty of his racial background has long since faded. In Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown
, Franklin is among the other children who must deal with culture shock
of transitioning from his nice neighborhood back home to living in a Spartan
summer camp
in the Western United States
, and learning that they will wake every morning at 5 A.M. In It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown
, Franklin is shown to be a fan of disco
dancing and breakdancing, and frequented a discothèque with Snoopy. He is also quite knowledgeable about jazz
music and plays Scott Joplin
's "Maple Leaf Rag
" in the "Music and Heroes of America" episode of This Is America, Charlie Brown
, which aired May 23, 1989.
television special
You're in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown
, Franklin's family name
is Armstrong, making his full name Franklin Armstrong. This is never stated in the comic strip (nor any other special); therefore, it is considered apocryphal.
in the episode "Life in the 1990s" and he was played by Phil LaMarr
.
In a "Weekend Update
" commentary on a 1992 episode of Saturday Night Live
, Chris Rock
, who incorrectly stated that Franklin has not said a single word for 25 years and related his own childhood experience as the only black student in his grade school class.
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
Peanuts
Peanuts
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
, created by Charles M. Schulz
Charles M. Schulz
Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz was an American cartoonist, whose comic strip Peanuts proved one of the most popular and influential in the history of the medium, and is still widely reprinted on a daily basis.-Early life and education:Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Schulz grew up in Saint Paul...
. Introduced on July 31, 1968, Franklin was the first African-American character in the strip. He goes to school with Peppermint Patty
Peppermint Patty
Patricia "Peppermint Patty" Reichardt is a fictional character featured in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. A freckle-faced auburn/brunette, she is one of a small group in the strip who lives across town from Charlie Brown and his school friends...
and Marcie. In his first story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
, he met Charlie Brown
Charlie Brown
Charles "Charlie" Brown is the protagonist in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz.Charlie Brown and his creator have a common connection in that they are both the sons of barbers, but whereas Schulz's work is described as the "most shining example of the American success story", Charlie...
when they were both at the beach. Franklin's father was a soldier fighting in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, to which Charlie Brown replied "My Dad's a barber...he was in a war too, but I don't know which one." Franklin later paid Charlie Brown a visit and found some of Charlie Brown's other friends to be quite odd. His last appearance was in 1999.
Political or non-political means
At a time when segregationRacial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
and race relations were an ongoing national debate in the United States, the introduction of Franklin proved somewhat controversial. Schulz, however, insisted that there was no political motivation in his introduction. Rarely was it expressly mentioned in the strip that Franklin was black, most characters merely accepting him as part of the gang. In an interview in 1997, Schulz discussed receiving a letter from a Southern editor "who said something about, 'I don't mind you having a black character, but please don't show them in school together.' Because I had shown Franklin sitting in front of Peppermint Patty, I didn't even answer him." Franklin's skin color, however, was mentioned in The Charlie Brown Dictionary, a picture dictionary
Picture dictionary
A picture dictionary or pictorial dictionary is a dictionary where the definition of a word is displayed in the form of a drawing or photograph. Picture dictionaries are useful in a variety of teaching environments, such as teaching a young child about their native language, or instructing older...
using the Peanuts characters. Franklin was referred to in the definition of "black" in showing a picture of him talking on the telephone; the color of the phone is black. The description also says that "black may also refer to Franklin's skin tone, which is also known as a Negro
Negro
The word Negro is used in the English-speaking world to refer to a person of black ancestry or appearance, whether of African descent or not...
person."
Biography
Franklin sits in front of Peppermint Patty in school, revealed November 12, 1969, and is the center fielderCenter fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field...
of her baseball team. Franklin acts as a thoughtful counterpart to Linus
Linus van Pelt
Linus van Pelt is a character in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. The best friend of Charlie Brown, Linus is also the younger brother of Lucy van Pelt and older brother of Rerun van Pelt. He first appeared on September 19, 1952; however, he was not mentioned by name until three days later....
, and is as adept at quoting the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
as Linus is. One connection that Franklin and Charlie Brown have is their mutual interest in their grandfathers; with Franklin describing his as energetic and content with his age with the motto, "When you're over the hill, you pick up speed." Franklin has few anxieties or obsessions and the novelty of his racial background has long since faded. In Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown
Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown
Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown is a 1977 animated film produced by United Feature Syndicate for Paramount Pictures, directed by Bill Meléndez, and the third in a series of movies based on the Peanuts comic strip...
, Franklin is among the other children who must deal with culture shock
Culture shock
Culture shock is the anxiety, feelings of frustration, alienation and anger that may occur when a person is emplaced in a new culture.One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign country. Culture shock can be described as consisting of one or more distinct phases...
of transitioning from his nice neighborhood back home to living in a Spartan
Spartan
A Spartan is a person from the Greek city Sparta or the ancient Greek city-state of the same name. In the latter context, the term "Spartan" in its most technical sense refers to a member of the Spartiate caste and under some usages also encompasses the class of mothakes, residents of Sparta who...
summer camp
Summer camp
Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....
in the Western United States
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
, and learning that they will wake every morning at 5 A.M. In It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown
It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown
It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown is the 27th prime-time animated television special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. The show is presented as an original musical which features parodies of the early 1980s breakdancing craze, the movies Saturday Night Fever and Flashdance,...
, Franklin is shown to be a fan of disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
dancing and breakdancing, and frequented a discothèque with Snoopy. He is also quite knowledgeable about jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
music and plays Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin was an American composer and pianist. Joplin achieved fame for his ragtime compositions, and was later dubbed "The King of Ragtime". During his brief career, Joplin wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas...
's "Maple Leaf Rag
Maple Leaf Rag
The "Maple Leaf Rag" is an early ragtime musical composition for piano composed by Scott Joplin. It was one of Joplin's early works, and is one of the most famous of all ragtime pieces, and became the model for ragtime compositions by subsequent composers. As a result Joplin was called the "King...
" in the "Music and Heroes of America" episode of This Is America, Charlie Brown
This Is America, Charlie Brown
This is America, Charlie Brown was an eight-part animated TV mini-series, depicting events in American history with characters from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip Peanuts. It aired from 1988 to 1989 on CBS. These eight episodes, originally released singly on videocassette, were released in a...
, which aired May 23, 1989.
Family name
According to the animatedAnimation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
You're in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown
You're in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown
You're in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown is the 37th prime-time animated TV specials based upon the popular comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It first aired on January 18, 1994 on NBC, making it the first Peanuts special to air on a different network after 27 years on CBS...
, Franklin's family name
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
is Armstrong, making his full name Franklin Armstrong. This is never stated in the comic strip (nor any other special); therefore, it is considered apocryphal.
Impact in culture
Various actors have played Franklin in the animated specials, one of them being Todd Barbee, who went on to become the voice of Charlie Brown from 1973 to 1974. Franklin also appeared on Tiny Toon AdventuresTiny Toon Adventures
Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures, usually referred to as Tiny Toon Adventures or simply Tiny Toons, is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. It began production as a result of Warner Bros....
in the episode "Life in the 1990s" and he was played by Phil LaMarr
Phil LaMarr
Phillip "Phil" LaMarr is an American actor, comedian and voice actor. One of the original cast members on the sketch comedy series MADtv, he is also known for his small, but memorable role as Marvin in Pulp Fiction...
.
In a "Weekend Update
Weekend Update
Weekend Update is a Saturday Night Live sketch that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typically presented in the middle of the show immediately after the first musical performance...
" commentary on a 1992 episode of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, Chris Rock
Chris Rock
Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...
, who incorrectly stated that Franklin has not said a single word for 25 years and related his own childhood experience as the only black student in his grade school class.
In popular culture
- Franklin appeared in the Robot ChickenRobot ChickenRobot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...
episode Vegetable Funfest. In the skit he was first seen on Linus van PeltLinus van PeltLinus van Pelt is a character in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. The best friend of Charlie Brown, Linus is also the younger brother of Lucy van Pelt and older brother of Rerun van Pelt. He first appeared on September 19, 1952; however, he was not mentioned by name until three days later....
s funeral. He was last seen in hell at the end, and was killed by the Great Pumpkin off-screen.