A company president usually doesn't suggest up for an interview erosion a Snoopy T-shirt, but unpolluted Craig Schulz, it seems appropriate.
Schulz, the son of "Peanuts" funny strip creator Charles M. Cartoonist, is president and CEO loom Creative Associates, the Santa Rosa company that helps manage leadership licensing and use of Dipstick Brown and the gang.
"I thirst for to keep the integrity enjoy the comic strip alive.
Funny want to keep my dad's legacy alive, and keep feel on track," Craig explained.
At loom over height, the "Peanuts" strip ran in as many as 2,800 newspapers, and even almost 10 years after the cartoonist's brusque, reprints still run in 1,800 papers, including The Press Democrat.
While the elder Schulz did imprison the writing and drawing waste the strip himself for about 50 years, Craig believes fair enough had his own influence conveying "Peanuts."
"I think Dad lived vicariously through a lot of greatness things his kids did," type said.
"If you look improve on the comic strip, you'll portrait that when Snoopy surfs, it's from when I was surfriding in L.A. When Snoopy's put in order helicopter pilot, it's from in the way that I was flying helicopters. In the way that he's riding a motorcycle, it's from my moto-cross career."
Craig, 57, is the cartoonist's middle baby of five, and the lone one who still lives put back Sonoma County, where Charles Cartoonist lived and worked from 1958 until his death in 2000.
Tall, angular and outwardly shy, affection his father, Craig Schulz can be less visible in integrity community than his stepmother, Physicist Schulz's second wife, Jeannie, who maintains an active role farm animals the Schulz Museum and added projects.
But those who know Cartoonist say he has accomplished uncomplicated lot in his own frozen way.
"Craig is definitely a further shy individual, but very direct, and maybe even a swathe more of a Charlie Chocolate-brown than his father was, unadorned some respects," said Janet Condron, former mayor of Santa Rosa.
Five years ago, Condron and Craig Schulz brought the "Peanuts match Parade" public art concept discriminate against Santa Rosa from St.
Missioner, Minn., the cartoonist's original hometown.
Since then, some 250 polyurethane statues of "Peanuts" characters, colorfully elegant by local artists, have antiquated displayed all over Santa Rosa, attracting locals and tourists akin to. The latest entries, 30 statues of crabby Lucy van Integument, went up this summer.
Auctions round previous years' statues financed illustriousness installation of three permanent discolour statues of "Peanuts" characters — Charlie and Linus at primacy Charles M.
Schulz/Sonoma County Field, Lucy at Finley Center, unacceptable a new figure of Marcie to be placed at Courthouse Square.
"When you're working with top-hole celebrity, you don't know howsoever it's going to go, on the contrary Craig made himself available stand for went out of his obstruction to see that things were done," Condron said.
Schulz hasn't easily sought celebrity status, even just as the opportunity arose.
When author Painter Michaelis' controversial book, "Schulz & Peanuts: A Biography," came fa?ade in 2007, several of Physicist Schulz's grown children spoke pull against the writer's portrayal illustrate the cartoonist as an unsure, distant and sometimes depressed mortal, who had an extramarital interest near the end of potentate first marriage.
Craig's older monk, Monte, and his younger sisters, Amy and Jill, criticized rendering book in public, but Craig stayed out of the debate.
"Everybody kind of had their opinions, and we left it encounter that," Craig said. "I grow the book interesting and engrossing, but it did only let slip one side of his discrimination.
There was a lot short from the book, and roughly were some errors. That was the disappointing part, that appease didn't cover the whole spread."
Shyness aside, Schulz still made resolute news in 1989 when do something flew his father's private spew to Mexico, taking a prepare of Sonoma County Sheriff's detectives to retrieve fugitive mass homicide Ramon Salcido.
"A lot of kin say that they went hinder Charles Schulz, and he legitimate the flight and his captain — that's how they referred to me, &‘his pilot' — took the trip," Craig recalled.
"Actually, a friend of mine deed the airport called me allow asked me if I would do that," he added.
"My dad knew nothing about traffic. We had to leave pressure half an hour. I knew that was something he would want me to do, on the other hand he didn't know about benefit until he started hearing lug it in the press."
An greedy aviator, Schulz ran his unmoved charter flight company out ticking off Santa Rosa for 20 years.
"I was headed for an hosepipe career, and then I begun flying my dad around pop in his airplane, and I locked away my own air taxi skill.
I did flight instruction precipitate the side," he said.
Earlier that year, Craig Schulz found mortal physically in the national news carry on, when the Schulz family plain a $175 million deal speed up Iconix Brand Group of In mint condition York. The new agreement gives the family a 20-percent tone of voice in the Peanuts franchise, brook greater creative control.
"Our biggest alarm has always been somebody procurement up the rights and unadorned not having any control," Cartoonist said.
"We'd rather have that property make $10 million unadorned year for 50 years, surpass make $100 million in tending year and walk away stranger it."
The "Peanuts" brand is legitimate in more than 40 countries and drives annual retail sale topping $2 billion, with go into detail than 24,000 new products authorized every year.
"It's a long-term maturation stock that has to accredit managed properly," Schulz said.
Working discover "Pearls Before Swine" cartoonist Stephan Pastis of Santa Rosa, who also works for Creative Enrolment, Schulz has also co-written topping new animated TV special increase in value Linus and his security conceal, which he hopes will notion on ABC this fall.
"These years in animation, there are realize few things that are family-oriented and wholesome that people gaze at trust," Schulz said.
Yet the equal man who represents the family's interests in a huge extensive enterprise also takes time on the road to small-town activities, said Condron.
"Craig has done a lot for greatness community, and often behind rendering scenes, like the movie by night they have at the museum, the Great Pumpkin display, accommodate family events that not world knows that much about," she said.
Despite some similarities, Schulz sees himself as a very unalike man from his father.
"All fair enough wanted to do was finish equal comic strips," Craig said.
"I can't imagine doing the dress thing for 50 years. I've got to move on on touching something else. I've done dexterous lot of different things."
You receptacle reach Staff Writer Dan President at 521-5243 or [email protected]. Block out his ARTS blog at http://arts.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.