Reading about the happenings from the past that occurred on November 26, a warm feeling of nostalgia came over me.
The mention of Casablanca evokes memories of Humphrey Bogart (imagine they originally thought of casting Ronal Regan for the part) in Rick’s Café. I can still picture Ingrid Bergman and hear that theme song, As Time Goes By, that will live forever.
The movie had its premiere at the Hollywood Theater in New York on this day in 1942.
It took ten weeks to shoot and the original title was “Everybody Comes to Rick’s.” The script was constantly rewritten throughout the shooting, and not even the writers knew whether Ilsa would end up with Rick or Victor at the end.
Casablanca left us with some memorable quotes:
Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.
The problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.
I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Here’s looking at you kid.
Here’s looking at you Bogie, thanks for the memories.
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Also on this day in 1922 a man by the name of Charles Schultz was born. If you don’t remember who Charles Schultz was, maybe you remember Charlie Brown and Snoopy to mention a few characters that he brought to life via the comic strip.
Charles Schultz, the only son of a barber who didn’t fare well in school, went on to become one the world’s most famous cartoonist. As a kid, Charles was a skinny kid with a bad complexion and felt like he never fit in. His father with only a third grade education had a penchant for reading the comics. He would buy six newspapers every weekend and read the comics along with his son. For as long as he could remember, Charles Schultz wanted to be a cartoonist.
After serving in WWII, he returned to St. Paul and got a job doing artwork for a Catholic magazine. In his spare time he began to draw a cartoon strip about a group of kids, including one named Charlie Brown. In order to get exposure, he offered the strip to a local newspaper for free. The strip was called “L’il Folks.” After it ran for two years he asked the newspaper if they would begin paying him.
When they said no, Charles bought a train ticket and went to New York and showed his strip to United Feature Syndicate. They bought it, changed the name to “Peanuts” and the rest is history. The first strip came out on October 2, 1950, featuring Snoopy, Linus, Charlie Brown, Schroeder, Lucy and Sally.
The material for the strip was drawn from Schultz’s childhood difficulties. Charlie Brown was the chronically depressed kid who never got to kick the football, whose kite always got stuck up on the tree, and the kid who would never win the love of that little red haired girl.
Charles Schultz became the most widely syndicated cartoonist in history, with his work appearing in over 2300 newspapers. He has published more than 1,400 books, won a Peabody and Emmy awards for his animated specials, and is responsible for the most-produced musical in the American theatre, entitled "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown".
Not bad for a scrawny little kid from St. Paul whose family was so poor that they had pancakes for dinner many times.
The last strip published was shortly after his death five years ago. He had had a clause in his contract dictating the strip had to end with his death. "No, the strip will never be turned over to someone else," he said
Despite the enormous success, Charles Schultz struggled with depression and anxiety.
Charlie Brown was Charles Schultz.
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