SANTA ROSA, CA − Jeannie Schulz has a wicked sense of humor.
The 86-year-old widow of Charles Schulz, creator of Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the not-so-merry Peanuts gang, has become the conservator of his legacy.
Schulz is among the owners of Peanuts Worldwide, through which all partnerships flow − from Snoopy-stamped Uniqlo T-shirts to a new Apple TV+ special. She sits down with USA TODAY in an office at her husband's eponymous museum, filled to the brim with Peanuts paraphernalia.
A life-size Snoopy kicks back in the swivel chair behind her desk in the den once occupied by Charles, affectionately known as Sparky. She's gearing up for the strip's 75th anniversary on Oct. 2, and when asked about the enormity of the preparations, she offers, wryly: "What else was I going to do? Go play bridge and golf every day?"
Peppered throughout the conversation is that same sharp wit, which evokes her husband, whose cartoons, imbued with a similar tone, enjoy a rarified cultural space.
