Schroeder (Peanuts)
Encyclopedia
Schroeder is a fictional character
in the long-running comic strip
Peanuts
, created by Charles M. Schulz
. He is distinguished by his precocious skill at playing the toy piano
, as well as by his love of classical music and the composer Ludwig van Beethoven
in particular. Schroeder is also the catcher on Charlie Brown
's baseball
team, though he is always seen walking back to the mound with the baseball, never throwing it—admitting in one strip he didn't want the other team to discover his lack of ability. He is also the object of the unrequited infatuation
of Lucy van Pelt
, who constantly leans on Schroeder's piano. Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty, Frieda
and Snoopy
are also occasionally depicted as leaning on Schroeder's piano.
After Linus
and Snoopy
, Schroeder is probably Charlie Brown's closest friend; he once angrily berated Violet
for giving Charlie Brown a used valentine well after Valentine's Day had come and gone, only to be undercut when Charlie Brown eagerly accepted it. Schroeder also joined Linus in dressing down the girls (Lucy, Patty, Violet and Frieda) and Snoopy in Charlie Brown's All-Stars
, when it was discovered Charlie Brown wouldn't sacrifice the girls and Snoopy just to get uniforms for the baseball team. He also is one of the few players who has any respect for Charlie Brown as a manager; however, he is as capable of ire at Charlie Brown's poor performance as anyone else, but these instances are few and far between. In one game, when Frieda desperately asked Schroeder; "Wouldn't you like just once to see Charlie Brown hit that ball?", Schroeder's calm reply was; "No, I am not prepared to have the world come to an end".
He was voted as an honorary member of the Epsilon Iota chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
music fraternity, the oldest and largest music fraternity in the world.
On a stained glass window in New York's Buffalo Westminster Presbyterian Church honoring Albert Schweitzer
has a corner showing Schroeder playing his toy piano. In honor of Schroeder's passion for Beethoven, the Charles M. Schulz Museum (Santa Rosa) and the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies announced the launching in December 2009 of a permanent online exhibit of 60 of the 300 Schulz's cartoons that involve Schroeder and Beethoven: "Schulz's Beethoven, Schroeder's Muse" (accessible through the website www.americanbeethovensociety.org).
refers to him as a next door neighbor. His address is 1770 James Street, easy to remember for him because the number is Beethoven's birth year. Schroeder's birthday was in 1954 revealed to be January 18. He initially had no notable characteristics, but soon, Schulz had the idea to incorporate his daughter Meredith's toy piano
into the strip. He decided to give it to the newest character in the strip, and thus the character as he is known to millions of fans was born. The origin of his name can be found in Schulz' 1975 book, Peanuts Jubilee:
"Schroeder was named after a young boy with whom I used to caddy
at Highland Park golf course in St. Paul. I don't recall ever knowing his first name, but just 'Schroeder' seemed right for the character in the script, even before he became the great musician he now is."
From his first appearance at the piano on September 24, 1951 Schroeder has played classical pieces of virtuoso
level, as depicted by Schulz's transcription of sheet music onto the panel. The first piece Schroeder played was Rachmaninoff's Prelude in G Minor. Schroeder is often found playing selections from a sonata by Beethoven
, his favorite composer. As revealed in one strip wherein Lucy took his bust
of Beethoven and smashed it, he has an entire closet full of Beethoven busts. It was also found that he has an entire closet full of pianos. Every year, Schroeder marks December 16, the birthday of his hero. Schulz once revealed that he had originally planned to depict Johannes Brahms
as Schroeder's idol, but decided that Beethoven simply sounded "funnier." He was once in shock when he forgot Beethoven's birthday. When Charlie Brown's baseball team is required to have a sponsor to play games, Schroeder's sponsor is Beethoven. In the early strips Schroeder also played other composers. In one strip, Lucy implies that his idolization of Beethoven is excessive, asking him what he thinks of other classical composers such as Schubert, Brahms, Bach, and Chopin. Schroeder simply replies, "They were great composers too," and continues to play Beethoven.
Schroeder is usually depicted sitting at his toy piano
, able to pound out multi-octave selections of music, despite the fact that such a piano has a very small realistic range (for instance, and as a running joke, the black keys are merely painted on to the white keys). On one occasion, Charlie Brown tried to get him to play a real piano and young Schroeder burst into tears, intimidated by its size.
, and Schroeder feels he must emulate every aspect of his idol's life, even if it is insinuated that he reciprocates Lucy's feelings. In a story arc where she and the rest of her family have moved out of town (also seen in the special Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown?
), Schroeder becomes frustrated with his music and mutters disbelievingly that he misses her, realizing that, despite his animosity towards her, Lucy has unwittingly become Schroeder's muse
and he cannot play without her (he parodies Henry Higgins
by saying, "Don't tell me I've grown accustomed to THAT face!"). Sometimes, he gets so annoyed with Lucy that he outright yanks the piano out from underneath her to get her away from him which became a running gag
; on one occasion both Lucy and Frieda lounge on Schroeder's piano-until he yanks it from beneath them both after Frieda mistakenly thinks Beethoven is a drink rather than a composer. However, he does allow Charlie Brown to lounge against the piano, because of their solid friendship. The question of how the unwanted Lucy nevertheless keeps getting into Schroeder's house is never addressed; presumably Schroeder's unseen parents do not take his dislike for her very seriously.
Once, he appears as Lucy's psychiatric partner, and took her place when she was not available. When Charlie Brown poured out his troubles, Schroeder said simply, "Go home and listen to a Brahms piano quartet...Five cents, please!" Later, Charlie Brown asked Lucy, "Just how carefully do you screen these assistants of yours?"
The only times Schroeder accepted a gift from Lucy was when she gave him a sketch of Beethoven—she was then shocked to find he already had a gigantic wall-size portrait of Beethoven hanging in his room, and when Lucy gave him Elton John
glasses.
Schroeder has only been known to kiss Lucy on the cheek once. Once when Lucy gives Schroeder a cupcake
on Beethoven's birthday, he kisses her on the cheek, but when Lucy turns around she sees Snoopy next to her and thinks it was he that kissed her, then ran away screaming.
were the best of friends, with the exception of one argument from the mid 1950s (when the two had more of a rivalry going) where Charlie Brown insulted his "yellow hair" and "plink, plink, plink all day long [on his piano]" and Schroeder countered with a barb at Charlie's coonskin cap
and "round head." Schroeder was the catcher
on Charlie's baseball team and, during conferences on the pitcher's mound, the two would engage in unusual conversations, mostly about Beethoven and hand signals (one finger means..., two fingers means..., etc). He would also encourage Charlie during a baseball game often, whereas the rest of the team would say, "Don't let us down by showing up!" In the animated cartoon, he limits Charlie Brown to only two pitches, a high and low Straightball.
Schroeder's most significant act of friendship, however, came in Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown
. When Violet offers Charlie Brown one of her used Valentine cards (since Charlie received no Valentines the previous day at his school's party), Schroeder thoroughly chastises her, Frieda, Lucy
and Sally
for their disregard for his feelings and their selfish motive of relieving their own personal guilt. Charlie Brown, however, tells the girls not to listen to him and accepts the card, although he expressed appreciation for Schroeder's gesture.
Charlie Brown is one of the few people Schroeder will allow to lounge against his piano, as he and Charlie Brown are good friends, and knows that Charlie Brown respects his love of Beethoven. In fact, when they were younger, Charlie Brown would read Schroeder the story about Beethoven's life. Charlie Brown, in fact was the one that introduced Schroeder to the piano.
. Lucy asks Schroeder to play "Jingle Bells
". Schroeder plays it in the style of a conventional piano, then manages to generate the warm tones of a Hammond organ
, but Lucy cannot recognize the tune until the now-irritated Schroeder plays it, off-key with one finger, in the tones of a normal toy piano
. This is the only time in the history of the television specials that his toy piano ever actually sounds like a toy piano. In 1966's It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
, Schroeder accommodated Snoopy (who was dressed in his World War I Flying Ace outfit) by playing a brief medley of World War I songs (both peppy ones and very sad depressing ones) at Violet's Halloween Party; such as "Pack up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag", "Roses of Picardy", and others.
Schroeder is normally a very passive character, content to play his music, but he can be angered quite easily, especially if his music or his idol Beethoven are insulted. In one short, Lucy points out to him the woefully inadequate single-octave range of a toy piano; an angry Schroeder yanks it out from under, causing her to conk her head on the floor. This became a frequent running gag
in the strip's later years. On another occasion, Lucy asked if pianists make a lot of money, and Schroeder flew into a rage: "Who cares about money?! This is art, you blockhead! This is great music I'm playing, and playing great music is an art! Do you hear me? An art! Art! Art! Art! Art! Art!" (the last five words punctuated by slamming his hands against his piano). These instances mark the few occasions when any character successfully stand up to the notoriously aggressive Lucy. However, when Lucy asks the same question in the movie A Boy Named Charlie Brown, Schroeder admits: "Some do, if they practice real hard, I guess." In the Charlie Brown Christmas special, Lucy tells Schroeder that Beethoven "wasn't so great". When Schroeder defensively demands an explanation, Lucy replies that Beethoven has never been on a bubble gum card and that one cannot be considered great without appearing on one.
The musical notes Schroeder plays also seem to have substance; characters are able to touch them as they appear in the air. Snoopy, for example, once decorated a Christmas
tree using a handful of them, and has on at least one occasion been seen dancing atop the musical staff containing the notes.
Lucy has often spoken of getting Schroeder to give up his piano, such as getting him to realize that married life has financial hardships and he may have to sell his piano in order to buy her a good set of saucepans. On two occasions, Lucy went so far as to destroy Schroeder's piano in an attempt to be rid of the "competition" for his affection, but both attempts failed:
Lucy once "accidentally" washed his piano and threw it in the dryer, thus having the piano shrink, leaving Schroeder horrified.
In an episode of "The Charlie Brown & Snoopy Show" , it was revealed that Schroeder orders his Pianos from the "Ace Piano Company."
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the long-running comic strip
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...
. He is distinguished by his precocious skill at playing the toy piano
Toy piano
The toy piano, also known as the kinderklavier , is a small piano-like musical instrument. The present form of the toy piano was invented in Philadelphia by a 17-year-old German immigrant named Albert Schoenhut. He worked as a repairman at Wanamaker's department store, repairing broken glass...
, as well as by his love of classical music and the composer Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
in particular. Schroeder is also the catcher on 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...
's baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team, though he is always seen walking back to the mound with the baseball, never throwing it—admitting in one strip he didn't want the other team to discover his lack of ability. He is also the object of the unrequited infatuation
Unrequited love
Unrequited love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such, even though reciprocation is usually deeply desired. The beloved may or may not be aware of the admirer's deep affections...
of Lucy van Pelt
Lucy van Pelt
Lucille "Lucy" van Pelt is a fictional character in the syndicated comic strip :Peanuts, written and drawn by Charles Schulz. She is the main bully and the older sister of Linus and Rerun. Lucy is a crabby and cynical eight-year old girl, and often bullies the other characters in the strip,...
, who constantly leans on Schroeder's piano. Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty, Frieda
Frieda (Peanuts)
Frieda is a character in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles Schulz. According to Schulz, Frieda's character was inspired by his longtime friend Frieda Rich, a local artist whom he met while taking classes at the Art Instruction Schools in Minneapolis, Minnesota...
and Snoopy
Snoopy
Snoopy is an fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. He is Charlie Brown's pet beagle. Snoopy began his life in the strip as a fairly conventional dog, but eventually evolved into perhaps the strip's most dynamic character—and among the most recognizable...
are also occasionally depicted as leaning on Schroeder's piano.
After 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 Snoopy
Snoopy
Snoopy is an fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. He is Charlie Brown's pet beagle. Snoopy began his life in the strip as a fairly conventional dog, but eventually evolved into perhaps the strip's most dynamic character—and among the most recognizable...
, Schroeder is probably Charlie Brown's closest friend; he once angrily berated Violet
Violet (Peanuts)
Violet Gray is a fictional character in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz.Violet has shoulder-length dark hair, and she frequently wears green dresses...
for giving Charlie Brown a used valentine well after Valentine's Day had come and gone, only to be undercut when Charlie Brown eagerly accepted it. Schroeder also joined Linus in dressing down the girls (Lucy, Patty, Violet and Frieda) and Snoopy in Charlie Brown's All-Stars
Charlie Brown's All-Stars
Charlie Brown's All-Stars is the second prime-time animated TV special based upon the popular comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was the second such TV special to be produced by Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez , and originally aired on the CBS network on June 8, 1966...
, when it was discovered Charlie Brown wouldn't sacrifice the girls and Snoopy just to get uniforms for the baseball team. He also is one of the few players who has any respect for Charlie Brown as a manager; however, he is as capable of ire at Charlie Brown's poor performance as anyone else, but these instances are few and far between. In one game, when Frieda desperately asked Schroeder; "Wouldn't you like just once to see Charlie Brown hit that ball?", Schroeder's calm reply was; "No, I am not prepared to have the world come to an end".
He was voted as an honorary member of the Epsilon Iota chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music...
music fraternity, the oldest and largest music fraternity in the world.
On a stained glass window in New York's Buffalo Westminster Presbyterian Church honoring Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer OM was a German theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire...
has a corner showing Schroeder playing his toy piano. In honor of Schroeder's passion for Beethoven, the Charles M. Schulz Museum (Santa Rosa) and the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies announced the launching in December 2009 of a permanent online exhibit of 60 of the 300 Schulz's cartoons that involve Schroeder and Beethoven: "Schulz's Beethoven, Schroeder's Muse" (accessible through the website www.americanbeethovensociety.org).
Appearance
Schroeder has short blond hair. He almost always wears a striped shirt of generally purple,both black and blue shorts. He is commonly seen playing the piano.History
Schroeder was introduced as a baby on May 30, 1951, but aged to the maturity level of the other characters over the next three years. On his first appearance on the strip PattyPatty (Peanuts)
Patty is a character in the comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz . Her closest friend is Violet...
refers to him as a next door neighbor. His address is 1770 James Street, easy to remember for him because the number is Beethoven's birth year. Schroeder's birthday was in 1954 revealed to be January 18. He initially had no notable characteristics, but soon, Schulz had the idea to incorporate his daughter Meredith's toy piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
into the strip. He decided to give it to the newest character in the strip, and thus the character as he is known to millions of fans was born. The origin of his name can be found in Schulz' 1975 book, Peanuts Jubilee:
"Schroeder was named after a young boy with whom I used to caddy
Caddy
In golf, a caddy is the person who carries a player's bag and clubs, and gives insightful advice and moral support. A good caddy is aware of the challenges and obstacles of the golf course being played, along with the best strategy in playing it. This includes knowing overall yardage, pin...
at Highland Park golf course in St. Paul. I don't recall ever knowing his first name, but just 'Schroeder' seemed right for the character in the script, even before he became the great musician he now is."
From his first appearance at the piano on September 24, 1951 Schroeder has played classical pieces of virtuoso
Virtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
level, as depicted by Schulz's transcription of sheet music onto the panel. The first piece Schroeder played was Rachmaninoff's Prelude in G Minor. Schroeder is often found playing selections from a sonata by Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
, his favorite composer. As revealed in one strip wherein Lucy took his bust
Bust (sculpture)
A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, as well as a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual...
of Beethoven and smashed it, he has an entire closet full of Beethoven busts. It was also found that he has an entire closet full of pianos. Every year, Schroeder marks December 16, the birthday of his hero. Schulz once revealed that he had originally planned to depict Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
as Schroeder's idol, but decided that Beethoven simply sounded "funnier." He was once in shock when he forgot Beethoven's birthday. When Charlie Brown's baseball team is required to have a sponsor to play games, Schroeder's sponsor is Beethoven. In the early strips Schroeder also played other composers. In one strip, Lucy implies that his idolization of Beethoven is excessive, asking him what he thinks of other classical composers such as Schubert, Brahms, Bach, and Chopin. Schroeder simply replies, "They were great composers too," and continues to play Beethoven.
Schroeder is usually depicted sitting at his toy piano
Toy piano
The toy piano, also known as the kinderklavier , is a small piano-like musical instrument. The present form of the toy piano was invented in Philadelphia by a 17-year-old German immigrant named Albert Schoenhut. He worked as a repairman at Wanamaker's department store, repairing broken glass...
, able to pound out multi-octave selections of music, despite the fact that such a piano has a very small realistic range (for instance, and as a running joke, the black keys are merely painted on to the white keys). On one occasion, Charlie Brown tried to get him to play a real piano and young Schroeder burst into tears, intimidated by its size.
Relationship with Lucy Van Pelt
Schroeder's other distinguishing mark as a character is his constant refusal of Lucy's love. Lucy is infatuated with Schroeder, and frequently lounges against his piano while he is playing, professing her love for him. However, Beethoven was a lifelong bachelorBachelor
A bachelor is a man above the age of majority who has never been married . Unlike his female counterpart, the spinster, a bachelor may have had children...
, and Schroeder feels he must emulate every aspect of his idol's life, even if it is insinuated that he reciprocates Lucy's feelings. In a story arc where she and the rest of her family have moved out of town (also seen in the special Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown?
Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown?
Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown? is the 24th prime-time animated TV special based upon the popular comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was originally aired on the CBS network on February 21, 1983.-Plot:...
), Schroeder becomes frustrated with his music and mutters disbelievingly that he misses her, realizing that, despite his animosity towards her, Lucy has unwittingly become Schroeder's muse
Muse
The Muses in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature, are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge, related orally for centuries in the ancient culture, that was contained in poetic lyrics and myths...
and he cannot play without her (he parodies Henry Higgins
Henry Higgins
Henry Higgins may refer to:*The fictional character: see Pygmalion or My Fair Lady*The Australian politician and judge H. B. Higgins* Henry Higgins -See also:*Harry Higgins, English cricketer*Henry Huggins, fictional character...
by saying, "Don't tell me I've grown accustomed to THAT face!"). Sometimes, he gets so annoyed with Lucy that he outright yanks the piano out from underneath her to get her away from him which became a running gag
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
; on one occasion both Lucy and Frieda lounge on Schroeder's piano-until he yanks it from beneath them both after Frieda mistakenly thinks Beethoven is a drink rather than a composer. However, he does allow Charlie Brown to lounge against the piano, because of their solid friendship. The question of how the unwanted Lucy nevertheless keeps getting into Schroeder's house is never addressed; presumably Schroeder's unseen parents do not take his dislike for her very seriously.
Once, he appears as Lucy's psychiatric partner, and took her place when she was not available. When Charlie Brown poured out his troubles, Schroeder said simply, "Go home and listen to a Brahms piano quartet...Five cents, please!" Later, Charlie Brown asked Lucy, "Just how carefully do you screen these assistants of yours?"
The only times Schroeder accepted a gift from Lucy was when she gave him a sketch of Beethoven—she was then shocked to find he already had a gigantic wall-size portrait of Beethoven hanging in his room, and when Lucy gave him Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
glasses.
Schroeder has only been known to kiss Lucy on the cheek once. Once when Lucy gives Schroeder a cupcake
Cupcake
A cupcake is a small cake designed to serve one person, frequently baked in a small, thin paper or aluminum cup...
on Beethoven's birthday, he kisses her on the cheek, but when Lucy turns around she sees Snoopy next to her and thinks it was he that kissed her, then ran away screaming.
Relationship with Charlie Brown
For the most part, Schroeder and Charlie BrownCharlie 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...
were the best of friends, with the exception of one argument from the mid 1950s (when the two had more of a rivalry going) where Charlie Brown insulted his "yellow hair" and "plink, plink, plink all day long [on his piano]" and Schroeder countered with a barb at Charlie's coonskin cap
Coonskin cap
A coonskin cap is a hat fashioned from the skin and fur of a raccoon. The original coonskin cap consisted of the entire skin of the raccoon including its head and tail...
and "round head." Schroeder was the catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
on Charlie's baseball team and, during conferences on the pitcher's mound, the two would engage in unusual conversations, mostly about Beethoven and hand signals (one finger means..., two fingers means..., etc). He would also encourage Charlie during a baseball game often, whereas the rest of the team would say, "Don't let us down by showing up!" In the animated cartoon, he limits Charlie Brown to only two pitches, a high and low Straightball.
Schroeder's most significant act of friendship, however, came in Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown
Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown
Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown is the 13th prime-time animated TV specials based upon the popular comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was originally aired on the CBS network on January 28, 1975. ABC will next air it on February 11, 2011....
. When Violet offers Charlie Brown one of her used Valentine cards (since Charlie received no Valentines the previous day at his school's party), Schroeder thoroughly chastises her, Frieda, Lucy
Lucy van Pelt
Lucille "Lucy" van Pelt is a fictional character in the syndicated comic strip :Peanuts, written and drawn by Charles Schulz. She is the main bully and the older sister of Linus and Rerun. Lucy is a crabby and cynical eight-year old girl, and often bullies the other characters in the strip,...
and Sally
Sally Brown
Sally Brown is the younger sister of Charlie Brown in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles Schulz. She was first mentioned in early 1959 and throughout a long series of strips before her first appearance in August 1959.-Appearance:...
for their disregard for his feelings and their selfish motive of relieving their own personal guilt. Charlie Brown, however, tells the girls not to listen to him and accepts the card, although he expressed appreciation for Schroeder's gesture.
Charlie Brown is one of the few people Schroeder will allow to lounge against his piano, as he and Charlie Brown are good friends, and knows that Charlie Brown respects his love of Beethoven. In fact, when they were younger, Charlie Brown would read Schroeder the story about Beethoven's life. Charlie Brown, in fact was the one that introduced Schroeder to the piano.
Schroeder's piano
The piano's capability is illustrated in 1965's A Charlie Brown ChristmasA Charlie Brown Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas is the first prime-time animated TV special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was produced and directed by former Warner Bros. and UPA animator Bill Melendez, who also supplied the voice for the character of Snoopy...
. Lucy asks Schroeder to play "Jingle Bells
Jingle Bells
"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in the autumn of 1857...
". Schroeder plays it in the style of a conventional piano, then manages to generate the warm tones of a Hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, but Lucy cannot recognize the tune until the now-irritated Schroeder plays it, off-key with one finger, in the tones of a normal toy piano
Toy piano
The toy piano, also known as the kinderklavier , is a small piano-like musical instrument. The present form of the toy piano was invented in Philadelphia by a 17-year-old German immigrant named Albert Schoenhut. He worked as a repairman at Wanamaker's department store, repairing broken glass...
. This is the only time in the history of the television specials that his toy piano ever actually sounds like a toy piano. In 1966's It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is a 1966 American prime time animated television special based on the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz....
, Schroeder accommodated Snoopy (who was dressed in his World War I Flying Ace outfit) by playing a brief medley of World War I songs (both peppy ones and very sad depressing ones) at Violet's Halloween Party; such as "Pack up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag", "Roses of Picardy", and others.
Schroeder is normally a very passive character, content to play his music, but he can be angered quite easily, especially if his music or his idol Beethoven are insulted. In one short, Lucy points out to him the woefully inadequate single-octave range of a toy piano; an angry Schroeder yanks it out from under, causing her to conk her head on the floor. This became a frequent running gag
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
in the strip's later years. On another occasion, Lucy asked if pianists make a lot of money, and Schroeder flew into a rage: "Who cares about money?! This is art, you blockhead! This is great music I'm playing, and playing great music is an art! Do you hear me? An art! Art! Art! Art! Art! Art!" (the last five words punctuated by slamming his hands against his piano). These instances mark the few occasions when any character successfully stand up to the notoriously aggressive Lucy. However, when Lucy asks the same question in the movie A Boy Named Charlie Brown, Schroeder admits: "Some do, if they practice real hard, I guess." In the Charlie Brown Christmas special, Lucy tells Schroeder that Beethoven "wasn't so great". When Schroeder defensively demands an explanation, Lucy replies that Beethoven has never been on a bubble gum card and that one cannot be considered great without appearing on one.
The musical notes Schroeder plays also seem to have substance; characters are able to touch them as they appear in the air. Snoopy, for example, once decorated a Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
tree using a handful of them, and has on at least one occasion been seen dancing atop the musical staff containing the notes.
Lucy has often spoken of getting Schroeder to give up his piano, such as getting him to realize that married life has financial hardships and he may have to sell his piano in order to buy her a good set of saucepans. On two occasions, Lucy went so far as to destroy Schroeder's piano in an attempt to be rid of the "competition" for his affection, but both attempts failed:
- In a series of strips from January 1969, Lucy threw the piano into a tree, which was later discovered to be none other than a dreaded Kite-Eating TreeKite-Eating TreeThe Kite-Eating Tree is a fictional tree featured in the comic strip Peanuts created by Charles M. Schulz.A Kite-Eating Tree is a deciduous tree of indeterminate type, once referred to as a "Kiteus Eatemupus". According to Charlie Brown, it is impossible to tell a kite-eating tree from...
, which evidently didn't distinguish between kites and toy pianos. When Schroeder ordered a replacement, Charlie Brown asked if his piano was covered by insurance, to which Schroeder replied, "How do you explain to the insurance company that your piano was eaten by a tree?".
- In her second attempt, from an October 1974 strip series, Lucy threw the piano into the sewer, from which Charlie Brown and Schroeder attempted to retrieve it. Schroeder was able to reach it, but it was stuck, and then when it started raining heavily the piano was washed out to sea.
Lucy once "accidentally" washed his piano and threw it in the dryer, thus having the piano shrink, leaving Schroeder horrified.
In an episode of "The Charlie Brown & Snoopy Show" , it was revealed that Schroeder orders his Pianos from the "Ace Piano Company."
Portrayals
- Chris DoranChris DoranChristopher Doran, from Waterford, Ireland was the winner of Ireland's You're A Star 2003-2004 talent search competition to find Ireland's Eurovision Song Contest entry. The competition held auditions throughout Ireland, and the winners went through to the final stages, with one act eventually...
first voiced Schroeder in animation, in 1965's A Charlie Brown ChristmasA Charlie Brown ChristmasA Charlie Brown Christmas is the first prime-time animated TV special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was produced and directed by former Warner Bros. and UPA animator Bill Melendez, who also supplied the voice for the character of Snoopy...
. Various actors since then have portrayed Schroeder including Todd Barbee, who also voiced Charlie Brown from 1973 to 1974. - The musical You're a Good Man, Charlie BrownYou're a Good Man, Charlie BrownYou're a Good Man, Charlie Brown is a 1967 musical comedy with music and lyrics by Clark Gesner, based on the characters created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz in his comic strip Peanuts...
featured Skip HinnantSkip Hinnant- Career :Hinnant's first major role was as Cathy's boyfriend Ted on The Patty Duke Show from 1963 to 1965, and Schroeder in the original cast of Clark Gesner's You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown during its original off-Broadway run in 1967, where his brother, Bill Hinnant, played Snoopy.He is best...
as Schroeder in the 1967 original off-Broadway Production, and Stanley Wayne MathisStanley Wayne MathisStanley Wayne Mathis is an African American actor, singer, and dancer. He is probably best known for his portrayal of the character Schroeder in the 1999 revival of Clark Gesner's You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown.-Career:...
in the 1999 Broadway Revival. - Schroeder is alluded to in the play Dog Sees God as "Beethoven", a social outcast who was molested by his father.
In other media
- The Green Music Center at Sonoma State UniversitySonoma State UniversitySonoma State University is a public, coeducational business and liberal arts college affiliated with the California State University system. The main campus is located in Rohnert Park, California, United States and lies approximately south of Santa Rosa and north of San Francisco...
has a recital hall named after the character due to Jeannie and Charles M. Schulz's contributions to the university and ties to the community. - An album of classical piano music titled Schroeder's Greatest Hits has been released by RCA Victor. Ostensibly an album of piano music recorded by Schoeder himself, the recording consists of many of the solo piano works that Schroeder has been known to play over the years - primarily Beethoven, but Chopin, Brahms, and Bach are also represented.
- Dialogue from at least one strip suggests that Schroeder has absolute pitchAbsolute pitchAbsolute pitch , widely referred to as perfect pitch, is the ability of a person to identify or re-create a given musical note without the benefit of an external reference.-Definition:...
. - In the South ParkSouth ParkSouth Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
episode "A Very Crappy ChristmasA Very Crappy Christmas"A Very Crappy Christmas" is seventeenth and final episode of the fourth season of the animated television series South Park, and the 65th episode overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on December 20, 2000. In the episode, Kyle awaits Mr. Hankey on Christmas, but he does...
" he appears as the piano player for the Christmas recording session. He makes another appearance in the South Park episode "Probably" as the organistOrganistAn organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
at Cartman'sEric CartmanEric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character in the American animated television series South Park. One of four main characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, he is generally referred to within the series by his last name...
"children's church". An additional appearance was as the piano player in "Something You Can Do with Your FingerSomething You Can Do with Your Finger"Something You Can Do with Your Finger" is the eight episode of the fourth season of the animated television series South Park, and the 56th episode of the series overall...
" in tryouts for the fifth member of Cartman's boy band. - According to the biographical book Schulz And Peanuts by David Michaelis, Schroeder's contentious relationship with Lucy was based on Charles M. Schulz's real life relationship with his first wife. http://www.avclub.com/content/words/schulz_and_peanuts
- Schulz often told a story wherein he visited the grave of Beethoven, and placed a Snoopy pin on it. A little girl looked at him and asked "Wo ist Schroeder?" ("Where's Schroeder?"). He went back to his car, found a Schroeder pin and placed it on the grave instead.
- Schroeder appears on Family GuyFamily GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
episode "Mother TuckerMother Tucker"Mother Tucker" is the second episode of the fifth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox on September 17, 2006. The episode follows Peter's mother, Thelma, divorcing from Peter's father, Francis, and dating news anchorman Tom Tucker...
," alongside Charlie Brown, Linus, Peppermint Patty and others, in a cutaway gag. - Both Schroeder and Charles Schulz are honorary brothers of the music fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha SinfoniaPhi Mu Alpha SinfoniaPhi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music...
In popular culture
- Schroeder 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 sketch, he's first seen at 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, playing a dirge on his toy pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. He's later seen in Hell with the others, playing his piano. - Franklin from the show My Wife & Kids is sometimes jokingly referred to as "Schroeder".
- In The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "The Fight Before Christmas", Schroeder is seen playing the piano.