Editing Linus Van Pelt

{{Short description|Peanuts comic strip character}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More citations needed|date=December 2022}}
{{In-universe|date=December 2022}}
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{{Use mdy dates| date=October 2011}} 
{{Infobox character
| name = Linus Van Pelt
| series = [[Peanuts]]
| image = Linus van Pelt.gif
| caption = 
| first_major = Peanuts
| first_date = {{Unbulleted list 
  |  July 14, 1952 (first mention) 
  |  September 19, 1952 (debut) 
}}
| last = February 13, 2000 (comic strip)
| creator = [[Charles M. Schulz]]
| gender = Male
| family = * [[Rerun Van Pelt]] (younger brother) 
* [[Lucy Van Pelt]] (older sister) 
* Unnamed blanket-hating grandmother 
* Unnamed parents 
* Marian (aunt) 
* Felix Van Pelt (paternal grandfather)
| voice = Various voice actors<br><small>''[[#Voiced by|See below]]''</small>
}}

'''Linus Van Pelt''' is a fictional character in [[Charles M. Schulz]]’s comic strip ''[[Peanuts]]''. He is the best friend of [[Charlie Brown]], the younger brother of [[Lucy Van Pelt]], and the older brother of [[Rerun Van Pelt]]. His first appearance was on September 19, 1952,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1952/09/19|title=Peanuts by Charles Schulz for September 19, 1952|website=[[GoComics]]|date=September 19, 1952 |access-date=January 1, 2025}}</ref> but he was not mentioned by name until three days later. He was first referred to two months earlier, on July 14. Linus spoke his first words in 1954, the same year he was first shown with his [[security blanket]]. Linus is named after Schulz's friend [[Linus Maurer]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schulz |first=Charles M. |title=Peanuts Jubilee: My Life and Art with Charlie Brown and Others |publisher=Holt, Rinehart and Winston |year=1975 |isbn=978-0030150814 |pages=81–100}}</ref>

The character's creator, [[Charles M. Schulz]], has said of the character, "Linus, my serious side, is the house intellectual; bright, well-informed which, I suppose, may contribute to his feelings of insecurity."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schulz |first=Charles M. |date=February 23, 1980 |title=What Do You Do with a Dog That Doesn't Talk? |journal=TV Guide |pages=22–24}}</ref> [[Lee Mendelson]], producer of the majority of the ''Peanuts'' television specials, has said that Linus is his favorite character: "He made sucking your thumb and holding a security blanket OK. I think he's one of the most original fictional characters of all time—blending childish behavior with great wisdom."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.comicbookmovie.com/animated_features/exclusive-q-a-with-charlie-browns-lee-mendelson-a115192 |title=EXCLUSIVE: Q & A With Charlie Brown's Lee Mendelson |last=Best |first=Nathan |date=February 12, 2015 |work=Comic Book Movie |access-date=July 19, 2018}}</ref>

==Personality== 
Though young, Linus is intelligent and wise<ref>{{cite book |last=Mansour |first=David |title=From ABBA to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th century |publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing |year=2005 |page=281 |isbn=0-7407-5118-2}}</ref> and acts as the strip's philosopher and theologian,<ref>{{cite book |last=Leaman |first=Thomas L. |title=Healing the Anxiety Diseases |publisher=Da Capo Press |year=2002 |page=268 |isbn=0-7382-0873-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Clayton |first=Philip |author-link=Philip Clayton (philosopher) |title=God and Contemporary Science |url=https://archive.org/details/godcontemporarys0000clay |url-access=registration |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company |year=1997 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/godcontemporarys0000clay/page/81 81] |isbn=0-7486-0798-6}}</ref> often quoting the [[Gospel]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pendergast |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Pendergast |title=St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture |url=https://archive.org/details/stjamesencyclope04pend |url-access=registration |publisher=St. James Press |year=2000 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/stjamesencyclope04pend/page/n55 25] |isbn=1-55862-404-X}}</ref> Juvenile aspects of his character are also displayed; for example, Linus is almost always depicted holding his blue security blanket, for which he is often mocked by other characters, and he often sucks his thumb.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Morrow |first1=Hugh |editor1-last=Inge |editor1-first=M. Thomas |title=Charles M. Schulz: Conversations |date=2000 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |page=7 |chapter=The Success of an Utter Failure}}</ref> Linus is the only member of his group who believes in the [[Great Pumpkin]], an alternative Santa Claus–like figure who, according to Linus, appears every Halloween, arising from the most "sincere" pumpkin patch and bearing gifts. He occasionally temporarily convinced other characters that the Great Pumpkin is real, only to stubbornly maintain his faith when they lose theirs.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lind |first1=Stephen J. |title=A Charlie Brown Religion: Exploring the Spiritual Life and Work of Charles M. Schulz |date=2015 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |url=https://archive.org/details/charliebrownreli0000lind/page/88/mode/2up |pages=88–89 |isbn=978-1-4968-0469-3 |access-date=3 May 2024}}</ref>

In the strip from June 9, 1986, Linus claims that his birthday is in October.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schulz |first=Charles |date=1986-06-09 |title=Peanuts by Charles Schulz for June 09, 1986 {{!}} GoComics.com |url=https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1986/06/09 |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=GoComics |language=en}}</ref> Lucy gives him a chair for his birthday in the November 22, 1964, Sunday strip.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schulz |first=Charles |date=1964-11-22 |title=Peanuts by Charles Schulz for November 22, 1964 {{!}} GoComics.com |url=https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1964/11/22 |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=GoComics |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=February 23, 2023 |title=The Sacco Armchair, the most revolutionary seat ever |url=https://www.finestresullarte.info/en/works-and-artists/the-sacco-armchair-the-most-revolutionary-seat-ever |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=www.finestresullarte.info |language=en}}</ref>

==Appearance== 
Linus has brown hair and hazel eyes and normally wears a red striped shirt, black shorts, red socks, and dark brown tennis shoes. On February 5, 1962, Linus began wearing eyeglasses after being diagnosed with myopia,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1962/02/05|title=Peanuts by Charles Schulz for February 05, 1962 |last=Schulz|first=Charles|date=1962-02-05|website=GoComics|language=en|access-date=2019-02-21}}</ref> but after the Sunday strip of September 9, 1962, the glasses were not seen again. In an earlier strip of July 17, 1962, Linus had told Charlie Brown that his [[Ophthalmology|ophthalmologist]] said that he may not have to wear his glasses all the time, which thus explains their eventual disappearance.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1962/07/17|title=Peanuts by Charles Schulz for July 17, 1962|last=Schulz|first=Charles|date=1962-07-17|website=GoComics|language=en|access-date=2019-02-21}}</ref> In a 1985 interview, Schulz said he stopped putting glasses on Linus because it interfered with his expression lines.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schulz |first=Jean |date=2014-05-15 |title=Linus's Glasses |url=https://schulzmuseum.org/linuss-glasses-2/ |access-date=2023-10-28 |website=Charles M. Schulz Museum |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Relationships ==
{{Redirect-distinguish-text|Sweet Babboo|the Welsh musician [[Sweet Baboo]]}}
{{Multiple image 
 |align = right 
 |direction = vertical 
 |image1 = Linus boxing Lucy.JPG 
 |alt1 = Linus boxing Lucy 
 |caption1 = Linus looked for an opening to knock out Lucy in a boxing match, but... 
 |image2 = Lucy KOs Linus.jpg 
 |alt2 = Lucy KOs Linus 
 |caption2 = ...Linus is the loser as Lucy landed the knockout punch instead. 
}}
Linus is often bullied by his older sister, [[Lucy Van Pelt]], to which he responds by either giving in or taking revenge. He is [[Charlie Brown]]'s best friend; Linus became sympathetic towards Charlie Brown and often gave him advice after listening to Charlie Brown's various insecurities. 

Upon the introduction of Charlie Brown's little sister, Sally Brown, in 1959, Linus had the desire to marry her. As the strip progressed, he outgrew this idea. Meanwhile, Sally proceeded to fall in love with Linus, calling him her "Sweet Babboo," much to his displeasure. Linus, in turn, has an innocent unrequited love crush on his school teacher, Miss Othmar.

== Voiced by ==

{{div col| colwidth=15em}}

* Christopher Shea (1965–1968)
* Glenn Gilger (1969)
* Stephen Shea (1971–1975)
* Liam Martin (1975–1977)
* Daniel Anderson (1977–1980)
* Rocky Reilly (1980–1983)
* Jeremy Schoenberg (1983–1985)
* David T. Wagner (1984–1985)
* [[Jeremy Miller]] (1985–1988)
* Brandon Stewart (1988–1990)
* [[Josh Keaton]] (1991)
* John Christian Graas (1992–1993)
* Anthony Burch (1995–1997)
* Corey Padnos (2000–2003)
* Benjamin Bryan (2006)
* Quinn Lord (2008–2009)
* Tyler Kohanek (2009)
* Austin Lux (2011)
* [[Alex Garfin|Alexander Garfin]] (2015)
* Jude Perry (2016)
* Felix Helden (2018–2019)
* Wyatt White (2019–present)

{{Div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==

{{Wikiquote| Peanuts#Linus van Pelt| Linus Van Pelt}}

* [http://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1952/09/19/ The first appearance of Linus Van Pelt in the "Peanuts" comic strip from September 19, 1952.]

{{Peanuts}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Pelt, Linus}}
[[Category:Peanuts characters]]
[[Category:Fictional baseball players]]
[[Category:Fictional philosophers]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1952]]
[[Category:Child characters in animated films]]
[[Category:Child characters in comics]]
[[Category:Child characters in musical theatre]]
[[Category:Child characters in television]]
[[Category:Male characters in animation]]
[[Category:Male characters in comics]]