The sincerest form of flattery?

Not too long ago, a UK correspondent brought our attention to an obscure British newspaper strip titled Benny, because he felt it resembled Peanuts more than a little. He sent along a few examples, and he definitely had a point.

As it happens, those “few examples” were pretty much the only Benny strips readily available on the Web. That’s likely because the feature appeared in only one newspaper: London’s Daily Herald, from July 27, 1959, through October 14, 1961. Information about the strip’s creator — Derek Chittock, who hid behind the pseudonym “Droc” for Benny — also is rather thin.

Thanks to the British Newspaper Archive and newspapers.com, we were able to assemble all but a few dozen of the strip's entire run. Now armed with so many examples, it quickly became obvious that Benny was a deliberate attempt to mimic Charles Schulz’s popular strip. Unlike Peanuts, though, Benny appeared only Monday through Saturday; there were no Sunday strips ... undoubtedly because the Daily Herald didn't publish on Sundays.

Click on all images, for larger, easily readable versions.

But let’s begin with some background on Chittock.

He was born on February 21, 1922, and — after five years at London’s Slade School of Art — became an excellent artist and painter strongly in the Norman Rockwell tradition, as this magazine cover demonstrates. His work belonged in the Socialist Realism style, and he’s known to have exhibited at the Royal Academy and New English Art Club. He also was active with the Communist Party of Great Britain for roughly a decade — and was an art critic for its Daily Worker newspaper — until he resigned his membership following the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956. Be that as it may, those leanings remained evident in Benny, which often was openly political during its entire run. Chittock died on his birthday, in 1986; he was 64.

You can learn a bit more about him at this Lambiek Comiclopedia entry.

In addition to the artistic style Chittock employed for Benny — which strongly evokes Schulz — the two strips share these traits:

• Both involve children who are wise beyond their years, and appear to be roughly the same age ... although the only time age is mentioned in a Benny strip, the character says that she’s 5, whereas the Peanuts characters are a few years older.

• Both strips have characters who often break the fourth wall, to address the reader directly.

• Both feature a blend of one-off gag strips and longer “serials” that run a week or more.

• Panel composition, word balloon use, and lettering style are very similar.

• Both occasionally name-check real-world events and individuals. Characters in Benny cite (among others) Austrian biologist Hans Haas, U.S. President Kennedy, jazz musician Johnny Dankworth, and orchestra conductor Malcolm Sargent.

• No adults appear in either strip.

• Both feature dog companions who “talk” — usually to the reader — via thought balloons. That said, the pooches in Benny are just-plain-dogs, and don’t have anything approaching Snoopy’s fantasy escapades.

A History of Redwood Empire Arena's Peanuts Ice Shows

(This special post is by 5CP Associate Editor Gayna Lamb-Bang.)

A recent trip to Knott’s Berry Farm featured a wonderful Peanuts ice show, called Blockbuster Beagle.  I was reminded immediately of the fantastic Christmas ice shows once held annually at the Redwood Empire Ice Skating Arena, in Santa Rosa, California.

1983 summer show program 

Redwood Empire, a lovely, Swiss Chalet-style skating rink, was a gift to the Santa Rosa community from Charles M. Schulz, who’d been distressed over the closure of the city’s only other ice rink.  The opening gala, on April 28, 1969, starred 1968 Olympic Gold Medalist Peggy Fleming, with music provided by the Vince Guaraldi Trio.

 

Schulz’s beloved Christmas ice shows didn’t begin immediately; indeed, the venue catered mostly to local families and hockey teams for the first decade. Starting in 1979, Redwood Empire’s schedule began to feature professional ice shows, presented in the summer and autumn.

1985 summer show program

The first, in July 1979, honored the rink’s 10th anniversary.  That show, called Ice Decade, also starred Fleming, in keeping with the earlier opening day celebration.

For the next several years, such professional productions alternated with spring ice shows provided by the Santa Rosa Figure Skating Club; the first of these was presented in 1980, followed by others in ’82 and ’84.

In July 1981, Love Is Here starred  British competitive figure skater Robin Cousins, a 1980 Olympic Gold Medalist and 1980 European champion.

1986 holiday show

July 1983’s show, Perhaps Love, also starred Cousins.

Flashbeagle, in July 1985, featured American figure skater Scott Hamilton, a 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist, and winner of four consecutive World Championships.

The following year, 1986, marked the debut of the beloved Christmas shows.

Schulz truly loved producing all of Redwood Empire’s shows.  As he noted, in a quote supplied by The Charles M. Schulz Museum, “The thing I enjoy most of all, even more than drawing cartoons, is putting together an ice show… I think that is the ultimate in happiness.”  He produced all the ice shows until he died in February 2000.  His daughter, Jill Schulz, took over for the final four ice shows, from 2000-03.