First appearance October 2, 1950 Family Unknown | Gender Female | |
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Voiced by Karen Mendelson (1963, 1965)Lisa DeFaria (1966-1969)Lynn Vanderlip (1966)Sally Dryer (1969)Linda Ercoli (1972-1975)Lynn Mortensen (1974)Linda Jenner (1974)Roseline Rubens (1980)Angela Lee (1983)Stacy Ferguson (1984-1986)Deanna Tello (1992)Kaitlyn Maggio (2003)Jolean Wejbe (2006)Leigh Bourke (2008-2009)Ciara Bravo (2011)Anastasia Bredikhina (2015) Movies and TV shows A Charlie Brown Christmas, It's the Great Pumpkin, Happiness Is a Warm Blanket Similar Marcie, Lucy van Pelt, Schroeder, Linus van Pelt, Woodstock | ||
Patty is a fictional character featured in the long-running syndicated daily and Sunday comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz. A former major character that turned into a cameo-girl (due to her supposedly lacking the distinguishing characteristics of characters like Lucy, Linus, or Sally), she is often confused with Peppermint Patty, a different and later character from the same strip.
Contents
Patty is best known as a girl who thinks highly of herself, and because of her self-opinion, she often torments the hapless Charlie Brown. She often accompanies her best friend Violet and sometimes the abrasive Lucy.
The character has appeared in numerous Peanuts television specials, cinematic films, theatrical plays, and video games.
Patty's last name was revealed to be "Swanson" in the 2015 film The Peanuts Movie, where her full name appears 10th on the list of test scores.
History
An early conception of the character was created by Schulz for his comic strip Li'l Folks (which is like an embryonic stage of Peanuts). Schulz then reused the character for Peanuts, and there, he named her Patty.
The first published strip in which Patty was featured was in the very first Peanuts comic strip, on October 2, 1950. Since her first published appearance, Patty's character developed and appeared frequently until the character began to suffer a decrease in usage. She became less and less prominent until her succeeding appearances are reduced to mere cameos. Both before and after she sank into the background, Patty usually appeared either with her best friend Violet or with the rest of Charlie Brown's baseball team. Her last comic strip appearance was a rerun of a 1992 strip which was republished as the November 27, 1997, strip.
Other media
Patty made her television debut in the 1965 classic A Charlie Brown Christmas, and appeared in many of the succeeding specials and theatrical animated films, most recent of the specials is Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown. On November 6, 2015, Patty appeared in a computer generated movie based on the strip, The Peanuts Movie, which is currently her most recent animated appearance.
Personality
As the only female character in the strip's very earliest days, Patty often acted as a sort of hen, looking out for the younger characters; however, she also set the tone for the strong female characters in the Peanuts universe. In her (and the strip's) second appearance, Patty is shown walking down the sidewalk reciting "Little girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice." She then punches Charlie Brown in the face and, without missing a beat, continues, "That's what little girls are made of!"
Patty's name was first mentioned on October 26, 1950, 24 days after her first appearance. She was apparently the oldest child in the strip (possibly along with Violet and Shermy), as she attended school when Charlie Brown did not (strip of September 18, 1951). Eventually, she, along with Violet, became best known for their social snobbery and combined cruelty to Charlie Brown, although Violet was generally the more dominant of the two (thus Patty's role, in her later appearances, was reduced to that of a yes-girl). Patty is also known for asking "Pig-Pen" why he is constantly so dirty.
Patty's hair color is light brown (sometimes red, black, or blonde) Her hair is blonde in the movie. and she customarily wears a checked dress with a matching bow in her hair, usually colored orange (colored light green in The Peanuts Movie), and Mary Janes shoes. Patty had a major part in the original version of the stage musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, as well as the early animated Peanuts television specials. In fact like most Peanuts characters, Patty has appeared in numerous Peanuts television specials throughout the years, as well as all five movies, although she becomes less frequently used after the 1960s.
By 1966, Schulz had recycled the "Patty" moniker for a new character, "Peppermint" Patty Reichardt. Although the original Patty — or at least unnamed girls who bear a strong resemblance to her — would make cameo appearances throughout the run of Peanuts, she had disappeared as a featured character by the mid-1970s, but she continued making cameo appearances as late as the 90's. Her last appearance was a rerun of a 1992 strip which was republished on November 27, 1997. Schulz claimed he drew Patty in the March 2, 1994 strip in which she wants Snoopy to chase rabbits with her (a role previously usually taken by Frieda), although some fans have stated that the girl in the strip in question does not resemble Patty.
Her most recent appearance to this date was in the television special Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown in which she was voiced by Ciara Bravo; that special was set in the 1960s era of the strip and used characters exclusively from that era.
Patty's birthday is November 4. She plays outfield on Charlie Brown's baseball team; though on an early occasion she was seen as catcher before Schroeder was introduced. It was Patty who first introduced Charlie Brown to Schroeder, claiming he lived next-door to her.
Voiced by
Portrayals
Patty was one of the featured characters in the original 1967 off-Broadway production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (played by Karen Johnson), but by the time the show was revived on Broadway in the late 1990s, Patty's character was replaced by Sally, since Patty had ceased making regular appearances in the strip decades earlier.