“Peanuts” is one of the most famous comic strips in American history, and the star, Charlie Brown, is everyone’s favorite loser.

His buddies, Linus, Lucy, Schroeder, and others, are beloved by millions as well. But they were not Charlie Brown’s first friends.

Thursday, Oct. 2, marks 75 years since the debut of the “Peanuts” comic strip, which featured four characters, including the two principals, Charlie Brown and Snoopy. Gone to history, however, are the two others, Shermy and Patty – not the “Peppermint” one, a tomboy who had a thing for “Chuck,” despite her many denials.

“Peanuts” had its origins in a strip called “Lil Folks” by Charles Schulz, which ran in a St. Paul newspaper from 1947 to 1950. It was the hometown newspaper for Schulz, a World War II veteran who had received the Combat Infantry Badge.

In its debut on Oct. 2, 1950, the new strip, “Peanuts," originally was carried by seven newspapers, including the Minneapolis Star, where it ran on page 37. Others included the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, Denver Post, Seattle Times and two dailies in Pennsylvania.

By the time Schultz died on Feb. 13, 2000, he had drawn 17,897 strips – all by himself. “Peanuts” was carried in over 2,600 newspapers and was read by 355 million fans in 75 countries. A total of 38 animated television specials, four feature movies, a Saturday morning TV series, and two musicals were all produced from the strip in Schulz’s lifetime.

In all, Schulz earned over $1 billion in his lifetime from “Peanuts,” though he actually loathed the name for the strip, which was chosen by United Features Syndicate.

The strip continued after Schulz’s death, frequently appearing in comic sections as “Classic Peanuts,” while additional television specials, movies, made-for-video, and streaming productions continued, though many were computer-animated, rather than by hand. Many fans were upset when the Christmas show and others were taken off free TV and shifted to streaming services in 2020.

The unparalleled success of “Peanuts,” though, did not include two of the primary characters from the 1950 debut of the strip. One of them, Shermy, delivered the punch line in the first installment on Oct. 2 after bragging up Charlie Brown to Patty, then saying, “Good ol’ Charlie Brown … how I hate him!”

Shermy’s character had dark hair ranging from spiked to a crew cut. He was Charlie Brown’s best friend in the earliest years, though he had a diminished role from the early 1950s on.

Meanwhile, Schultz was introducing some of the most recognizable characters, including Schroeder, the sixth character to join the strip, who first appeared on May 30, 1951. Schroeder, the piano prodigy who worshiped Beethoven, was joined by Lucy on March 3, 1952, and her little brother, the blanket-loving Linus, on Sept. 19.

Schultz himself apparently lost interest in Shermy and regretted how he had drawn his hair in a crew cut. Shermy remained in a reduced role into the 1960s and had minor parts in some of the first animated specials, including the first one, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” which premiered on Dec. 9, 1965.

In that, Shermy played a shepherd, lamenting that he played that role every year. His final appearance in the strip was on June 15, 1969, though he was mentioned in later television and video specials and was seen in some of the Saturday morning episodes.

Schultz seemed to like Shermy less than his other characters, and reportedly had no remorse over writing Shermy out. He later said Shermy appeared in later strips only if he “needed a character with very little personality.”

The other original character, Patty, lasted until her final appearance on Nov. 27, 1997. She had the main scene in the second strip on Oct. 3, 1950, as she strolled down the sidewalk saying the familiar rhyme, “Little girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice.”

Patty then hit Charlie Brown in the face, and followed with the punchline, “That’s what little girls are made of.”

Her derision for Charlie Brown continued for much of her run in the strip. Normally drawn in color with light brown hair, Patty was friends with Violet, the fifth character Schultz introduced (on Feb. 7, 1951). She also was a buddy of Lucy, and the trio frequently teamed up against Charlie Brown.

She was also in the early TV shows, including the Christmas special, where she was among the harshest critics of Charlie Brown’s choice of a tree. Patty’s role was gradually reduced, though not to such an extent as Shermy’s. Still, she was used only sporadically by the time of her last appearance.

Patty was supplanted in various ways, including by name, after the introduction of Peppermint Patty on Aug. 22, 1966.

Though Snoopy was one of the first characters, he did not make his initial appearance until the third strip, on Oct. 4, 1950.

• Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville, Illinois. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.