According to NPR:
Peter Robbins, the actor who first gave voice to the beloved Peanuts character Charlie Brown, has died at age 65.
“Robbins’ family said he took his own life last week,” reports Fox 5 TV in San Diego. Phil Blauer, an anchor at the station, was a longtime friend of Robbins. Over the years, he also helped to chronicle Robbins’ struggles with mental health.
“My heart is broken today,” Blauer tweeted on Tuesday as he reported the news of Robbins’ death. He added, “May he rest in peace and soar in heaven. I only hope he finally kicks the football among the angels.”
As a child actor, Robbins voiced one of Charlie Brown’s most memorable lines — “I got a rock” — in the 1966 TV special It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
A year earlier, Robbins spoke for multitudes of people who struggle with getting into the holiday spirit in A Charlie Brown Christmas.
“I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming, but I’m not happy. I don’t feel the way I’m supposed to feel,” Charlie Brown said, before he and the rest of the Peanuts gang rallied to transform a forlorn tree with their love.
