| “ | „ | |
| ~ Charles M. Schulz on 5's name and his father[1] |
555 95472, usually referred to simply as 5 or Five, is a minor male character who is known for his strange name in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. Given that his surname is his Zip code, that would imply that Peanuts is set in either Sebastopol or Freestone, California.
History
The character debuted on September 30 1963, and continued to appear on and off in the strip until May 22, 1983. 95472 is the family's "last name", or more specifically their ZIP code. In reality, it is the ZIP code for Sebastopol, California, where Charles M. Schulz was living at the time the character was introduced. He used the code as the name of a new character, expressing his displeasure with the introduction of ZIP code in 1963[1].
5's first appearance in the strip, from September 30, 1963
In the strip of November 05, 1963, "5" says he has to keep telling his teacher that the accent is on the 4 in his surname. After hearing he introduces his name in October 03, 1963, Snoopy is confused as to whether the boy's name is spelled 5 or as the Roman numeral V.
As "5" explains to Charlie Brown in the strip from October 1, 1963, his father, morose and hysterical over the preponderance of numbers in people's lives, changed all of his family's names to numbers. Asked by Lucy if it was Mr. 95472's way of protesting in October 04, 1963, "5" replies that this was actually his father's way of "giving in".
"5" also has two sisters named "3" and "4", although they have far fewer appearances than he in later comics. He is a member of the Charlie Brown's baseball team. On 22 March,1964, he plays third base, while at other times his role in the baseball team is unclear.
Before Peppermint Patty's debut, "5" was in the same school as Charlie Brown and Linus. In October 18, 1974, a few years after Peppermint Patty's first appearance, "5" was shown sitting in front of Roy at Peppermint Patty's school.
Because he is a minor character, and was created for expressing Schulz's displeasure with ZIP code, 5's personality was never fully developed in the strips. After 1965, "5" appeared as an occasional background character and is often present in baseball games. He disappeared entirely after May 22, 1983.
Appearance
The most attractive feature of 5 is his spiky hair, which is sometimes shown in gold in colour comics.
He wears a solid-coloured shirt in the early stages. After 18 April, 1965, he usually wears a shirt with the number "5" on it.
Personality
As he is a minor character, 5's personality was never fully developed. But in his earlier comics, he shows great enthusiasm and patience when he introduces his name and his family to the others. He shows a sense of humour when he responds to Violet's bragging about her father on November 28, 1963.
TV and films
5 as he appears in A Charlie Brown Christmas.
"5" memorably appears, along with his sisters, in the TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas. None of the members of the 95472 family have speaking roles in the special but all can be seen performing lively dances to the tune "Linus and Lucy", played on Schroeder's piano. "5" also appears as a silent character in multiple other Peanuts animated cartoons. He has speaking parts near the end of He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown and It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown.
His only voice actors are Matthew Liftin (1968), Kevin Brando (1983, 1984), and Evan Sheppard-Greenhow (2022). He had not spoken in 38 years, longer than any other recurring characters.
The complete list of the character's television and film appearances is as follows:
- A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) [silent]
- Charlie Brown's All-Stars (1966) [silent]
- It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966) [silent]
- You're in Love, Charlie Brown (1967) [silent]
- He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown (1968)
- It Was A Short Summer, Charlie Brown (1969) [silent]
- A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969) [silent]
- Snoopy, Come Home (1972) [silent]
- You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown (1972) [silent]
- Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (1975) [silent]
- You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown (1975) [silent]
- It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown (1976) [silent]
- Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown (1977) [silent]
- You're The Greatest, Charlie Brown (1979) [silent]
- It's an Adventure, Charlie Brown (1983)
- The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show (1983)
- It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown (1984)
- Snoopy's Getting Married, Charlie Brown (1985) [silent]
- You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown (1985) [silent]
- Snoopy!!! The Musical (1988) [silent]
- Peanuts Motion Comics (2008)
- Happiness Is A Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown (2011) [silent]
- The Peanuts Movie (2015) (His name appears in the list of test scores)
- The Snoopy Show (2021) [silent]
- Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne (2021) [silent]
- Snoopy Presents: It's the Small Things, Charlie Brown (2022)
- Snoopy Presents: Lucy's School (2022) [silent]
- Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie (2023) [silent]
- Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin (2024) [silent]
- Camp Snoopy (2024) [silent]
Trivia
- 5 is the minor character who continued to appear in the strip for the most years. Appearing occasionally for almost twenty years in total, which is more than some supporting characters like Lydia, Eudora and Shermy.
- 5 has a pet chameleon named George.
- 5's hair color is colored in gold sometimes.
- The length of 5's hair strands differs sometimes.
- If his zip code was indeed 95472, as he claims, his home town was Sebastopol, California.
- 5 may have a crush on Frieda, as the two were seen dancing together in It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown.
Gallery
