You might not recognize Peter Robbins by name, but there’s a good chance you’ve heard his voice at some point or another. As a kid, Robbins became the first person to voice iconic Peanuts character Charlie Brown. The beloved adaptations Robbins lent his voice to back in the day include A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown’s All Stars!, and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. The former child actor retired in the early 1970s, but would re-enter the public eye decades later for a much darker reason.
In January 2013, Robbins was arrested for allegedly threatening and stalking his ex-girlfriend and a plastic surgeon who’d performed breast enhancement surgery on her. According to prosecutors, Robbins repeatedly demanded a refund from the doctor and threatened to kill her if she didn’t pay up. He also reportedly called his ex dozens of times, telling her that he’d kill her and her son if she didn’t return his dog and car to him.
Robbins served a year in jail, but was arrested again in 2015 for multiple probation violations, which included cutting off his court-ordered GPS bracelet and drinking alcohol.
Charlie Brown’s Original Voice Actor Once Offered $50,000 to Have a Sheriff Killed
If you can believe it, the troubled actor only managed to get himself into even more trouble while behind bars. By September 2015, Robbins was being charged with four different felony counts in relation to making criminal threats and vandalism. In addition to causing more than $1,000 worth of damage to his cell by defacing the walls with various writings, Robbins was said to have written to numerous undisclosed recipients offering them $50,000 to kill San Diego Sheriff William Gore. He was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison that December.
Robbins seemed optimistic after being released in 2019, telling Fox 5 San Diego that he’d been treated for bipolar disorder and was hoping for a second chance. In celebration of his freedom, Robbins even had a tattoo of Charlie Brown and Snoopy touched up to pay homage to the characters who made him famous nearly 60 years earlier.
“It’s a symbol to me of refurbishing my life,” Robbins said at the time. “I don’t have any animosity towards anybody. I want to write a book about my experiences in jail, prison, and what I have to look forward to. Confessions of a Blockhead is what I’m going to call it.”
Unfortunately, Robbins never finished his memoirs, as he committed suicide in January 2022. He was 65 years old.
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