Debuting in October 1950, Peanuts went on to become one the most-beloved comic strips of all time, created by Charles M. Schulz and running until February 13, 2000. Over the years, as the strip entertained readers worldwide, the one character that readers gravitated towards was Charlie Brown's faithful companion, Snoopy. Snoopy is not the average house dog; instead, he is one of the most outgoing and animated characters.
Early on in the strip's run, Snoopy would occasionally pretend to be other animals— like a boa constrictor or a piranha— or even the other members of the Peanuts gang. Eventually, Snoopy would adopt different identities, some of which, according to him, were even "World Famous." Snoopy's imagination knew no bounds, and some aliases became more popular while others were more of a one time gag.
10 The World Famous Surgeon
In July of 1982, Snoopy first donned his surgical cap and scrubs and began making rounds as the World Famous Surgeon. Throughout the '80s, Snoopy would find himself on call and wandering the hospital, usually running into Linus Van Pelt, who is continually asking Snoopy medical questions or just interacting with him.
Snoopy as The World Famous Surgeon makes a brief appearance in the 1990 TV special, Why, Charlie Brown, Why? where the Peanuts gang deals with the sickness of their new friend Janice Emmons, who is battling leukemia. The World Famous Surgeon's last appearance was on August 26, 1999, where Rerun falls on the sidewalk at Charlie Brown's house, bumping and bruising his knee.
9 World Famous Attorney
Court is in session when Snoopy shows up as the World Famous Attorney, one of the personas he liked to bring out regularly. Snoopy first put on his bow tie and hat and prepared to go to court on January 12, 1972, in a storyline with Peppermint Patty's attempt to eliminate the school's dress code.
While on retainer for any of the Peanuts characters, Snoopy has been seen pretending to defend literary characters such as Little Red Riding Hood, Alice from Alice in Wonderland, and a scarecrow. Even though his card says that no judge could argue with his famous bark, Snoopy has lost every case he has tried.
8 Cheshire Beagle
The Cheshire Beagle, an homage to the Cheshire Cat from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, first appeared on April 18, 1967. The trick that Snoopy does to turn into the Cheshire Beagle involves him grinning, causing his body to disappear and leaving his teeth disembodied and floating in the air. Snoopy first mentions that the trick is a "conditioned reflex" that he has been able to perform for years, and in the 1982 Father's Day strip, he says that he learned it from his dad.
In 1977 The Cheshire Beagle appeared in three straight Sunday strips, finding himself unable to return, which Charlie Brown calls a "re-entry problem." Luckily for Snoopy, Lucy is there to slap him back into the real world. Snoopy would perform his Cheshire Beagle trick for the final time in the Sunday strip on July 11, 1993.
7 The Masked Marvel
Wearing a domino mask and, on occasion, a cape, Snoopy becomes the "Masked Marvel," a world-famous arm-wrestling champion. When Lucy declares herself to be the world arm-wrestling champion after beating everybody in the neighborhood in a February 9, 1967 strip, Charlie Brown calls in his secret weapon, Snoopy, as the "Masked Marvel."
The two square off in arm-wrestling session that continues for a long time until the Masked Marvel kisses Lucy on the nose, which Lucy declares to be foul play. The Masked Marvel would later compete in a golf tournament against Peppermint Patty, and in the TV special You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown, he represented the Ace Obedience School in the junior decathlon.
6 The Fierce Vulture
Over the years, Snoopy has pretended to be all sorts of animals. But none are more enduring than the Vulture, the only one to appear throughout the strip's entire run. On May 13, 1958, Snoopy first pretended to be a vulture, perching on a croquet stake while Charlie Brown and Linus were playing. From then on, Snoopy would appear on things like a tree or snowman, waiting for a "victim"— usually Linus or Frieda.
Lucy seems to be unintimidated when Snoopy assumes this alias, once stating that a dog sitting on a tree and pretending to be a vulture should probably go to see a psychiatrist. Charlie Brown also seems unaffected, only showing disapproval, never telling Snoopy to stop and behave.
5 World Famous Tennis Player
Snoopy loves to play sports, and in his mind, he is the world's greatest player in most of them— especially tennis. As The World's Great Tennis Player, Snoopy exudes an air of confidence decked out in his tennis visor and racket in hand as he steps onto the court. In his first appearance on June 11, 1970, Snoopy is knocked off his feet after the first serve, then commenting that he hates it when his opponent serves too hard.
Six years later, Snoopy confides in Charlie Brown that he hates playing against professionals like Arthur Ashe and Jimmy Connors because they hit the ball back. Snoopy can be seen playing tennis in animated specials such as You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown and Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (And Don't Come Back!!).
4 Easter Beagle
Snoopy loves to celebrate the holidays, and the one that has become his most famous one over the years is that of The Easter Beagle, who celebrates the holiday by bringing Easter eggs to Charlie Brown and his friends. When The Easter Beagle appeared in the April 14, 1968 strip, he danced around the Van Pelt's backyard, passing out Easter eggs but was not dubbed "the Easter Beagle" until 1971.
In It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown, Linus heralds the coming of The Easter Beagle, as he does with the Great Pumpkin, trying to convince everybody that the Easter Beagle is real and will appear. Unlike the Great Pumpkin, the Easter Beagle does show up passing out eggs to everyone except Charlie Brown, of course. In 1985, The Easter Beagle, who creator Charles M. Schulz said was his favorite alias of Snoopy, made his final appearance in the strip.
3 World Famous Writer
The line "It was a dark and stormy night" is the signature opening line of The World Famous Author who started his writing career perched atop of his doghouse on July 12, 1965. Though he initially has some successes after submitting his manuscripts to publishers, his success quickly takes a turn as the rejection slips— some of which are very cruel and personal— begin to become the normal response.
After continued rejection letters and no one buying his one book that is accepted, Snoopy attempts to write a biography of one of his favorite writers, Helen Sweetstory, who writes a series of children's books about Bunny Wunny. The World Famous Author appeared in both the last daily strip (January 3, 2000) and Sunday strip (February 13, 2000).
2 Joe Cool
No one in the Peanuts universe is cooler than Snoopy's alter ego, Joe Cool. On the same level of coolness as The Fonz or James Dean— or so he thinks— all Snoopy has to do to become Joe Cool is put on a pair of sunglasses and a shirt that lets everyone know who he is. First appearing in the comic strip on May 27, 1971, Joe Cool is the big man on the college campus and isn't afraid to let the others know it.
Joe Cool makes regular appearances in various tv specials and even received his own theme song, "Joe Cool," by Vince Guaraldi. One of the most memorable moments happened in 1972 after Lucy throws Linus out of the house and he moves into Joe Cool's dorm room, which is actually Snoopy's doghouse.
1 World War I Pilot
Snoopy the World War I Flying Ace, atop his Sopwith Camel-style doghouse biplane and battling The Red Barron, is by far the most popular and well-loved alternate identity of Charlie Brown's best friend. In October of 1965, Snoopy climbed on top of his dog house, ready to battle with his soon-to-be arch nemesis, which ended as Linus approaches from behind and imitates a machine gun being fired.
The WWI Flying Ace's first animated appearance was in It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown in 1966. This alias inspired the novelty record "Snoopy Vs. The Red Barron" by the band The Royal Guardsman, who didn't ask permission to use the name Snoopy and was sued by Schulz and United Features Syndicate, who later allowed the group to record further songs about Snoopy's adventures.