Earl Hamner Jr.
Earl Hamner Jr. | |
---|---|
Los Angeles, California , U.S. | |
Occupation | Writer, producer |
Nationality | American |
Spouse |
Jane Martin (m. 1954) |
Children | 2, including Scott Hamner |
Relatives | Nora Spencer Hamner (aunt) |
Earl Henry Hamner Jr. (July 10, 1923 – March 24, 2016) was an American television writer and producer (sometimes credited as Earl Hamner), best known for his work in the 1970s and 1980s as the creator of two long-running series, The Waltons and Falcon Crest. As a novelist, he is best known for Spencer's Mountain, which was inspired by his own childhood and formed the basis for both the film of the same name and the television series The Waltons, for which he provided voice-over narration.
Early life
Hamner was born July 10, 1923, in Schuyler, Virginia, to Doris Marion (née Giannini) and Earl Henry Hamner Sr. The oldest of eight children, Hamner had four brothers and three sisters. The other boys, from youngest to next-oldest, were James Edmund, Willard Harold, Paul Louis, and Clifton Anderson. The girls, from youngest to oldest, were Nancy Alice, Audrey Jane, and Marion Lee.[1]
The family of Hamner's mother, the Gianninis, were immigrants who came to the United States from
Schuyler was a company town where the economy was based in soapstone mining by New Alberene Stone, and the town was hit hard by the
Hamner was in his sophomore year on a scholarship at the University of Richmond when he was drafted into the Army during World War II. He was first trained to defuse landmines and then transferred to the Quartermaster Corps because he could type. He served in France after the invasion of Normandy. He subsequently attended Northwestern University and then graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in broadcast communications.[3][4]
Career
On January 15, 1953, his short teleplay "The Hound of Heaven" was aired on
In 1954, Hamner wrote "Hit and Run," an episode of the legal drama Justice. He reprised the theme in the 1964 "You Drive" episode of The Twilight Zone.
In the early 1960s, Hamner contributed eight episodes to the science fiction series The Twilight Zone. His first script acceptance for the series was his big writing break in Hollywood. He also wrote or co-wrote eight episodes of the CBS animal series
He also created Apple's Way (1974–1975) and Boone (1983–1984). Hamner used family names to title his projects: Spencer (Spencer's Mountain) is the maiden name of his paternal grandmother Susan Henry Spencer Hamner. The Waltons derives from his paternal grandfather Walter Clifton Hamner and great-grandfather Walter Leland Hamner.[citation needed]
Death
Hamner died in
List of works
Novels
- Fifty Roads to Town (1953)
- Spencer's Mountain (1961)
- You Can't Get There from Here (1965)
- The Homecoming: A Novel About Spencer's Mountain (1970)
- Lassie: A Christmas Story (1997; co-written with Don Sipes, children's picture book story with illustrations by Kevin Burke)
- Murder in Tinseltown (2000; co-written with Don Sipes)
Non-fiction
- The Avocado Drive Zoo (a memoir) (1999)
- Good Night, John Boy (2002; reminiscences of making The Waltons TV series)
- Generous Women (2006; collection of memoirs)
Screenplays
- Palm Springs Weekend (1963)[8]
- Charlotte's Web (1973)
Teleplays
- Highway (1954)
- Episodes of The Twilight Zone :
- "The Hunt" (1962)
- "A Piano in the House" (1962)
- "Jess-Belle" (1963)
- "Ring-a-Ding Girl" (1963)
- "You Drive" (1964)
- "Black Leather Jackets" (1964)
- "Stopover in a Quiet Town" (1964)
- "The Bewitchin' Pool" (1964)
- Heidi (1968)
- Appalachian Autumn (1969)
- Aesop's Fables (1971)
- The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971; for CBS)
- Where the Lilies Bloom (1974)
- The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story (1983)
References
- ^ a b c d e Hamner Jr., Earl. "Official Website of Earl Hamner Jr". Earl Hamner Jr. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
- ^ "Home". Schuyler Baptist Church, Schuyler, Virginia. Archived from the original on December 6, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
- ^ O'Brien, Carolyn (March 25, 2016). "Earl Hamner Jr. (1923–2016)". Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- ^ Grimes, William (March 25, 2016). "Earl Hamner Jr., Who Created 'The Waltons,' Dies at 92". New York Times. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- ^ "Hound of Heaven (From the Kate Smith Hour) (1953, NBC)". YouTube.
- ^ Tyree, Elizabeth (March 24, 2016). "Earl Hamner Passes Away at 92". WSET.com. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
- ^ Shipley, Kaylee. "Nelson County unveils Earl Hamner Jr. and Jimmy Fortune statues". ABC13 News. Published July 9, 2023. Accessed January 3, 2024.
- ^ Palm Springs Weekend at the American Film Institute Catalog
External links
This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. (May 2017) |
- Earl Hamner - The creator of The Waltons All About The Waltons
- The Hamner Theater The Hamner Theater in Nelson County, VA.
- Write TV Public Television interview with Earl Hamner Archived November 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- Earl Hamner, Jr. at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television
- The Walton Hamner House The childhood home of Earl Hamner Jr. on which he based the TV show "The Waltons"