RIP: Earl Hamner, Jr.
03-25-16, 04:36 PM
#1
DVD Talk Special Edition
Thread Starter
RIP: Earl Hamner, Jr.
Looked for an existing thread and didn't see one. From USA Today:
Although Hamner will always be remembered for The Waltons and his melodious voice-overs on the show, he also created 80s nighttime soap Falcon Crest. He wrote the screenplay for the animated 1973 version of Charlotte's Web, which broke many elementary school hearts on "Movie Day". Hamner went to college with (and became a friend of) Rod Serling. Serling gave Hamner his "big break", allowing him to write eight episodes of The Twilight Zone including: "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) and "The Bewitchin' Pool" (1964).
I won't say I was a "fan" of The Waltons, but as someone who grew up in the "one nice TV per household" era of the 1970s, I was sort of forced to watch it with my mom, who loves the show to this day. So... I can see how Hamner was an icon for family TV, even if his most popular show wasn't my cup of tea.
Earl Hamner Jr., the versatile and prolific writer who drew upon his Depression-era upbringing in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to create one of television's most beloved family shows, The Waltons, has died. He was 92.
Hamner died in Los Angeles on Thursday and had recently been battling pneumonia, said Ray Castro Jr., a friend of Hamner's who produced a documentary, Earl Hamner Storyteller, about the writer. Castro said he learned about Hamner's death from the writer's daughter, Caroline. A Facebook post by Hamner's son, Scott, stated his father died surrounded by family at Cedars Sinai Hospital while John Denver's Rocky Mountain High was playing.
Hamner died in Los Angeles on Thursday and had recently been battling pneumonia, said Ray Castro Jr., a friend of Hamner's who produced a documentary, Earl Hamner Storyteller, about the writer. Castro said he learned about Hamner's death from the writer's daughter, Caroline. A Facebook post by Hamner's son, Scott, stated his father died surrounded by family at Cedars Sinai Hospital while John Denver's Rocky Mountain High was playing.
I won't say I was a "fan" of The Waltons, but as someone who grew up in the "one nice TV per household" era of the 1970s, I was sort of forced to watch it with my mom, who loves the show to this day. So... I can see how Hamner was an icon for family TV, even if his most popular show wasn't my cup of tea.
03-25-16, 07:09 PM
#2
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: RIP: Earl Hamner, Jr.
"Jess-belle" was one of the first episodes of the Twilight Zone that I watched as a kid. "Ring-a-ding Girl" is an underated episode that I discovered when I bought the whole series on Blu Ray. Everyone should check it out if you haven't seen it before!
03-25-16, 07:14 PM
#3
DVD Talk Special Edition
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Macon, Ga.
Posts: 1,014
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Re: RIP: Earl Hamner, Jr.
I'm partial to "The Hunt". First time I heard the use of "Old Man" and "Old Woman" (affectionate pet names) until they were used by Will Geer and Ellen Corby on the Waltons.
