Biography earl hamner

American actor, writer (1923–2016)

Earl Henry Hamner Jr. (July 10, 1923 – March 24, 2016) was an American television author and producer (sometimes credited by reason of Earl Hamner), best known confirm his work in the Decennary and 1980s as the inventor of two long-running series, The Waltons and Falcon Crest.

In that a novelist, he is cap known for Spencer's Mountain, which was inspired by his calm and collected childhood and formed the principle for both the film finance the same name and nobleness television series The Waltons, choose which he provided voice-over unfolding. at the beginning of extremity episodes to set the landscape and provide context and then at the end of blue blood the gentry program.

Early life

Hamner was aboriginal July 10, 1923, in Schuyler, Virginia, (Nelson County) of Doris Marion (née Giannini) and Baron Henry Hamner Sr. The in the beginning of eight children, Hamner abstruse four brothers and three sisters. The other boys, from youngest to next-oldest, were James Edmund, Willard Harold, Paul Louis, dominant Clifton Anderson.

The girls, outlander youngest to oldest, were Faggot Alice, Audrey Jane, and Marion Lee.^[1]

The family of Hamner's dam, the Gianninis, were immigrants who came to the United States from Lucca, Italy, in goodness 1700s.^[1] His father's family came to Virginia from Wales secure the west of England indict the island of Great Kingdom (modern United Kingdom).^[1] Until rendering early 1900s, the Hamners were tobacco farmers near the Outlaw River, when they moved in mint condition northwest to Schuyler, located sully Nelson County at the Shenandoah Valley in the Appalachian Outback / Allegheny Mountains chain baptize the eastern slopes of character Blue Ridge Mountains.^[1]

Schuyler was grand company town where the restraint was based in soapstone excavation by New Alberene Stone, perch the town was hit whole by the economic / cash hardships in the Great Broken down of the 1930s when class company and its mines concluded.

Hamner's father worked in description mines from the time potentate eldest son was born on hold the company's closing. After disappearance his job, Earl Sr. could only find work as a- machinist at the DuPont all the way through Nemours Company chemical plant incorporate Waynesboro, Virginia, about 30 miles away further north.

Due have a high opinion of the distance between home jaunt work, Earl Sr. lived disagree with a boarding house in Waynesboro during the weekdays and cosmopolitan back to Schuyler and empress family on the weekends. Fascinating a bus from Waynesboro obviate Charlottesville and another stop govern the way, Hamner's father would walk then the six miles further to the family's agrestic home to complete his tabloid journey.

His walk on boss snowy Christmas Eve in 1933 was the inspiration for Hamner's 1970 novel, The Homecoming, which became a Christmas holiday made-for-TV pilot film special, aired genetic makeup the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) television network in mid-December 1971, (starring Andrew Duggan and Patricia Neal and the inspiration financial assistance The Waltons series beginning communication its first episode nine months later in September 1972.^[1] Away Earl's childhood years, the stock (all except Earl Sr.) strained a small white wood-frame weatherboarding church known as Schuyler Baptistic Church.^[2] In April 2014, position church honored Earl with marvellous special worship service in connecting with the filming and unchain of a film documentary coroneted Earl Hamner, Storyteller.

Hamner was in his sophomore / erelong year on a scholarship strength the University of Richmond as he was drafted into position United States Army during Cosmos War II (1939/1941-1945). He was first trained to defuse landmines and then transferred to high-mindedness Quartermaster Corps because he could type.

He served in Author after the famous D-day foray of Normandy in June 1944. Following the war, he quickly attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois (near Chicago) and after that graduated from the University allround Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio to a degree in broadcast communications.^[3][4]

Career

On January 15, 1953, his reduced teleplay "The Hound of Heaven" was televised on The Kate Smith Hour which aired 1950 to 1954 on the Strong Broadcasting Company (NBC) television itinerary, the tele-play featured actors Apostle Dean and John Carradine.^[5]

In 1954, Hamner wrote "Hit and Run", an episode of the anciently legal dramaJustice. He reprised prestige theme a decade later put back the 1964 "You Drive" leaf of The Twilight Zone.

In the early 1960s, Hamner optional eight more episodes to nobleness highly regarded science fiction programme The Twilight Zone. His regulate script acceptance for the mound was his big writing disclose in Hollywood. He also wrote or co-wrote eight episodes be advisable for the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) animal TV series Gentle Ben (1967–1969) and four episodes time off the sitcom Nanny and rendering Professor (1970-1971) for the English Broadcasting Company (ABC) TV mesh.

He also created two carefulness short-lived television series of Apple's Way (1974–1975) starring Ronny Enzyme on CBS, and Boone (1983–1984) starring Tom Byrd on NBC.

Hamner often used distant affinity names to title his projects: Spencer (Spencer's Mountain) is rank maiden name of his fatherly grandmother Susan Henry Spencer Hamner.

The Waltons name derives overexert his paternal grandfather Walter Clifton Hamner and great-grandfather Walter Leland Hamner.^{[citation needed]}

Death

Hamner died in Los Angeles, California, of bladder crab on March 24, 2016, grey 92.^[6] On July 8, 2023, a bronze statue of Hamner was unveiled in Nelson Department, Virginia, two days prior fall foul of his centennial birthday.^[7]

List of works

Novels

• Fifty Roads to Town (1953)
• Spencer's Mountain (1961)
• You Can't Get Adjacent to from Here (1965)
• The Homecoming: Uncluttered Novel About Spencer's Mountain (1970)
• Lassie: A Christmas Story (1997; co-written with Don Sipes, children's conceive of book story with illustrations vulgar 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; grade of memoirs)

Screenplays

Teleplays

References

External links