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Post by JeriJet on Nov 5, 2018 21:37:22 GMT -5
He also created Falcon's Crest, which was a great commercial success. Not sure how many of the episodes of that show he wrote. I knew about Falcon's Crest and other things he's done.... But it still doesn't do the trick for me -- I always expect writers to write constantly, never stepping away from the computer -- breathing, eating, sleeping each project... I know this is not realistic, too "John-Boy" !!! Speaking of writers, when Salinger died a few years ago, we heard of all the unpublished works that were found in his "writing cabin" -- and were promised they would come along soon, that there would be nothing in the way of it.... Well  ? |
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Post by patriciaanne on Nov 5, 2018 21:40:07 GMT -5
Of course she could be. A bit later -- Just looked this up -- Although Hamner was the creator of The Waltons (221 episodes), he only wrote 8 or 9 of the episodes. His other writings were: 4 novels 3 non-fiction 2 screenplays 15 teleplays It seems that he was not very prolific, as writers go.... I don't get it -- did he have another source of income? jeri, I love ya, but ya dont think ellen was as good as earl, do ya? he did uncredited punchup's and rewrites to just about every walton's script.....not to mention he wrote every voice over narration he did in every episode and he was the hands on show runner who approved every script and would tell the writers what direction to write their scripts This was also a show about Earl's family and he felt very protective over the characters because they were a reflection of (living) members of his family. Michael said many times that she couldn't believe how "sweet" Olivia was. And she would say to Earl something like, "Surely your mother wasn't always THIS good." And Earl would say, "Yes, she was."  I think Ellen's greatest contribution was making the grandmother character saltier. She told Earl that everyone was so sweet he was going to "give the audience sugar diabetes." Lol |
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Post by awesomemixtape10 on Nov 5, 2018 22:26:14 GMT -5
jeri, I love ya, but ya dont think ellen was as good as earl, do ya? he did uncredited punchup's and rewrites to just about every walton's script.....not to mention he wrote every voice over narration he did in every episode I do realize that he had A LOT to do with each episode -- he's a decent writer, just no genius to me.... perhaps Ellen might have been as good, possibly more creative. We'll never know. I like that Earl had such involvement with the show -- it probably added to the continuity. But it could also have limited his horizons. I respectfully disagree ,...STRONGLY |
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Post by Kyle on Nov 6, 2018 2:28:28 GMT -5
Earl was creatively involved in the first five seasons of Falcon Crest and was an executive producer, though he was not the showrunner. Like on The Waltons, he wrote few scripts himself. He was a part owner, and he brought Rod Peterson and Claire Whitaker from The Waltons with him.
Earl was at odds with CBS over the direction of the show at first: he wanted to do a non-serialized show about a man leaving the rat race of the city and returning to his roots to help run the family business. The earliest episodes hew closest to his original vision. But CBS wanted a serialized, nighttime soap to follow Dallas. Earl eventually accepted this, though he did leave the show after the fifth season, after which it went completely off the rails (Earl still retained his part ownership, though).
Earl later took the concept of a man leaving the rat race to help run the family business and wrote a script set in an apple orchard in Virginia. He pitched it to CBS and later Hallmark, who both passed.
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Post by JeriJet on Nov 6, 2018 9:02:46 GMT -5
..... Earl later took the concept of a man leaving the rat race to help run the family business and wrote a script set in an apple orchard in Virginia. He pitched it to CBS and later Hallmark, who both passed. I guess that was "Apple's Way" -- If so, it did in fact air for a season or two ... ?? Or, maybe that wasn't it.... I liked it very much and was sorry to see it discontinued. |
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Post by JeriJet on Nov 6, 2018 9:10:25 GMT -5
I do realize that he had A LOT to do with each episode -- he's a decent writer, just no genius to me.... perhaps Ellen might have been as good, possibly more creative. We'll never know. I like that Earl had such involvement with the show -- it probably added to the continuity. But it could also have limited his horizons. I respectfully disagree ,...STRONGLY Me, too. |
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Post by patriciaanne on Nov 6, 2018 9:45:22 GMT -5
I believe Earl was far more prolific than what we know. Even as a successful writer, not everything you create is a commercial success. Kyle just mentioned a show Earl pitched that I had never heard about. I'm sure there were others. I recall reading a comment from Earl's daughter that they would fall asleep each night to the sound of the typewriter.
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Post by JeriJet on Nov 6, 2018 11:49:50 GMT -5
Here's something interesting -- just checked Corby's Wikipedia bio...
Career:
Although she had bit parts in more than 30 films in the 1930s and 1940s, including Babes in Toyland (1934) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946), her first credited acting role was in RKO's Cornered (1945) in which she played a maid, followed by an uncredited brief speaking role as a kitchen cook in The Locket (1946). Corby began her career as a writer at Paramount studios working on the western Twilight on the Trail (1941).
Hadn't expected to see mention of writing...
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Post by Kyle on Nov 6, 2018 20:23:39 GMT -5
..... Earl later took the concept of a man leaving the rat race to help run the family business and wrote a script set in an apple orchard in Virginia. He pitched it to CBS and later Hallmark, who both passed. I guess that was "Apple's Way" -- If so, it did in fact air for a season or two ... ?? Or, maybe that wasn't it.... I liked it very much and was sorry to see it discontinued. This was a different show called “Foundations” that he pitched in the 1990s, though it was thematically similar to the concept for both “Apple’s Way” (which I had forgotten about until you mentioned it) and “Falcon Crest”, with the main male lead moving his family from the city to his small hometown. |
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Post by nedandres on Nov 7, 2018 8:59:54 GMT -5
There was also a brief Nashville based series that Earl created in the 1980s called "Boone." It followed the life of a country singer. Ronnie Claire Edwards also appeared in that.
As for Will Geer's feelings about Beulah Bondi, I think that it would have been normal for someone as progressive thinking as Will to resent her friendship with people in the industry who testified against other actors, directors, etc. In that McCarthy era, there was little middle ground. Either you supported what Senator McCarthy was doing to criminalize anything vaguely associated with Communism or you didn't. Geer detested McCarthy's stance on trying to make everything "black" or "white" and ended up being black-listed for many years. He started his own theatre group to be able to continue working on a regular basis as an actor. That said, he was a true professional and did not let his feelings for Bondi stand in the way of his work on "The Waltons," but surely he resisted her presence to a certain degree. I wonder how he felt about her Emmy win for "The Pony Cart."
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Post by patriciaanne on Nov 8, 2018 9:02:15 GMT -5
Here's something interesting -- just checked Corby's Wikipedia bio... Career:
Although she had bit parts in more than 30 films in the 1930s and 1940s, including Babes in Toyland (1934) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946), her first credited acting role was in RKO's Cornered (1945) in which she played a maid, followed by an uncredited brief speaking role as a kitchen cook in The Locket (1946). Corby began her career as a writer at Paramount studios working on the western Twilight on the Trail (1941).
Hadn't expected to see mention of writing... I apologize if this was already mentioned, but Ellen wrote at least one episode of The Waltons--it was the one where Olivia, Jim Bob and Elizabeth get lost in the woods--pretty sure it was that one. |
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Post by Kyle on Nov 8, 2018 20:16:24 GMT -5
Ellen came up with the story idea for that episode, but she did not write it (Paul West did). That’s why she got a “story by” credit, but not a “written by” credit.
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Post by JeriJet on Nov 8, 2018 20:58:50 GMT -5
There was also a brief Nashville based series that Earl created in the 1980s called "Boone." It followed the life of a country singer. Ronnie Claire Edwards also appeared in that. As for Will Geer's feelings about Beulah Bondi, I think that it would have been normal for someone as progressive thinking as Will to resent her friendship with people in the industry who testified against other actors, directors, etc. In that McCarthy era, there was little middle ground. Either you supported what Senator McCarthy was doing to criminalize anything vaguely associated with Communism or you didn't. Geer detested McCarthy's stance on trying to make everything "black" or "white" and ended up being black-listed for many years. He started his own theatre group to be able to continue working on a regular basis as an actor. That said, he was a true professional and did not let his feelings for Bondi stand in the way of his work on "The Waltons," but surely he resisted her presence to a certain degree. I wonder how he felt about her Emmy win for "The Pony Cart." That McCarthy situation really steams me -- a real "blot" on our history -- and hurt so many in the entertainment industry.... the list of folks caught up in his "net" was quite lengthy, and difficult to overcome the accusations.... I always think of Pete Seeger when this comes up.... Thank heavens he (McCarthy) eventually lost whatever respect some people may have had for him... |
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Post by patriciaanne on Nov 9, 2018 2:06:02 GMT -5
Ellen came up with the story idea for that episode, but she did not write it (Paul West did). That’s why she got a “story by” credit, but not a “written by” credit. Ahhh...didn't realize that. Thank you for that clarification!! |
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Post by nedandres on Nov 9, 2018 11:28:05 GMT -5
Jeri, were you referring to Senator McCarthy when you said that you are glad that he lost whatever respect people had for him? The way it is written it seems to imply Seeger. I read it a few times, and I could not be sure what you meant. Sorry!
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