Bill Text: VA SJR410 | 2017 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Celebrating the life of Earl Hamner, Jr.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-02-20 - Bill text as passed Senate and House (SJ410ER) [SJR410 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2017-SJR410-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Earl Hamner, Jr., a Virginia native who brought the idyllic mountain lifestyle of the Blue Ridge into countless American homes as the writer and narrator of The Waltons, died on March 24, 2016; and
WHEREAS, born in Schuyler, a small mining community in Nelson County, Earl Hamner was the eldest of eight children and learned the value of hard work and responsibility at a young age during the Great Depression; and
WHEREAS, Earl Hamner learned to read by the age of four and developed a passion for the written word; his first work, a poem titled "My Dog," was published on the children's page of the Richmond Times-Dispatch; and
WHEREAS, Earl Hamner attended the University of Richmond on a scholarship, then joined many of the other young men of his generation in service to the nation during World War II as a member of the United States Army; and
WHEREAS, after his honorable military service, Earl Hamner completed his education at the University of Cincinnati, where he interned at a local radio station, then went to work as a staff writer for NBC in New York City; and
WHEREAS, Earl Hamner published his first book, Fifty Roads to Town, in 1953 and wrote scripts for The Twilight Zone in the 1960s; his semi-autobiographical novel Spencer's Mountain was adapted into a feature film in 1963 and was the precursor to his hit television show, The Waltons; and
WHEREAS, The Waltons followed a large rural Virginia family during the Great Depression and World War II, with Earl Hamner as the wise, reassuring narrator, providing an introduction and postscript to each episode; the long-running show was well-known for its sentimentality and sense of togetherness; and
WHEREAS, possessing a wide range as a writer, Earl Hamner wrote and produced Falcon Crest, a show about a scheming group of winery owners that could not have been further from the timeless warmth of the Walton family; and
WHEREAS, never losing his affection for folkways, old stories, and a sense of community and tradition, Earl Hamner produced adaptations of Heidi and Charlotte's Web, in addition to several other movies and television series after The Waltons and Falcon Crest; and
WHEREAS, Earl Hamner earned many awards and accolades for his work, including five Christopher Awards, the 1972 George Foster Peabody Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award for The Waltons; and
WHEREAS, throughout his life, Earl Hamner held true to his personal vision for media as an affirmation of the innate goodness of the human spirit, the importance of learning from the past, and the power of childhood imagination and hopefulness; and
WHEREAS, Earl Hamner will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his wife of 61 years, Jane; children, Scott and Caroline, and their families; and numerous other family members, friends, and fans of his work; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Earl Hamner, Jr., a well-known writer and television and film producer who was deeply inspired by his Virginia roots; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Earl Hamner, Jr., as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for his memory.
