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Paul Henning | |
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 Publicity Photo of Paul Henning | |
| Born | Paul William Henning (1911-09-16)September 16, 1911 Independence, Missouri, United States |
| Died | March 25, 2005(2005-03-25) (aged 93) Burbank, California, United States |
| Resting place | Tuscumbia Cemetery,Tuscumbia, Missouri |
| Occupation(s) | Television producer and writer |
| Years active | 1930s–1993 |
| Spouse | Ruth Henning (1939–2002) (her death) |
| Children | 3, includingLinda Kaye, Carol Alice and Paul Anthony Henning |
Paul William Henning (September 16, 1911 – March 25, 2005) was an American TV producer and screenwriter. Most famous for creating the television sitcomThe Beverly Hillbillies, he was also crucial in developing the "rural" comediesPetticoat Junction (1963–1970) andGreen Acres (1965–1971) forCBS.[1]
Henning also served as one of the staff writers forGeorge Burns, writing first for theBurns and Allen radio show and then their television show throughout its broadcast run.
AuthorKurt Andersen described Henning as "theEli Whitney of American television production."[2]
Henning was born and grew up on a farm inIndependence, Missouri. While working in adrugstore as a teenager, he met future PresidentHarry S. Truman, who advised him to become a lawyer. Although he did attend theKansas City School of Law, his ambition was to be a singer on the radio. When the local radio stationKMBZ[3] (KMBC at the time) had no money for writers to create the "filler" between songs, he became a writer as well as a singer.
Writing proved the more lucrative of the two, so he abandoned singing in order to write for series likeFibber McGee and Molly andThe George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, and later TV series likeThe Dennis Day Show,The Real McCoys, andThe Andy Griffith Show. Henning was also the creator, writer, and producer ofThe Bob Cummings Show, where he met many of the actors who appeared in his later series. He produced theRay Bolger Show, and wrote (or co-wrote) screenplays such asLover Come Back (1961, for which he was nominated for anOscar for Best Writing: original screenplay), and (withStanley Shapiro)Bedtime Story (1964), which was re-made in 1988 asDirty Rotten Scoundrels (Steve Martin,Michael Caine), and again in 2019, asThe Hustle (Anne Hathaway,Rebel Wilson).
In 1962, Henning created theCBS series,The Beverly Hillbillies—a sitcom based on his past experiences while camping in theOzarks nearBranson, Missouri. He wrote or co-wrote well over 200 of the series' 274 episodes, including every episode of seasons one, two, three, eight, and nine. (During seasons 4 through 7, he was still a frequent contributor, but wrote more frequently forPetticoat Junction.) Henning also wrote the music and lyrics for the popular theme song "The Ballad of Jed Clampett".
The Beverly Hillbillies was one of the highest-rated series of all time, and becamea feature film about three decades later. After the major success ofHillbillies, CBS gave Henning another half-hour time slot on its schedule. In 1963,Petticoat Junction debuted on CBS and was a great success as well. This series had a starring role for Henning's daughter,Linda Kaye Henning, simply billed as Linda Kaye. In 1965, this was followed byGreen Acres, of which Henning was only the casting director and executive producer.
All three programs were popular, achieving major ratings success during most of their runs. However, after several years, CBS began to move away from the so-called "ruralcoms" despite their still decent ratings, and move in a more "adult", "sophisticated" direction with series such asAll in the Family andThe Mary Tyler Moore Show. Thus, in 1971,The Beverly Hillbillies andGreen Acres were canceled as a result of the "rural purge", joiningPetticoat Junction (which ended the year before) in syndicated reruns.
He married Ruth Barth in 1939 and the couple had three children:Linda Kaye Henning, on whom Paul partially based the character ofElly May Clampett; Carol Alice Henning; and Paul Anthony Henning.
Ruth Henning often told her husband about how her female cousins and she often visited her grandparents at the tiny hotel they owned near the Rock Islandrailroad station located inEldon, Missouri. This later became the concept forPetticoat Junction.
Later in life, Henning and his wife Ruth donated land to a conservation area near Branson, Missouri.[4] ThePaul and Ruth Henning Conservation Area is 1,534 acres of oak and hickory forest, steep hills, and glades with four designated trails created by the Missouri Department of Conservation, and one longer trail created largely by the members of Boy Scout Troop 2001.[5][6] The site is monitored by theMissouri Department of Conservation. The area features hiking and bird watching.
Many details about Henning's personal life and career were recounted by Ruth in a 1994 manuscript that was discovered in archives and subsequently published in 2017.[7]
Ruth Barth Henning died, aged 88, from a heart attack on January 15, 2002, at their home in Los Angeles.
Henning retired toToluca Lake, California, and died in aBurbank hospital on March 25, 2005, aged 93. He was interred in the Tuscumbia Cemetery inTuscumbia, Missouri.
