Artfiore1
05-18-2004, 04:37 AM
Hey everybody.
Okay, we know how the show ended in 1966, and thanks to "The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited," we know where they're at today. Would anyone like to take a stab at, as Paul Harvey might say, "the rest of the story"? Here's my attempt:
****************************************
On a January evening in 1974, Laura Petrie sat staring across the dinner table at her husband Rob, in the couple's relatively new home on Elm Street in New Rochelle, N.Y.
"I don't understand, darling" she said, questioningly.
Rob replied, "It's simple, honey -- we're just not going to be the 'writers' anymore."
"Just like that -- you're out of a job?" Flustered, she continued, "Oh, Rob! What are we going to do? Ritchie's got three more years of school left and . . . ".
"Well, uh-no, I didn't say that," interrupted her husband, somewhat nervously. "We're gonna still be involved. We just won't be the actual staff 'writers' anymore. But, they got some wonderful people. A couple of them wrote two episodes of 'All In The Family' last year. And, uh, another guy wrote, just last month, uh, he-uh wrote a-uh 'Bob Newhart,' and before that, he did a-uh 'Maude!' " If Rob's declaration was meant to impress, it failed.
Laura asked, "But, what about Buddy and Sally and YOU?"
The television series based on Rob Petrie's intended novel had hit the air in September of 1966. For nearly eight years, the show which starred Alan Brady, was written by Rob Petrie, Sally Rogers and Buddy Sorrell, and which was produced by Mel Cooley, was a tremendous success! Now suddenly, a whole new team of writers had been hired to hopefully take the show in a "new direction."
"Buddy and Sally," said Rob, "are now the 'creative consultants.' Me -- I'm the 'story editor.' And, they're thinking of making me the 'associate producer!' "
"Well, I don't know what any of that means," said Laura, "but it sounds like you'll still have a big say in what kind of show it is."
"Well, now, I don't know, honey. They're gonna be paying these people an awful lot of money. The network might not take too kindly to me cramping their creative style, if you know what I mean."
As so often happens, "well enough" should have been left alone by television decision-makers. For, it was all downhill from 1974 on for the Brady series. It died a slow and somewhat painful death following the change in writing staff. First, the once-superb program dropped out of the Nielson Top 20 for the first time in ten years. It then languished at somewhere around No 35 or 40 in the ratings for most of its final three seasons on the air, mercifully coming to an end in May of 1977.
It was a beautiful June wedding, a relatively small ceremony and reception with lots of pretty flowers, great food and a wonderful band. Rob and Laura joined the band and sang a few romantic favorites. Rob gave the bride away. And at the end of the day, Rob's co-worker Sally Rogers was Mrs. Herman Glimsher.
Following the cancellation of the TV series, fifty-two-year-old Rob then spent some time as a writer for a children's television show, while beginning his second attempt at writing a novel. The book was one-third completed the day his and Laura's son Ritchie graduated from college. Within months, Ritchie was hired by a local architectural firm.
In February of 1982, sales of Robert Petrie's new novel exceeded the one million mark! Rob was a bestselling author! Shortly thereafter, the publisher also released a children's book, written by Laura, which featured illustrations by Rob. That sold well, also. Toward the end of the following year, in December of 1983 -- Rob and Laura sold their second New Rochelle home and moved to New York City.
Nine months later, in August of 1984, former television producer sixty-three-year-old Melvin Cooley died of a rare heart disease. Rob was asked to and did deliver a wonderful heartfelt eulogy at the memorial service.
Two months after that, Ritchie Petrie and his girlfriend Debby were married in a beautiful ceremony which would forever remain one of the most cherished memories of the Petries. Ritchie and Debby moved into a small apartment in New Rochelle.
One morning in January of 1986, Laura Petrie was doing some stretching exercises at home as her husband Rob answered the telephone and spoke quietly and quite solemnly to someone for several minutes. His troubled manner after hanging up the telephone aroused Laura's curiosity. Some time later, the two sat down together, and Rob somberly told Laura, "I'm afraid I have some, uh, rather troubling news, honey."
"What is it, Rob? You're scaring me."
It seemed most of the blood had drained from his face as he told her, "Jerry Helper has a brain tumor."
"Oh, Rob," she said, tearfully.
When the life of the Petries' former neighbor, ended two months later, his wife Millie was completely devastated. Acquaintances would later say that she seemed to age ten years within only a few months. Rob and Laura returned to New Rochelle in March for the funeral, at which Rob delivered another lovely heartfelt eulogy. Jerry was almost sixty-one.
Later that month, Rob and Laura bid a reluctant "So long" to their son Ritchie and his wife Debby, after the company for which Ritchie was working transferred him to Portland, Oregon.
Through the years, Laura Petrie gave Rob a great many wonderful gifts, but none more appreciated or significant, it seemed, than the personal computer she bought for him for Christmas of 1992. She purchased the computer with money she had secretly been saving for quite some time. It led to his obtaining other computers and taking home study courses in programming. Rob eventually purchased, through the years, more and more sophisticated equipment with which the now-retired writer would busy himself for the rest of his life. Along the way, Rob and Laura became grandparents a couple of times over. They were thrilled, despite rarely seeing their son and their grandchildren.
1996 was a particularly difficult year in the lives of Rob and Laura Petrie. In the spring, their sister-in-law Julie -- the wife of Rob's brother Stacey -- passed away in Miami. Then in October, a heart attack claimed the life of Rob's eighty-seven-year-old former TV co-writer, Maurice "Buddy" Sorrell. Among the speakers to movingly honor Buddy at his funeral were his two long-time friends and writing partners Rob Petrie and the former Sally Rogers.
"I would so love to live there again. It's really a beautiful house. What do you think, Deb?" said Ritchie, after his company had transferred him back to New Rochelle following eighteen years in Portland. He had just learned that the house in which he had grown up was, once again, up for sale.
Debby agreed. Their offer was accepted. And so, in February of 2004, Ritchie, Debby and their children moved into the old Petrie house on Bonnie Meadow Drive in New Rochelle. Four months earlier, Laura Petrie had opened her own little dance studio in her and Rob's Manhattan penthouse. Among the young girls Laura would eventually instruct there would be her own granddaughter.
****************************************
It might not be too good, but I thought it might be interesting to see what we can come up with.
Later,
Art
Okay, we know how the show ended in 1966, and thanks to "The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited," we know where they're at today. Would anyone like to take a stab at, as Paul Harvey might say, "the rest of the story"? Here's my attempt:
****************************************
On a January evening in 1974, Laura Petrie sat staring across the dinner table at her husband Rob, in the couple's relatively new home on Elm Street in New Rochelle, N.Y.
"I don't understand, darling" she said, questioningly.
Rob replied, "It's simple, honey -- we're just not going to be the 'writers' anymore."
"Just like that -- you're out of a job?" Flustered, she continued, "Oh, Rob! What are we going to do? Ritchie's got three more years of school left and . . . ".
"Well, uh-no, I didn't say that," interrupted her husband, somewhat nervously. "We're gonna still be involved. We just won't be the actual staff 'writers' anymore. But, they got some wonderful people. A couple of them wrote two episodes of 'All In The Family' last year. And, uh, another guy wrote, just last month, uh, he-uh wrote a-uh 'Bob Newhart,' and before that, he did a-uh 'Maude!' " If Rob's declaration was meant to impress, it failed.
Laura asked, "But, what about Buddy and Sally and YOU?"
The television series based on Rob Petrie's intended novel had hit the air in September of 1966. For nearly eight years, the show which starred Alan Brady, was written by Rob Petrie, Sally Rogers and Buddy Sorrell, and which was produced by Mel Cooley, was a tremendous success! Now suddenly, a whole new team of writers had been hired to hopefully take the show in a "new direction."
"Buddy and Sally," said Rob, "are now the 'creative consultants.' Me -- I'm the 'story editor.' And, they're thinking of making me the 'associate producer!' "
"Well, I don't know what any of that means," said Laura, "but it sounds like you'll still have a big say in what kind of show it is."
"Well, now, I don't know, honey. They're gonna be paying these people an awful lot of money. The network might not take too kindly to me cramping their creative style, if you know what I mean."
As so often happens, "well enough" should have been left alone by television decision-makers. For, it was all downhill from 1974 on for the Brady series. It died a slow and somewhat painful death following the change in writing staff. First, the once-superb program dropped out of the Nielson Top 20 for the first time in ten years. It then languished at somewhere around No 35 or 40 in the ratings for most of its final three seasons on the air, mercifully coming to an end in May of 1977.
It was a beautiful June wedding, a relatively small ceremony and reception with lots of pretty flowers, great food and a wonderful band. Rob and Laura joined the band and sang a few romantic favorites. Rob gave the bride away. And at the end of the day, Rob's co-worker Sally Rogers was Mrs. Herman Glimsher.
Following the cancellation of the TV series, fifty-two-year-old Rob then spent some time as a writer for a children's television show, while beginning his second attempt at writing a novel. The book was one-third completed the day his and Laura's son Ritchie graduated from college. Within months, Ritchie was hired by a local architectural firm.
In February of 1982, sales of Robert Petrie's new novel exceeded the one million mark! Rob was a bestselling author! Shortly thereafter, the publisher also released a children's book, written by Laura, which featured illustrations by Rob. That sold well, also. Toward the end of the following year, in December of 1983 -- Rob and Laura sold their second New Rochelle home and moved to New York City.
Nine months later, in August of 1984, former television producer sixty-three-year-old Melvin Cooley died of a rare heart disease. Rob was asked to and did deliver a wonderful heartfelt eulogy at the memorial service.
Two months after that, Ritchie Petrie and his girlfriend Debby were married in a beautiful ceremony which would forever remain one of the most cherished memories of the Petries. Ritchie and Debby moved into a small apartment in New Rochelle.
One morning in January of 1986, Laura Petrie was doing some stretching exercises at home as her husband Rob answered the telephone and spoke quietly and quite solemnly to someone for several minutes. His troubled manner after hanging up the telephone aroused Laura's curiosity. Some time later, the two sat down together, and Rob somberly told Laura, "I'm afraid I have some, uh, rather troubling news, honey."
"What is it, Rob? You're scaring me."
It seemed most of the blood had drained from his face as he told her, "Jerry Helper has a brain tumor."
"Oh, Rob," she said, tearfully.
When the life of the Petries' former neighbor, ended two months later, his wife Millie was completely devastated. Acquaintances would later say that she seemed to age ten years within only a few months. Rob and Laura returned to New Rochelle in March for the funeral, at which Rob delivered another lovely heartfelt eulogy. Jerry was almost sixty-one.
Later that month, Rob and Laura bid a reluctant "So long" to their son Ritchie and his wife Debby, after the company for which Ritchie was working transferred him to Portland, Oregon.
Through the years, Laura Petrie gave Rob a great many wonderful gifts, but none more appreciated or significant, it seemed, than the personal computer she bought for him for Christmas of 1992. She purchased the computer with money she had secretly been saving for quite some time. It led to his obtaining other computers and taking home study courses in programming. Rob eventually purchased, through the years, more and more sophisticated equipment with which the now-retired writer would busy himself for the rest of his life. Along the way, Rob and Laura became grandparents a couple of times over. They were thrilled, despite rarely seeing their son and their grandchildren.
1996 was a particularly difficult year in the lives of Rob and Laura Petrie. In the spring, their sister-in-law Julie -- the wife of Rob's brother Stacey -- passed away in Miami. Then in October, a heart attack claimed the life of Rob's eighty-seven-year-old former TV co-writer, Maurice "Buddy" Sorrell. Among the speakers to movingly honor Buddy at his funeral were his two long-time friends and writing partners Rob Petrie and the former Sally Rogers.
"I would so love to live there again. It's really a beautiful house. What do you think, Deb?" said Ritchie, after his company had transferred him back to New Rochelle following eighteen years in Portland. He had just learned that the house in which he had grown up was, once again, up for sale.
Debby agreed. Their offer was accepted. And so, in February of 2004, Ritchie, Debby and their children moved into the old Petrie house on Bonnie Meadow Drive in New Rochelle. Four months earlier, Laura Petrie had opened her own little dance studio in her and Rob's Manhattan penthouse. Among the young girls Laura would eventually instruct there would be her own granddaughter.
****************************************
It might not be too good, but I thought it might be interesting to see what we can come up with.
Later,
Art