'My Three Sons' Creator Dies - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TJ · 02-25-2003, 09:50 PM

http://tv.zap2it.com/news/tvnewsdaily.html?30308

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Henry Peter Tewksbury, who was involved with two beloved series from television's early days and later left Hollywood for the life of a farmer and cheesemaker in Vermont, has died.

Tewksbury died Thursday (Feb. 20) in Brattleboro, Vt., the Los Angeles Times reports. He was 79.

After graduating from Dartmouth and serving in the Pacific theater during World War II, Tewksbury settled in central California and worked at a radio station in the small town of Porterville. He also founded a community theater there, getting his start in directing.

In 1954, he moved into television, directing "Father Knows Best" as it moved to the new medium from radio. The comedy starring Robert Young was one of the original blueprints for the family comedy and ran for nine seasons. Tewksbury was twice nominated for Emmys for directing the series, winning the award in 1959.

Tewksbury -- who went by his middle name during his showbiz career -- created, produced and directed "My Three Sons" in 1960, working around the demands of star Fred MacMurray to craft a show that ran for 12 seasons. MacMurray would work no more than 13 weeks a year on the show, so Tewksbury shot all the actor's scenes for a season -- which in the '60s was typically 35 or more episodes -- within that time and edited them together with footage shot later.

His work on "My Three Sons" earned Tewksbury an additional Emmy nomination in 1961.

After working on other series and several feature films through the '60s and part of the '70s, Tewksbury quit Hollywood. He first split time between Vermont and California, farming in New England and managing a ranch out West. After settling permanently in Vermont, he became manager of the cheese department at the Brattleboro Food Co-op, where he was known as "Henry the Cheeseman."

He stocked more than 450 different cheeses at the co-op and also wrote a book called "The Cheeses of Vermont: A Gourmet Guide to Vermont's Artisanal Cheesemakers," published last year.

"His honesty was untouchable. He never swayed from what he believed to be morally right or ethically responsible," his wife, Cielle, tells the Times. His curiosity and commitment to whatever he touched, films or farming, milling wheat or tasting cheese, was astonishing in the depths of its commitment."

Tewksbury is survived by his wife and six children.

Geoff · 03-02-2003, 07:24 AM

TJ, the elusive arbitrary "Creator" credit for "My Three Sons" has long been a contentious issue. However whilst I do not wish to take anything away from the show's original Producer-Director Peter Tewksbury, there were others who had a hand in the show's pre-premiere genesis. Executive Producer Don Fedderson (1912-1994) was asked to develop a program representative of America, according to original sponsor Chevrolet. And although Tewksbury certainly had a hand in the format, my research has proven that the show's head writer George Tibbles (1914-1987) had in fact created the show. He went on to write almost 100 of the show's 380 half hour episodes during its long network TV run, 1960-1972. It is his name solely that appears on the credits for the first show, "Chip-off the Old Block" (Original Airdate: 9/29/1960 on ABC). According to Writers Guild of America rules, if a "Created by" or "Developed by" credit is never shown, then for the sake of accuracy it is deemed that the Writer of a show's Pilot episode is formally credited as Creator of a series, even if that writer was contracted to do so by the Producer or the production company. (Although it is obvious that Fedderson and Tewksbury also may have contributed.)

regards,
Geoff Brown,
Editor, "My Three Sons" database at TV Tome.

02-25-2003, 09:50 PM	#1
TJ Site Owner Administrator Forum Star Join Date: Feb 03, 2000 Location: Marietta, GA Posts: 10,748	'My Three Sons' Creator Dies http://tv.zap2it.com/news/tvnewsdaily.html?30308 LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Henry Peter Tewksbury, who was involved with two beloved series from television's early days and later left Hollywood for the life of a farmer and cheesemaker in Vermont, has died. Tewksbury died Thursday (Feb. 20) in Brattleboro, Vt., the Los Angeles Times reports. He was 79. After graduating from Dartmouth and serving in the Pacific theater during World War II, Tewksbury settled in central California and worked at a radio station in the small town of Porterville. He also founded a community theater there, getting his start in directing. In 1954, he moved into television, directing "Father Knows Best" as it moved to the new medium from radio. The comedy starring Robert Young was one of the original blueprints for the family comedy and ran for nine seasons. Tewksbury was twice nominated for Emmys for directing the series, winning the award in 1959. Tewksbury -- who went by his middle name during his showbiz career -- created, produced and directed "My Three Sons" in 1960, working around the demands of star Fred MacMurray to craft a show that ran for 12 seasons. MacMurray would work no more than 13 weeks a year on the show, so Tewksbury shot all the actor's scenes for a season -- which in the '60s was typically 35 or more episodes -- within that time and edited them together with footage shot later. His work on "My Three Sons" earned Tewksbury an additional Emmy nomination in 1961. After working on other series and several feature films through the '60s and part of the '70s, Tewksbury quit Hollywood. He first split time between Vermont and California, farming in New England and managing a ranch out West. After settling permanently in Vermont, he became manager of the cheese department at the Brattleboro Food Co-op, where he was known as "Henry the Cheeseman." He stocked more than 450 different cheeses at the co-op and also wrote a book called "The Cheeses of Vermont: A Gourmet Guide to Vermont's Artisanal Cheesemakers," published last year. "His honesty was untouchable. He never swayed from what he believed to be morally right or ethically responsible," his wife, Cielle, tells the Times. His curiosity and commitment to whatever he touched, films or farming, milling wheat or tasting cheese, was astonishing in the depths of its commitment." Tewksbury is survived by his wife and six children.

03-02-2003, 07:24 AM	#2
Geoff Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Dec 16, 2001 Location: Australia Posts: 75	"My Three Sons" creator dies TJ, the elusive arbitrary "Creator" credit for "My Three Sons" has long been a contentious issue. However whilst I do not wish to take anything away from the show's original Producer-Director Peter Tewksbury, there were others who had a hand in the show's pre-premiere genesis. Executive Producer Don Fedderson (1912-1994) was asked to develop a program representative of America, according to original sponsor Chevrolet. And although Tewksbury certainly had a hand in the format, my research has proven that the show's head writer George Tibbles (1914-1987) had in fact created the show. He went on to write almost 100 of the show's 380 half hour episodes during its long network TV run, 1960-1972. It is his name solely that appears on the credits for the first show, "Chip-off the Old Block" (Original Airdate: 9/29/1960 on ABC). According to Writers Guild of America rules, if a "Created by" or "Developed by" credit is never shown, then for the sake of accuracy it is deemed that the Writer of a show's Pilot episode is formally credited as Creator of a series, even if that writer was contracted to do so by the Producer or the production company. (Although it is obvious that Fedderson and Tewksbury also may have contributed.) regards, Geoff Brown, Editor, "My Three Sons" database at TV Tome.