pdw's atelier
Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher's Beaver
I've often heard that when writing stories, plays, film scripts, and music lyrics, they turn out more accurate and authentic when coming from the personal "what we know" experiences of the writer. It's that personal touch from daily living which adds the realism to the fiction. All too often when I view shows, I feel that the characters are acting in ways that don't hit home to me. Sometimes I feel like the show's writers must be from a different universe all together. This is especially true when viewing numerous shows about childhood and youth. The show might be entertaining, but the actions and mentality of the actors is simply pure fiction!
Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher were two scriptwriters who churned out fiction of every imaginative kind but it was when they teamed together on the 'Leave it to Beaver' TV series that their personal experiences added enduring authenticity to the dialogue, which is quite rare in the annals of television and film history. Both men were fathers experiencing first-hand the daily events taking place with their own brood. Mr. Connelly made a habit of following his kids around with a pad of paper to write down the enduring funny situations; the way his kids (and their friends) responded; and the things they said. It was these real-life endurances which made it into the scripting of the television show.
Even now, with some 50 to 60 years of television history behind us, when I view a Leave it to Beaver episode I feel like the dialogue and the childhood sentiments, confusion, and experiences are so much like those of my own and those of children I've known and been close to. Yes, I realize there are some folks who grow-up in alien environments so different from those of Beaver, Wally, Eddy, and myself, but it's not really the world where we are raised which is what we are bonded by, but it's the thinking and feeling we all start out with where a common bond exists. It is those childhood feelings where Mr. Connelly and Mr. Mosher exceeded. I did not grow-up in the same environment that their children did, but I sure experienced similar childhood sentiments. Their writing on Beaver is timeless!
Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher's Beaver
I've often heard that when writing stories, plays, film scripts, and music lyrics, they turn out more accurate and authentic when coming from the personal "what we know" experiences of the writer. It's that personal touch from daily living which adds the realism to the fiction. All too often when I view shows, I feel that the characters are acting in ways that don't hit home to me. Sometimes I feel like the show's writers must be from a different universe all together. This is especially true when viewing numerous shows about childhood and youth. The show might be entertaining, but the actions and mentality of the actors is simply pure fiction!
Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher were two scriptwriters who churned out fiction of every imaginative kind but it was when they teamed together on the 'Leave it to Beaver' TV series that their personal experiences added enduring authenticity to the dialogue, which is quite rare in the annals of television and film history. Both men were fathers experiencing first-hand the daily events taking place with their own brood. Mr. Connelly made a habit of following his kids around with a pad of paper to write down the enduring funny situations; the way his kids (and their friends) responded; and the things they said. It was these real-life endurances which made it into the scripting of the television show.
Even now, with some 50 to 60 years of television history behind us, when I view a Leave it to Beaver episode I feel like the dialogue and the childhood sentiments, confusion, and experiences are so much like those of my own and those of children I've known and been close to. Yes, I realize there are some folks who grow-up in alien environments so different from those of Beaver, Wally, Eddy, and myself, but it's not really the world where we are raised which is what we are bonded by, but it's the thinking and feeling we all start out with where a common bond exists. It is those childhood feelings where Mr. Connelly and Mr. Mosher exceeded. I did not grow-up in the same environment that their children did, but I sure experienced similar childhood sentiments. Their writing on Beaver is timeless!