Earl Henry Hamner, Jr. (born on July 10, 1923 in Schuyler, Virginia) is an American television writer and producer, best known for his work in the 1970s and 1980s on the long-running series The Waltons and Falcon Crest. As a novelist, he is best known for the novel Spencer's Mountain, which was inspired by his own childhood and formed the basis for both the film of the same name and the television series The Waltons. Hamner also served as the unseen narrator of The Waltons.
He is also sometimes credited as Earl Hamner.
He based the cantankerous Walton family grandparents in the popular television series on his own maternal Italian-American grandparents, Ora Lee and A. Gianniny, an anglicized version of the Italian name "Giannini". A recurring character named Connie Giannini (Carla Borelli) appeared on Falcon Crest.
He has said that writing is all about rewriting.
Earl Hamner also contributed eight episodes to the classic sci fi TV series The Twilight Zone in the early 1960s. His first script acceptance for the series was his big writing break in Hollywood.