Actions
Begin New Search
Refine Last Search
Cemetery Lookup
Add Burial Records
Help with Find A Grave

Find all Hennings in:
 • Tuscumbia Cemetery
 • Tuscumbia
 • Miller County
 • Missouri
 • Find A Grave

Top Contributors
Success Stories
Discussion Forums
Find A Grave Store
Support Find A Grave

Log In
Paul Henning
Birth: Sep. 16, 1911
Independence
Jackson County
Missouri, USA
Death: Mar. 25, 2005
Burbank
Los Angeles County
California, USA

Television Producer. Throughout the 1960s, he was the creator of several classic television sitcoms. He created and produced "The Beverly Hillbillies" in 1962, "Petticoat Junction" (1963), and "Green Acres" (1965). Born in Independence, Missouri, he graduated Kansas City School of Law in 1932, and was advised by close friend and future President Harry Truman to follow a career in law, but Henning fancied a career as a Hollywood writer. In 1939 he married Ruth Barth, the woman who would be the creative force behind his work. He spent 30 years in Hollywood in both radio and television trying to get his ideas realized. Henning and his wife Ruth favored making television programs that went along with their rural background. He hit it big when a script written by him was used on the "Fibber McGee and Molly" radio show, which lead to a job on "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show." His first success on television came when he launched "The Bob Cummings Show" in 1955, but it was "The Beverly Hillbillies" that brought him the recognition and fortune he had longed for. He spun it off with "Petticoat Junction," and "Green Acres." He even cast his daughter, actress Linda Henning, as 'Betty Jo Bradley' on "Petticoat Junction." He also worked as a writer on films including "Lover, Come Back" in 1961, and "Bedtime Story" (1964). In 1971 All three of his shows were cancelled. Paul retired, although returned to make a reunion movie for the "The Beverly Hillbillies" in the early 1980s. Paul last worked was on a project he and his wife called their Brain Child, a re-make "Bedtime Story," which became the 1988 theatrical film "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels." The sudden death of his wife in 2002 contributed substantially to his decline in health. Paul Henning died in a Burbank hospital of natural causes, at the age of 93. 
 
Family links: 
 Spouse:
  Ruth Margaret Barth Henning (1913 - 2002)*
 
*Calculated relationship

 
Search Amazon for Paul Henning
 
Burial:
Tuscumbia Cemetery
Tuscumbia
Miller County
Missouri, USA
 
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Originally Created by: The Perplexed Historian
Record added: Mar 25, 2005
Find A Grave Memorial# 10675779
Paul Henning
Added by: The Perplexed Historian
 
Paul Henning
Added by: David M. Habben
 
Paul Henning
Added by: David M. Habben
 
There is 1 more photo not showing...
Click here to view all images...
Photos may be scaled.
Click on image for full size.


-
 Added: May. 6, 2013
Petticoat Junction!
-
 Added: May. 6, 2013
Green Acres
-
 Added: May. 6, 2013
There are 262 more notes not showing...
Click here to view all notes...
Do you have a photo to add? Click here
How famous was this person?
Current ranking for this person: (4.3 after 102 votes)
 

Accuracy and Copyright Disclaimer