Walter Thomas Stone Jr. (February 1, 1920 – October 20, 1999) was an American screenwriter best known for his work as the head writer for The Honeymooners.
Born in Dunellen, New Jersey, he served with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. His earliest work was on a radio show for Robert Q. Lewis, a job he got after sending in some comedy material he had written after reading an article that said that the network was looking for writers.[1][2] He later wrote for the radio game show Stop the Music.[3]
Stone connected with a then-little-known Jackie Gleason and became a writer for his comedic shtick.[4] Together with Marvin Marx, he was the lead screenwriter for Gleason of the 39 episodes of the television sitcom The Honeymooners, which were originally aired from 1955 to 1956, and have since been re-broadcast in syndication in the decades since.[3] The episodes were among more than 100 episodes and specials that Stone wrote for Gleason.[2] He later wrote for the television series That's Life, starring Robert Morse and E. J. Peaker.[3]
A resident of Bay Harbor Islands, Florida, Stone died at the age of 79 on October 20, 1999, in nearby Miami Beach.[3]
References
- ^ "Walter T. Stone Jr., Honeymooners writer",Courier News, October 23, 1999. Accessed August 28, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Walter Thomas Stone Jr., died Wednesday (Oct. 20, 1999) in Miami Beach, Fla. Born Feb. 1, 1920, he was a native of Dunellen. He enlisted in 1941 in the U.S. Air Force. In 1949, Mr. Stone read an article that CBS was looking for comedy writers. He sent some material and landed a job on Robert Q. Lewis' radio show."
- ^ a b Triolo, John; and Marren-Licht, Liz. Dunellen, p. 124. Arcadia Publishing, 2012. ISBN 9780738591612. Accessed August 28, 2022. "Walter Stone, chief writer for the Honeymooners television series, was born in Dunellen in 1920."
- ^ a b c d "Walter Stone, Honeymooners Writer, 79", The New York Times, October 25, 1999. Accessed August 28, 2022. "Walter Stone, the chief writer for the original Honeymooners television series starring Jackie Gleason, died on Wednesday in Miami Beach. He was 79 and lived on Bay Harbor Islands, Fla."
- ^ "Walter Stone", Variety, November 8, 1999. Accessed August 28, 2022. "After writing for ABC’s Stop the Music, Stone met the then-unknown Gleason. Writing jokes and gags for the comic’s appearances on the Dumont Network, Stone established himself as a comedy writer."