Coming home from Jefferson City, I took a detour to Tuscumbia, MO. A small community of all of 218 people. A small county (Miller) seat along the beautiful Osage River.
Now begins the story...
It also happens to be the resting place for the late Ruth & Paul Henning.
Their story starts with growing up in Independence, the early days of radio and of smashing success in Hollywood. You see, Paul was actually the First Beverly Hillbilly. He grew up just a farm boy near Independence, MO. His wife Ruth, also was from Independence, MO. They enjoyed decades of success in show business.
They would first meet when both worked at KMBC in Kansas City in the 1920s. They did it all – writing ads, singing. Then Ruth found a job in Chicago, and Paul followed her.
Fast forward to a few years... Paul got the opportunity to work for George Burns – a huge star in radio and then TV – in the 1930s, first in Hollywood, then in New York for "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show" in the 1950s. Paul created, produced and served as the head writer for "The Bob Cummings Show," in the mid- and late '50s.
And then came The Beverly Hillbillies. The story that Paul drew upon getting to know people in the Ozarks with Ruth. He always commented, "He had a lot of respect for them." His "Beverly Hillbillies" was full of innocent misunderstandings when city folks and country folks looked at things differently.
Paul even wrote the opening and closing song, "The Ballad of Jed Clampett."
Henning would also created "Petticoat Junction" – a lot of it was from Ruth's ideas and experiences. Ruth was the granddaughter of Willis and Martha Burris who used to run a hotel in Eldon. In fact at the turn of the 20th century, the Burris Hotel (once called the Rock Island Hotel), was a hustling, bustling hotel, located near the railroad tracks of the Rock Island Line.
Paul went on to create a third show, "Green Acres," with him serving as executive producer. All these creations were with the premise of life where rural meets the city.
Life does imitates art & vise-versa... You can take them out of the country but you can't take the country out of them.
Even with all the successes and Hollywood life, It was still only a natural thing for Ruth to want to be buried with her four generation of kinfolk in Tuscumbia, MO.
And as usual Paul would follow her.
Now that's the story...
Nana
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