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 ''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom which originally aired from 1955 to 1956, created by and starring Jackie Gleason, and based on a recurring comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of Gleason's variety show. It fo ...

''. Born in

Dunellen, New Jersey Dunellen () is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It is located within the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,637, reflecting an increase of 410 (+5.4%) from the 7, ...

, he served with the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. His earliest work was on a radio show for

Robert Q. Lewis Robert Q. Lewis (born Robert Goldberg; April 25, 1921 – December 11, 1991) was an American radio and television personality, comedian, game show host, and actor. Lewis added the middle initial "Q" to his name accidentally on the air in 1942, ...

, 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."Walter T. Stone Jr., ''Honeymooners'' writer"
''

Courier News The ''Courier News'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Somerville, New Jersey, that serves Somerset County and other areas of Central Jersey. The paper has been owned by Gannett since 1927. Notable employees *John Curley, former presid ...

'', October 23, 1999. Accessed August 28, 2022, via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

. "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."Triolo, John; and Marren-Licht, Liz
''Dunellen''
p. 124.

Arcadia Publishing Arcadia Publishing is an American publisher of neighborhood, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs the History Press, which publ ...

, 2012. . Accessed August 28, 2022. "Walter Stone, chief writer for the ''Honeymooners'' television series, was born in Dunellen in 1920." He later wrote for the radio game show '' Stop the Music''. Stone connected with a then-little-known

Jackie Gleason John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...

and became a writer for his comedic shtick."Walter Stone"
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', 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." Together with Marvin Marx, he was the lead screenwriter for Gleason of the 39 episodes of the television

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

'', which were originally aired from 1955 to 1956, and have since been re-broadcast in syndication in the decades since. The episodes were among more than 100 episodes and specials that Stone wrote for Gleason. He later wrote for the television series '' That's Life'', starring

Robert Morse Robert Alan Morse (May 18, 1931 – April 20, 2022) was an American actor, who starred in ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (musical), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', both the 1961 original Broadway production ...

and E. J. Peaker. A resident of Bay Harbor Islands, Florida, Stone died at the age of 79 on October 20, 1999, in nearby Miami Beach."Walter Stone, ''Honeymooners'' Writer, 79"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', 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."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, Walter 1920 births 1999 deaths American screenwriters People from Bay Harbor Islands, Florida People from Dunellen, New Jersey The Honeymooners