I just recently received the following outstanding letter from Peter S. Fischer, the Producer of the "Once An Eagle" miniseries, also of "Columbo" and "Murder, She Wrote" fame. Thanks for writing Peter. And, thanks for your great work on "Once An Eagle"! -- Tom Hebert / onceaneagleguy
Tom Hebert...this is a thank you and a love letter. Thirty five years ago when Universal asked me to adapt "Once an Eagle" and produce the mini-series, I was flattered and very much awed by the responsibility. Anton Myrer had written a wonderful, inspiring and deep work of fiction and even the 9 hours they gave me wasn't going to be enough to do his work justice. Nonetheless I went at it and it turned out pretty well, I think. I have a letter from Tony Myrer to prove it. We got good ratings, good reviews, and despite all that NBC and Universal chose to bury it deep in their vaults after a perfunctory run in syndication. This always bewildered me and it hurt a lot because all of us connected with the project were pretty proud of what we'd done. I retired from the television business in 1996, still hearing from many people about "Murder She Wrote" and "Columbo" but there was still that pit in my gut about "Once an Eagle". Now thanks mainly to you and a few others, it's getting new life on DVD and I couldn't or happier or prouder. Heartfelt thanks. Maybe the studio and the network didn't want to touch it because it was pro-war though if they had any clue at all, they would have known this wasn't true. Pro-America, pro-liberty, pro-freedom...all those things, but not pro war. I am a very patriotic guy and as I said,I retired in 1996 but I uncovered the typewriter last year and have written two novels, thrillers having to do with the mess the Socialists have made of this country from their power base in the Capitol. The Blood of Tyrants and The Terror of Tyrants are both available on Amazon.com and also from my publishing company, The Grove Point Press. If you agree with me that the country is in a tragic mess, I would be delighted to send you complimentary copies of both books, signed by me. Just supply me with a snail mail address. You have done this country a great service in pushing to get this mini-series re-released and available to a whole new generation of Americans. Please feel free to post any part or all of this letter on your website.......Peter S. Fischer
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2 comments:
I'm so glad the miniseries is being released! I am a little impartial being the screenwriter's son, but I remember this as being one of the best projects he was ever involved in. I can't wait ti see it.
Thanks to Tom Hebert and his site for making it happen.
Good Bless America and our troops around the world keeping us safe.
Also God Bless our troops around the globe today.
It's gratifying to see both the producer and director express their thanks for Mr. Hebert's efforts to get Universal to FINALLY release "Once an Eagle". After all these years I thought it must have been related to a problem with one of the deceased actor's estates or something.
Sam Elliott actually lives here in Eugene (OR) and I hoped I would run into him one day and have the chance to ask him if he knew the reason for the failure of Universal to release OAE. Of all the actors in the series, he is probably the most well known at this point in time so I thought it was worth a shot. But, alas, I have never had the privilege of meeting him.
Thanks so much, Mr. Hebert, for actually getting the often immovable studios to actually listen to their audience!
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