Been There, Done That
  Posted on Wed 01 Sep 2004
In a previous article, I've attempted to list credits that some may consider of some consequence, though it dawns on me that I haven't made my name famous,which could be considered a shortcoming in Hollywood circles. Frankly, I never gave it much thought. My goal, from the time I could hold a pencil, was to make my way in this world as a writer. Many moons later, when I learned that, according to some encyclopedia or other, only 10,000 people actually earn their living solely by writing, I was at last impressed with myself. I was one of 'em! Spraining my arm with all the back-patting and self-congratulations going on, I didn't bother reminding myself that a lot of those years were spent writing radio and TV commercials in which I touted the many wonders of Buddy's Steak House and Irving's Tire Headquarters. Never mind. I was writing. It wasn't actually until I started this website that folks began to say, "Hey, just who are you, anyway? How come we never heard of you?" "Don't feel badly," I tell them. "After all, my own mother sent me a Christmas card on which she misspelled my name. My first name. And I'm an only child."

If it matters a twit or a twiddle, I started writing for the Houston Citizen News when I was a teenager and became the teen correspondent for the now defunct Houston Post. From there, writing simply became a habit. I was named American's Most Promising Young Poet in a year I'm not about to divulge, I was Managing Editor of a tiny Midwest newspaper (a job for which I had no training and even less ability - or interest), and then I began to write educational and training films. Happily, I'd finally found my niche. I started with Centron Productions, an independent educational film company in Lawrence, Kansas. That experience led me to write for Encyclopedia Britannica's educational film division which, indirectly, led me to begin writing screenplays. At one point, I even wrote and produced six cable TV series, all at once.

Before I made the awesome leap to feature films, I was offered participation in a grant at the University of Missouri-Columbia as campus filmmaker. Actually, it was because of those educational films for Centron that the offer was made. While there, I wrote, produced, and directed films for the many foreign physicians studying advanced medical techniques at their outstanding research center. I also had the privilege of writing their School of Nursing texts and exams, as well as their teaching films. It was just a hop away to Arizona where the State Department asked me to come and write, direct, and produce a promotional film on the State of Arizona, which I did. Another inch or so on the map and I'd be in California, but that never dawned on me. Not then anyway.

Life circumstances, having nothing to do with career, shoved me to San Diego where I worked for Golden Broadcasting. Before long I was in Los Angeles. I'd had twelve years of educational film writing and producing, and a documentary or two along the way, but what in the world would I do in Hollywood? I mosied over to CBS and Lo! The little darlings hired me on the spot. I ended up in the script department - and welcome to THAT world!

I take it that if anyone is interested in anything, it'd be along about here they'd get curious. So, look to the right and see if there's anything there that is the least bit impressive. If you find it, tell my mom, will you? (That's Esther, with an "h," Momma.) Esther Luttrell
Index :: Print

Contact Esther