The Waltons - General Discussion

[Katy M]

2 hours ago, Egg McMuffin said:

Have you hit the episode yet where a poltergeist invades the house?

That probably scared me when I was a kid, but now it cracks me up.  Especially the Raggedy Ann doll "moving."  Special effects were not the Waltons specialty, LOL.

[LadyIrony]

On 2/27/2022 at 12:10 AM, Egg McMuffin said:

Have you hit the episode yet where a poltergeist invades the house?

Yep! Desperate ratings grab. It's like the show was losing it's identity or thought it needed a new one. The ep with the odd artist guy who was stalking Erin was one of the cheesiest, weird camera angles not sure if it wanted to be pyscho or a film noir before realizing it needed a family friendly Walton's ending. 

 

[merylinkid]

On 2/26/2022 at 10:13 AM, Katy M said:

Special effects were not the Waltons specialty, LOL.

I can just imagine the budget meetings.   "This is a show about a family struggling during the depression, what kind of special effects could you POSSIBLY need?"

"Yeah we want to blow up the Hindenburg."  

"Ummm WHY?"

"The oldest boy is a journalist, he could be covering the story.   You know he traveled alllll the way from the mountain to Lakehurst, NJ to do it."

"No.   No money for special effects.   These people are POOR.   Just throw flaming paper at him."

[Egg McMuffin]

Seemed like Grandma, who was back on a part time basis by season 7, was conveniently absent from the poltergeist episode. How would she have reacted to that silliness?

[Blergh]

1 hour ago, Egg McMuffin said:

Seemed like Grandma, who was back on a part time basis by season 7, was conveniently absent from the poltergeist episode. How would she have reacted to that silliness?

I tend to think she'd have gotten the nearest Reverend to preach a MAJOR fire-and-brimstone sermon to the family. However, by this point, Miss Corby's health was still rather fragile  due to that devastating stroke and she could only do a few scenes for  a few episodes per season- and she may have been relieved that her character was nowhere near this.

BTW, back in the early 1980's, the Christian Broadcast Network refused to air this episode when rerunning the show due to its occult ponderings but I think it  along with the Curt's Alive But  Can't Face Not Having a Real Marriage Episode should have stayed unaired simply because IMO, they were AWFUL! 

[sATL]

On 2/26/2022 at 8:10 AM, Egg McMuffin said:

Have you hit the episode yet where a poltergeist invades the house?

which episode was this? When Elizabeth was having nightmares due to seeing a robber,  killed  via a ferris wheel, years earlier at a carnival?

Speaking of MIA episodes from my memory -

• which episode did John Boy actually get hurt via a motorcycle?
• What did Mary Ellen do legal wise to marry Jonesy - get a divorce on grounds of Desertion -which really would have been a eyeballs at the church on sunday

Going back to Mary Ellen and Jonesy - there is a scene in "the wirldwind" where she goes out at dusk/nighttime to "kiss" jonsey goodnight... I'm willing to bet $$ they did more than "kiss" goodnight. 😁

Edited March 1, 2022 by sATL

[Egg McMuffin]

We never saw Johnboy’s motorcycle accident. It happened between episodes.

Mary Ellen divorced Curt after The Whirlwind. In “Mother’s Day on Walton’s Mountain” from a year later, Mary Ellen is left unable to have children after a car accident. And Corabeth says that she won’t be able to adopt, since she is divorced.

[sATL]

On 2/26/2022 at 10:13 AM, Katy M said:

 Special effects were not the Waltons specialty, LOL.

I was just thinking about that during todays episode " the best Christmas".. their idea of a winter ice storm in the mountains on Christmas eve.. I'll give them a B-/C+... they really tried to make it "cold". I'm really thinking it was a way to give every guest character a holiday bonus for an appearance - except the Baldwins.

Grandpa who seldom drives , takes the main family vehicle to the next town on a social call  ; John Boy and Harley go wadding in the pond (which apparently isn't too deep) for who knows how long and all they get is wet , Odd that Mrs. Tatum legs didn't get frost bitten along with her arm; Jim Bob and Patsy disappear to wherever after they discover no one was at home; Elizabeth and Olivia walk home in the dark without stopping by the church ( which logically was probably very close by/ on the way);  How come Yancy couldn't find comfort in his livestock (which I think he preferred over his wife) but needed Ben to stay there too; Jason is studying at the conservatory and been on the church organ for years - now he has trouble playing a song that he probably plays every year and one knows Christmas is coming ?

Edited March 1, 2022 by sATL

[Prairie Rose]

According to the recent memoir Ron Howard co-wrote with his brother Clint (The Boys - a great read, by the way), he was interested in auditioning for the role of John-Boy when The Homecoming was being cast in 1971. Ron was 17 and felt the role would be a perfect fit. He had already proven his rural bonafides in The Andy Griffith Show. When he approached TPTB about an audition, he was told that they already had someone in mind to play John-Boy. Not too long afterwards, Richard Thomas was cast. Ron Howard wrote that after the initial disappointment and the passage of time, he also realized that the right actor had been cast. Of course, he landed American Graffiti and then Happy Days in fairly short order before moving on to his enormously successful career behind the camera.

Speaking of other John-Boys, I don't think Robert Wightman was bad. He wasn't Richard Thomas, but who was? I felt he was a decent actor in his own right. Of course, by the time he came on, the show's golden era had long passed. 

[Egg McMuffin]

I really like “The Best Christmas,” despite its implausibilities. It’s one of the last few episodes with the entire original cast. The story revolves around Livvie thinking it will be their last Christmas together. I’m guessing they knew Richard Thomas was leaving at the end of the season at the time it was produced. But they couldn’t know that Ellen Corby would suffer her stroke just a few weeks after filming this, and wouldn’t return until Richard Thomas had already departed.

I like how the ending foreshadows the coming war, where John Boy narrates that just a few years later, some of them would spend Christmas in the hedgerows of Normandy or on duty in in a hospital, and that their memories of “The Best Christmas” would sustain them.

Strangely enough, in the following year’s Christmas episode, “The Children’s Carol,” John Boy narrates, “We didn't know it then but it was the last Christmas ever that we would all spend it together.” Even though Grandma and John Boy himself weren’t present!

[Prairie Rose]

I cried like a baby at "Grandma Comes Home" the first time I saw it (in syndication; I was only a toddler when the show was cancelled), because my own grandmother had passed on only just recently. The episode ended up being a wonderful showcase for Ellen Corby.

Another episode I like a lot is "The Gypsies". The titular family had a lot of stubborn pride but undeniable love for each other. Veteran character actor Gregory Sierra was perfect as the head of the family, and he'd already appeared opposite Richard Thomas in the 1971 Red Sky at Morning.

Of the later characters, I liked Ben's wife Cindy a lot. She fit right in, was enthusiastic but made a lot of mistakes. I liked how human she was.

[Lisa418722]

9 hours ago, Prairie Rose said:

According to the recent memoir Ron Howard co-wrote with his brother Clint (The Boys - a great read, by the way), he was interested in auditioning for the role of John-Boy when The Homecoming was being cast in 1971. Ron was 17 and felt the role would be a perfect fit. He had already proven his rural bonafides in The Andy Griffith Show. When he approached TPTB about an audition, he was told that they already had someone in mind to play John-Boy. Not too long afterwards, Richard Thomas was cast. Ron Howard wrote that after the initial disappointment and the passage of time, he also realized that the right actor had been cast. Of course, he landed American Graffiti and then Happy Days in fairly short order before moving on to his enormously successful career behind the camera.

Speaking of other John-Boys, I don't think Robert Wightman was bad. He wasn't Richard Thomas, but who was? I felt he was a decent actor in his own right. Of course, by the time he came on, the show's golden era had long passed. 

I always think it's funny when you hear about who tried out for parts on shows they didn't get.  I cannot imagine a red-headed John Boy (even though some of the other kids were red-headed).  

I liked Robert Wightman. There had been a little bit of time between Richard Thomas leaving and him coming on.  Richard Thomas' John Boy was the big brother and the younger kids were supposed to listen to him and do what he said while Robert Wightman seemed like he was more of a friend/sibling to the other kids.

Edited March 1, 2022 by Lisa418722

[merylinkid]

11 hours ago, Egg McMuffin said:

ary Ellen is left unable to have children after a car accident.

Except somehow she has a whole passle of kids by the Thanksgiving Reunion special.   So you know, along with special effects, continuity was not their strong suit.

[Llywela]

1 hour ago, merylinkid said:

Except somehow she has a whole passle of kids by the Thanksgiving Reunion special.   So you know, along with special effects, continuity was not their strong suit.

Didn't they also completely forget the existence of at least one if not two of Ben and Cindy's kids by the time that reunion special rolled around? They just ceased to exist.

[sATL]

I was guessing that by the time best christmas aired, Grandma had the stoke already in real life. So it was a short window of time to change the ending John boy narrative - unless they couldn't redo the narrative for production reasons.

the Episode aired Dec 9, 1976.

wikipedia has: Walton's Granny' suffers stroke". The Miami News. Ancestry.com#Newspapers.com. November 11, 1976.

 

1 hour ago, merylinkid said:

Except somehow she has a whole passle of kids by the Thanksgiving Reunion special.   So you know, along with special effects, continuity was not their strong suit.

?? - I thought Jason had the most kids...

[merylinkid]

46 minutes ago, sATL said:

?? - I thought Jason had the most kids...

Jason might have.   And his wife who was in her 20s in 1940 somehow still have young uns running around and gets pregnant again in 1964.  

But, Mary Ellen definitely had 3 or 4 YOUNG kids in the Thanksgiving Reunion all sitting at the table misbehaving while ME says "Of course we are going to Grandma and Grandpa's for Thanksgiving."   JC was only in his late teens despite being born in 1940.   

Again, continunity, not a strong suit.

48 minutes ago, Llywela said:

Didn't they also completely forget the existence of at least one if not two of Ben and Cindy's kids by the time that reunion special rolled around?

Yeah Charlie.   In the series, there was a big dramatic thing about his premature birth.   Then by the reunion special he is never mentioned and their daughter has somehow mysteriously died at young age.  

[Blergh]

13 hours ago, Prairie Rose said:

According to the recent memoir Ron Howard co-wrote with his brother Clint (The Boys - a great read, by the way), he was interested in auditioning for the role of John-Boy when The Homecoming was being cast in 1971. Ron was 17 and felt the role would be a perfect fit. He had already proven his rural bonafides in The Andy Griffith Show. When he approached TPTB about an audition, he was told that they already had someone in mind to play John-Boy. Not too long afterwards, Richard Thomas was cast. Ron Howard wrote that after the initial disappointment and the passage of time, he also realized that the right actor had been cast. Of course, he landed American Graffiti and then Happy Days in fairly short order before moving on to his enormously successful career behind the camera.

 

I read that autobio- and what was odd that while Mr. Howard expressed having been frustrated at not getting the John-Boy starring role, he made no mention that he DID play Jason's oneshot dying bestie Seth in an episode 'The Gift' that aired on January 24,1974- just nine days AFTER Happy Days premiered! This despite him playing a pivotal character AND seeming to have had good chemistry with all the performers who played the Walton family! 

[Egg McMuffin]

2 hours ago, sATL said:

I was guessing that by the time best christmas aired, Grandma had the stoke already in real life. So it was a short window of time to change the ending John boy narrative - unless they couldn't redo the narrative for production reasons.

the Episode aired Dec 9, 1976.

wikipedia has: Walton's Granny' suffers stroke". The Miami News. Ancestry.com#Newspapers.com. November 11, 1976.

 

?? - I thought Jason had the most kids...

Yeah- I think they just aired it as is. I think they already knew that Richard Thomas was leaving; Ellen Corby’s health issues just added to the poignance of the idea that it was their last Christmas together.

[Prairie Rose]

2 hours ago, Blergh said:

I read that autobio- and what was odd that while Mr. Howard expressed having been frustrated at not getting the John-Boy starring role, he made no mention that he DID play Jason's oneshot dying bestie Seth in an episode 'The Gift' that aired on January 24,1974- just nine days AFTER Happy Days premiered! This despite him playing a pivotal character AND seeming to have had good chemistry with all the performers who played the Walton family! 

That's right - I'd forgotten about that.

[Prairie Rose]

Did anyone else see members from the casts of The Waltons and LHOP face off on Zoom for a charity game night this past fall? Team Waltons was represented by Judy Norton, Eric Scott, Kami Cotler and Leslie Winston:

 

[Blergh]

One thing that must be kept in mind re Ellen Corby's return to the show after having had her devastating stroke: while it undoubtably was a brave and determined act for her to have done so, she may not have had a choice here. She had been long divorced and had outlived her entire family (including a preteen niece tragically killed after being hit by a car) and the huge hospital, therapy and day-to-day expenses she'd have incurred would have been quite overwhelming even back then and it's likely her insurance might have lapsed had she not returned. 

[Prairie Rose]

Here are Will Geer and Ellen Corby with their Emmys, 1975:

[Egg McMuffin]

7 hours ago, Blergh said:

One thing that must be kept in mind re Ellen Corby's return to the show after having had her devastating stroke: while it undoubtably was a brave and determined act for her to have done so, she may not have had a choice here. She had been long divorced and had outlived her entire family (including a preteen niece tragically killed after being hit by a car) and the huge hospital, therapy and day-to-day expenses she'd have incurred would have been quite overwhelming even back then and it's likely her insurance might have lapsed had she not returned. 

Yep, excellent point. I’m sure that financial issues were a consideration. From what I understand, the show paid her for the 10 episodes she missed in season 5. And when she returned for season 7, she did those 10 episodes over the course of the season, where she was again a series regular, and this fulfilled her contract. After that, she just was an occasional guest star.

Edited March 3, 2022 by Egg McMuffin

[LadyIrony]

On 3/1/2022 at 10:11 PM, Lisa418722 said:

I liked Robert Wightman. There had been a little bit of time between Richard Thomas leaving and him coming on.  Richard Thomas' John Boy was the big brother and the younger kids were supposed to listen to him and do what he said while Robert Wightman seemed like he was more of a friend/sibling to the other kids.

I think vocally he sounded pretty similar to Richard Thomas which helped. Acting wise he was more restrained which I think was a good thing. By the time he comes back John Boy would be a different person (pardon pun) he has experienced things and would no longer be the same over enthusiastic kid he once was. 

Is it just me, despite the way John Boy goes on about his writing, I never really believed he was into it. I know he goes to great lengths to pursue it but I just never "felt it". 

I finished the seasons, haven't gotten to the reunions yet. It was hard going at times, I could really see the show was losing itself. By the final season it looked very late 70's/early 80's the way the women were dressing in particular and their hairstyles. 

Watching Grandma after the stroke was difficult, knowing the actress wasn't acting. Feeling a mix of admiration for her courage as well as sadness for what had happened to her. 

Both actors who played the parents leaving also left a huge gap. And of course Grandpa who left because the actor who played him died. 

In regards to special effects, I guess that is why we never saw the war the boys went off to. And after the Hidenburg ep they weren't going to show Mary Ellen's husband looking at black and white footage of Pearl Harbor on a huge screen!

[sATL]

7 hours ago, LadyIrony said:

 

In regards to special effects, I guess that is why we never saw the war the boys went off to. And after the Hidenburg ep they weren't going to show Mary Ellen's husband looking at black and white footage of Pearl Harbor on a huge screen!

I kinda also contributed the non-war coverage due to the basis of the waltons - show what is going on the mountain, and everything else is a casual and delayed honorable mention. And a little bit of how hollywood wanted to portray war on TV (heavy gun battles) during that time- given it was only a decade or so after Vietnam, M*A*S*H was on the rise and a few westerns were still around.

I don't recall seeing what  JimBob did in war effort - he was mostly seen coming home on a weekend pass more than the work-week it took to get that pass. There was a few little scenes with Jason - like when is unit was under attack by a shooter who didn't know the war was over. Ben being a POW also didn't go into too much coverage - an enemy soldier leading them to US troops.

 

Edited March 4, 2022 by sATL

[Egg McMuffin]

Jim Bob was stationed about an hour away and was never sent overseas, which I thought was a little ridiculous. John Boy II and Jason both seemed to have cushy assignments and were able to hang out in Paris, enjoying the food and wine. Only Ben had it tough - in the Pacific theater and eventually a prisoner of war.

The fact is: The Waltons aired at 8:00, the networks’ “family hour” back then, and there was no way they were going to show anything close to the real horrors of war. So it was romanticized and sanitized, and they rushed through it quickly. The Walton boys all left home at the end of season 8, and the war was over less than halfway through season 9. The show had really fallen apart by then. They let Ralph Waite go for budgetary reasons, and since Michael Learned wasn’t coming back, Livvie had an offscreen relapse of her TB. Grandma didn’t appear at all that season. So it was just the Godseys and the Baldwins and the now-grown Walton kids, most of whom didn’t grow up to be great actors.

[Prairie Rose]

1 hour ago, Egg McMuffin said:

 They let Ralph Waite go for budgetary reasons

I never knew that! I always assumed he'd left on his own - deserting the sinking ship, as it were. It wasn't long after he was out that CBS finally pulled the plug, right?

The series finale, "The Revel", I remember as being quite a good showcase for Robert Wightman. I especially liked the last scene where John-Boy showed up at the Baldwins' party.

[Egg McMuffin]

I think Waite was in the first third of the last season - seven or eight episodes - and then was gone. There were some bad blood between him and Earl Hamner at that point, but that was resolved by the time they did the three TV movies the following year.

[Katy M]

7 minutes ago, Egg McMuffin said:

I think Waite was in the first third of the last season - seven or eight episodes - and then was gone. There were some bad blood between him and Earl Hamner at that point, but that was resolved by the time they did the three TV movies the following year.

Everything I've seen said he was let go for budget reasons, the ratings were going down and they wanted a younger audience.

[Blergh]

4 hours ago, Egg McMuffin said:

I think Waite was in the first third of the last season - seven or eight episodes - and then was gone. There were some bad blood between him and Earl Hamner at that point, but that was resolved by the time they did the three TV movies the following year.

What bad blood?! I've never heard of Earl Hamner, Jr. having any kind of bad blood with anyone in the cast! I know that Mr. Waite was FAR more of a rogue than John Walton, Sr.  and pulled no punches but this is the first I've ever heard of that claim.

 

Also, considering the fact that John Walton, Sr. was one of few increasingly rare positive father characters on TV, I seriously doubt that his presence alone turned off younger viewers from watching- quite the contrary. BTW, they kept the Baldwin Sisters as regulars (and the last season even had them credited as co-stars in the Opening Credits for the first time) and both of their performers were at least a decade older than Mr. Waite! 

[Prairie Rose]

Has anyone read Earl Hamner's book about the show. I never have. Is it any good?

[Blergh]

26 minutes ago, Prairie Rose said:

Has anyone read Earl Hamner's book about the show. I never have. Is it any good?

I have!  Mr. Hamner sang high praises for many of the performers on The Waltons even creditting Miss Corby for successfully convincing him that it was to the show's benefit for Grandma to be the show's lemon in its lemonade AND volunteering to be that lemon. Yes, Mr. Hamner had initially objected to her interpretation saying that he recalled both his grandmothers as 'sweet' women but he quickly bowed to Miss Corby's wisdom!  If he had any feuds or 'bad blood', he avoided discussing them in his bio. 

[Prairie Rose]

I'll have to see if my local library system carries Mr. Hamner's book. Does anyone else remember the Smuckers jam commercials that had the Waltons theme song in the background?

[Egg McMuffin]

 

9 hours ago, Blergh said:

What bad blood?! I've never heard of Earl Hamner, Jr. having any kind of bad blood with anyone in the cast! I know that Mr. Waite was FAR more of a rogue than John Walton, Sr.  and pulled no punches but this is the first I've ever heard of that claim.

Also, considering the fact that John Walton, Sr. was one of few increasingly rare positive father characters on TV, I seriously doubt that his presence alone turned off younger viewers from watching- quite the contrary. BTW, they kept the Baldwin Sisters as regulars (and the last season even had them credited as co-stars in the Opening Credits for the first time) and both of their performers were at least a decade older than Mr. Waite! 

Helen Kleeb and Mary Jackson, who played the Baldwins, were never credited in the show’s intro. I’m guessing you’re thinking about Joe Conley and Ronnie Claire Edwards, who played the Godseys and who were added to the credits in the final season.

About the issue between Hamner and Waite: Earl Hamner gave several interviews about his plans for a spinoff called “The Young Waltons.” This is from a TV Guide story from 1980: “What I would like,” Hamner drawls in his Virginia accent, “is to call the series The Young Waltons .” He pauses. “Besides that, we could put our money to much better use if we got rid of Michael and Ralph totally. They have outlived their usefulness.”

That did not go over well with Ralph Waite (Learned had already left the series but had made some guest appearances in the previous season). So there were some bad feelings when he was eased out of the show, and Waite indicated his displeasure in a few interviews. But, again, whatever bad feelings were put aside when Waite returned to the fold for the 1982 TV movies.

Edited March 6, 2022 by Egg McMuffin

[Prairie Rose]

Wasn't Michael Learned on Nurse (for which she'd win another Emmy) by then?

[Egg McMuffin]

The Nurse pilot movie had aired at that point, but the series didn’t start until the following spring. I think Hamner was referring to the characters as much as the actors. Olivia was in limbo on the show at that point - away working at the Red Cross in Washington. It sounds like he was talking about a more permanent exit for the character, which he eventually did when he had her move to Arizona with John.

To me, the 1982 movies were backdoor pilots for Hamner’s spinoff idea, now called “Walton’s Mountain” (he had also mentioned this as a potential title). Those episodes had different opening titles and theme song. And the focus was squarely on the younger Waltons, along with the spouses (Cindy, Paul, Jonesy), an older John Curtis, and a recast Aimee. John Walton played a supporting role - he’d show up halfway through the episodes, visiting from Arizona and dispensing advice. Michael Learned and Ellen Corby made appearances in some of those 1982 movies, but just in cameos.

I asked Judy Norton on her Youtube channel if that was the intent of those TV movies. She said she didn’t know - she just showed up when they called her and was happy to do more episodes. 😁

[Blergh]

Amazingly enough, Miss Norton (on her channel) has said that when Mary Ellen was supposed to have been visiting Olivia 'in Arizona' to get marital advice in Mother's Day on Walton's Mountain (1982), the behind the scenes reality was quite different.  Since Miss Learned was starring in the shortlived series Nurse (1981-1982) being filmed in New York City,after the two production companies haggled what was needed for it to happen,  they merely dressed up a corridor and a few rooms of the  contemporary hospital Nurse set to look like a late 1940's clinic and had the scenes filmed then and there. Yes, Mary Ellen was supposed to have nearly crossed the country to go west via train   from Virginia to Arizona but, in reality, Miss Norton had crossed the US  from west to east via flying from  LA to NYC for those scenes! 

[LadyIrony]

On 3/5/2022 at 12:23 AM, sATL said:

I kinda also contributed the non-war coverage due to the basis of the waltons - show what is going on the mountain, and everything else is a casual and delayed honorable mention. And a little bit of how hollywood wanted to portray war on TV (heavy gun battles) during that time- given it was only a decade or so after Vietnam, M*A*S*H was on the rise and a few westerns were still around.

I don't recall seeing what  JimBob did in war effort - he was mostly seen coming home on a weekend pass more than the work-week it took to get that pass. There was a few little scenes with Jason - like when is unit was under attack by a shooter who didn't know the war was over. Ben being a POW also didn't go into too much coverage - an enemy soldier leading them to US troops.

 

True I can't help but wonder if that added to a ratings decline. All the talk about war, brothers going off to it and yet we see very little?  Even MASH had the odd bit of combat moments. The 70's wouldn't have been a good time to show war though I agree. 

All the boys seemed very unaffected by their war experiences as well. It was like nothing happened. JimBob signed up late and lots of men never made it overseas but stationed so close to home? Convenient. 

On 3/5/2022 at 2:58 PM, Egg McMuffin said:

Jim Bob was stationed about an hour away and was never sent overseas, which I thought was a little ridiculous. John Boy II and Jason both seemed to have cushy assignments and were able to hang out in Paris, enjoying the food and wine. Only Ben had it tough - in the Pacific theater and eventually a prisoner of war.

The fact is: The Waltons aired at 8:00, the networks’ “family hour” back then, and there was no way they were going to show anything close to the real horrors of war. So it was romanticized and sanitized, and they rushed through it quickly. The Walton boys all left home at the end of season 8, and the war was over less than halfway through season 9. The show had really fallen apart by then. They let Ralph Waite go for budgetary reasons, and since Michael Learned wasn’t coming back, Livvie had an offscreen relapse of her TB. Grandma didn’t appear at all that season. So it was just the Godseys and the Baldwins and the now-grown Walton kids, most of whom didn’t grow up to be great actors.

They did rush through the war. It didn't seem worth to have so many brothers go off and yet not show more of it.  I guess by that stage the show was in it's death throes anyway. 

Some of those kids weren't great when they were on the show. Judy Norton would have to be one of the worst.

I'm surprised Kami Cotler didn't much afterwards. She was cute as she got older and when she styled her hair differently. 

Mary Beth had an All American girl next door look about her and it's also surprising she didn't go onto be a little more successful. 

Edited March 7, 2022 by LadyIrony

[Egg McMuffin]

On 3/6/2022 at 10:51 AM, Blergh said:

Amazingly enough, Miss Norton (on her channel) has said that when Mary Ellen was supposed to have been visiting Olivia 'in Arizona' to get marital advice in Mother's Day on Walton's Mountain (1982), the behind the scenes reality was quite different.  Since Miss Learned was starring in the shortlived series Nurse (1981-1982) being filmed in New York City,after the two production companies haggled what was needed for it to happen,  they merely dressed up a corridor and a few rooms of the  contemporary hospital Nurse set to look like a late 1940's clinic and had the scenes filmed then and there. Yes, Mary Ellen was supposed to have nearly crossed the country to go west via train   from Virginia to Arizona but, in reality, Miss Norton had crossed the US  from west to east via flying from  LA to NYC for those scenes! 

I always wondered about those scenes and am glad Judy spoke about it. Why have Livvie back if you weren’t going to have her in scenes with the rest of the cast at home? But now it makes sense. Michael Learned was a good sport to do those scenes. She had her own series at that point, and didn’t have to.

[Prairie Rose]

3 hours ago, Egg McMuffin said:

I always wondered about those scenes and am glad Judy spoke about it. Why have Livvie back if you weren’t going to have her in scenes with the rest of the cast at home? But now it makes sense. Michael Learned was a good sport to do those scenes. She had her own series at that point, and didn’t have to.

Which was airing on a different network by then. Weren't those telefilms aired on NBC and not CBS? No, I don't know why.

[Egg McMuffin]

Lorimar offered those 1982 movies to CBS, but CBS was riding high in the ratings at that time and wasn’t interested. NBC was in the ratings basement, so they were willing to take a chance that the viewers wanted more Waltons.

Edited March 8, 2022 by Egg McMuffin

[sATL]

On 3/6/2022 at 10:58 PM, LadyIrony said:

True I can't help but wonder if that added to a ratings decline. All the talk about war, brothers going off to it and yet we see very little?  Even MASH had the odd bit of combat moments. The 70's wouldn't have been a good time to show war though I agree. 

All the boys seemed very unaffected by their war experiences as well. It was like nothing happened. JimBob signed up late and lots of men never made it overseas but stationed so close to home? Convenient. 

They did rush through the war. It didn't seem worth to have so many brothers go off and yet not show more of it.  I guess by that stage the show was in it's death throes anyway. 

Some of those kids weren't great when they were on the show. Judy Norton would have to be one of the worst.

I'm surprised Kami Cotler didn't much afterwards. She was cute as she got older and when she styled her hair differently. 

Mary Beth had an All American girl next door look about her and it's also surprising she didn't go onto be a little more successful. 

did any of the Walton children except for Judy & Richard go on to become working adult small screen actors? Any maybe behind the camera ? I guess it was amazing if the money earned from the waltons sustained them into their adulthood.

Or did the contract with all of the reunions prevent them from taking on other roles  -esp with the major 3 networks,

I know it was probably a little challenge being type-casted, and network TV/ made for TV movies/ cable was changing to be more "raunchy" - which I think was an issue for Mellissa Gilbert to be taken seriously as an adult actor for a minute.

Edited March 8, 2022 by sATL

[Katy M]

27 minutes ago, sATL said:

did any of the Walton children except for Judy & Richard go on to become working adult small screen actors? Any maybe behind the camera ? I guess it was amazing if the money earned from the waltons sustained them into their adulthood.

Kami Cotler went to to become a teacher.  She talked about how she just didn't enjoy the audtiioning process so didn't want to continue with acting.

John Walmsley went on to focus on music.  Not sure exactly what he's doing with it, but that's his career now.

I don't know what the rest of them are doing, but just because a child actor doesn't continue acting, doesn't necessarily mean that they are sitting back on their royalties (which I think The Waltons predates) or that they are big losers.  They could have just moved on to different careers.

[sATL]

4 minutes ago, Katy M said:

Kami Cotler went to to become a teacher.  She talked about how she just didn't enjoy the audtiioning process so didn't want to continue with acting.

John Walmsley went on to focus on music.  Not sure exactly what he's doing with it, but that's his career now.

I don't know what the rest of them are doing, but just because a child actor doesn't continue acting, doesn't necessarily mean that they are sitting back on their royalties (which I think The Waltons predates) or that they are big losers.  They could have just moved on to different careers.

I'm not saying and surely didn't mean to imply  they are big losers.  And yes - there is no harm in perusing a different career. Many child actors used their earning to fund college or other endeavors, so that is a way of letting funds carry into adulthood.

[LadyIrony]

10 hours ago, sATL said:

did any of the Walton children except for Judy & Richard go on to become working adult small screen actors? Any maybe behind the camera ? I guess it was amazing if the money earned from the waltons sustained them into their adulthood.

Or did the contract with all of the reunions prevent them from taking on other roles  -esp with the major 3 networks,

I know it was probably a little challenge being type-casted, and network TV/ made for TV movies/ cable was changing to be more "raunchy" - which I think was an issue for Mellissa Gilbert to be taken seriously as an adult actor for a minute.

Most of them stepped away from acting https://www.metv.com/lists/what-ever-happened-to-the-seven-kids-from-the-waltons

Mary Beth McDonough kept acting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Elizabeth_McDonough

As did Judy and Richard but it seemed they all had their peak with The Waltons.

Judy posed for Playboy in the  80's presumably as a way of trying to break out of the wholesome image. She was advised by her manager and others that it would help her career which it didn't. She regrets it now as it is all anyone remembers of her. 

I would say her poor acting was more the issue.

The 80's was full of nude scenes in films, she would have been better off doing an erotic thriller if that is what she wanted to do to break the type cast.

Edited March 8, 2022 by LadyIrony

[Prairie Rose]

On 3/8/2022 at 6:33 AM, Egg McMuffin said:

Lorimar offered those 1982 movies to CBS, but CBS was riding high in the ratings at that time and wasn’t interested. NBC was in the ratings basement, so they were willing to take a chance that the viewers wanted more Waltons.

That makes sense. Cheers debuted in 1982, but it wasn't a hit yet. Cosby, Hill Street Blues, The Golden Girls and the other shows that put NBC on the map in the 1980s hadn't yet started. NBC had to take all it could get back then.

[Egg McMuffin]

I watched part of “The Hawk” the sixth season premiere today. This was the first episode after Richard Thomas departed, and all I can say is: what were the writers smoking over the summer?

Livvie, Corabeth, and Sarah (Livvie’s new - and short lived - BFF) go to the university to hire a new pastor, since Rev Fordwick moved to the west coast to live with two women. The ladies do about as much due diligence as the menfolk did when they hired Curt Willard the previous season. Meaning: none. They hire Hank Buchanan on the spot. Erin winds up crushing on Hank. Corabeth, meanwhile confesses that Hank makes her feel all tingly, and in a moment of TMI, tells Livvie that Ike hasn’t tingled her for years.

Also, Elizabeth and Aimee take a bath together, singing in the tub while accompanied by Jason on the piano.

What a weird episode!

[sATL]

3 hours ago, Egg McMuffin said:

I watched part of “The Hawk” the sixth season premiere today. This was the first episode after Richard Thomas departed, and all I can say is: what were the writers smoking over the summer?

Livvie, Corabeth, and Sarah (Livvie’s new - and short lived - BFF) go to the university to hire a new pastor, since Rev Fordwick moved to the west coast to live with two women. The ladies do about as much due diligence as the menfolk did when they hired Curt Willard the previous season. Meaning: none. They hire Hank Buchanan on the spot. Erin winds up crushing on Hank. Corabeth, meanwhile confesses that Hank makes her feel all tingly, and in a moment of TMI, tells Livvie that Ike hasn’t tingled her for years.

Also, Elizabeth and Aimee take a bath together, singing in the tub while accompanied by Jason on the piano.

What a weird episode!

I never understood why Erin and Hank didn't continue to see each other . John and Olivia probably would have let her get married -which I still think she should have gotten married as soon as she graduated, as she seem to run hot for men. Breaking it off b/c of Corabeth's fantasies, was a little much. It was a shame she couldn't get the tingles for Ike.

Elizabeth and Amiee were too old to be in a bathing tub together. No tween friend is that close.

Edited March 18, 2022 by sATL

[Blergh]

1 hour ago, sATL said:

I never understood why Erin and Hank didn't continue to see each other . John and Olivia probably would have let her get married -which I still think she should have gotten married as soon as she graduated, as she seem to run hot for men. Breaking it off b/c of Corabeth's fantasies, was a little much. It was a shame she couldn't get the tingles for Ike.

Elizabeth and Amiee were too old to be in a bathing tub together. No tween friend is that close.

I have to admit that when Corabeth fessed her yearnings for Hank (and lack of them for Ike) I simultaneously felt sorry for Olivia to have had heard that (and she DID try to tell Corabeth 'I DON'T need to hear this!') while Corabeth pressed on but I admired Olivia for actually giving Corabeth as sound advice as she could have despite having had this TMI thrown in her lap against her express wishes! 

 

As foe Elizabeth and Aimee's tub deal? Well, Kami Colter has gone on record saying that (at the time) she was mortified at having to do that scene and wished that they hadn't scripted it. 

[sATL]

Watching "the Valedictorian" - class of 1944.. I surely wish they would have aged up Elizabeth. Say like she took courses in summer school or something to finish up. Her graduating and the end of the war would have been a nicer finish. Then the last season could have been about her adulting -the last Walton to leave the nest, while the men folk return back from the war in 1945 . John and Olivia's dream would have been materialized sooner - all waltons finished school. 

Seeing all 4 walk off to the service  ;3 of the 4 overseas duty- still gets to me - when the remaining said good night to them. How sad. 😥

Edited March 29, 2022 by sATL