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The Waltons
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The Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name, starring Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara. The show centered on the titular family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television movie entitled The Homecoming: A Christmas Story, broadcast in 1971. The show originally aired in the United States on CBS from 1972 to 1981.
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The Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name, starring Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara. The show centered on the titular family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television movie entitled The Homecoming: A Christmas Story, broadcast in 1971. The show originally aired in the United States on CBS from 1972 to 1981. After the series left the air, three television movie sequels were broadcast in 1982, with three more following in the 1990s. It is currently aired on Hallmark Channel in the USA and the UK.
The Waltons was produced by Lorimar Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution in syndication.
Inspiration
Earl Hamner's rural childhood growing up in the unincorporated community of Schuyler, Virginia provided the basis for many of the storylines of The Waltons. The setting of the series was referred to as Walton's Mountain. The closest town, Rockfish, is frequently mentioned on the show, as is the city of Charlottesville.
Plot summary
A family, consisting of John and Olivia Walton, their seven children, and John's parents, Zebulon "Zeb" Tyler and Esther Walton, struggles to make a decent life during the Great Depression and World War II. The family's story is seen through the eyes of John Boy, the eldest son and an aspiring journalist and novelist. John Walton and his father operate a lumber mill, with the Walton sons helping out in the business as they grow older. Occasional strangers needing temporary shelter for various reasons periodically stay with the hospitable Walton family. The mountain also sustains the livelihoods of a handful of colorful townsfolk, including the Baldwin sisters, two idle spinsters who distill moonshine that they naively and endearingly call "Papa's recipe"; general store owners/postmen Ike and Cora Beth Godsey. Cora Beth, a distant Walton cousin, fancies herself a refined socialite and can be compared to a less callous version of Little House on the Prairie's Mrs. Oleson; Sheriff Ep Bridges; Verdie Foster (a hardworking black woman); and Yancy Tucker (a Gooberesque chicken thief and handyman with big plans but little motivation).
In the signature scene that closes every episode, the family house is enveloped in darkness, save for a light in an upstairs window. Through voice-overs, two or more characters have a very brief conversation, often humorous and related to the episode, and then bid each other good-night.
After completing high school, John Boy attends (the fictional) Boatwright University in Charlottesville. He later goes to New York City to work as a journalist. Richard Thomas, the original John Boy, left the series in 1976 to seek other roles (his farewell episode aired March 17, 1977). He would make two guest appearances before the role was recast with actor Robert Wightman.
During the latter half of the 1976-77 season, Grandma Esther Walton is not seen because actress Ellen Corby had suffered a stroke, which was written into the storyline. In mid 1978, Corby and Will Geer shared one final episode together as Grandma returns from rehabilitation. The following September, it is revealed that Grandpa had died (actor Will Geer had died during the summer hiatus). Subsequent episodes featured Grandma dealing with her diminished ability to move and speak. (In an early episode dealing with Grandpa's illness, the narrator mentions that in coming years, Grandma would be the first to die. This inconsistency was not edited from reruns.)
During the later years of the series, several of the Walton children marry and begin having families of their own.
World War II deeply affects the family. All four of the Walton boys enlist in the military. Mary Ellen's physician husband, Curtis "Curt" Willard, is sent to Pearl Harbor and is reported to have perished in the Japanese attack on December 7 1941. Years later, Mary Ellen hears of sightings of her "late" husband, investigates and finds him alive (played by another actor), but brooding over his war wounds and living under an assumed name. This was the last time Curt is seen on the show.
The second John Boy (Robert Wightman), made his debut in "The Waiting", a storyline that involved John Boy's military plane being shot down. Olivia and John hold a bedside Thanksgiving vigil at the VA hospital. As Wightman reprises the John Boy character, Michael Learned's Olivia, is being phased-out as a regular player. She becomes a volunteer at the VA hospital and is seen less and less. Eventually, she develops tuberculosis and must enter an Arizona sanitarium. Olivia's cousin, Rose Burton (Peggy Rea), moves into the Walton house to watch over the brood. Two years later, John, Sr. moves to Arizona to be near Olivia.
Emmy Awards
The Waltons won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 1973. Also in 1973 Richard Thomas won the Emmy for Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Michael Learned won the Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama Series three times (1973, 1974, and 1976). Ellen Corby was also a three-time winner in the Supporting Actress category, winning in 1973, 1975, and 1976. Will Geer was awarded the Supporting Actor Emmy in 1975. Beulah Bondi also won an Emmy in 1977 for Lead Actress in a Single Performance for a guest appearance on the series.
Cast
Major characters
- John Walton, Sr.
- Actors: Ralph Waite (seasons 19), Andrew Duggan (pilot)
- Profile: The family patriarch, John is a hard-working, industrious man who runs a small family sawmill on his acreage at the base of Walton's Mountain. He is normally very good-natured and wise, but is also fearless, ready to stand up to a challenge and tell it like it is. This personality sometimes causes him to get very brash, even towards his children and wife on occasion, and he can also get into the mindset of a workaholic when heavily stressed. He is a World War I veteran. Despite his Baptist upbringing, John is somewhat non-religious (the main point of focus in a few episodes) in contrast to his wife, Olivia.
- Olivia Walton
- Actors: Michael Learned (seasons 18), Patricia Neal (pilot)
- Profile: While John is the tough-skinned, opinionated husband, Olivia is his soft-spoken, patient and loving wife. She is gentle by nature (but unafraid to discipline when needed), and, like Grandma, a devout Baptist who is often involved with activities surrounding the church. This element of her character is probably one of the reasons why Olivia is usually the first person to take in a friend or stranger in need of help. It should be mentioned that Olivia's background and heritage were never really examined closely in the show, whereas John's was often observed in great detail, and one of the most common elements of episode plots.
- Zebulon Tyler "Grandpa" Walton
- Actors: Will Geer (seasons 16), Edgar Bergen (pilot)
- Profile: The oldest of the Walton patriarchs, Grandpa Walton (affectionately addressed as "Zeb" by his wife, Esther) likes to spend his time working with John in the sawmill, and fishing, teaching and playing with the kids. While he is still a hard worker like his son, Grandpa is much more easy-going in general, and has a mischievous, yet wise and vibrant personality. He especially cherishes his wife (and vice versa), although he can often be found alone relaxing with the Baldwin Ladies and happily sipping their "recipe" (which is really moonshine). He is a Spanish-American War veteran and, like the real Will Geer, an amateur botanist. In the 6th Season, owing to actor Will Geer's death, the show's writers had Grandpa's character pass away as a result of a heart attack. Along with G.W. and Martha Corrinne, this makes him the only character to die as part of the show.
- Esther "Grandma" Walton
- Actors: Ellen Corby (seasons 15; 7)
- Profile: Grandma is an old but feisty and quick-tempered woman who makes a strong effort to stick to the straight and narrow and get done what needs to get done. Despite this element of her personality, Grandma, like her husband, has lots of wisdom to dole out among her family and friends. Throughout the show's long run, she was known for often uttering two exclamations: "Good Lord!" (mainly said when surprised, indignant or both) and "You old fool!" (said as a cheekily loving remark towards Grandpa). She is the church organist. In 1977, actor Ellen Corby suffered a stroke, which the writers incorporated into Grandma's character. This meant her missing the latter half of the 5th Season.
- John "John Boy" Walton, Jr.
- Actors: Richard Thomas (seasons 15/guested in 6), Robert Wightman (seasons 8 & 9)
- Profile: John Walton, Jr., better known throughout the show as "John Boy", is the oldest of John's and Olivia's seven children. A full-blooded country boy through and through, John Boy is a prolific writer and thinker, often writing down thoughts about his family, friends and circumstances. While normally a docile, quiet sort, John Boy does have a titch of his father's fiery temper, and he can get very defensive and uptight if frustrated. John Boy has been known to write to big magazines and news papers. As for the show, John Boy is arguably its main character, as the beginning and closing of each episode are narrated by him in a flashback style. In later years, he ends up moving to New York, enlisting in the military and having his plane shot down. Eventually in A Walton Wedding he marries a fellow writer named Janet.
- Jason Walton
- Actors: Jon Walmsley (seasons 19)
- Profile: Jason is next in line, not much younger than John-Boy, and the introverted musician of the family who is exceedingly good-natured and likes to spend time making up songs for the harmonica, guitar, and piano, some of which are sung during the show. Starting in Season 3, Jason attends the Kleinberg Conservatory of Music to learn music theory and composition, and in Season 4 he gets a job as the honkey tonk player at a local tavern called the Dew Drop Inn, much to Grandma's and Olivia's chagrin. In Season 5, Jason joins the National Guard.
- Mary Ellen Walton
- Actors: Judy Norton Taylor (seasons 19)
- Profile: Mary Ellen is the third oldest of the children and the oldest daughter. Throughout the first few seasons, she is mostly a whining and rebellious tomboy, often vain and typically girlish. In the early seasons, David Doremus plays her boyfriend, the awkward "G.W." Haines. In the later years of the show (probably because of her marriage to Curt and her nursing job), Mary Ellen loses some of this childishness and matures into a woman. It should also be mentioned that a rather important part of her character, particularly in Seasons 1 and 2, involves her rivalry with the rich girl of the town, Martharose Coverdale, over her part-time love interest, G.W. In Season 5, Mary Ellen marries the aforementioned Curt Willard, who becomes the town's new physician. By the last season and with Curt gone, Mary Ellen is seeing a college professor named "Jonesy".
- Erin Walton
- Actors: Mary Elizabeth McDonough (seasons 1-9)
- Profile: Erin is very close to her sister, Mary Ellen, though they often fight. Erin is considered the pretty one in the family, not the scholar. She falls in love many times. She goes to work for Mrs. Fanny Tatum as the telephone operator early in season 5, and soon finishes high school. Later, she becomes a secretary, and eventually meets Paul Northridge, whom she marries. It is disclosed that years later Paul and Erin had filed for divorce.
- Ben Walton
- Actor: Eric Scott (season 1-9)
- Profile: Bens laugh is phony and grating, he can always be relied upon to make mischief at precisely the wrong time, and he is always trying to make money with a scheme, having to be bailed out by his father or John-Boy. Even as an adult, running the mill in partnership with his father, he makes deals that often don't work out too well. He elopes with the pretty Cindy, to whom he clings fawningly, and together they have two children, Virginia and Charlie, to whom Ben is devoted. An assortment of people help Ben run the mill, including his father, Paul Northridge, and Elizabeth's boyfriend, Drew.
- Jim-Bob Walton
- Actor: David W. Harper (season 1-9)
- Profile: James Robert is the youngest Walton boy and is better known as Jim-Bob. He is a young man who is fascinated by flying and planes and aspires to be a pilot; however, a need for glasses forces him to give up his dream. He eventually becomes a motor mechanic and opens his own business just opposite Ike's general store. He has a particularly close bond with Elizabeth, although he wins several girlfriends, including Ike and Cora Beth's adopted daughter and his sister Elizabeth's friend, Aimee Godsey. Jim-Bob had a twin brother, Joseph Zebulon Walton, who died at birth. Among the show's child actors, Harper is very probably the most gifted, never betraying his character's hang-dog approach to life or stealing the spotlight from his fellow actors.
- Elizabeth Walton:
- Actor: Kami Cotler (season 1-9)
- Profile: We see Elizabeth grow from a very young child into a young woman through the course of the series. She is very verbal and sensitive and seems to share John Boy's talent for reading and writing. Her best friend is Aimee Godsey, and Elizabeth is often given the chore of babysitting for her young nephews and nieces. Like Harper, and perhaps for the same reason, in that both were literally raised on the show's set, Kami Cotler repeatedly proves herself a gifted and versatile young actress in just about every one of the show's episodes. Tony Becker (born 1963) played Elizabeth's boyfriend "Drew".
- Corabeth Walton Godsey:
- Actor: Ronnie Claire Edwards (season 3-9)
- Profile: In the third season, John's distant cousin, Corabeth, arrives on the mountain following the death of her mother. She ends up marrying store keeper and family friend Ike Godsey and they later adopt daughter, Aimee. Whether their marriage was initially out of love or a bond stemming from mutual loneliness is an issue that is explored throughout the series. Corabeth is an eccentric, self refined, aspiring socialite, and is perhaps considered one of television's first desperate housewives. In addition to being the town busy-body, Corabeth deals with several private battles throughout the series such as alcoholism, depression, infidelic yearnings, and her never ending desire to leave the rural backwater behind and lead a cultured, cosmopolitan life. Ronnie plays her role with passion, fervor, and adds much colour to the ensemble cast.
Episodes
One of the most widely remembered episodes is "Grandma Comes Home" (Original Airdate: March 30, 1978) in the sixth season because, Ellen Corby, who played the role of "Grandma Walton" returns after suffering a stroke in 1977; and this is the last episode in which Will Geer, who played the role of "Grandpa Walton", appears because he died on April 22, 1978, of respiratory failure at the age of 76.
Ratings
- 19721973: #20
- 19731974: #2
- 19741975: #8
- 19751976: #14
- 19761977: #15
- 19771978: #21
Movie sequels
- A Wedding on Waltons' Mountain, February 22, 1982
- Mother's Day on Waltons' Mountain, May 9, 1982
- A Day for Thanks on Walton's Mountain, November 22, 1982
- A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion, November 21, 1993
- A Walton Wedding, February 12, 1995
- A Walton Easter, March 30, 1997
DVD releases
Warner Home Video is releasing The Waltons on DVD for the very first time. As of February 2009, the first eight seasons have been released onto Region 1 DVD and the first four onto Region 2 DVD. The pilot movie, The Homecoming - A Christmas Story, was released by Paramount Home Entertainment on September 23, 2003 (while Lorimar produced the series, CBS produced the pilot film, which is why Paramount, under CBS Home Entertainment, handles home video rights for The Homecoming).
All Region 1 DVDs are in English without Spanish language or subtitles option.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Region 1 Release Date | Region 2* Release Date |
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| The Complete 1st Season | 25 | May 11, 2004 | November 01, 2004 | | The Complete 2nd Season | 25 | April 26, 2005 | July 03, 2006 | | The Complete 3rd Season | 25 | April 25, 2006 | September 11, 2006 | | The Complete 4th Season | 25 | January 23, 2007 | March 05, 2007 | | The Complete 5th Season | 25 | May 8, 2007 | N/A | | The Complete 6th Season | 25 | January 8, 2008 | N/A | | The Complete 7th Season | 23 | April 29, 2008 | N/A | | The Complete 8th Season | 23 | January 6, 2009 | N/A | | The Complete 9th Season | 22 | April 28, 2009 | N/A | |
Current status
The Waltons currently airs in the USA on Hallmark Channel, weekdays at 8:00 am and 9:00 am E/P. It also airs in Canada on VisionTV weekdays at 4:00 pm ET.
Notable facts
- In the German dubbing version, the name of Zebulon "Zeb" Walton was changed to Samuel "Sam" Walton. The television network ZDF which first aired The Waltons in Germany was worried that the name "Zeb" could be mistaken with "Sepp" which is a Bavarian short form of the name Joseph and could be seen as being clichι. Also, a few minutes were cut from each episode in the German version so that the show would fit into its designated time slot. There were further cuts when the show was rerun on Pro 7.
- Though all seven of the child actors playing the Walton offspring in The Homecoming continued their roles when The Waltons became a series, Ellen Corby as Grandma was the only adult actor who made the transition.
- In the very first episode of the series (apart from the pilot) the family assembles around their new radio and listens to The Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy Show. This was a homage to Bergen who had played Zeb Walton in the pilot (The Homecoming: A Christmas Story). Edgar Bergen was a famous ventriloquist who had vicious dialogues with W. C. Fields in that radio show.
- The Baldwin Sisters were modeled on a living mother and daughter. In a 1962 episode of The Andy Griffith Show, two elderly sisters also made moonshine.
- During a speech in January 1992, then-president George H. W. Bush mentioned that he wanted to "make American families a lot more like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons". Later, in a commercial, Bart Simpson responded to the comment, quipping, "We're just like the Waltons. We're praying for an end to the Depression, too."
- The town of Walton's Mountain was built in the rear area of the Warner Brothers Studios, but the mountain itself was part of the range opposite Warner studios in Burbank, California. No attempt was made to camouflage the fact that it was a Pacific coast mountain rather than a Nelson County, Virginia one. The Waltons' house is still used as scenery at Warner Brothers. For example, it served as the Dragonfly Inn for the TV series, Gilmore Girls.
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