Hi everybody,

Many of you would know that it was Ellen Corby's birthday this past week, June 3rd. A special tribute to Ellen has been written by one of our members, to celebrate her birthday, so I won't spend any time rambling on today, but will go straight into her tribute. I'll talk to you all next week.

Goodnight everyone,

Karen.

P.S. Look out for next week's digest, when I will definitely have that profile on Jerry Goldsmith, the music man behind The Waltons.

I Remember Grandma

I can still hear her voice, and remember her smile. It has been some weeks now since she left, but she will never be forgotten. She may have been small in size, but her heart was as big as big can be. I'm sure in the years she played Grandma Esther Walton, that she heard from so many people, how she played a big part in their lives and how she had become their grandmother. Yes! She was a grandmother to me, I never got to know any of my grandparents and I know, if every there was a great example of a grandmother, I know Esther Walton would be the top of the list.

What do you we know about grandma, she would have been eighty-eight years old on June 3rd, so in her memory and to mark that birth date, I plan to plant a rose bush called "Pink Peace" This rose has two different shades of light pink. Ellen was married to Francis Corby for ten years and she never had any children. I have read, that when she was young, she looked after an ill Mother and then later an ill brother. She lost a nine year old Niece and a Nephew who was twenty-nine years old. It was a pleasure to read about how she first came to California in 1933 and how she sat for hours in front of the gate of RKO Studios in an attempt to get into the movies. She appeared in her first movie called "Speed Limited" in 1940 where she played a secretary followed by her next one called "Cornered" in 1945 where she would play the part as a French maid. In all, she played in over a hundred movies and appeared in a great number of TV shows. Her last appearance was in 1997 as that dear loved grandma on "A Walton's Easter".

I have learned lately, that Ellen Corby enjoyed lady bugs and, that months before her death she had paid for two stained glass windows in the hospital's chapel. It was just last month, that I had the pleasure in seeing her in the movie "Shane" followed a few days later as the town gossip in the movie "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte". And then there was her roll on The Andy Griffith Show where she sold Barney Fife a bad car. In June, I will have the honor to see her in the movie called "Napoleon and Samantha". And TNN has made it so great, to allow me to see her each day on the reruns of The Waltons. One of those many movies that Ellen has been in would be "A Wonderful Life" and "I Remember Mama" and that unforgettable TV movie "The Homecoming" and it is with this closing, I state "I Remember Grandma".

Good Night Grandma

By Shirley

Ontario, Canada

June 1st, 1999

KAREN'S COMMENT: Thankyou for giving us some background to Ellen Corby. You might like to visit Shirley's home page at:

<http://members.tripod.com/~sbenoit>

<<I've never seen Leslie Winston on anything other than The Waltons. >>

Leslie Winston was in the 1977 miniseries "Centennial." She was in the third episode, the one that featured Gregory Harrison and Stephanie Zimbalist. She was Stephanie's best friend in the orphanage or girl's home or whatever where Stephanie's character, Elly Zahm, was living before marrying Levi Zendt (Harrison).

Other than that, I've never seen her in anything but "The Waltons" either.

<<I did spot the actor who plays Jonesy on Party of Five though.>>

Wasn't Richard Gilliland a regular on the TV series "Designing Women" also?

Geri Ann

KAREN'S COMMENT: You're right Geri Ann, Richard played J.D. Shackleton on Designing Women. I've seen him on quite a few things actually. Speaking of Waltons sightings, Lynn Hamilton appeared as one of the Judges on a case in The Practice, here in Australia this past week. She looked most distinguished.

Yes I did hear that Judy Norton (Mary Ellen) lives in Vancouver, HOWEVER she is sensitive about having her address publicized, so if anybody is contemplating a trip there in the hope of looking her up they will be bitterly disappointed.

It is interesting that Jason was born in Lancashire England in 1956. I knew he came from England but didn't know those details. On August 7, 1957, I went to Manchester, which is in Lanashire, England, and met my pen pal at the airport there. As Jason didn't go to California until 1958, I was very near where Jason was at that time!!! Then I visited Los Angeles in 1959, 1960, and 1961, when he was living there. The last time I was in Los Angeles of course, Erin was just a little baby, not quite 3 months old.

Lorraine mentioned the Waltons are seen on Sundays and she utilized the British spelling of program(me) Is she from England?

Donald

KAREN'S COMMENT: I believe that we should respect a celebrity's right to privacy, so I would definitely not suggest going and knocking on the door! If anyone wants to contact any of the Waltons actors, they should do so via the fan clubs. The addresses are listed on both my site, and Ralph's <www.the-waltons.com> site. I doubt if any of them are listed though, but I guess it is possible to track them down.

Lorraine is possibly from England, as The Waltons are shown there on a Sunday. We here in Australia get to choose either the British or the US spelling of things. You might notice that I sometimes use the British spelling with some words, like "colour" for example.

Hi everyone,

If anyone has seen the show called "Christy" (very similar to Dr Quinn medicine woman) keep a close eye out our Miss Emily. I am pretty sure she plays a guest role (Aunt Polly) in one episode.

Our TV week (programme guide) has a small article( a paragraph) a few weeks ago announcing Ellen Corby's death. It had a small picture of all the Waltons as well.

Here's the next character profile...

Eric Scott

Eric Scott was born in Hollywood Oct 20, 1958. He has insisted since third grade that he wants to be an archeologist, but his flaming red hair and freckles have proved to be irresistible to casting directors, and he has spent much of his spare time before the cameras.

His television credits include "Medical Centre", "The Interns", "Bewitched", "The Immortal", "Lancer", "Doris Day Show", "The Young Rebels", "Norman Rockwells America" and "The Clowns".

He has also done several commercials and recording strips for Hanna-Barbara Productions.

He is active in scouting, sports and science, particularly chemistry. Scott is in he eighth grade at Hale Junior High School in Woodland Hills. This summer his father, Sumner, a mail courier, and mother Judy, intend to teach him advanced mathematics.

He has two brothers, Alan 15, and Dana 9.

Goodnight all

Kaz in Oz

KAREN'S COMMENT: I thought I'd watched all the Christy episodes but I must have missed that one I think.

Dear Karen and everybody!

I thought it might be useful if I mention that:

(1) my Waltons site is now available on http://www.bbctv-ap.freeserve.co.uk/wltnp1.htm the old Surflink site, (now very out-of-date) will eventually disappear. Brenda has kindly transferred the new location to her webring so there should be "continuity"!

(2) The Waltons episode synopses for Seasons 1 through 5 are on Ralph's official site -

http://www.the-waltons.com and updated synopses for Seasons 5 through 9 and Specials are on my new-located site (URL as above). William Atkins is continuing his super quality work on these synopses (currently we are at episode 4 of Season 8) and I update them as soon as Bill delivers a new synopsis to me.

I wish you happy reading!

Arthur

Basingstoke Canal website:--

<http://www.basingstokecanal1.freeserve.co.uk>

BBCTv website:--

<http://www.bbctv-ap.freeserve.co.uk>

KAREN'S COMMENT: Great to hear the synopses are coming along well Arthur. It's a timely reminder though, to everyone who has a link on their site, to Arthur's site, to change the URL. I'll try and get mine done this week.

Karen,

I can't believe you got the Little House video before us! My friend Wendy is a big Little House fan and is eagerly awaiting it's release. It will probably be a TV movie first then the video will be sold after. Sounds like they have plans to sell it as soon as the movie comes out on TV, anyway. I will let her know. By the way do you have the same video format that we do ? VHS? I know videos in England aren't the same as we can't play them on our machines in the US.

By the way I am anxiously counting down the days until the October reunion! My entire family is going, including my mother! Have been planning games to play for the car ride down and will start working on our itinerary as well. I like to plan ahead as much as possible...but then again spontaneity is great also! Just need to keep the kids happy then I can be as well. Any suggestions?

Cindy

KAREN'S COMMENT: It's a bit strange that we got the video release first. It doesn't happen often. It is only available for hiring though, at the moment, not buying. I was told that they stay on the hiring market for about six months, but that doesn't seem to be with all videos. Our videos are the same as the British ones, VHS-PAL. Yours are NTSC.

When we used to plan long trips with the children, I used to have a cloth bag that I would collect and put new little things in for them to play with in the car. Non noisy toys, books, puzzle and colouring books, just something new for them. I can't remember how old your children are though. They might be happier with a tape and headphones!

Hi Karen and Friends,

Thanks for all the great info on the Waltons, I always look forward to this newsletter. Someone mentioned sightings of Waltons cast members other shows. Well I have a good one, has anyone mentioned that Mary Ellen's first husband, Curt (I don't know his real name) appeared in the second "Die Hard" movie with Bruce Willis. He played a crazy airport mechanic man, who helps Willis get around the tunnels in the airport. I didn't recognize him at first, but his voice his so recognizable. I thought I add that bit of trivia. I love hearing all the questions. Have a great June everyone,

Kathy

KAREN'S COMMENT: Thanks for that Kathy. We don't hear a lot about Curt.

Hi everyone

I am really looking forward to seeing Wedding On Waltons Mountain tonight. I have never seen it and always wondered when Erin finally married Paul. Was she engaged to anyone else besides Chad and Ashley Longworth Jr.? What ever happened to Hank? I thought she had her eye on him. Have any of you been to the Waltons Mountain Museum? I am really excited to be going and I am curious about what is in it.

Thanks

Julie

KAREN'S COMMENT: I hope you enjoyed the telemovie. I like this one. I'd forgotten who Chad was until I started thinking about it. I liked him too. Erin had such nice boyfriends that it was a wonder she didn't marry earlier. I can't remember Hank though. He's probably from the later series.

Hi Karen,

This just came to my attention, and as it is "time sensitive", as they say, I wanted to pass it on to you right away, in the hopes that you could send it out, maybe as a special announcement, to the list. I wasn't aware that Mary McDonough had Lupus, which is a serious illness, and it's important for her to get the word out. Thank you very much for considering that. Here is the message in it's entirety:

LFA SPOKESPERSON, MARY MCDONOUGH, TO APPEAR ON ROSIE

Actress Mary McDonough, a spokesperson for the Lupus Foundation of America, will appear on the Rosie O'Donnell Show on Wednesday, June 2 (in some markets the show may air on Thursday, June 3, or later). If all goes according to plan, Mary will mention her work with the Lupus Foundation of America and promote the upcoming Web Auction. If time permits, Rosie may sign a jacket during the program to be donated to the web auction.

Mary McDonough appeared for many years in the role of Erin on the hit TV show, "The Waltons." Since the show ended, Mary has appeared in numerous television programs and movies. Most recently Mary appeared on Fox's popular series, "Ally McBeal." Friends of lupus can never forget her wonderful portrayal of a lupus patient on NBC's medical drama, "ER" where she played a lupus patient about to undergo a kidney transplant. Mary also is featured in the upcoming documentary, "On The Road: Stories of Lupus."

Mary McDonough is a member of the LFA's Lupus Leadership Council. She has been working to increase awareness of lupus through media interviews and as a guest columnist for the internet web site, "Women in the Know" where she describes her nine year struggle with lupus.

The Lupus Foundation of America is very proud to have Mary McDonough promoting our cause. We wish her the best for her upcoming appearance on the Rose O'Donnell Show. Please check your local television listings for the exact day and time of the broadcast in your area.

Bobbie

KAREN'S COMMENT: I apologise for not getting this out to everyone earlier, so that you may have been able to see Mary, but I did not get near the computer until after it was shown. I have been so busy this week. Bobbie has added though that the URL for the Lupus site is: <http://www.womenintheknow.com/speakout/speakout19.html> so please visit there.

Karen,

Just wanted to mention that Mary Beth "Erin" McDonough was on the Rosie O'Donnell show yesterday (Weds., June 2). I just happened to be flipping through the channels and there she was!

She talked with Rosie about having lupus and how it is such a difficult disease to diagnose, but can be treated. Said she played a character on ER who had lupus and later the producers wanted to know if they could mention that in promoting the episode. She said she'd have to think about it and get back to them. She decided to "come public" with her disease against the advice of some of her friends who said it would hurt her career. But apparently it hasn't.

She also mentioned a TV pilot she was working on, some type of medical information show, that she is hoping will be picked up by PAX or the Discovery Channel, or one of the other cable networks. The show is based on a medical information book for women (I forget the name--sorry) and Rosie gave each member of the audience a copy of the book.

Also, Mary Beth knew that Rosie has the Waltons lunch box and the John-Boy and Mary Ellen dolls, so she brought Rosie a Waltons board game, which Rosie was delighted to receive.

Mary Beth was only on for about 5 minutes, but they sure covered a lot of ground! She also mentioned the Waltons Christmas CD that is coming out and she and Rosie talked about all of "the Waltons" coming on the show in the fall to sing a song or two from the Christmas CD.

I hope I remembered most of what they talked about. Mary Beth looked very, very pretty (as always). It was a delightful interview.

Carolyn

KAREN'S COMMENT: I'm glad you saw this Carolyn. I know Mary does a lot of good work publicizing for Lupus.

My name is Cally Specht. I am 36 and a divorced woman with no kids. I live in Toronto, Canada where I can watch the Waltons 3 times daily if I wish, and often did while recuperating from knee surgery. I am now recovered and back to work full time as a Nanny. I am a trained Early Childhood Educator but, prefer being a Nanny. Some of my interests include crafts, reading and writing. I especially love The Waltons and Charlie Chaplin and also Science Fiction. My web site http://home.ica.net/~cally/ is dedicated to Sci-Fi and Chaplin! Furthermore I am a trivia buff. Most people don't know but, Kami Cotler's brother appeared in a couple of episodes most notably The Children's Carol. He played the little boy who can't speak for most of the episode. Did you know also Jon Walmsey wrote The Children's Carol in real life as well as many other songs for the show including Ironing Board Blues and the Appalachian piece he played as his exam in an episode. Incidentally my fave characters are Elizabeth and Jason as well as John Boy. I also loved the Grandparents!!!!!

Cally!

KAREN'S COMMENT: What diverse interests Cally. Thanks for the intro.