| WALTONS DIGEST 27:
Hi everyone, Just a quick note from me this time because we have a lot of letters this week. I have been busy getting more digests onto the Internet so have a look if you've been catching up on past digests. The link is for members only, who want to catch up on past digests. I am gradually getting them on for you.
Talk to you all later, Karen.
From Arthur: I haven't viewed my tape of it since the transmission, but I do remember we go through the whole film, with event after event delaying Pa's coming home, until right at the end, Pa (Andrew Duggan) finally appears! Personally, I feel Patricia Neal was grossly miscast for this part (although she was excellent in the film "The Day the Earth Stood Still" - remember that one with the man from another galaxy (Michael Rennie)? But that's only my opinion - here's the billing from the BBC's Radio Times - "Family drama, and the feature-length pilot for the television series The Waltons. It is Christmas Eve 1933, and the Waltons, a rural mountain family in Virginia, are feeling the strain of the great Depression as Christmas approaches. Earl Hamner Jr's influential novel, which had already been the basis for Spencer's Mountain (a soapy effort with Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara), went on to provide the heart of The Homecoming, which itself went on to become The Waltons. Now that your brain's in a knot, just enjoy the simple pleasures of a film which, unlike Spencer's Mountain and The Waltons, generally sidesteps sentimentality for real emotional truth. Patricia Neal brings power and class to the role of mother Olivia." So there we are! Here's the cast list - Olivia (Patricia Neal); John-Boy (Richard Thomas); Grandpa (Edgar Bergen); Grandma (Ellen Corby); Emily Baldwin (Dorothy Stickney); John (Andrew Duggan); Ike Godsey (Woodrow Parfrey); Mary Ellen (Judy Norton); Erin (Mary Beth McDonough); Elizabeth (Kami Cotler); Jason (Jon Walmsley); Ben (Eric Scott); Jim Bob (David Harper). The Director was Fielder Cook. KAREN'S COMMENT: I trust this helps you to sort it all out Marca. I managed to buy a copy of The Homecoming from CD World over the Internet earlier this year Marca, but it is formatted in NTSC not VHS. You would need to check what type of formatting you have where you live, or if your video and TV can play them.
From Marilynn: Toni being Jewish and the Walton's reactions: You have got to remember that the Waltons lived in a Baptist/Protestant (at best) portion of the country. I am Roman Catholic and would find, even today, very few Catholic parishes in the South here in the USA. If I went to live there, it would be the same adjustment. The difference today is that in an educated populace very little might be made of a person who is Jewish in the midst of a bunch of Baptists. John's alcoholism: John's drinking may have been something Olivia was aware; but, like "the recipe", something she really didn't condone. Linda Watkins guest appearance: I thought the episode you are talking about was called "The Odyssey". I emember that fact because it has been a great topic of discussion lately. This episode was the one where Linda Watkins' character had a number of family pictures about her place. They, it turned out, were actual pictures of the Hamner family and Earl's sister appeared as an extra in the episode. KAREN'S COMMENT: Thanks for all your thoughts Marilynn. I'm pretty sure that the episode is The Journey, as The Odyssey deals with John Boy delivering Sarah's baby. I could be wrong though. :-)
From Steve and Tracie: Well, I guess it's time I jump on in here! We're the Boellners - Steve & Tracie, John - 12, Katy - 11, Alexis - 8, Chase - 6 and Eric - 5. We live on a small farm near Hillsdale, MI, USA. Each and every one of us is a Waltons fan! Like the Waltons, we are living a very simple and peaceful life on a farm. We raise everything from chickens on up to our favorite milk cow, Suzy; and we got a little bit exotic and we have two Fallow deer who just had a fawn last week. Life on our farm is wonderful to say the least. The things that we find we have most in common with the Waltons are a great love for the Lord, family and the simple life. My personal favorites on the show are John-Boy (of course) and Grandpa! I used to watch the show and wish that he were my Grandpa. Boy, was I upset when he died in real life. It was like losing someone very important. I couldn't imagine The Waltons without him. Since I've become a mother myself, I find that I get much more enjoyment out of both Olivia and Grandma Walton. Grandma always seemed a bit harsh to me, when I was a child, but now I can see the love she had for her family. One of my favorite episodes is The Love Story where John-Boy falls in love with Jenny. Ever since I first heard him play that beautiful little tune on the dulcimer, I have longed to own and play one. Well, we're cutting down some old trees in our woods, and I think I have found someone to make a dulcimer for me out of one of the walnut trees. I can hardly wait! We rarely ever take vacations, but the 2nd week of August we are going to go to the Waltons Mountain Museum. I am so excited!! It would be great if any of you could suggest places to stay (cheaply), eateries and things not to miss. With five children, we need to do everything as inexpensively as possible. Sorry to make this so long. I guess I've been lurking so long and storing all these things up! One more thing.....I think Ralph Waite is one of the most handsome men!!!! Amazingly, I never noticed this as a child. <grin> I think if I ever got the opportunity to meet one of the cast members (minus Grandpa for obvious reasons), it would have to be Ralph Waite. Of course, I would be a blithering idiot in his presence, I'm sure. Thanks for all the digests. It is wonderful reading so many interesting things about my favorite family, The Waltons.
KAREN'S COMMENT: Tracie, I'm sure you will have a wonderful time when you go to Schyler. By the way Tracie, I agree with you about Ralph Waite. There is something really little boyish and appealing in him and I find the same about Richard Thomas. A hand made dulcimer ...WOW. Let us know how it turns out. From Brenda: Hi Everyone, it has been awhile since I have written anything to this mailing list, but I still enjoy reading everyone else's posts and always look forward to receiving the next Digest. I have responses to a couple of the questions on the most recent Digest. To Lael (regarding the Walton family reaction to Toni being Jewish): I don't think the family was anti-semitic. You have to remember that they, especially Mama and Grandma, were strict Baptists. Christianity was an important part of their lives, not just on Sunday, but in every aspect of their lives. They would expect their children to marry other Christians, preferably Baptists, just for the sake of harmony in the home. To Marca (regarding the school): One-room schools were very common in rural areas of Appalachia until the 1950s/1960s when new consolidated schools were built to accommodate the children of the World War 2 Baby Boom. Children of all ages were educated in one room by one teacher. Usually the schools went to 8th grade. After that, students would have to go to a town to attend high school, if they had transportation. If not, an 8th grade education was considered adequate. Boys could usually get a job in the mines or would just work on the family farm after 8th grade. Girls would be expected to get married, or would become "hired girls", which meant that they worked cleaning people's homes and caring for their children. Often the teachers in these schools were not college graduates. Because salaries were low and conditions not that great, it was hard to find teachers for the small rural schools. Many times the county superintendent would approach a recent high school graduate, usually a girl, and offer her a job teaching in a one-room school. In exchange, the county would pay for her to take college courses at night and in the summer until she completed her college education. Then she could usually get a job at a bigger school, and the county would have to find a new teacher for the one-room school. It was a good way a for girls, who didn't have many options back in those days, to get an education and have a career. I'm sorry this is so long, but Appalachian history is a major interest of mine. I have recently been doing research on one-room schools in West Virginia and have put up a web page at:
http://www.oocities.org/Heartland/Meadows/7604/school.html From rkjones: I have two questions. Are there any more Waltons specials coming anytime soon? And, In the Whirlwind and in the Tempest, how did Mary Ellen know that Curt was still alive? KAREN'S COMMENT: If any of you can help with these answers, let me know and I'll post them to the list. Keep watching....
From Kim: The Walton children birth order: I remember an episode called 'The Test' where Olivia is offered a job by a dress maker. Wasn't there a scene in this episode where Olivia first meets that woman and she tells her about her family? Is it possible that she could have mentioned the order the children come in? If anyone has this episode on video, maybe they can check this for me? KAREN'S COMMENT: You could be right about this Kim. I have this episode so I'll check and let you know what she says.
From Arthur: Special Waltons Article: This article appeared in TV Times in the UK, 24 Nov 1990 titled "What Happened to The Waltons?" - Almost 20 years on, has television's most wholesome family lived happily ever after? Well, sort of ... As Leslie Salisbury reports from Hollywood, there have been just a few skeletons in the Waltons cupboards! "John":- Ralph Waite, now a statesman-like 61, is following in the footsteps of a more famous Hollywood actor, hoping to represent his area, Riverside County, near Palm Springs, California, in the United States Congress. Ralph, a former social worker and ordained Presbyterian minister, says he was politically inspired by Czechoslovakian playwright- President Vaclav Havel. He prefers not to dwell on his "Waltons" past but he was touched when Mary McDonough, Jon Walmsley, Judy Norton-Taylor and Eric Scott turned up at a fund-raising barbecue, much to the delight of the locals. "People trust John Walton", Ralph admits. "Everywhere I go people are ready to like me. It's a very big plus". Ralph has lived a chequered life and it shows on his craggy features. He has been a recovering alcoholic for 18 years - his drinking soared out of control after his daughter, then 9 years old, died of leukemia in 1964 - and he helps run a residence for drug addicts near his home. He met his third wife Linda, 37, in an alcoholic recovery program; she is, he says, his "greatest supporter". His acting work has been a casualty of his political ambition; he says he lost a starring role in a new TV series when producers found out he was running for office. But he's carrying on. "This country's been good to me and I know there's a lot I can do for my country", he says. "Olivia":- Michael Learned's character was last seen heading for a TB sanitarium and Michael was ready for a rest too. "I was exhausted after doing the show 12 hours a day for seven years", she says, but she has kept in touch with most of the cast. After her "rest", Michael moved to New York, where she starred in a series called "Nurse" and married writer Will Parker. Now, at 51, divorced for a third time, she's back in California working in TV and theatre. She sees her sons, Caleb, Chris, and Lucas, all in their 20s, from her first marriage to actor Peter Donat, and is still enthusiastic about her life and career. "Life is all about making changes, she says. "Erin":- Mary McDonough, now 29, let her hair down when The Waltons finished. "I went to acting classes and played prostitutes, lesbians - real-life characters", she says. "People would say, "I never thought of you as a slut but you're a great slut!" Fellow student Rob Wickstrom was an admirer, too, and he proposed - three times! Their wedding, in 1988, was the most recent reunion for The Waltons cast. Ellen Corby (Grandma) was there, unable to talk after a series of strokes, which began while she was still in the show; she now rarely leaves home. "Mum" Michael Learned was also there with some of her other screen children. "The ceremony was very emotional. Just like an episode of the show", says Mary. She's appeared in TV movies and still goes to classes with her husband. "What we really want is to work together", she says. "Elizabeth":- Kami Cotler was breathless with excitement when she joined The Waltons at the age of six as the baby of the family. "Breathless" being the operative word. After two years of talking through a stuffed-up nose it was discovered that Kami was allergic to the animals she worked with on the series. "My sinuses were swollen, but once the doctor found out what was wrong, I had allergy shots and was OK for the next seven years", she says. When The Waltons ended, Kami finished school, went to college, traveled, worked in a computer firm and is now at Berkeley College in Northern California. She's 25 now and wants to be a teacher - but she is still a Walton at heart. "Two years ago, when Mary (McDonough)was getting married, a friend asked me where I was going and I said "to my sister's wedding". The show will always be a part of me". "Jason":- Jon Walmsley has given up acting to concentrate on the other talents he used to display on The Waltons: singing and playing the guitar and keyboards. Now, Jon, 34, is a major part of red-hot rocker Richard Marx's stage act. He and Marx, whose hits have included "Don't Mean Nothing", "Should've Known Better" and "Endless Summer Nights" have just finished a successful American tour and are about to start recording another album. Jon is very close to Ellen Corby (the Waltons' grandmother); she calls him her grandson and he calls her "Grandma". "Mary Ellen":- Judy Noton-Taylor is still flying high in Hollywood; she recently appeared on a TV special, wing-walking 3000ft up on a spinning, rolling biplane. "She was always the most daring one", says Eric Scott, with a laugh. Judy, 32, felt she was being stereo-typed as a goody-goody - quite against character - when the series ended. So, in 1985, she posed nude for "Playboy". "I wanted to shake people up a bit", she says. That she did. But it didn't bring her the starring roles she was after, although she's "keeping busy", with plays and occasional TV roles. Divorced twice, Judy's still searching for "the perfect combination": great career and happy marriage". "John-Boy":- Richard Thomas quit The Waltons in 1977 and has spent the past 13 years playing psychopaths, rogues, a sensitive First World War soldier and a gay, legless Vietnam veteran, but fans still call out "Hey, John-Boy!" He won an Emmy for The Waltons but is prouder of a Tony award nomination for playing the gay Vietnam vet in the play "The 5th of July". Now 39, Richard has been acting professionally since the age of six. His movie debut came in 1969, when he played Paul Newman's son in "Winning". In 1975 he married his Mexican-American wife Alma and they're now the doting parents of son Richard Francisco, 14, and nine-year old triplet daughters, Pilar, Barbara and Gwyneth. They live a low-key life in the Hollywood hills. In 1983 he discovered he had lost 50% of his hearing due to otosclerosis, a nerve disorder, and uses two tiny hearing aids. He writes and publishes poetry, enjoys seeing friends like Luciano Pavarotti and is passionate about varying his work as much as possible.. He feels strongly about The Waltons, too. "It was the finest program on television during its time. You had 11 actors who basically got along very well. A day doesn't go by that I don't think of Will Geer (Grandpa), he had such gusto for work - or "gooseto", as he used to call it. It was a beautiful show and a beautiful role.... but I don't miss it". "Ben":- Eric Scott, 32, is now whizzing around California as vice-president of one of the State's largest ground/air courier services. "I still have an agent but you're pushing you're odds if you think something like The Waltons is going to happen more than once in a lifetime", he says. When the series ended, Hollywood-born Eric worked on TV shows like The Fall Guy, made some commercials but "I didn't like not working every day". He became a courier in Los Angeles and, after making his company a huge success, is making personal plans: he married Theresa, a nurse, last year (an earlier marriage ended in divorce) and they hope to start a family soon. "We've just moved from LA. I don't like the violence in Hollywood. People say, "I wish we had it like the Waltons", and there's something in that". "Jim Bob":- David Harper, now 29, found himself in a similar situation to Eric Scott when The Waltons ended. He did commercials, guest-starred on a few TV shows, and had small parts in films like "Fletch" with Chevy Chase. But, like so many of his brothers and sisters from The Waltons, David never really managed the cross-over to adult roles and he found time hanging heavy on his hands. Eric says: "I knew exactly how David was feeling because I went through the same thing, so I suggested he come and work for me. He's been a courier for a few months now and people love him. He's incredibly sweet and shy, a real nice guy, he likes his privacy. He was hanging around at home, laying low and playing his music (he plays drums and guitar). I said, "Hey, it's about time you got a real job". Now he likes what he's doing and it's really great having him here". (from TV Times, published in the UK, 1990).
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