50 Fun Facts About The Waltons

The Waltons was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on which of his novels?

The 1963 film version starred Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara and was set in Wyoming rather than Virginia.

On which network did The Waltons air its original nine seasons?

The three 1982 reunion movies moved to NBC before the 1990s reunions returned to CBS.

What was the title of the 1971 TV movie that led CBS to order the series?

It was never meant as a pilot, and only the children and Grandma kept their roles when the series was cast.

How many Walton children are there in the series?

An eighth child, Jim-Bob's twin brother Joseph, died at birth.

Walton's Mountain sits in which fictional Virginia county?

The real inspiration, Earl Hamner's home town of Schuyler, is in Nelson County.

Which years does the main series cover, from the first episode to the finale?

The finale, 'The Revel', revolves around a party whose invitation is dated June 4, 1946.

Whose portrait hangs in both the Walton homestead and Ike's general store?

The very first episode dates itself to 1933 partly through a reference to Chicago's Century of Progress fair.

How does John Walton Sr. earn the family's living?

He had quit his city job after the events of the pilot, and the family topped up its income with small-scale farming and hunting.

The Baldwin sisters distil moonshine that they insist on calling what?

Grandpa Zeb can often be found happily sipping the Recipe with them, to Olivia's disapproval.

What does the snobbish Corabeth insist on calling her storekeeper husband?

Corabeth is John Walton's cousin, and arrived on the mountain after her mother died.

Sheriff Ep Bridges, who fought alongside John in the First World War, holds which decoration?

He was played by John Crawford for the entire run of the series.

Which fictional college does John-Boy attend after high school?

It was modelled on Richmond College, now part of the University of Richmond, which sits on Boatwright Drive.

Which two characters' season-seven fates reflected what had really happened to their actors?

After her return Grandma rarely spoke, usually limited to brief lines like 'No!' or 'Oh, boy!'.

Mary Ellen's first husband Curt, a doctor, is reported killed in which event?

Years later she finds him alive under an assumed name, divorces him and marries Jonesy.

Olivia is eventually written out of the series when she develops which illness and moves to a sanatorium?

Her cousin Rose Burton moves in to look after the family, and John Sr. later joins Olivia in Arizona.

Which actor replaced Richard Thomas as John-Boy for seasons eight and nine?

Wightman took the role in 1979 and kept it through the end of the series in 1981.

Which future Three's Company star played Reverend Matthew Fordwick?

His character marries the schoolteacher Rosemary Hunter.

Who played Olivia Walton in The Homecoming before Michael Learned took over for the series?

Neal won a Golden Globe for the role, and the film's score was by Jerry Goldsmith.

Which famous ventriloquist played Grandpa Zeb in The Homecoming?

Andrew Duggan played John Sr. in the film before Ralph Waite took over.

Where were the exteriors for The Homecoming filmed?

The series itself often shot exteriors in Frazier Park, 70 miles north of Los Angeles.

CBS placed The Waltons in what timeslot, opposite The Flip Wilson Show and The Mod Squad?

A full-page newspaper ad packed with good reviews is credited with turning the ratings around and saving the show.

Ralph Waite's agent talked him into auditioning for John Walton by promising what?

He ended up playing the part for nine seasons and six reunion movies, and occasionally directed.

How many reunion movies were made after the series ended in 1981?

The last, A Walton Easter (1997), is set in 1969, more than three decades after the first episode.

A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion, filmed in 1993, is set in 1963 and revolves around what event?

By that reunion, Mary Ellen is being described as a 'war widow' even though she divorced Curt.

Which Primetime Emmy did The Waltons win in 1973?

The same year Richard Thomas won Lead Actor in a Drama, and the first season also earned a Peabody Award.

How many Emmys did Michael Learned win for playing Olivia Walton?

A fourth Emmy for the series Nurse gave her four in total, tying Tyne Daly's record for the category.

Which veteran actress won a 1977 Emmy for her guest role as Martha Corrine Walton in 'The Pony Cart'?

She had first appeared as the widow of Zeb's brother in the earlier episode 'The Conflict'.

Which president said in 1992 families should be 'more like the Waltons' than the Simpsons?

The Simpsons answered with a new tag in which Bart says, 'Hey, we're just like the Waltons. We're prayin' for an end to the Depression, too.'

Which network aired the 2021 remake The Waltons: Homecoming, narrated by Richard Thomas?

A second film, A Waltons Thanksgiving, followed in 2022 with much lower ratings.

In which Virginia community was Earl Hamner Jr. born and raised, providing the setting for the show?

It was a company town built around soapstone quarrying, hit hard when the mines closed in the Depression.

Earl Hamner Jr. later created which long-running 1980s prime-time soap set in California wine country?

Hamner was the eldest of eight children, one more than the fictional Waltons.

Which role did Earl Hamner Jr. personally perform on nearly every episode?

He was speaking as the grown-up John-Boy, looking back on his own youth.

Richard Thomas played Bill Denbrough in the 1990 miniseries of which Stephen King novel?

He later played FBI agent Frank Gaad on The Americans (2013-16) and toured as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Before acting, Ralph Waite trained for and was ordained in which profession?

He later ran unsuccessfully for Congress in California three times as a Democrat.

Ralph Waite later had a recurring role as Jackson Gibbs, father of the lead character, on which series?

His film credits ran from Cool Hand Luke and Five Easy Pieces to The Bodyguard and Cliffhanger.

Michael Learned said that if she had been a boy she would have been called what?

Early credits billed her as 'Miss Michael Learned' so viewers would not assume Olivia was played by a man.

Ellen Corby (Grandma) was Oscar-nominated as a lovelorn aunt in which 1948 film?

She had spent 12 years as a script girl at RKO and Hal Roach before her acting career took off.

Will Geer, who played Grandpa, was blacklisted in the 1950s for refusing to do what?

A trained botanist, he founded the Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga, where he grew every plant mentioned in Shakespeare.

Which folk singer did Will Geer befriend and tour work camps with in the 1930s?

The two released a Folkways album together in 1956, Bound for Glory: Songs and Stories of Woody Guthrie.

Jon Walmsley, who played the musical Jason, also voiced which Disney character?

Born in Blackburn, England, he later toured in Richard Marx's band.

Jason Walton lands a job playing honky-tonk piano at which local roadhouse, which he later owns?

Country star Merle Haggard was among the musicians Walmsley worked with on the show.

Which future Oscar winner played Sarah Simmonds, John-Boy's overly protected date, early in her career?

Another future star, Jonathan Frakes, played Erin's fiancé Ashley Longworth Jr.

Which Star Trek: The Next Generation actor played Ashley Longworth Jr., who was briefly engaged to Erin?

Erin breaks it off on her mother's advice after he reveals he is an atheist.

Judy Norton, who played Mary Ellen, posed for which magazine in 1985 to shed her wholesome image?

Since 2020 she has run a YouTube series, Behind the Scenes with Judy Norton, with hundreds of episodes about the show.

Kami Cotler (Elizabeth) spent five years of the 1990s in Virginia doing what job?

She later co-directed a charter school in California and went on to run an education consultancy.

Eric Scott, who played Ben, went on to run what kind of business in Encino, California?

His character Ben was named for John's brother, who was killed in France in the First World War.

Which company produced The Waltons, later selling its distribution rights to Warner Bros. to avoid a lawsuit?

Warner Bros. bought Lorimar outright in 1989 and has syndicated the show ever since.

What is the title of The Waltons' 1981 series finale, built around a party in June 1946?

Its invitation date of June 4, 1946 closes a 13-year span that began in 1933.

John-Boy's fictional Boatwright University was patterned after which real Virginia school?

It became part of the University of Richmond, which sits on Boatwright Drive near Westham Station.

On which studio's back lot was the town of Walton's Mountain built, beside the Los Angeles River?

The set was torn down after the series, so a new house facade went up on the old Columbia Ranch for the reunion films.