"The Waltons" (1972)TV series 1972-1981

Creator:

Earl Hamner Jr.

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | unknown

Release Date:

14 September 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family | Romance

Plot:

The life and trials of a 1930's mountain family.

Plot Keywords:

Americana | Multiple Actors For One Character | Male Female Relationship | Sentimental | Farm Life

Awards:

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 16 wins & 42 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. May 19	8:00 AM	HALMRK	The Fastidious Wife	#8.14
Mon. May 19	9:00 AM	HALMRK	The Unthinkable	#8.15

Cast

Jon Walmsley	...	Jason Walton (210 episodes, 1972-1981)
Eric Scott	...	Ben Walton (210 episodes, 1972-1981)
Earl Hamner Jr.	...	Narrator (210 episodes, 1972-1981)
Kami Cotler	...	Elizabeth Walton (209 episodes, 1972-1981)
Judy Norton-Taylor	...	Mary Ellen Walton Willard / ... (208 episodes, 1972-1981)
Mary Beth McDonough	...	Erin Walton (208 episodes, 1972-1981)
David W. Harper	...	James Robert 'Jim Bob' Walton / ... (206 episodes, 1972-1981)
Ralph Waite	...	John Walton, Sr. / ... (194 episodes, 1972-1981)
Joe Conley	...	Ike Godsey (171 episodes, 1972-1981)
Michael Learned	...	Olivia Walton (166 episodes, 1972-1979)
Will Geer	...	'Grandpa' Zebulon Walton (141 episodes, 1972-1978)
Ellen Corby	...	'Grandma' Esther Walton / ... (132 episodes, 1972-1980)
Richard Thomas	...	John 'John Boy' Walton Jr. / ... (122 episodes, 1972-1978)
Ronnie Claire Edwards	...	Corabeth Walton Godsey / ... (106 episodes, 1974-1981)

Also Known As:

Spencer's Mountain (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

60 min (221 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Lorimar Television

Trivia:

The "Walton House" was actually located in the northern section of the Jungle area of Warner Brothers studios in Burbank. Walton's Mountain, which could be seen from the house's front porch, was actually a slope of the Hollywood Hills directly south of the Warner Bros. Studios. Interiors of the house were filmed on Stage 26. The roadway leading to the Walton house through the remaining portion of the jungle still existed in 2003 and is visible during the studio tour, although Ike Godsey's store has long since disappeared. The house had been dismantled a few years before to make way for a parking lot and was moved to the Warner Bros. Ranch lot at Hollywood Way and Verdugo Avenue, where it still functions as a workable exterior set. If you check the Season 1 DVD's of "Gilmore Girls" you will note that the old "Dragonfly Inn" that Lorelai and Sookie purchase and then renovate is the exterior of the Walton house. This is also stated in the trivia section for "Gilmore Girls" here on IMDB

Quotes:

Grover: "Six years in grade school, five years in high school-everything I ever ran for, I was always running against the same Johnny Walton... The greatest day of my life was when I beat John Walton out for senior class president. I don't think he ever lost any sleep over it. Now I'm an ambitious man - some would say successful; probably it's all John's fault. I was always running; he was always going past me at a walk. And here it is, 25 years later-here I am, and there's John. Then look at me...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) (VG)

Ironies of Ironies

This was one of the most popular series on CBS in the mid-1970's and it is one of the most ironic. This show came one year after CBS's infamous purge of all of its rural comedies. In 1971 hugely popular shows like The Beverly Hillbillies, Mayberry RFD, Green Acres, He Haw and The Ed Sullivan show were all canceled because of the perception that they didn't appeal to urban dwellers or young people. Ironically all these shows were still in the top-10 at the time they were canceled. The next year The Waltons debuted and quickly became one of the most popular shows in the network's history, it even was responsible, in part, for the cancellation of the hugely popular Flip Wilson Show on NBC. I wonder how Fred Silverman, the man responsible for the purge, felt after this show became a hit.