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On a personal note, Cotler, a secular Jew, credits grandpa Zeb, played by the late Will Geer, with teaching her how to sing church songs on the show.Ĭurry, the Kentucky pastor, said “The Waltons” reflected how Jesus often rebukes religious people for hypocrisy in the Bible, while commending an unexpected person - such as a Samaritan who helped a stranger - for showing love and grace. Those lessons, Cotler said, “are perhaps even more relevant today.” Over the show’s long run, the Waltons and their neighbors learned valuable lessons about overcoming differences and treating everyone with love and respect. “I mean, in a small community in the mountains of Virginia in the Depression, if you don’t deal with the church aspect of things, then you don’t deal with things as they were.” where those issues were very much in play,” said Thomas, now a grandfather of four. “The religious aspect of the show had to do with the fact that Earl Hamner was talking about a time and a place. made a rare appearance at church and pointed to Jesus’ words from John 8:7: “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” But he inadvertently became intoxicated after drinking too much of the “secret recipe” served by the Baldwin sisters, two prim and proper recurring characters who didn’t seem to realize they were bootleggers.Īfter the mishap touched off something of a scandal, John Sr. In 1972’s “The Sinner” episode, a young pastor played by the late John Ritter arrived preaching fire-and-brimstone Bible verses. “I’ve always looked for God in my own way,” he said in one episode.Īn ongoing theme was the appearance in Walton’s Mountain of an outsider - a Jewish family fleeing Nazi persecution, a Black boxer and preacher raising money for a new church, a Hollywood actress who smoked and drank - who met a mixed reception. Olivia was a devout Baptist, but John Sr. and Olivia Walton - played, respectively, by the late Ralph Waite, an ordained minister in real life, and Michael Learned - frequently clashed over their differing approaches to God. “People will joke that it was very saccharine sweet, but I don’t think that it actually was.” “The show frequently told really simple human stories that resonate with people because that’s what life is like,” said Cotler, now an educator in Southern California.

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Kami Cotler, who was 6 years old when she first starred as youngest sibling Elizabeth in a 1971 holiday TV movie that launched the series, still interacts regularly with such fans via her Facebook page, which has nearly 150,000 followers.Ĭotler said “The Waltons” shared “universal truths” that help explain its lasting popularity. “I just told my kids, ‘One day when I’m old and in my wheelchair … just wheel me in front of ‘The Waltons’ on a continual loop, and I’ll be happy,’” Jackson said. But I think primarily Earl Hamner’s writing was just so great and the cast loved each other so much and we were so committed.”

“I know it affected a lot of people’s lives. “To have that kind of longevity and then have it mean enough for people to want to do a new version of it - I’m not sure exactly why,” he added. “It’s kind of astonishing that we’re still talking about a show 50 years later,” said Thomas, who narrates “A Waltons Thanksgiving,” a made-for-TV movie airing this fall on the CW network. The familiar catchphrase pays homage to the Emmy-winning role that made him famous. Now 71 and starring as lawyer Atticus Finch in a touring production of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Thomas said he still hears fans call “Good night, John-Boy!” after each performance. The oldest sibling, he aspired to be a writer and experience the world beyond his humble upbringing. “The Waltons” focused on John Jr., known as John-Boy, played by Richard Thomas and modeled on Hamner. The parents, grandparents and seven children - John Jr., Jason, Mary Ellen, Erin, Ben, Jim-Bob and Elizabeth - were depicted wearing overalls and dresses, praying at meals and overcoming adversity through hard work and grace. Based on the life of its creator, the late Earl Hamner Jr., the show followed a large extended family living in a white, two-story farmhouse and running a sawmill in the fictional Blue Ridge foothills town of Walton’s Mountain.

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