The Waltons: The Hamner Family (2024)

FAQs

How many of the Hamner children are still alive? ›

Hamner's surviving three siblings — Paul Hamner, Nancy Hamner Jamerson and Audrey Hamner — were among the family members who attended the event in Schuyler — “right where it all started,” said Paul Hamner, who came in from New Jersey for the occasion.

In addition to the Walton characters, other roles, such as the “recipe-making” Baldwin sisters and General Store owner, Ike Godsey were also inspired by real people.

Bill Hamner (l) died in 1989. His wife, Brenda, lives in the Richmond, Virginia area. Bill's three children are Harold, Hope and Gail. Paul Hamner (r) lives in Tom's River, New Jersey and is retired from the Baker Shoe Store chain.

In real life, John-Boy was indeed Hamner, creator and narrator of the show as well as author of Spencer's Mountain. Now he is gone. He was 92, a veteran of World War II, one of America's best-loved writers and, as the narrator of The Waltons, a much-loved voice.

People have been asking for more than four decades if "the family is real" and "is there a 'real' Walton's Mountain?" The answer is yes. Though the names might be different Earl Hamner based the show on his memories of growing up in rural Virginia with his family during the depression.

Boatwright University was inspired by Richmond College

The fictional alma mater of John-Boy Walton was based on Richmond College, which became the University of Richmond.

Popularly known as The Waltons House, the Hamner House is the childhood home of Earl Hamner, Jr., novelist and creator of the TV series, The Waltons and was listed in the Virginia Landmarks Register in 2004. The Waltons Hamner House is open seven days a week and guided tours begin every half hour from 10am until 4pm.

The love stories carried over behind the scenes. Ma and Pa Walton — Ralph Waite and Michael Learned — quietly fell on love on set. And remember Jason and Toni, who we just mentioned in the prior paragraph? Well, actors Jon Walmsley and Lisa Harrison tied the knot in real life in 1979!

Who owns the Hamner house? ›

The house will have a similar porch and first floor as the home portrayed in the popular '70s TV show, said Ray Castro, who co-owns the Waltons Hamner House with Carole Johnson, both long-time fans of the show.

The new owners, Carole Johnson of Ukiah, California, Ray Castro of New Jersey, and Kirstin DeMaio of Michigan, plan to open it up for tours. The Waltons Hamner House opens Friday and tickets will be available at the Walton Mountain Museum across the street.

Ellen Corby (Grandma) 1999 age 87 natural causes in Woodland Hills, CA. Dorothy Stickney (Miss Emily) 1998 age 101 at her home in NYC. Cleavon Little (Hawthorne Dooley) 1992 age 53 of colon cancer in Sherman Oaks, CA. Woodrow Parfrey (Ike Godsey) 1984 at age 61 of a heart attack in LA.

14 April 1999

Ellen Corby / Date of death

Todd Bridges played a similar role in the The Wisdom of Solomon (1977) that aired earlier in 1977. This episode was another commentary on race relations of the time. Bridges played the son of poor, black Mississippi sharecroppers. He wants to go to school and get an education, but his parents are against it.

While the television series took place on a fictional "Walton's Mountain," in Virginia, and the book on "Spencer's Mountain" in Wyoming, both are actually based on Hamner's hometown of Schuyler, VA. Consequently, it should come as no surprise that the Walton's Mountain Museum is located right here in Schuyler, VA.

Rockfish is the closest town to Walton's Mountain.

Photo Source www.DelsJourney.com. Here's "Ike Godsey's General Merchandise" (known in real life as the S&H Grocery Store). Unfortunately, it burned down a few years later, though a new store has sprung up in its place. Photo Source www.DelsJourney.com.

The main story is set in Walton's Mountain, a fictional mountain community in the fictitious Jefferson County, Virginia. The real place upon which the stories are based is the community of Schuyler in Nelson County, Virginia.

The character Jim Bob had one ambition: to learn to fly an airplane. While he was medically unfit for the Air Corps, in the final movies he had indeed become a pilot, flying crop dusting and charter flights. The only sibling on the series who had his own room in the house was John-Boy.

Is the house on Waltons Mountain still there? ›

The original house that served as the backdrop to Hamner's childhood was built in the early 20th century in the village of Schuyler in Nelson County, where it still stands today.

Corabeth eventually married Ike Godsey (Joe Conley), and they adopted a daughter.

Corabeth Walton is John Walton's cousin. When she comes for a visit from Doe Hill, a whirlind romance with Ike Godsey the local shop keeper results in a quick marriage.

The Waltons Season 3 - Episode 16.

The inn features five bedrooms and five bathrooms. There is the grandparents' room, the parents' room, the writer's room (meaning John Boy's), the boys' room and the girls' room.

Hamner was the real "John Boy" in the show, which was based on his book, Spencer's Mountain. 45th anniversary of "The Waltons." The home sold for $249,000.

Studios that destroyed the farmhouse used in the TV series The Waltons was set by an arsonist, according to Burbank, Calif., fire officials. Burn patterns indicated that a flammable substance was splashed around a chicken coop on the set and inside the house, an arson investigator said Wednesday.

Ralph Waite was fired from his role due to budgetary issues. The show had become more expensive as Waite aged, and at the same time the ratings started to decline. Originally, season 8 was supposed to be the final one.

Leslie Winston (born May 13, 1956) is an American actress best known for playing Cindy, wife of Ben Walton, on the television series The Waltons from 1979 to 1981.

In The Waltons episode "The Revelation," John-Boy proposes to his girlfriend Daisy, and when she said yes, it was a real moment on the show. But by the episode's end, Daisy has called off the wedding, and the next time we see her, Daisy is just an old flame to John-Boy, never to be rekindled.

Does Mary Ellen marry Jonesy? ›

The series ended in 1981, but Mary Ellen married Jonesy in a made-for-TV movie in 1982.

Mary Ellen marries Dr. Curtis Willard and they have 1 child, John Curtis, before he is lost and presumed dead after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Eventually she remarries Arlington Westcott Jones "Jonesy" and together they have 2 children, Clay and Katie.

In "A Day For Thanks on Walton's Mountain" in 1982, Ben and Cindy had two children, Virginia and Charlie. Cindy was pregnant with Charlie in "A Wedding on Walton's Mountain".

“We've also had to make some modern conveniences — the Waltons only had one bathroom,” Johnson said, noting each room in the bed-and-breakfast will have a bathroom. In the Depression-era, wood was the exterior of the Hamner house and the home depicted on “The Waltons.”

“Many of the places mentioned on the series actually do exist in Schuyler.” While filmed on location in California, the fictional Walton family would have been at home in the tiny town of about 300 residents 40 minutes southwest of Charlottesville, Va., in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Since then, Doris has lived on steadfastly in Schuyler, terribly lonely at first in spite of the family around her. (There are presently 32 Hamners - including "outlaws" - and 15 grandchildren.)

Our hours are 10:00 am - 3:30 pm daily. Weekends only March April and November. Closed December thru February. Admission $10.00 per person, over 12.

"I hope that you'll remember this house as I do," Earl Hamner narrates in the closing moments of the final episode of The Waltons.

All of the Waltons were based on real people — Hamner's family, his grandfather and grandmother, his father and mother, and his brothers and sisters, of whom there were seven in the show but eight in real life.

Ellen Corby died in 1999, but she is remembered as Grandma Walton on the hit television show, The Waltons. Her work on the show earned her three Emmy awards. Yet her career almost ended in 1976 after a stroke that left her with aphasia.

How many of the Walton family is still alive? ›

The three most prominent living members (Jim, Rob, and Alice Walton) have consistently been in the top twenty of the Forbes 400 list since 2001, as were John ( d. 2005) and Helen (d. 2007) prior to their deaths. Christy Walton took her husband John's place in the ranking after his death.

The actor, now 71, embraces his early stardom on “The Waltons.”

She has seven living children: John Walton Jr., Jason Walton, Mary Ellen Walton, Erin Esther Walton, Benjamin Walton II, James Robert Walton, and Elizabeth Tyler Walton. An eighth child, Jim-Bob's twin brother Joseph Zebulon Walton, died at birth.

A stroke in 1977 forced Ms. Corby to curtail her work on the series. She was seen only occasionally and made her last appearance in 1979, although she was part of the 1997 special ''A Waltons Easter.

Grandpa Zeb (Will Greer) has died and everyone is mourning. Neighbor Flossie Brimmer has also died. Mary Ellen and Erin move to Charlottesville into an apartment to be on their own.

Two years later, Mary Jackson died shortly after her 95^th birthday in December of 2005.

Although Becker appeared in eight episodes of The Waltons and came back for the reunion movies, Drew and Elizabeth never tied the knot on the series.

The last one aired in 1997. Hamner, whose own family included two children, is survived by his wife, Jane; son, Scott; and daughter, Caroline.

The three most prominent living members (Jim, Rob, and Alice Walton) have consistently been in the top twenty of the Forbes 400 list since 2001, as were John ( d. 2005) and Helen (d. 2007) prior to their deaths. Christy Walton took her husband John's place in the ranking after his death.

Mary Ellen marries Dr. Curtis Willard and they have 1 child, John Curtis, before he is lost and presumed dead after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Eventually she remarries Arlington Westcott Jones "Jonesy" and together they have 2 children, Clay and Katie.

Is there a real Walton's Mountain in Virginia? ›

The series was based upon the book "Spencer's Mountain" by Earl Hamner Jr., who also narrated each show. While the television series took place on a fictional "Walton's Mountain," in Virginia, and the book on "Spencer's Mountain" in Wyoming, both are actually based on Hamner's hometown of Schuyler, VA.

Meet Walmart heir Lukas Walton, one of the richest millennials in the world: with a US$20 billion net worth at 36, he's focusing on philanthropy over the retail empire his grandad Sam Walton founded.

Elizabeth Tyler Walton Cutler

Elizabeth (Kami Cotler) is the youngest child of John and Olivia Walton. She was born in fall 1927 and age 6 when the series began.

Then Curt was killed at Pearl Harbor in the 1978 season, and Mary Ellen found new love with Arlington Wescott "Jonesy" Jones (Richard Gililand) while taking premed courses. The romance was threatened when Curt was discovered not to have died after all, but the two decided their marriage had ended and divorced.

Appearing first in the appropriately titled episode "The Whirlwind," Jonesy strikes up a passionate romance with Mary Ellen. Things don't work out on the show but thanks to the sequel TV movies, that wasn't the last time audiences saw Jonesy. He and Mary Ellen marry in Mother's Day on Walton's Mountain.

Kathy tells Jim-Bob that she is expecting their baby. He doesn't take the news well and she attempts to return to Norfolk. Jim-Bob goes after her and brings her back with news that they are getting married.

He then finds a career in television where he serves as a news anchor. He meets Janet Gilchrist who is an editor for Harper's magazine. The two are married on Walton's Mountain.