The Waltons: The Last Episode Finally Comes to DVD (2024)

FAQs

What happened on the very last episode of The Waltons? ›

The final episode, titled “The Revel,” aired on June 4, 1981. In the episode, John-Boy goes to New York to pursue his writing career but arrives to find that his manuscript has been rejected. His publisher's secretary gives him enough money to return home and advises him to start a new book. He returned home dejected.

The announcement shocked fans, but the network's decision came after The Waltons had spent years on a gradual descent from the top of the TV ratings. The show had dipped from No. 2 in its second season, down to the nation's No. 42 show by its ninth.

"Good night, John Boy."

Her character's abrupt disappearance was explained by Olivia developing tuberculosis and entering a sanatorium in Arizona. She made occasional guest appearances until the show's cancelation and later appeared in four of the six Waltons reunion movies made during the 1980s and 1990s.

What happened to Olivia Walton? The character's final appearance on the show was in the Season 8 episode "The Waiting," which aired on Nov. 22, 1979.

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.

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.

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.

In 2019, it was reported that Learned and Waite “were in love” off-screen. However, the pair did not pursue a romance. “I loved him very much,” she explained. “And we loved each other as much as anybody could love anybody.

They find Jim-Bob's birth record but they also discover that Jim-Bob had a twin, Joseph Zebulon Walton who died at birth. Esther learns from Ike and Flossie Brimmer that Jim-Bob is asking questions concerning he birth. She talks to John and tells him it is time for him to tell him about the circ*mstances.

How did Elizabeth get paralyzed on The Waltons? ›

Elizabeth breaks both legs in a fall from a log pile. When she comes home from the hospital, the family must adjust to her injuries and devise ways to help her walk again, something the Doctors aren't sure she'll be able to do.

During the end voice over , John boy states that Erin's marriage is as strong today as it was when they got married , but in A Walton Thanksgiving reunion , she is divorced and states that it was because she found out Paul was cheating on her .

He meets Janet Gilchrist who is an editor for Harper's magazine. The two are married on Walton's Mountain.

Michael Learned didn't like TV acting

The show indicates that she's being treated for tuberculosis in Arizona, but Learned didn't return to Walton's Mountain until the reunion films.

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!

John "John-Boy" Walton Jr.

This first Walton child is known throughout the series as "John-Boy," is born in 1916, is the eldest son and child of Olivia Walton (née Daly) and John Walton Sr.

Richard Earl Thomas (born June 13, 1951) is an American actor. He is best known for his leading role as budding author John-Boy Walton in the CBS drama series The Waltons for which he won an Emmy Award. He also received another Emmy nomination and two Golden Globe Award nominations, for that role.

The actors playing Ben and Cindy Walton both happily married but still became inseparable. One of the earliest appearances of Cindy Brunson Walton comes in one of the most emotional episodes of The Waltons, an episode called "Founders' Day."

Grandma Walton was part of a close-knit Virginia family in the drama from writer Earl Hamner Jr. 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.

Although a stroke in 1976 slowed her down, Ellen still made appearances on the series. Her last TV appearance was in 1997 in the TV movie A Walton Easter (1997). On April 14, 1999, Ellen died at the Motion Picture & Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. She was 87 years old.

Did the grandmother on The Waltons have a stroke 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.

John-Boy Walton's Home

Situated on "Walton's Mountain," in Schuyler, a museum honors the timeless television series "The Waltons". Shuyler (population 86), is the boyhood (unincorporated) town of Earl Hamner, author and narrator of "The Waltons." The town consists of all the places that made The Waltons so special. . .

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.

The location of the Walton's house, barn and mill was filmed on the backlot at The Burbank studios. Visible from certain angles Walton's Mountain could be see through the trees. Drucilla's pond was part of the Jungle set.

The Walton family is still the major shareholder of Walmart Inc. The children of Walmart founder Sam Walton own about half of all Walmart shares, according to official company documents.

Real lives

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.

But, unlike some of her co-stars, Cotler did not continue acting outside of her work with the series. Instead, the now-56-year-old became an educator and has worked as both a teacher and a principal.

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.

She told Fox News at one point the actors who played Ma and Pa Walton actually developed strong romantic feelings for one another. "We had a deep love for each other that we would have ruined if we had taken that extra step, and we didn't," Learned said. "We never did.

During the series' last few years, Mary Ellen and Ben start their own families; Erin, Jason and John-Boy are married in later television movie sequels. Younger children Jim-Bob and Elizabeth struggle to find and cement true love. World War II deeply affects the family. All four Walton boys enlist in the military.

Who did Jim-Bob get pregnant on The Waltons? ›

A girl (Jennifer Jason Leigh) claims she is pregnant with Jim-Bob's baby. POW Ben protests his captors by flying a makeshift American flag.

Later during the service the Reverend announces to the congregation's surprise that Jim-Bob has chosen to become a preacher.

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.

Episode 208 The Whirlwind After accepting a proposal of marriage from Jonesy, Mary Ellen learns that Curt might well be alive.

Elizabeth Walton and Kevin Heil's Wedding Website - The Knot.

He was only given a contract for eight episodes, and he was not offered to come back for the remaining 14 episodes of the final season of The Waltons.

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 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.

Toni visits Walton's Mountain and Jason plays her a song he wrote called “Antoinette.” Jason steals a kiss and they eventually get married in season nine.

The final episode, titled “The Revel,” aired on June 4, 1981. In the episode, John-Boy goes to New York to pursue his writing career but arrives to find that his manuscript has been rejected. His publisher's secretary gives him enough money to return home and advises him to start a new book. He returned home dejected.

Does Mary Ellen marry Jonesy? ›

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

Outside of acting, Thomas is a happily married family man in his hometown of New York. He has a son, Montana, with his wife Georgiana Bischoff and four children from his first marriage to Alma Gonzales -- Richard Francisco, Pilar, Barbara, and Gwyneth.

When Olivia is stricken with polio, John-Boy refuses to accept the doctor's prognosis that she may never walk again.

Rose Burton is John's cousin and she comes to stay with the Walton's in "The Kinfolk" (s8-ep3).

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.

By law 25% of the money went into a protected trust, accessible at 18. We each had agents, so they received 10% and taxes were withheld. The SAG contract included residuals, though things like cable, streaming and video tapes didn't exist then.

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.

During the end voice over , John boy states that Erin's marriage is as strong today as it was when they got married , but in A Walton Thanksgiving reunion , she is divorced and states that it was because she found out Paul was cheating on her .

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.

Ralph Waite did not appear in The Waltons: The Genius (1975) and The Waltons: The Emergence (1975) from the fourth season due to a contract dispute with CBS. It's explained in both episodes that John Walton was away working in Norfolk.

Who did Jim Bob get pregnant on The Waltons? ›

A girl (Jennifer Jason Leigh) claims she is pregnant with Jim-Bob's baby. POW Ben protests his captors by flying a makeshift American flag.

Almost all of Erin's romances are ill-fated: the object of her affections either dies or proves to have poor character. Eventually she meets and marries Paul Northridge; they have three children: Susan, Amanda, and Peter.

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.

14 April 1999

Ellen Corby / Date of death

According to Fame 10, Patricia Neal first was given the role of Olivia Walton on “The Waltons.” At the time, Patricia Neal had been dealing with serious health issues and was replaced by Michael Learned. Producers were unsure if she'd be able to take on the long-term role. Ralph Waite played John Walton Sr.

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.