This Is Why Olivia Isn't in Season 9 of 'The Waltons' (2024)

FAQs

Why was Olivia missing from The Waltons? ›

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.

However, after the Season 8 episode "The Waiting," the character wasn't seen again for the rest of the series. 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. So why exactly did Olivia disappear from "The Waltons?"

Olivia is leaving Walton's Mountain, hustled off with tuberculosis to an Arizona sanatorium while her family somehow forges a path between unbearable grief and unbearable stoicism.

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.

But later in the series, it's revealed that Olivia is being treated for tuberculosis at a sanatorium in Arizona. Michael went on to co-star in four of the six reunion movies — confirming that Olivia does survive her illness — but the Emmy winner was MIA for all of Season 9.

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.

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!

Learned previously admitted that their on-screen chemistry was the real deal. 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.

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.

Olivia “Livie” Walton (Mom)

Learned says her husband, three sons and five grandchildren are currently keeping her busy.

Does Mary Ellen Walton have a baby? ›

In the sixth season of The Waltons, Mary Ellen's son John Curtis is born, introducing the first Walton grandkid on the mountain.

While speaking with The Press-Telegram in 1972, Michael Learned, otherwise known as Olivia from The Waltons, said that her unusual name was chosen long before she was even conceived.

"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.

1. Season 6, Episode 22: “Grandma Comes Home”

At the end of almost every episode, as the night descended on Walton's Mountain, the camera panned over the Walton's house to show the lights going out room by room. And the lights dimmed, the family said goodnight to one another and drifted off to sleep. “Good night, John-Boy. Good night, Elizabeth.

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.

She was 89. The cause was complications of heart failure, Kimmie Burks, a friend, said. Ms. Rea played Rose Burton, Olivia Walton's cousin, on “The Waltons”; Lulu Hogg, Boss Hogg's wife, on “The Dukes of Hazzard”; and Jean Kelly, the mother-in-law of Brett Butler's character, on “Grace Under Fire.” Ms.

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.

See More. Six months before their characters met on TV, Jon Walmsley (Jason) married Lisa Harrison (Antionette) in the summer of 1979. According to a People Magazine story from the time, they had an outdoor ceremony in Malibu, California. The whole cast of The Waltons was in attendance.

Why was The Waltons Cancelled? ›

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.

On The Waltons, he dealt with his real injury by walking with a cane. In The Waltons fifth season episode "The First Edition," John-Boy walks with a cane, and what many fans may not realize is that the actor Richard Thomas was acting through a real injury while filming.

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 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.

Typically an Orange Squeeze is made with rum, ice, and fresh squeezed oranges in a blender. First acknowledgement of Grandma's "illness," which was introduced into the storyline after Ellen Corby suffered a major stroke in November 1976.

The show aired from 1971-1981 and won an Emmy in 1974. 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.

Michael Learned Later Regretted Leaving 'The Waltons'

“But… I just couldn't do it anymore…,” Learned added. “And also, I felt a lot of the times I was sitting around for 14 hours saying, 'More coffee John. ' The fact is, I was bored.

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.

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.

Cindy Brunson Walton is Ben Walton's wife. They elope one night after a brief courtship. She drives a red sports car and has a rich father which doesn't make her very popular with Ben's Mother or Grandmother..

Did Jim Bob Walton become a preacher? ›

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

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.

Walton's three surviving children, Alice, Jim and Rob, daughter-in-law Christy and Christy's son, Lukas, own just under half the retailer, giving them a combined net worth of about $212 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Lukas Walton is a grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton; he's an investor in businesses tackling environmental and social challenges. He inherited a fortune when his father, John Walton, died in a 2005 plane crash. He received about one third of his father's estate; his mother, Christy Walton, got about one sixth.

Even though John-Curtis was a well-known character in “The Waltons,” he did not appear in the special reunion productions. According to Judy Norton, her television son's absence from the show's reunion movies had to do with finances and not storylines.

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.

“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.

In the foothills of the lovely old Blue Ridge Mountains… … Lies the small town of Schulyer, Virginia, home of the Hamner family – the real-life family on which the Waltons were based. The mountain town of Schuyler is home to about 400 residents, and there the two-story Hamner family home still stands.

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 did The Waltons say when they went to bed? ›

Good night, John-Boy. Good night, Elizabeth. Good night, Daddy. Good night, Son.

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.

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.

But later in the series, it's revealed that Olivia is being treated for tuberculosis at a sanatorium in Arizona. Michael went on to co-star in four of the six reunion movies — confirming that Olivia does survive her illness — but the Emmy winner was MIA for all of Season 9.

In short, The Waltons: Season 3 was one of the best seasons of the show as the lead character, John-Boy Walton, essentially grew up, spread his wings, and ventured off to college.

The Revel

The Waltons / Latest episode

She also won a Golden Globe award for best supporting actress in a TV series for The Waltons, and was nominated another three times. She left the show November 10, 1976, owing to a massive stroke she had suffered at home, which impaired her speech and severely limited her mobility and function.

Her departure from the show was declared to the TV audience by tuberculosis disease of "Ma Walton" and her long stay in a sanatorium.

Walton plays Chloe, the daughter of Dean, the detective investigating the case. Like Walton, Chloe is blind. Walton learned of the opportunity to audition for the show through her school, the W. Ross Macdonald School in Brantford, Ontario, in Canada.

ANSWER: Mary Ellen (Judy Norton-Taylor) married Dr. Curtis Willard in the 1977 season, and they had a baby. 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.

Do Rose and Stanley get married on The Waltons? ›

She agrees and they are married in front of family and friends at the Baptist Church by the Reverend Tom Marshall.

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.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

Born to a diplomat, Michael has said in interviews that her parents intended to call her "Caleb" had she been born a boy. "Michael" was their pick for a girl's name.