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. Clever screenwriters turned her aphasia into an opportunity, working the situation into the storyline.
Before and After a Stroke
The Waltons ran on CBS from 1972 to 1981. The cast was four years into filming when Corby suffered a stroke that impaired her movement and speech. She took off from the show for over a season for medical reasons and returned in the 1977-1978 season, bringing her stroke into the storyline. Her character—Grandma Walton—also experienced a stroke, and she provided a way to show an American family navigating a member’s aphasia.
Working Aphasia Into the Television Storyline
Corby convinced CBS that she could work after her stroke. Like many people with aphasia, she found she could still sing but speaking was difficult. The solution: Give Grandma Walton aphasia, just like the actress portraying her. While she could speak more fluently than Grandma Walton, her character was given “one word or one-phrased dialogue, such as ‘No’ or ‘Home’.”
Her character also navigated the emotional side of aphasia, including “struggling with her new condition, worrying that The Waltons didn’t need her anymore.”
While it’s not the only show to include aphasia, it was groundbreaking in its time. The screenwriters creatively kept Ellen Corby working, and Corby brought authenticity into the American living room, depicting the experience of life after a stroke.
What shows have you seen depict aphasia?
Image: CBS Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
FAQs
Although Corby was able to communicate after her stroke, her character's lines were usually limited to one word or one-phrased dialogue.
What was Ellen Corby's last episode on The Waltons? ›
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. ''
Is Grandma Walton still alive? ›
Did Ellen Corby really have aphasia? ›
Ellen Corby took home a Golden Globe for best supporting actress in a TV series in 1974 for her best-known role, as Grandma Walton on "The Waltons." Corby, who was born in Racine, also won a Golden Globe in 1949 for best supporting actress in the movie "I Remember Mama." Corby's career almost ended in 1976 after a ...
Did Ellen Corby really have a stroke during The Waltons? ›
The Waltons ran on CBS from 1972 to 1981. The cast was four years into filming when Corby suffered a stroke that impaired her movement and speech. She took off from the show for over a season for medical reasons and returned in the 1977-1978 season, bringing her stroke into the storyline.
Did The Waltons end abruptly? ›
Earl Hamner, Jr. said he would've stuck around to do more episodes. If only. In 1981, The Waltons was in the middle of a new season when CBS suddenly announced in January that the episodes airing that year would comprise the family drama's final season.
What happened to Mary Ellen's husband on The Waltons? ›
In season seven, Mary Ellen receives a telegram notifying her that Curt has been killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor, but in season nine she learns he is still alive, using an assumed name.
What did Ralph Waite pass away from? ›
Death. On February 13, 2014, Waite died in Palm Desert, California, of natural causes at age 85. He is buried in White Plains Rural Cemetery in New York.
Did Richard Thomas regret leaving The Waltons? ›
But while Thomas never regretted leaving The Waltons when he did, he still commended the series long after it had ended.
Why did John-Boy leave The Waltons? ›
It would've been better to have no John-Boy than someone who couldn't really play the role. Thomas wanted to leave the show. He felt he would get more opportunities in other film/tv.
As the oldest son of Olivia and John Walton, John-Boy was an integral part of the Depression-era family drama. But after spending much of his early 20s portraying the bookish would-be writer, Thomas felt it was time to do something different. “In the infinite wisdom of a 26-year-old I decided it was time to move on,...
Who was Grandma Walton married to in real life? ›
Who passed away first on The Waltons? ›
In April of 1978, as The Waltons was in its sixth season, Will Geer died at the age of 76. His family sang Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" at his funeral. His fictional family dealt with the death, as well, as the passing of Grandpa Walton was written into the season seven opener, "The Empty Nest."
Why did Mrs Walton leave the show for a while? ›
Her character's abrupt disappearance in Season 7 was explained by Olivia developing tuberculosis and entering a sanatorium in Arizona. She returned in Season 8 and later appeared in four of the six Waltons reunion movies made during the 1980s and 1990s.
Did Ellen Corby really adopt? ›
Harper, Kami Colter, and Eric Scott, became Corby's adopted family for nearly a decade. She got to watch these actors grow up and felt she had a hand in steering them in the right direction. "I live alone and never had a family of my own," she explained.
Why did Michael Learned leave The Waltons? ›
Learned left because of the grueling nature of the television shooting schedule. According to an Associated Press interview, she decided after she finished The Waltons that she was done with working in television. However, just two years after her departure, she joined the cast of a new series, entitled, Nurse.
Who did Ellen Corby adopt in real life? ›
Ellen Corby ''adopted'' Jon Walmsley as her grandson.
Does Grandma come back in The Waltons? ›
S6 E26: Grandma finally returns home after her stroke, but everyone is so protective of her that she no longer feels she is needed or has a place in the family.
