The Waltons is the story of a large close-knit family living in rural Virginia during the Depression. Creator Earl Hamner Jr. based the series on his own childhood, which he previously fictionalized in his novel, "Spencer's Mountain". That book was made into a feature film in 1963 starring Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara as the parents and James MacArthur (before his role as "Dano" on Hawaii Five-O) as Clay-Boy. In 1971, Hamner's second book about the Spencer family, "The Homecoming", was made into a TV movie. The family name was changed to Walton and Patricia Neal and Andrew Duggan played the parents. Clay-Boy became John-Boy and young Richard Thomas was cast in the role. Ellen Corby and Edgar Bergen (father ofCandice Bergen) were cast as the grandparents. The children were played by a talented array of newcomers that included Jon Walmsley (Jason), Judy Norton (Mary Ellen), Mary McDonough (Erin), Kami Cotler (Elizabeth), Eric Scott (Ben) and David Harper (Jim Bob). The film was broadcast on CBS by December 19, 1971. The positive response by viewers to "The Homecoming" prompted CBS to create a series based on the Walton family. The Waltons debuted on September 14, 1972 with Richard Thomas, Ellen Corby and all of the children returning to their roles. Miss Michael Learned was cast as the mother (Olivia), Ralph Waite was cast as the father (John) and veteran actor Will Geer was given the role of the grandfather. Other original characters included Joe Conley as general store owner, Ike Godsey, John Crawford as Sheriff Ep Bridges, Mariclare Costello as schoolteacher Miss Rosemary Hunter and Helen Kleeb and Mary Jackson as eccentric sisters-- Mamie and Emily Baldwin, respectively. The Waltons' first season brought critical acclaim and several awards. Both Richard Thomas and Michael Learned took home Best Actor Emmys, Ellen Corby was awarded the Best Supporting Actress honor and the series was given the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. The show also earned Emmys for writing and editing in addition to receiving the prestigious Peabody award. The series entered the top-ten in its second season and finished second that year to All in the Family. The show remained in the top twenty for the next few seasons and received several more Emmys, including two more for both Michael Learned and Ellen Corby and a Best Supporting Actor award for Will Geer. In all, The Waltons received 37 Emmy nominations and took home 13 of the golden statuettes. During the show's nine-year run, the series underwent several cast changes and additions. John Ritter (1973 - 1975) was featured as Reverend Fordwick. His character would later marry Miss Emily Hunter. Ronnie Claire Edwards (1975 - 1981) joined the show to play Corabeth, a distant cousin of John Walton. She soon married Ike Godsey and they later adopted young Aimee, played by Rachel Longaker (1976-1979). At the end of the fifth season, Richard Thomas left the series with the character of John-Boy heading for New York City to pursue a writing career. (John-Boy's character would later return in the eighth season played by Robert Wightman). Tom Bower (1976 - 1979) portrayed Mary Ellen's husband, Dr. Curtis Willard. They had a baby, John Curtis (played by twins Marshall and Michael Reed). In the fall of 1976, Ellen Corby suffered a serious stroke and did not return to the series until the last episode of the 1977-1978 season. Before production resumed for the 1978 - 1979 season, Will Geer passed away. His character was never to be recast. Also in that seventh season, Michael Learned announced that she would no longer appear in the series as a regular. So by mid-season, Olivia Walton had left for a sanitarium to recover from tuberculosis. She would later return for occasional guest appearances during the following season. Other characters were added as the show neared the end of its run. Leslie Winston (1979 - 1981) played Cindy, Ben's wife, and Lisa Harrison (1979 - 1981) portrayed Jason's girlfriend, Toni. Peggy Rea (1979 - 1981) joined the show as Olivia's cousin, Rose Burton, to help care for the Walton household. She brought along her granddaughter, Serena, played by Martha Nix, and her grandson, Jeffrey, played by Keith Mitchell. William Schallert (1980 - 1981) played Rose's husband-to-be, Stanley Perkins. The last regularly scheduled episode of The Waltons was broadcast on August 20, 1981. Three specials were broadcast on NBC in 1982 without Michael Learned and Richard Thomas. Three reunion movies have been produced in the 1990s for CBS. "A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion" (1993), "A Walton Wedding" (1995) and "A Walton Easter" (1997) all feature the original cast with the exception of the late Will Geer.
Summary from TNN (The Nashville Network)
Editor's NOTE: If you like to find out even more information, please visit the author's extensive website dedicated to the series.
Production Credits
Executive Producer: Lee Rich
Created by: Earl Hamner, Jr.
Producer: Robert L. Jacks
Music: Jerry Goldsmith
"The Homecoming: A Christmas Story" (120 min)
gs:
Patricia Neal [ Olivia Walton ], Edgar Bergen [ Grandpa Walton ], Dorothy Stickney [ Emily Baldwin ], Josephine Hutchinson [ Mamie Baldwin ], William Windom [ Charlie Snead ], Andrew Duggan [ John Walton ], Woodrow Parfrey [ Ike Godsey ], David Huddleston [ Sheriff Bridges ], Sally Chamberlin [ City Lady ], Donald Livingston [ Claudie Dooley ]
The movie began with John-Boy and his brothers and sisters, trooping through the snow. It is 1933, during the Depression, and being Christmas Eve, the Walton family are in the midst of their Christmas preparations and hoping to celebrate it together. The problem is that there are many events which seem to prevent John Walton (Daddy) from arriving home to share this Christmas with his family. The majority of the film then, has Olivia wishing and hoping that he will make it home, the children rushing to the door to see if the noises they hear are their Daddy, and John-Boy heading out into the snowy night to try to find him. Eventually Daddy walks through the door, and the first Walton Christmas"miracle" has occurred. We are also introduced to the little old ladies, the Baldwin sisters, the makers of bootleg whisky, a venture that doesn't go down at all well with Olivia. We learn that John-Boy writes down all his secret thoughts, but tries to keep this from his parents, especially his father. He wants to go to University but feels that there is no way that his family would be able to manage this. The surprise for John-Boy comes, though, when his father comes home with a special present for him: packs of writing paper.
b: 19 Dec 71 pc: _________ w: Earl Hamner, Jr. d: Fielder Cook
NOTE: "The Homecoming" was the pilot movie for The Waltons. Although it was not originally intended to be a pilot for a series, it was popular enough for a series to be commissioned. This episode provides us with quite a bit of background to the Walton family. Livvy says that she planted the Christmas cactus she finds in the basement, the same year that she and John were married, 1916. We also learn from John-Boy that he is 15 years old. They are struggling to make ends meet with the sawmill having closed, and John Walton has had to move away from home to find work. He is only coming home on the weekends. Livvy tells the children that she and John eloped because her family didn't approve of him but they were so in love that they wanted to marry. John wasn't religious says Olivia, but of course Grandma disputes this saying that he simply wasn't a churchgoer. Part of the original cast of the movie remained on the show, but there were cast changes when The Waltons went into production.
Production Credits
Executive Producer: Lee Rich
Created by: Earl Hamner, Jr.
Producer: Robert L. Jacks
Music: Jerry Goldsmith
Production Manager: Lynn Guthrie
"The Foundling"
gs:
Richard Melton [ Anson Collier ], Charlotte Stewart [ Ruth Collier ], Erica Hunton [ Holly ]
rc:
Ike Godsey, Marsha Woolery, Sheriff Ep Bridges
A six-year old deaf and dumb girl is abandoned on the Walton's doorstep. With loving care they teach her to "talk" with sign language. But their kindness to the foundling causes a family crisis. Elizabeth, playing hide-and-seek with the deaf and dumb girl Holly, runs into an old abandoned shack and hides inside an empty trunk, but the lid falls shut and locks itself. Holly sees what has happened and runs to get help but is picked up by her father who doesn't understand sign language and takes her away. John and the family pursue and Holly then tells them by sign language what has occurred, and Elizabeth is rescued in time. Holly's parents now realize that their little girl is not retarded and are now able to communicate with her.
b: 14 Sep 72 pc: _________ w: John McGreevey d: Vincent Sherman
"The Carnival"
gs:
Billy Barty [ Unknown ], Gino Conforti [ Unknown ], Barbara Davis [ Unknown ], John Harper [ Unknown ]
rc:
Ike, Sheriff Bridges
Although the Walton children had wanted to attend the carnival when it comes to Waltons Mountain, they decide to put the money to better use when Grandma breaks her glasses. After the manager of the carnival leaves unexpectedly with the money from the carnival, four members of a carnival troupe are left stranded and living in a barn near the Walton home. The family helps them by giving them food and arranging a lift back to town for them, and the troupe members pay for the Walton's hospitality by giving them a private show.
b: 21 Sep 72 pc: _________ w: Nigel McKeand d: Alf Kjellin
"The Calf"
gs:
Leonard Stone [ George Anderson ]
rc:
Sheriff Bridges
The Waltons are happy when Chance the cow gives birth to a healthy calf. The one problem is that it is a bull, and not practical to keep, especially when John tells his family that it must be sold to pay for emergency repairs to the truck. The children, especially the younger ones though, have become very attached to it and are heartbroken to think of it leaving their family. John does indeed sell the calf to a neighbor for the much needed $9.00, but when Chance frets for her calf by bellowing loudly, continuously, he reconsiders and tries to buy the calf back, only to find that the price the neighbor is willing to sell it for, has increased. Jim Bob and Elizabeth decide to take the matter into their own hands and the neighbor calls in the sheriff.
b: 28 Sep 72 pc: _________ w: Jim Byrnes d: Harry Harris
"The Hunt"
rc:
Ike, GW Haines
John-Boy has very mixed feelings about taking part in his first turkey hunt. He wants to show that he is grown up and can manage a gun just as well as any other man, and wants to show that he is able to provide food for the family, yet he doesn't know how he feels about taking another creatures life. He finally gets to look the turkey in the eye, but simply cannot pull the trigger, causing him to feel that he has embarrassed his father in front of their friends. He leaves the hunt to head back home, but finds that he does indeed need to shoot an animal, and take very quick action, when a bear threatens his father's life. In the meantime, Mary Ellen is having her own dilemmas about growing up. She has been saving very hard to buy a catcher's mitt, which she is looking forward to sharing with her friend G.W. when they play catch together. G.W. suddenly becomes interested in girls though, and Mary Ellen thinks that perhaps she should buy a dress with the money, instead of the longed for catcher's mitt. When she tries the dress on at home, she realizes that it doesn't suit her at all and she ends up going back to Ike's store to return the dress and get the catcher's mitt after all.
b: 5 Oct 72 pc: _________ w: John McGreevey d: Robert Butler
"The Typewriter"
gs:
George Tobias [ Junk Man ]
rc:
the Baldwin Sisters, Miss Hunter, Ike, Sheriff Bridges
John-Boy has written a story and Miss Hunter suggests that a magazine might be interested in publishing it. It is returned, however, with a note telling him that they only accept type written manuscripts. John-Boy then secretly borrows a museum piece typewriter from the Baldwin sisters, but has to hide it, knowing that his mother would not approve of anything, which came from the Baldwin's. He is horrified when he learns that his sister has innocently found it with other junk and sold it to a junkman and he is left to tell the Baldwin's that their prized possession was sold as junk. Mary Ellen however, goes to great pains to track down the whereabouts of the typewriter though, and eventually she is able to rebuy it and return it to the sisters.
b: 12 Oct 72 pc: _________ w: Theodore Apstein d: Philip Leacock
"The Star"
gs:
Iggie Wolfington [ Cousin Polonius ]
rc:
the Baldwin sisters, Miss Hunter
Zeb Walton, Grandpa, still subscribes to the old superstition that a falling star means eminent death and when a meteorite falls on the Baldwin sister's house, he believes that his time has come and takes to his bed to await his death. In the meantime, however, the Baldwin ladies become the victims of a hoax by their cousin, Polonius, and his friend, who are really visiting to try to get the machine for making the recipe away from the Baldwin's. When Grandpa hears about their scam, he immediately goes to help the ladies out and eventually their two visitors leave empty handed.
b: 19 Oct 72 pc: _________ w: John McGreevey d: Alf Kjellin
NOTE: John-Boy does not have the typewriter in this episode nor on the show from thereon.
"The Sinner"
gs:
Collin Wilcox Horne [ Miss Prissom ]
rc:
the Baldwin sisters, Ike, Rev. Fordwick, Yancy Tucker
The young Reverend, Matthew Fordwick, arrives to stay, and preach, at the Waltons Mountain church, but he upsets John whilst staying with the Waltons, because he continually shouts bible verses at the children. Matthew is a distant relation of the Baldwin sisters, and visits with them, and of course, they offer him a"sip of the recipe", which results in Matthew becoming drunk. Needless to say, the Waltons Mountain folk witness his drunken state and Matthew feels so ashamed that he contemplates leaving the ministry, until John Walton steps in and makes him realise that ministers are human too, and are prone to make all kinds of mistakes.
b: 26 Oct 72 pc: _________ w: John Furie, Jr. d: Philip Leacock
NOTE: This is the first time in the series Jason plays the piano.
"The Boy From the C.C.C."
gs:
Michael Rupert [ Gino ]
rc:
Ike
Gino, a young boy from the slums of New York, has run away from a CCC camp. He lands at the Walton house when he is found in the woods and injured, by John-Boy and Elizabeth. Gino finds it very hard to accept the kindness and generosity offered to him by the family as his background has made him suspicious of everyone. He is caught stealing their money one night and John is about to place him with the Sheriff, however when Elizabeth is facing a crisis of her own, John reassesses Gino when he sees how caring and kind he is towards Elizabeth.
b: 2 Nov 72 pc: _________ w: William Welch d: Harry Harris
"The Ceremony"
gs:
Noah Keen [ Professor Mann ], Ellen Geer [ Eva Keen ], Radames Pera [ Paul Mann ]
rc:
Ike
A Jewish family, Professor Mann, his wife Eva, and their son Paul are refugees who have fled from Nazi Germany. The young family try to live in an isolated mountain cabin on Waltons Mountain, but they live in fear of being persecuted in their new home as well. To try to avoid any further problems they decide that they must pretend that they are not Jewish and that they should no longer observe their Jewish customs. Paul is devastated though, because he has long been looking forward to celebrating his Bar mitzvah on his 13th birthday. His drastic actions then cause the Walton family to become involved and finally it is arranged that Paul's special ceremony will be celebrated in the Walton home, with the Mann's new friends present.
b: 9 Nov 72 pc: _________ w: Nigel McKeand d: Vincent Sherman
NOTE: Ellen Geer, playing the role of Eva Mann, makes her first guest appearance in this episode. Ellen is a well-respected actress and is, in real life, Will Geer's daughter.
"The Legend"
gs:
James Antonio ["Tip" Harrison ]
An old army friend of John's, Tip Harrison, arrives at Waltons Mountain for a visit, full of stories and remembrances of the old days. However he is still living in the past and John tries to show him that there is good reason to live for the future. Before he comes to realize that what John says is true, however, he causes havoc and heartache for the whole Walton clan. He starts a fire in the Walton's yard, which Jason is blamed for and then he accidentally shoots Reckless, the family dog, whilst he and the other Walton men are looking for the fox, which is raiding their chicken coop. He decides to take off and leave without saying anything to John about his mistakes, but his conscience gets the better of him and he finally confesses.
b: 16 Nov 72 pc: _________ w: John McGreevey d: Lee Phillips
"The Literary Man"
gs:
David Huddleston [ A.J. Covington ]
rc:
Ike, Sheriff Bridges, Dr. Vance
A stranger, A.J. Covington, who plays Good Samaritan when John-Boy's truck breaks down, says he is a writer. He entertains John-Boy with his tales of adventure and the famous authors he has known. His advice to the fledgling writer, John-Boy Walton, is to try and write about what he knows: his life, his family, and his friends. Fortunately A.J. Covington is on hand when Jim Bob develops a severe stomachache. Covington suggests that it is likely to be appendicitis and realizes that Jim Bob needs to go urgently to the hospital to have his appendix removed.
b: 30 Nov 72 pc: _________ w: Corey Kibber d: Philip Leacock
NOTE: This episode won for Gene Fowler Jr., Marjorie Fowler & Anthony Wollmer an Emmy for Cinematography for a Single Episode of a Drama Series.
"The Dust Bowl Cousins"
gs:
Warren Vanders [ Ham Denby ], Jay MacIntosh [ Cora Denby ], Ken Wolger [ Job Denby ]
rc:
Ike, Yancy
Distant relations of the Waltons, Ham Denby, wife Cora, and son Job, from Kansas, move in with the family on Waltons Mountain. They are also dishonest and try to get what they can out of everybody. Even though the Walton family are struggling financially themselves, they feel that it is their duty to take in the homeless relatives, but emphasize that the arrangement is to be only temporary. Once he is living at the house though, Ham becomes very settled and does not want to leave. Conflict arises though when Job is found to be causing trouble and becomes involved in a fight with John-Boy. By this time Cora feels that their welcome has been worn out, and the family leave.
b: 7 Dec 72 pc: _________ w: Paul Savage d: Robert Butler
NOTE: This episode was won an award given by the Director's Guild of America for the Best Direction in a Dramatic Series.
"The Reunion"
gs:
Denver Pyle [ Homer ]
rc:
The Baldwin Sisters, Sheriff Bridges
Whilst John-Boy is working at the Baldwin sister's home, their cousin, Homer comes to visit. Homer has a police record though, unbeknownst to the ladies, and takes off with much of their stock of the recipe. The ladies had been preparing the recipe in preparation for their family reunion, which they have been planning. Most of their invitations though, have been sent back to them. The Waltons come to their rescue by visiting with them that evening.
b: 14 Dec 72 pc: _________ w: Earl Hamner d: Jack Shea
"The Minstrel"
gs:
Peter Hooten [ Jamie ]
rc:
Maude Gormley
When Mary Ellen meets a young itinerant folk singer, she begins to feel particularly restless with her life on Walton's Mountain, especially after having a fight with her parents. Jamie, the young singer, has come looking for Maude Gormley, hoping to write down the old songs of the mountains. Mary Ellen decides that Jamie's life is far more appealing so she runs away, hoping to be able to travel with him. He calls her a kid though, which causes her more pain and turmoil so she runs away once more. John-Boy finds her though,
and the family decide to spend their earnings from picking apples to help to send Mary Ellen to visit Washington, which seems to cure her longing for other places for a while.
b: 21 Dec 72 pc: _________ w: John Furia Jr. d: Philip Leacock
"The Actress"
gs:
Pippa Scott [ Alvira Drummond ], Dorothy Neuman [ Fanny Tatum ]
rc:
Ike, Sheriff Bridges, the Baldwin Sisters
A famous film star, Alvira Drummond, arrives on Walton's Mountain and forces her to stay there when her Cadillac breaks down. Since she is stranded, the Walton family invites her to share their home. Some of her stories though, are found not to be true, and it is only after she overhears Olivia speaking about her that she decides to change. She is encouraged to raise money for her train fare home by giving the people of Walton's Mountain a one-woman show. It is during this show that she reads a piece out of John-Boy's journal.
b: 4 Jan 73 pc: _________ w: William Best d: Vincent Sherman
"The Fire"
gs:
Richard Bradford [ Lutie Bascomb ], Laurie Prange [ Lois May ]
rc:
Miss Hunter, the Baldwin Sisters, Ike, Sheriff Bridges
One of the people of Walton's Mountain, Lutie Bascomb, has fallen on hard times. His wife has left him and he no longer trusts his daughter. When Miss Hunter begins to teach the class about Darwin's theory of evolution, he does not believe that it is good for his daughter to learn this and so he arrives at the school, threatening Miss Hunter. After going on a drinking binge he decides to set fire to the school, but he collapses and is killed in the fire, which burns down the school. The Sheriff finds his daughter at home and eventually Lois May is reunited with her mother.
b: 11 Jan 73 pc: _________ w: Earl Hamner d: Harry Harris
NOTE: This episode was nominated for an Emmy for the make-up. The make-up artist involved was Robert A. Sidell.
"The Love Story"
gs:
Sian Barbara Allen [ Jenny Pendleton ], Gordon Rigsby [ Dave Pendleton ], Diane Shalet [ Eula ]
rc:
Sheriff Bridges
John-Boy discovers that young Jenny Pendleton has run away from her home in Richmond and is staying at her father's place on Walton's Mountain, the old Pendleton place. She tells John and John-Boy that her father has remarried and that she feels that there is no room in her father's life for her at present, so she decided to move back to the Mountain for a while. The Walton family takes Jenny into their home and notifies the Sheriff. It seems as if the Walton's are the answer to Jenny's dream of being a member of a large family. Jenny's father and stepmother arrive looking for her and decide to stay a while in their home. Jenny and John-Boy fall in love, however both Jenny's and John-Boy's world is shattered when an accident claims the life of Jenny's father and she and her stepmother return to their home in Richmond.
b: 18 Jan 73 pc: _________ w: Earl Hamner d: Lee Philips
NOTE: Jenny and her mother will appear again in Episodes 35 and This episode was nominated for two Emmy awards: one for Lee Philips as best director and the other for Earl Hamner, Jr. as best writer.
"The Courtship"
gs:
Eduard Franz [ Cody Nelson ], Danna Hansen [ Cordelia ]
rc:
the Baldwin Sisters, Rev. Fordwick
It is spring of 1933 when Olivia's uncle, Cody Nelson, comes to stay on the mountain. He had lost his job when the bank that he had worked in closed, and he had decided to visit for a while. He is a very timid man and during his stay John-Boy and Grandpa decide to play matchmaker. He meets Cordelia Hunnicut who has been married four times, and much to the disapproval of Grandma and Olivia, love blossoms. He eventually asks for her hand in marriage and Reverend Fordwick performs the marriage ceremony for them before the happy couple returns to Ohio.
b: 25 Jan 73 pc: _________ w: Jeb Rosebrook d: Harry Harris
"The Gypsies"
gs:
Gregory Sierra [ Unknown ], Victor Argo [ Unknown ], William Bramley [ Unknown ], Barry Miller [ Unknown ], Karen Kondan [ Unknown ], Celia Lovsky [ Unknown ]
rc:
Ike, Sheriff Bridges
A band of gypsies are traveling through Walton's Mountain when they become stranded because stormy weather has damaged their caravan. When they break into a house to shelter from the weather though, they encounter distrust and prejudice from the people of the mountain. Their baby is ill though and when the Walton adults try to help, the leader of the band considers it charity and refuses any help. As the baby becomes worse though, he does accept their help and the gypsy family eventually come to trust and become friends with the Waltons.
b: 1 Feb 73 pc: _________ w: Paul Savage d: Harry Harris
"The Deed"
gs:
George Tobias [ Rag and Bone Man ]
rc:
Yancy
The Walton family needs to find $200 to register their legal right to their land after they have learned that their land has never been registered and another lumber company is looking at it for part of their development. John-Boy decides to go to the city to try to help the family come up with the money. At home the rest of the family is also trying to gather money together. It is John-Boy's encounter with some thieves though which helps to secure the Waltons property.
b: 8 Feb 73 pc: _________ w: James Menzies d: Vincent Sherman
"The Scholar"
rc:
Miss Hunter, Verdie Grant
Verdie Grant, a neighbor of the Walton family, is illiterate, a fact that she has tried to keep a secret. Her daughter is about to graduate from college though, and she plans to go to visit for the graduation, and wants nothing more than to be able to sign her name on the register, and be able to read the menu when she goes out to dinner. She sees how patient John-Boy is when he is teaching Elizabeth to read and write and feels that he will be the perfect teacher for her. Her chance comes when Olivia and Esther go visiting relatives for a wedding and Erin becomes sick and needs her tonsils removed. Verdie is asked to look after Erin while the women of the family are away. John-Boy begins teaching her how to read and write as part
of a game of playing school with Elizabeth. Verdie eventually does tell John-Boy the truth, and the two continue with their lessons, with John-Boy under strict instructions not to tell anybody. Word does get back to Verdie though, when Elizabeth tells her school teacher, Miss Hunter, that she couldn't do her homework because John-Boy was using her book to teach Mrs. Grant to read.
b: 22 Feb 73 pc: _________ w: John McGreevey d: Lee Philips
NOTE: This episode was the winner of the Emmy for Writer of a Drama Series for a Single Program.
"The Bicycle"
gs:
Ned Beatty [ Curtis Norton ], Ivy Jones [ Ann Harris ]
rc:
Ike
During this episode Olivia becomes very restless and tied down so when Ike Godsey suggests that she use his bike to ride to her church choir practice, she decides that it might be fun. On her way she dreams that she might one day become a famous opera singer. At the same time, Ann Harris arrives on the mountain to marry Curtis Norton, to whom she has been writing for some time. Little did Ann know though, that it has been John-Boy who has been writing the letters. Ann finds Curtis a bit of a disappointment and not at all as she had imagined. She had imagined a movie like marriage on Walton's Mountain. She is ready to leave when she discovers that it was not Curtis writing the letters, but she finally realizes that life is not like the movies, and that even movie stars don't speak their own lines.
b: 1 Mar 73 pc: _________ w: Nigel McKeand d: Alf Kjellin
"The Townie"
gs:
Sissy Spacek [ Sarah Simmonds ], Allyn McLerie [ Mrs. Simmonds ]
rc:
Miss Hunter, Sheriff Bridges
Sarah is a neighbor, and a good friend of John-Boy's, who lives with her very religious mother. She sees marriage to John-Boy as a way of getting away from her repressive mother. When John-Boy doesn't take her marriage plans seriously, she begins a relationship with a "townie", Theodore Albert Claypool Jr., the son of a wealthy businessman. The two of them decide to elope and they take off one night with the son stealing cash from his father, as well as his father's car. Both Sarah's mother and Theodore's father blame John-Boy for them running off together, and so he sets out to find them before they can tie the knot.
b: 8 Mar 73 pc: _________ w: Richard Fielder d: Jack Shea
NOTE: Sarah and her mother appear again in Episode 27.
"An Easter Story (1)"
rc:
the Baldwin Sisters, Rev. Fordwick, G.W., Ike, Sheriff Bridges
One Sunday in February was the beginning of a very long and frightening lead-up towards Easter. Olivia became ill after church and it was determined that she had polio. She, and her family refused to believe that she would never walk again and although the whole family were scared by the knowledge that Livvy might never fully recover, they provided her with much needed support. John-Boy was instrumental in finding out as much as he could about new polio treatments, and these were tried on Olivia. As Easter Day approached, Livvy began to improve rapidly.
b: 19 Apr 73 pc: _________ w: John McGreevey s: Earl Hamner d: Philip Leacock
NOTE: This was originally a two-hour episode.
"An Easter Story (2)"
rc:
the Baldwin Sisters, Rev. Fordwick, G.W., Ike, Sheriff Bridges
One Sunday in February was the beginning of a very long and frightening lead-up towards Easter. Olivia became ill after church and it was determined that she had polio. She, and her family refused to believe that she would never walk again and although the whole family were scared by the knowledge that Livvy might never fully recover, they provided her with much needed support. John-Boy was instrumental in finding out as much as he could about new polio treatments, and these were tried on Olivia. As Easter Day approached, Livvy began to improve rapidly.
b: 19 Apr 73 pc: _________ w: John McGreevey s: Earl Hamner d: Philip Leacock
NOTE: This was originally a two-hour episode.
Production Credits
Executive Producer: Lee Rich
Created by: Earl Hamner, Jr.
Producer: Robert L. Jacks
Music: Jerry Goldsmith
Production Manager: Lynn Guthrie
"The Journey"
gs:
Linda Watkins [ Mrs. Mackenzie ]
rc:
Ike, Marcia, Dr. Vance
Maggie McKenzie knows that she has a bad heart, which will soon take her life, but she wants to return, just once more, to the place where she and her husband began their life in America, after arriving from Scotland. She is too ill to drive to the coast so she asks John-Boy to take her there. He already has tentative plans with Marcia Woolery though and wishes to take her to a dance. He even buys new trousers for the occasion. John-Boy changes his mind, however, and ends up taking Maggie to the coast and gives her a most memorable day there. She has a heart attack on the way home and dies very soon after.
b: 13 Sep 73 pc: _________ w: Nigel Keand d: Harry Harris
NOTE: This episode has a new end title sequence. This episode was nominated for an Emmy for direction. Although he missed winning the Emmy, director Harry Harris was awarded the Directors Guild of America Award for the Best Direction in a Dramatic Series. Earl Hamner Jr. makes a special appearance in the flashback scenes that Mrs. Mackenzie has.
"The Odyssey"
gs:
Frances E. Williams [ Granny Ketchum ], Sissy Spacek [ Sarah ], Allyn McLerie [ Mrs. Simmonds ]
rc:
Ike, Dr. Vance
John-Boy becomes frustrated at not being able to find a quiet place to write so he heads up to the mountain to spend the night at an isolated cabin. On his way up the mountain, he stops to help an old woman, whose mule is in her vegetable patch. When he gets to the cabin, he discovers his old school friend, Sarah Simmons, who wanted to marry John-Boy in"The Townie" (episode 23). Sarah has since married and become pregnant but is ill. As her fever develops, John-Boy goes to the old woman's home for help, and she gives him a potion, which helps to break Sarah's fever. She goes into labor, however, leaving John-Boy no choice, other than to deliver her baby.
b: 20 Sep 73 pc: _________ w: Joanne Lee d: Jack Shea
"The Separation"
rc:
the Baldwin sisters, Ike
Everyone in the Walton family is very excited about the upcoming barn dance, but their excitement turns sour when they get a visit from a man from the electric company, who has turned up to either collect their overdue payment, or else turn off the electricity. Since they can't pay their debt, the power is turned off. Grandpa is sent off to the mercantile with their last 22 cents to buy some candles, while John goes out to try to collect some outstanding debts of his own. Instead though, Grandpa goes to fix some pipes at the Baldwin's house, and they pay him enough to meet the Walton's electricity debt. He heads off to Charlottesville to pay the bill, and takes the sisters along for the ride. Whilst in town, Grandpa buys some perfume for Grandma with some of the extra money. The Waltons left at home begin to worry when they notice that Grandpa has been gone for some time, and become even more worried when Ike says that Zeb hasn't been in at all. John and Grandma drive around looking for him, only to see him returning to the Baldwin home, and seeming very happy with himself. Grandma assumes the worst and Grandpa feels angry at her lack of trust in him, so he doesn't explain anything. She throws him out and he ends up sleeping on Ike Godsey's pool table. The pair stubbornly refuses to talk to each other, even after John reveals the truth and she is given the perfume. Olivia decides that it would be a good idea to make Grandpa jealous, especially after she finds out that Grandma's old beau will be at the barn dance. Both Grandma and Grandpa are persuaded to go to the dance, but when Zeb sees Esther dancing with her old beau, he immediately asks Miss Emily to dance. Finally the band plays "My Wild Irish Rose", their favorite dance tune, and Grandpa finally asks Grandma to dance.
b: 27 Sep 73 pc: _________ w: Richard Carr s: Ellen Corby d: Philip Leacock
NOTE: As of this episode it is sometime in 1934.
"The Theft"
gs:
Diana Webster [ Mrs. Claybourne ], Janet Baldwin [ Amelia Claybourne ], Dennis Dugan [ Stuart Lee ], David Roberts [ Dewey ]
rc:
Ike, Sheriff Bridges
John Walton a thief! Well that's the rumor going around the mountain when a rich neighbor finds that a silver collection is missing. Needless to say, John is the only visitor she has had in weeks. Mrs. Claybourne has had John Walton doing some odd jobs around her home, but she accuses him of stealing some valuable silver goblets, while he was working in her mansion. When he refuses to clear himself of the charge, the family pride suffers a severe blow. Finally it is revealed that it was Mrs. Claybourne's son who took the goblets and sold them, as he was trying to protect his mother from learning that they simply had no money left and he was trying to make ends meet.
b: 4 Oct 73 pc: _________ w: Robert Malcolm Young d: Harry Harris
"The Roots"
rc:
Verdie, Ike, Harley Foster, Jody Foster
Itinerant farm laborer Harley Foster and his small son Jodie meet the Walton children when they are all picking peaches at the same orchard. The two are invited to stay a few days with the Waltons, which gives Jodie a small taste of stable family life, which he really enjoys and he finds it hard to accept that he will soon have to leave with his father, for life on the roads again. Although it seems that he has visited many places that the Walton children have not visited, he has missed out on schooling and having friends and family around him. Widow Verdie Grant takes a liking to Harley, and Jodie and sets out to win the love of them both. Harley does not want to settle down though, and seems intent on moving on, but young Jodie has enjoyed his taste of staying in one place and making friends and doesn't want to. He tries to stop his father from leaving by stealing some money and hiding it in his father's pocket.
b: 11 Oct 73 pc: _________ w: Sheldon Stark d: Philip Leacock
"The Chicken Thief"
gs:
Richard O'Brien [ Mr. Potter ], Meg Wylie [ Mrs. Potter ]
rc:
Ike, Sheriff Bridges, Yancy, Maude
While John-Boy is out on an errand for his father, he sees Yancy Tucker stealing some chickens from a neighbor's house. He is then torn between keeping quiet for his friend's sake, and reporting what he witnessed to the Sheriff. Yancy explains that he was just taking the chickens, not for himself, but to give to others who were very poor. John-Boy learns that his neighbor was shot though, and so he and his father go to speak to Yancy to try to persuade him to turn himself in. It is whilst John-Boy is at his neighbor's place helping out, that he learns that he was shot with a different type of gun to the one Yancy has, and the neighbor admits to shooting himself accidentally. It is during this episode that young Ben becomes the first Walton to have something published too. Ben has taken an old poem of John-Boy's, but has rewritten it to make quite a different poem, and this won a poetry competition sponsored by the Liberty Magazine. Ben's poem is called "A Winter Mountain".
b: 18 Oct 73 pc: _________ w: Richard Carr d: Ralph Selensky
"The Prize"
gs:
Peter Donat [ Oscar Cockrell ]
rc:
the Baldwin Sisters, Sheriff Bridges, G.W., Dr. Vance
All of the Walton family are preparing for the County Fair, which is approaching. Ben plans to enter the greasy pig contest, Olivia has an idea for a stunning cake and Grandma is absolutely certain that her patchwork quilt will win a prize. Ben does in fact win his greasy pig contest, and Olivia's cake icing contains a secret ingredient which puts her cake out in front of all of the others. Meanwhile Olivia has a visit from her childhood sweetheart, Oscar Cockrell, who is now very wealthy and hoping for a career in politics. He is to be the judge at the fair. His visit has John-Boy wondering what life would have been like if Olivia had married Oscar instead.
b: 25 Oct 73 pc: _________ w: Dale Eunson d: Philip Leacock
"The Braggart"
gs:
Michael McGreevey [ Hobie ], Richard X. Slattery [ Clyde Harroway ], William Wintersole [ Dr. Wolfe ], Doreen Lang [ Mrs. Baker ]
rc:
Ike, Sheriff Bridges, Marcia, Martha Rose
John-Boy takes a disliking to Hobie Shank, a teenaged orphan who once stayed with the Waltons. He returns to the Walton home while he waits for a tryout as a pitcher for a professional baseball team. With all of his big talking though, the Waltons don't know whether or not to believe what Hobie tells them. A talent scout does turn up to watch him and offers him a contract with his baseball team. Whilst up in the tree house, however, Hobie shows off and falls, causing his arm to break. The contract is cancelled and a very depressed Hobie returns to recuperate, and lick his wounds, with the Waltons. In an effort to get him out of his depression, a baseball game is organized between the folk of Walton's Mountain and the Boy's Home where Hobie grew up. He is offered a job working full time with the home, which he accepts.
b: 1 Nov 73 pc: _________ w: Richard Fielder d: Jack Shea
"The Fawn"
gs:
Charles Tyner [ Graham Foster ], Jimmy Davila [ Harold Beasley ], Matt Clark [ Mr. Hennessy ]
John-Boy becomes a rent collector for a neglectful, dishonest landlord, Graham Foster. Actually collecting any money is a problem though, because the tenants don't have any money. They also point out to John-Boy, the repairs which need doing around the houses. When John-Boy alerts Mr. Foster to these complaints though, he is fired without his pay. John-Boy and Jason plot a scheme to earn John-Boy's wages and get back at Mr. Foster at the same time. Erin discovers an orphaned fawn which she wants to keep as a pet. The law says that it is illegal to keep wild animals in captivity though, and after much soul searching, Erin decides that it would be best for her to let the fawn loose in the forest once more.
b: 8 Nov 73 pc: _________ w: John McGreevey d: Ralph Waite
"The Thanksgiving Story (1)"
gs:
Sian Barbara Allen [ Jenny Pendleton ], Diane Shalet [ Eula ]
rc:
the Baldwin sisters, Rev. Fordwick, Miss Hunter, Dr. Vance, G.W.
The Thanksgiving Holiday is approaching and John-Boy is excited for two reasons. Firstly he has been accepted by Boatwright University to sit for their scholarship exam, without which he will not be able to go to college, and secondly because his girlfriend Jenny is returning to Walton's Mountain with her stepmother. Whilst he is waiting, however, he has an accident at the family sawmill, when a belt running the saw flies off, hits him in the head and the impact forces him backwards into a pile of lumber. He is unconscious for some seconds and brushes it off as just a scratch, but as the days go on he experiences difficulty with his sight. When he attends for the scholarship exam he is not able to finish the exams because he can't see. When he finally sees the doctor, he orders tests which show that John-Boy needs major head surgery to release the pressure of the swelling on the optic nerves. The secondary story in this episode provides much light relief as we see Jason accepting a job with the Baldwin sisters. He arrives there to begin the work, only to find that they want him to help them make a special batch of the recipe so that they can send some to President Roosevelt for his Thanksgiving present. Jason fears his mother's wrath when she discovers what he has been doing, so tells his father instead. Things come to a head though, when the Baldwins consider that Jason is just like their "Papa" and decide that they will offer to adopt Jason. Some very funny scenes follow with the Baldwin ladies confronting John and Olivia with their request, then another between John and the outraged, strong Baptist, Olivia, who is trying very hard to feel Christian towards the Baldwin ladies but who is absolutely mortified that her Jason would be instrumental in making bootleg whiskey!
b: 15 Nov 73 pc: _________ w: Joanna Lee s: Earl Hamner d: Philip Leacock
NOTE: This was originally a two-hour episode. Philip Leacock, the director of this episode was nominated for an Emmy for best director, and writer Joanna Lee won an Emmy for best script.
"The Thanksgiving Story (2)"
gs:
Sian Barbara Allen [ Jenny Pendleton ], Diane Shalet [ Eula ]
rc:
the Baldwin sisters, Rev. Fordwick, Miss Hunter, Dr. Vance, G.W.
The Thanksgiving Holiday is approaching and John-Boy is excited for two reasons. Firstly he has been accepted by Boatwright University to sit for their scholarship exam, without which he will not be able to go to college, and secondly because his girlfriend Jenny is returning to Walton's Mountain with her stepmother. Whilst he is waiting, however, he has an accident at the family sawmill, when a belt running the saw flies off, hits him in the head and the impact forces him backwards into a pile of lumber. He is unconscious for some seconds and brushes it off as just a scratch, but as the days go on he experiences difficulty with his sight. When he attends for the scholarship exam he is not able to finish the exams because he can't see. When he finally sees the doctor, he orders tests which show that John-Boy needs major head surgery to release the pressure of the swelling on the optic nerves. The secondary story in this episode provides much light relief as we see Jason accepting a job with the Baldwin sisters. He arrives there to begin the work, only to find that they want him to help them make a special batch of the recipe so that they can send some to President Roosevelt for his Thanksgiving present. Jason fears his mother's wrath when she discovers what he has been doing, so tells his father instead. Things come to a head though, when the Baldwins consider that Jason is just like their "Papa" and decide that they will offer to adopt Jason. Some very funny scenes follow with the Baldwin ladies confronting John and Olivia with their request, then another between John and the outraged, strong Baptist, Olivia, who is trying very hard to feel Christian towards the Baldwin ladies but who is absolutely mortified that her Jason would be instrumental in making bootleg whiskey!
b: 15 Nov 73 pc: _________ w: Joanna Lee s: Earl Hamner d: Philip Leacock
NOTE: This was originally a two-hour episode. Philip Leacock, the director of this episode was nominated for an Emmy for best director, and writer Joanna Lee won an Emmy for best script.
"The Substitute"
gs:
Catherine Burns [ Miss Pollard ]
rc:
Miss Hunter
Miss Hunter, the Waltons Mountain schoolteacher, needs to take leave from the Walton's Mountain School because of a family emergency. Miss Pollard, the relieving teacher, comes to them from New York, and stays at the Walton home. Although she is a brilliant woman, she is not sensitive to the children's needs, and she finds it very difficult to relate to the people of the mountain, even when they try to become friendly. Ben is also finding life difficult when he is trying to build a kite for a contest. Grandpa wants to help him, but wants it done his way, not Ben's, and this causes conflict between the two.
b: 22 Nov 73 pc: _________ w: John McGreevey d: Lee Philips
"The Bequest"
rc:
Rev. Fordwick, Ike
There is great excitement in the Walton household when Grandma receives the news that an old friend had died and left her an unexpected bequest of $250. Naturally everyone has ideas as to how she should spend it, but she eventually decides to share her new found wealth by spending some to fix the church roof, some to each of the children, and the rest would go towards John-Boy's education. Having decided all of this, they decide to spend their saving on a new water heater, only to receive another letter saying that the bequeathed money has gone paying debts. Grandma is terribly ashamed that she has to go back on her promises, but together, the family and the community work out a way to right the situation.
b: 29 Nov 73 pc: _________ w: Mort Thaw d: Alf Kjellin
"The Air Mail Man"
gs:
Michael Glaser [ Tod Cooper ], Julie Cobb [ Sue Cooper ]
rc:
Ike
The Walton family befriends an airmail pilot who is forced to land because of engine trouble. As it is Olivia's birthday each of the family members gives her a present: John-Boy gives his present to her by reading her a poem. The poem is about a bird flying high in the sky and feeling the wind in its wings. The airmail pilot then gives her a huge thrill by taking her for a ride in his plane, which the family has helped to get flying again.
b: 13 Dec 73 pc: _________ w: Peter L. Dixon & Sarah Dixon d: Robert Butler
NOTE: Jason plays and sings a short song for Olivia's birthday.
"The Triangle"
rc:
Miss Hunter, Rev. Fordwick, Ike, Mrs. Brimmer (briefly)
Miss Hunter is so taken by John-Boy's essay about 'someone who is an inspiration to him" that she encourages him to perfect it and send it into a competition. With his constant redrafts and reworking to make it as good as he can, he is thrown together with the young Miss Hunter, so that she might help him as much as possible. She becomes very distracted though, when Reverend Fordwick requests her permission for him to court her, and she fails to realize that the person whom John-Boy is writing about in the essay, is not the Aunt he claims, but is herself instead. John-Boy becomes very jealous of the Reverend's attentions and gives up his essay altogether. Meanwhile, stronger boys have bullied Ben, and one of them has even stolen his love interest, Naomi, away from him. He decides that it's time to take action, and so sends away for some bodybuilding scheme.
b: 20 Dec 73 pc: _________ w: Lionel E. Siegel d: Lee Philips
"The Awakening"
gs:
James Carroll Jordan [ Kevin Sturgess ]
rc:
Ike, G.W., Dr. Vance
Grandma is troubled by age and suffers from a hearing loss, as she nears her 68th birthday, but will not do anything about it. Meanwhile Mary Ellen falls in love for the first time, when she falls for a college student. She pretends to be older than she really is and is heartbroken and embarrassed when Grandma has told her beau that she was not at home because she was at school with the others. Now that Mary Ellen is growing up she decides that she needs a room of her own and asks to move into the shed. What she didn't know, however, that John-Boy had asked his father for the shed as well. Needless to say, problems arise when they both find that the other is moving their things into the shed. After some fainting spells, Grandma does eventually go and see a doctor, and is happy to find that she has an ear infection which has been causing her problems.
b: 3 Jan 74 pc: _________ w: Joanna Lee d: Lee Philips
NOTE: At the end it is stated that Mary Ellen today has married a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, which is considered wrong because she married Jonesy in "Mother's Day on Walton's Mountain", and Jonsey is a veterinarian.
"The Honeymoon"
rc:
Ike, Marcia
Olivia seems to be overworked and in need of a holiday, so, after 19 years of marriage, John schemes to take her on a belated honeymoon. Plans seem to be short-lived, however, when the mill engine requires repairing, and they spend their money on that. All of the children contribute to a "honeymoon fund" though and Grandpa sells a rare coin and this enables the honeymoon to be back on again. Once John and Olivia leave though, things again go wrong at the Walton house and instead of the romantic and comfortable hotel room John and Olivia were imagining, they find themselves sleeping in the truck after it breaks down. The couple ring Ike's store to find out how everything is going at home, and Ike tells them truthfully all of the things, which have happened since they had left. They decide to return home immediately instead of continuing on with their honeymoon plans.
b: 10 Jan 74 pc: _________ w: John McGreevey d: Jack Shea
"The Heritage"
gs:
Noah Beery [ Mr. Harnan ]
rc:
Yancy, Ike, Sheriff Bridges, Mrs. Brimmer
A land developer has the idea of turning Walton's Mountain into a tourist resort complete with hot mineral springs, and he offers John Walton a generous cash offer for his property. John needs to decide whether it is more beneficial for his whole family to accept this offer, and the financial stability it would mean for them all, or whether Waltons Mountain, and the land that has been part of their family for many years, would be better to remain in the family. It is during this episode to, that Zeb and Esther's 50th wedding anniversary approaches.
b: 17 Jan 74 pc: _________ w: Dale Eunson d: Harry Harris
"The Gift"
gs:
Ron Howard [ Seth ], Ken Swofford [ Red Turner ]
rc:
Ike
Jason's best friend, Seth Turner, longs for nothing more than to be able to play in his father's band. To pass the time until his father returns, he suggests that Jason and he go and find some wood to make a
recorder. Seth collapses up on the mountain though and he is diagnosed with leukemia, given only one year. Jason finds it hard to accept this and simply will not talk to his friend. Seth's mother wants to wrap him up in cotton wool and protect him as much as she can, so that she can keep him alive longer. When Seth comes home though, although shocked and distressed, he realizes that Seth deserves to live the best life he can for as long as he can and arranges for Seth to accompany him on his next tour. Seth finishes making the recorder and asks John-Boy to give it to Jason. It is Grandpa though, who goes to speak with Jason and helps him to accept his friend's illness and coming death. Jason sees Seth and is able to learn to play the recorder before Seth leaves with his father.
b: 24 Jan 74 pc: _________ w: Carol Eva McKeand s: Ray Goldup & Jack Hanrahan d: Ralph Senesky
"The Cradle"
rc:
the Baldwin sisters, Mrs. Brimmer, Maude, Dr. Vance
Olivia takes on a job as a door-to-door salesperson, but then discovers that she is pregnant again. Elizabeth feels very put out at first, fearing that she will be displaced, but begins to come around and everyone starts making small gifts to welcome the baby. Things do not go as planned though, and Olivia loses the baby.
b: 31 Jan 74 pc: _________ w: Joanna Lee d: Ralph Senesky
"The Fulfillment"
gs:
Tiger Williams [ Stevie ], Victor French [ Curtis Norton ], Ivy Jones [ Ann Norton ]
The Walton family takes an eight-year-old orphan, Stevie, into their home for a taste of family life. Stevie turns out to be very bitter and unhappy. Curtis and Ann Norris make a return appearance in this episode, and Ann tells Olivia that they cannot have children. Young Stevie, however, becomes good friends with Curtis Norris and the couple decides that they will adopt him.
b: 7 Feb 74 pc: _________ w: Michael Russnow & Tony Kayden d: Nick Webster
NOTE: Curtis Norton and Ivy Jones appeared in Episode 22, but Curtis Norton is played by Victor French.
"The Ghost Story"
rc:
the Baldwin sisters, Ike
The children of the Walton family are excited about the possibility of speaking with spirits when they get a Ouija board, given to them by Ike. Neither Grandma nor Olivia is pleased at this prospect, as it goes against their religious beliefs. Things get a bit spooky though, when the Ouija board spells out the name of Luke, a visitor at the Walton home, then suggests that he should not board a specific train. Circumstances cause Luke to miss that train and they later discover that it was involved in a crash.
b: 14 Feb 74 pc: _________ w: Nigel McKeand d: Ralph Waite
"The Graduation"
rc:
Ike, the Baldwin sisters, Miss Hunter, Rev. Fordwick, Marcia, Mrs. Brimmer
The Waltons are getting ready for John-Boy's high-school graduation with a new suit being bought, but the death of Chance, the cow, interrupts these preparations. The family needs to buy another cow, but cannot afford to do so. Without telling them, John-Boy returns his suit so that his money can be used for the cow. Grandpa's best suit is then altered for John-Boy's graduation.
b: 21 Feb 74 pc: _________ w: Lionel E. Siegel d: Alf Kjellin
"The Five Foot Shelf"
gs:
Ben Piazza [ George Reed ]
rc:
Ike
The five-foot shelf is a collection of 50 Harvard classic books, and Olivia Walton takes pity on the book salesman who is trying to sell them, and puts a deposit on them. Instead of placing her order though, he uses the money to buy a doll for his daughter. After John finds out that their money has been used for this, he tells the salesman to keep the doll but to leave Walton's Mountain. The salesman realizes the error of his way though and returns with both their money and an apology for the family. The Walton family decides to go ahead with their order though and all are very excited when the first package arrives.
b: 7 Mar 74 pc: _________ w: John Hawkins d: Ralph Waite
"The Car"
gs:
Ed Lauter [ Mr. Rudge ], Bonnie Bartlett [ Mrs. Rudge ]
rc:
Ike
John-Boy desperately needs to buy a car to enable him to get to and from college. Ike knows of a man, Hyder Rudge, who has a car that he never uses, but it doesn't seem as though he is interested in selling it. John-Boy arranges to see the car, and also to do some work around the Rudge home in exchange for the car. When comes to take possession of the car though, it has been hidden. The Rudge's once had a son who has since died and the car was his. Mr. Rudge did not want to give the car to anyone else because he felt as though he was losing the last piece of his son. Eventually he comes to realize that if he holds onto the past he will lose his wife and future, and so the car is handed over to John-Boy willingly and husband and wife work together to put their lives back together again.
b: 14 Mar 74 pc: _________ w: Chris Andrews d: Philip Leacock
Production Credits
Executive Producer: Lee Rich
Created by: Earl Hamner, Jr.
Producer: Robert L. Jacks
Music: Alexander Courage
Production Manager: Lynn Guthrie
"The Conflict (1)"
gs:
Richard Hatch [ Wade ], Lindsey V. Jones [ Vera ], Paul Fix [ Lucas Avery ], Mills Watson [ Mr. Blake ]
rc:
Boone Walton, Martha Corinne
Aunt Martha Corinne's house is condemned for a highway right-of-way so the Waltons rally around to help their aunt to fight the government eviction.
b: 12 Sep 74 pc: _________ w: Jeb Rosebrook d: Ralph Senesky
NOTE: This season opener was originally a two-hour episode which was about the building of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
"The Conflict (2)"
gs:
Richard Hatch [ Wade ], Lindsey V. Jones [ Vera ], Paul Fix [ Lucas Avery ], Mills Watson [ Mr. Blake ]
rc:
Boone Walton, Martha Corinne
Aunt Martha Corinne's house is condemned for a highway right-of-way so the Waltons rally around to help their aunt to fight the government eviction.
b: 12 Sep 74 pc: _________ w: Jeb Rosebrook d: Ralph Senesky
NOTE: This season opener was originally a two-hour episode which was about the building of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
"The First Day"
gs:
Ted Eccles [ Michael West ], Devon Ericson [ Polly Thompson ], David Ankum [ Hobgood ], Jack McCulloch [ Crouch ], Lawrence Dobkin [ Professor Ghote ]
rc:
Ike, Miss Hunter, Mike Paxton
A highly anticipated first day at college starts with John-Boy giving a pretty coed a ride but ends in total disaster. At home, Jason takes on the role of "big brother" much to the other children's disgust.
b: 19 Sep 74 pc: _________ w: John McGreevey d: Philip Leacock
NOTE: As of this episode, it is considered September 1934.
"The Thoroughbred"
gs:
Brendon Burns [ Carl Jensen ], Kathleen Quinlan [ Selina Linville ], Frank Janson [ Col. Linville ], Glen Gordon [ Professor Foster ]
rc:
Ike, Mr. Zack Roswell
John-Boy enters a mule in the annual cross-country race and finds himself competing for Selena's affections.
b: 26 Sep 74 pc: _________ w: Michael Russnow & Tony Kayden d: Harry Harris
"The Runaway"
gs:
Geoffrey Lewis [ Elwood Dobbs ], Ann Noland [ Amy Partridge ], Herb Nelson [ Bennett Holmby ], Gary Vinson [ Sgt. Strong ]
rc:
Ike
Jim-Bob runs away after all the family ignores his sadness over the death of the school guinea pig, which had been entrusted to his care.
b: 3 Oct 74 pc: _________ w: Larry Bischof & Carol Evan McKeand d: Harry Harris
"The Romance"
gs:
David Selby [ Joshua Williams ], Roger Price [ Mr. Evanston ], Ysabel MacClosky [ Mrs. Riddle ], Iris Korn [ Mrs. Hallett ], Biff Warren [ Don Millman ]
Olivia takes a night-school art class and receives other attentions from the instructor.
b: 10 Oct 74 pc: _________ w: Hindi Brooks d: Ivan Dixon
"The Ring"
gs:
Kathleen Cody [ Audrey Butler ], Ted Eccles [ Mike West ], Adrienne Marden [ Mrs. Breckenridge ], Roy Engel [ Vernon Rutley ], Jason Johnson [ Arthur Jackson ]
rc:
Martha Rose
Mary Ellen discovers a beautiful ring in a secondhand purse she bought for a date with John-Boy's best friend.
b: 17 Oct 74 pc: _________ w: Nigel McKeand d: Philip Leacock
"The System"
gs:
Richard Masur [ Tom Povich ], Jacques Aubuchon [ Victor Povich ], Dennis Redfield [ Council President ], Tom Lacy [ Dr. Emory ]
John-Boy defends an athlete he tutored after having to report him for cheating on a history exam.
b: 24 Oct 74 pc: _________ w: Jeb Rosebrook d: Harry Harris
"The Spoilers"
gs:
Barbara Cason [ Susan Hanover ], Mark Miiler [ Ted Hanover ], Linda Purl [ Alicia ], David Gruner [ Charles ]
A former New York stockbroker and his family move to Walton's Mountain and upset the equilibrium of the residents.
b: 31 Oct 74 pc: _________ w: Caryl Ledner d: Jack Shea
NOTE: One of the children mentions John-Boy staying out all night Dancing, which could refer to the next episode 60, which possibly should be shown before this one.
"The Marathon"
gs:
Bernie Barrow [ Bracket ], Joyce Jameson [ Helen ], Lennie Weinrib [ Spanky ], Charles Haid [ Fred ]
rc:
Daisy
Against Olivia's wishes, John-Boy enters a dance marathon with a girl he met in a neighboring town.
b: 7 Nov 74 pc: _________ w: Nigel McKeand d: Ralph Senesky
"The Book"
gs:
Paul Jenkins [ Professor Parks ], Granville Van Dusen [ Mr. Andrews ], Robert Sorrells [ Caspar Tice ], Garry Walberg [ Mr. Guffy ], Gerald McRaney [ Tim Collins ], Melisa Mahoney [ Secretary ]
rc:
Ike, Bobby Bigelow
John-Boy's stories being accepted for publication upstages Jason's first professional musical job, with Bobby Bigelow and the Haystack Gang.
b: 14 Nov 74 pc: _________ w: Joseph Bonaduce d: Harry Harris
"The Job"
gs:
Elaine Heiveil [ Ruth Thomas ], Peggy McCay [ Mrs. Thomas ]
John-Boy's job reading to a young blind woman involves him in the hostile girl's struggles.
b: 21 Nov 74 pc: _________ w: Nigel McKeand d: Ivan Dixon
"The Departure"
gs:
Joanna Moore [ Mrs. Champion ], Panos A. Christi [ Starvos ], Anne Loos [ Hester White ], Jack Garner [ Mr. Gary ]
rc:
Ike
Feeling "put out to pasture", John seeks adventure by leaving to work in a Norfolk shipyard. He soon discovers, however, that the place where he would rather be is home with his family.
b: 5 Dec 74 pc: _________ w: Joanna Lee d: Ivan Dixon
"The Visitor"
gs:
John Beal [ Mason Beardsley ], Madge Sinclair [ Minnie Doze ], George Garro [ James Lee Beardsley ]
rc:
Ike
The Waltons help prepare for the return of an old friend of Zeb Walton's, but they soon discover that there are some very strange circumstances surrounding his visit.
b: 12 Dec 74 pc: _________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Ralph Waite
"The Birthday"
gs:
Rance Howard [ Dr. McIvers ], Brion James [ Henry Ferris Jr. ]
rc:
Ike
Zeb Walton has a heart attack and appears to be close to death and losing the will to live until the family tries some unconventional treatment, which eventually helps him to recover.
b: 19 Dec 74 pc: _________ w: Nancy Greenwald d: Ivan Dixon
NOTE: As of this episode it is the spring of 1935.
"The Lie"
gs:
Cindy Fisher [ Nancy Madden ], Warren Kemmerling [ Mr. Eustace Madden ], Hersha Parady [ Victoria Madden ], Don Berry [ Deputy Sheriff ]
When Ben borrows John-Boy's car without his permission, it is somehow involved in a hit and run accident. John-Boy is left to try to figure out how the events occurred in order to get Ben out of serious trouble.
b: 2 Jan 75 pc: _________ w: Hindi Brooks d: Jack Shea
"The Matchmakers"
gs:
Audrey Berindey [ Rebecca ], Lanna Saunders [ Mrs. Cook ], Jon Locke [ Belden ]
rc:
the Baldwin sisters, Ike, Corabeth Walton (Godsey), Rev. Fordwick
Corabeth, a socialite and cousin of the Waltons, arrives at Waltons Mountain for a visit and quickly meets and marries Ike Godsey, the owner of the Walton's Mountain General Store.
b: 9 Jan 75 pc: _________ w: John McGreevey d: Jack Shea
NOTE: This is Corabeth's first appearance on the show..
"The Beguiled"
gs:
Darleen Carr [ Sis Bradford ], Beeson Carroll [ Tom Comley ], Glen Gordon [ Prof. Whitley ], Willie Aames [ Danny ]
rc:
Ike, Mrs. Brimmer
An unscrupulous student at Boatwright University steals John-Boys notes but the blame falls on a male student, a good friend of John-Boy, causing a great deal of hurt and distrust.
b: 16 Jan 75 pc: _________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Ralph Senensky
"The Caretakers"
gs:
Britt Leach [ Easy Jackson ], Dan Priest [ Henry Townsend ]
rc:
Ike, Corabeth, Mrs. Brimmer
Grandpa gets angry and moves out with Grandma after John suggests he take life a little easier.
b: 23 Jan 75 pc: _________ w: Richard Carr d: Ivan Dixon
"The Shivaree"
gs:
Bruce Davison [ Bob Hill ], Deborah White [ Young Olivia ], E.J. Andre [ Hyder Snow ], Lee Philips [ Minister ]
rc:
Ike, Yancy, Zack Roswell
Olivia plans a wedding for a friend's daughter, but the city-bred fiancÚ objects to the proceedings, not really understanding the customs of the people of Waltons Mountain.
b: 30 Jan 75 pc: _________ w: Max Hodge d: Lee Phillips
"The Choice"
gs:
Adrienne Marden [ Mrs. Breckenridge ], Mans Kjellin [ Boy ]
rc:
Miss Hunter
Amid plans to expand his business, John considers Jason's desire to study music a waste of time. Jason, however, is intent on following his dreams and tries to win a scholarship to the Klineberg Conservatory.
b: 6 Feb 75 pc: _________ w: Nancy Greenwald d: Alf Kjellin
"The Statue"
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, Mrs. Brimmer
Grandpa is the lucky winner of a raffle from Ike Godsey's store, however Grandma's feelings are hurt when she sees the prize. It is a statue, which looks just like one of her husband's old girlfriends. To save his marriage, Zeb finally takes the statue and throws it into Drucilla's Pond.
b: 13 Feb 75 pc: _________ w: Earl Hamner s: Sumner Long d: Ralph Waite
"The Song"
gs:
Erin Moran [ Sally Ann Harper ], Doney Oatman [ Betsy ], Britt Leach [ Easy Jackson ], May Jo Catlett [ Elvira Rosswell ]
rc:
Ike, Bobby, Horace Brimley, Zack Roswell
Ben's plan to win a girl's heart sends her into the arms of Jason.
b: 20 Feb 75 pc: _________ w: Richard Carr & Armand Lanzano s: Richard Carr d: Richard Thomas
"The Woman"
gs:
Laura Campbell [ Madeline Bennett ], Paul Jenkins [ Prof. Parks ], Sally Kemp [ Mrs. Parks ], Julie Rogers [ Gloria Webb ], Kathy Cronkite [ Sally Barstow ]
rc:
Rev. Fordwick
John and Olivia are preparing to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary and John-Boy begins to make plans with an older woman, whom he falls in love with.
b: 27 Feb 75 pc: _________ w: Hindi Brooks d: Harvey S. Laidman
"The Venture"
gs:
Rance Howard [ Dr. McIvers ], M. Emmett Walsh [ David Fletcher ], John Carter [ Walt Catlett ], Craig Hundley [ Joseph ], Claudia Bryan [ Nurse Howard ], Celia Bonaduce [ Barbara ], Jerry Crews [ Music Judge ]
rc:
Ike, Zack Roswell
The family may lose its considerable investment in a new business when John is hospitalized with pneumonia.
b: 6 Mar 75 pc: _________ w: Joseph Bonaduce d: Ralph Waite
Production Credits
Executive Producer: Lee Rich
Created by: Earl Hamner, Jr.
Producer: Andy White
Music: Alexander Courage
Production Manager: Lynn Guthrie
"The Sermon"
gs:
Basil Hoffman [ Prof. Ramney ]
rc:
Ike and Corabeth, the Baldwin Sisters, Miss Hunter, Rev. Fordwick, Mrs. Brimmer, Martha Rose
Miss Hunter and the Rev. Fordwick make plans for their wedding and a short honeymoon. Their wedding plans rely, however, on Olivia taking Miss Hunter's place as the teacher of the school, and on John-Boy standing in for the Rev. Fordwick and delivering the Sunday sermon in church. Both of them find their tasks challenging, especially John-Boy who feels that he really has nothing profound to say to the congregation. As he watches his family and friends during that week, however, his sermon is gradually written and he realizes just how important it is to be tolerant of people's differences and that it is important to treasure these differences.
b: 11 Sep 75 pc: _________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Harry Harris
"The Genius"
gs:
Dennis Kort [ Lyle ], George D. Wallace [ Dean Beck ]
rc:
the Godseys (Ike and Corabeth), the Baldwin Sisters
The Dean at Boatwright University, concerned about John-Boy's physics grade, has asked that he be tutored by a 16-year-old genius, with a photographic memory. In exchange he asks that John-Boy try to help him by taking him home for the weekend. The genius, Lyle Thomason, has never experienced family life and has absolutely no idea of how to interact with other people, or how to have fun. He takes a shine to Mary Ellen who he feels is very intelligent, but he doesn't know how to talk to her without sprouting out facts and figures. He further insults the family when he claims that he doesn't go to church because gods are "superstitious beliefs" made up by "primitive societies". Needless to say this does not go down well with the Walton family! The Waltons are in the midst of preparing for a church bazaar which is being set up to help raise money for one of their neighbors, who are having difficulties at present. Again, Lyle has no understanding of their motives. As part of the bazaar, Erin has written a play based on Joan of Arc and Jason is also in it. He pulls out at the last minute though and just as the play is about to be canceled, John-Boy persuades Lyle to fill the gap. At the end the family finds that Lyle is much more personable than they first thought, and even finds that he has a great sense of humor.
b: 18 Sep 75 pc: _________ w: Robert Weverka d: Harry Harris
NOTE: Ralph Waite does not appear in this episode.
"The Fighter"
gs:
Cleavon Little [ James Travis Clark ], Zachary A. Charles [ Ben Rafferty ], Dave Shelley [ Sam Mumford ]
rc:
Verdie Foster, Jody, Zack
James Travis Clark is a young Negro from the slums of Richmond, a city near Walton's Mountain. He arrives at the Walton mill looking for some work. In exchange for his work, he wants food and a bed in their barn. It is soon found that he is there because he wants a place to stay while he trains in the clean mountain air. He is a fighter. Neither Olivia nor Grandma is very impressed with his boxing aspirations and they insist that he be told to leave. However it is soon discovered that the only reason he wishes to enter a boxing match is so that he can win some money to build a church for his people on Walton's Mountain. It seems that he has "the calling to preach". When he goes into Richmond to sign up for a fight, however, the fight he is scheduled for is a set up where the winner is predetermined, and unfortunately it is not James. He goes ahead with the fight though and does indeed lose, but not through lack of trying. At the last minute his opponent was switched. Back at the Walton home, while he is recuperating from his wounds, the Negro people on the mountain had taken up a collection to begin building their church. With the Walton lumber, and all the people helping together, the congregation builds the foundations for their church, and James is to be their preacher. The episode ends at the first church service to be held there, even though the church isn't finished yet. The Walton family joins the congregation James's church. During the episode Elizabeth and Jim Bob had commented that they didn't enjoy church because the minister spoke over their heads as if they weren't even there. As his first sermon then, James chose to tell a bible story that John-Boy had rewritten for Elizabeth, and James specifically directed the sermon to the children.
b: 25 Sep 75 pc: _________ w: Andy White d: Ivan Dixon
"The Prophecy"
gs:
Lynn Carlin [ Eula Mae ], Sandra Deel [ Rachel ], Cathcart James Ray [ G. Cleveland ], Deanna Lund [ Mrs. Graddy ], William Phipps [ John Martin Renshaw ], Beaumont Bruestle [ Dr. Porter ], Nicole Henzel [ Ernestine ], Jeff Cotler [ B.C. Graddy Jr ], Noble Willingham [ B.C. Graddy ]
rc:
Zack
John's 25th year high school reunion is approaching, and he feels very apprehensive about facing his classmates, whom he feels have succeeded better at life than he has. When the reunion comes about though he finds that most of his classmates envy him for the things, which they don't have: a loving wife and family.
b: 2 Oct 75 pc: _________ w: Marion Hargrove d: Harry Harris
"The Boondoggle"
gs:
Richard McKenzie [ Porter Sims ], David Clarke [ Abel Bingly ], Kevin Lee [ Buck ], Derek Triplett [ Benny ]
rc:
the Baldwin Sisters, Mrs. Brimmer
As a journalism student, John-Boy is given the job of showing around Porter Sims, a reporter who is writing a guidebook about Virginia. He says though that he doesn't just want to see the historical sites that John-Boy wants to show him, he also wants to meet the people of the community. He claims that everyone has something that they don't want to talk about. John-Boy suggests that he meet the elderly Baldwin sisters, but Grandpa is not keen, fearing that Sims may uncover something that will bring shame on their memories of their father, Judge Baldwin. The ladies are so taken with Sims that they allow him to read the private papers and journals of their father. In the papers Sims finds papers which say that the Judge harbored Union soldiers in his house and that he was charged with treason against the Confederacy. Miss Mamie is particularly distraught by this and both ladies take to their rooms and vow to live a reclusive life. This upsets John-Boy and he orders Sims to leave. There appears no way to clear their father's name because it seems that the war ended before the case could come to trial. Further investigation reveals that their father helped both sides during the Battle of Rockfish by taking wounded from both sides into his home until they had recovered. Sims called it a heroic act and that he was a compassionate man. Letters from both sides were sent on his behalf to help to clear his name and the charges were dropped.
b: 9 Oct 75 pc: _________ w: Rod Peterson and Claire Whittaker d: Ralph Waite
"The Breakdown"
gs:
Ivan Francis [ Prof. Hoadley ]
rc:
Bobby Bigelow
Jason becomes very rundown after taking on too many responsibilities and spreading himself too thin. He is working in a band playing gospel music for a radio station first thing in the morning and playing at dances during the evening. In between he has to answer fan mail for the group as well as fit in his music studies at the Klineberg Conservatory. He also finds himself with a girlfriend, after he rescues her from being hurt by her ex-boyfriend. Gradually he finds that he has no time to do all of these things, and that by not doing any of these things to the best of his ability he is disappointing everyone involved. However he keeps thinking that he has been running after John-Boy all his life and feels that because John-Boy seems to be able to cope with everything, then so should he.
b: 16 Oct 75 pc: _________ w: John McGreevey d: Ivan Dixon
"The Wing-Walker"
gs:
Tom Bower [ Rex Barker ], Lee Purcell [ Bobby Strom ]
rc:
John-Boy is intrigued when he is sent by the local newspaper to do a story on a wing-walker who is performing at the local fair. He is even more intrigued when he discovers that the wing-walker is a woman. He invites her to stay at the Walton home and emotional entanglements follow. Bobbie Strom, the wing walker, discovers that she is being courted when she receives small gifts of things such as flowers, but thinks that the young man involved is John-Boy. Conflict arises though when Bobbie kisses John-Boy, thinking he is her assailant, and the real besotted young man is revealed.
b: 23 Oct 75 pc: _________ w: Andy White d: Harry S. Laidman
NOTE: Tom Bower will return to the series as Curt Willard in Season 5.
"The Competition"
gs:
Michael O' Keefe [ Chad ]
John-Boy meets a handsome young college man who is walking towards Waltons Mountain. As he is studying forestry and is researching the forestry on Waltons Mountain, John-Boy invites him to come home with him and speak to his father and grandfather about their lumber business. While the student is there both Mary Ellen and Erin develop quite a crush on him and a competition ensues, each one trying to win his affections. Tempers fly as each girl feels that they are the one who should win Chad's attentions.
b: 30 Oct 75 pc: _________ w: Nancy Greenwald and Paul West s: Nancy Greenwald d: Alf Kjellin
"The Emergence"
gs:
Bob Arsic [ Samuel Miller ]
rc:
Marcia
The Walton children find that it really isn't easy having their mother as a substitute teacher while Miss Hunter is on her honeymoon, especially Elizabeth who has never had to share her mother with so many other children before. When a young man comes to school whom the other children call slow and simple, she is distracted even further. During the course of the school lessons she realizes that the reason he read is because he needs glasses, however his parents are unable to buy them. She does, however, persuade them to pay a minimal amount and buys a very cheap pair for him. Meanwhile one of John-Boy's old girlfriends returns to Waltons Mountain to sell the old house left to her by her father. She wants the money to invest in her fiancÚ's new business venture, however John-Boy feels that the fiancÚ really just wants to marry her for the money she supposedly has.
b: 6 Nov 75 pc: _________ w: Hindi Brooks d: Alf Kjellin
"The Loss"
gs:
Deborah White [ Olivia Hill ]
Young Olivia returns to stay with the family, however she is now a widow. Her husband, Bob, was killed suddenly in an accident. The family is at a loss to know how they can best help her to recover from her grief, especially since the only things which Bob seems to have left her are memories of when they met flying kites. The episode shows Olivia going through the stages of the grieving process, with all of the family trying to find ways to help her to cope with her future, which now seems so bleak. While all this is progressing we learn that the elderly Walton cat, Calico, is soon to have kittens. It is through having to help the new kittens to survive, after Calico dies, that Olivia eventually begins her own healing process.
b: 13 Nov 75 pc: _________ w: Joan Scott d: Alf Kjellin
NOTE: This episode has a reference to episode 70.
"The Abdication"
gs:
George Dzundza [ A.J. Covington ]
An old writer friend of John-Boy's returns to Waltons Mountain, where a film company is making the screenplay that he wrote. The people of Waltons Mountain who are watching the dramatic scenes being filmed begin laughing at the way the scenes have been written. John-Boy explains that this is just not the way the people of the mountain speak, unless they are making jokes. John-Boy is then asked to rewrite the speech to make it more authentic, and the director ends up firing John-Boy's writer friend, and asking John-Boy to move to New York to work with him. John-Boy must then decide whether the time is right for this move. Mary Ellen meanwhile is quite taken with one of the men helping to organize the making of the film, and romance blooms for her. This episode also details the events leading up to the abdication of Edward VIII, King of England, who is facing the decision of losing the one he loves and remain the King of England, or abdicating so that he may continue his romance with Mrs. Simpson, the American divorcee.
b: 20 Nov 75 pc: _________ w: Matt Robinson & Paul West s: Matt Robinson d: Harvey S. Laidman
"The Estrangement"
gs:
Richard Hatch [ Wade Walton ], Lindsay V. Jones [ Vera ]
rc:
Sheriff Bridges
Vera, a cousin by marriage of the Walton family, has left her husband Wade, and she and her baby take refuge in the Walton home. She feels that Wade is ignoring her and no longer wants to be married to her. City life, she claims doesn't suit either of them, although they have tried to make it work. She is afraid that Wade is seeing other women. In actual fact Wade is trying to make some extra money by running moonshine for his uncle, Grandpa Boone. He gets arrested and then realizes that neither he nor Vera really should be in the city and so tries to make a go of it by working at the Walton mill.
b: 4 Dec 75 pc: _________ w: Michael Rossnow & Tony Kayden d: Harry Harris
- _
"The Nurse (a.k.a. The Triumph)"
gs:
Barbara Eda-Young [ Nora Taylor ], Charlotte Moore [ Nurse Jenny Stevens ], Jon Lorner [ Lair Basham ], Tamar Cooper [ Essie Basham ], Ann D'Andrea [ Nurse Collins ], Elizabeth Rogers [ Nurse Smith ]
rc:
Ike
Just after graduation, Mary Ellen receives a letter from the University of Virginia, School of Nursing, asking for her to take an examination for a place in nursing school. She goes to take the exam, only to find that she needs the prerequisites of algebra and chemistry, two courses that she has not done at the Walton's Mountain school. She is given two books to study by the nursing school and told to come back when she knows them to try for the exam again. John-Boy offers to help her, however he is also doing badly at chemistry, so she decides to ask the public health nurse, Nora Taylor, for some help. Nora is staying with a family high on the mountain. The mother is dying of a heart condition. Mary Ellen offers to stay there and help her in exchange for the tuition she needs.
b: 11 Dec 75 pc: _________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Alf Kjellin
"The Intruders"
gs:
Bill Lucking [ Cobbs ], Cal Haynes [ Ferris ], Tom Howard [ Parsons ]
rc:
Ike
Ben decides that the whole family, and his girlfriend are not treating as an adult, so he decides to leave home and fend for himself. The only job that he can find, however, is at a lumber company, one that has recently opened in opposition to the Walton's company. The Waltons are losing business because this new company seems to be able to undercut their prices, and the Waltons can't match this. When the railroad urgently needs lumber for repairs, both companies make a deal that the first company to make the delivery wins an important contract. When Ben discovers that the mill employing him is vying for the same contract as his father he leaves and returns to his family. Even with all hands on deck, it doesn't look as though the Waltons will meet the deadline, however Grandpa does some scheming to send the other lumber company on a wild goose chase.
b: 18 Dec 75 pc: _________ w: Seth Freeman d: Richard Bennett
"The Search"
gs:
Helen Craig [ Mountain Woman ], Robert Sorrels [ Older Son ], Red Currie [ Younger Son ]
rc:
Ike
Olivia is preparing to visit a friend and takes Elizabeth and a very reluctant Jim-Bob with her. Ben and Jason are asked to change one of the tires on the truck before they leave and each leaves it to the other so that it is not done. The jack is also left at home and, needless to say, the tire blows out and the car runs off the road and into some bushes. Problems further arise when the hen they were taking to Olivia's friend escapes and Elizabeth follows it into the woods trying to catch it. Olivia and Jim-Bob follow her to stop her from becoming lost and all three end up not being able to find their way back to the road. They finally see smoke coming from a house, only to find that it is a bootleggers camp and they are making illegal moonshine. These people bundle the three onto the back of their truck and take them further into the woods before letting them off, leaving them hopelessly lost, with a storm brewing. At the Walton home, John is alerted that the three are missing and a search party is formed to try to find them before the storm hits. The three on the mountain set up markers and survive because of the things Jim-Bob has heard from both his father and his grandfather. They are finally located and taken back home. Pity poor Erin and Mary Ellen though...they had to wait around the house doing chores for Grandma all day because she says that it is better for them to keep busy!
b: 1 Jan 76 pc: _________ w: Paul West s: Ellen Corby d: Harry Harris
"The Secret"
gs:
Adrienne Marden [ Mrs. Breckenridge ]
rc:
the Godseys, Mrs. Brimmer
When Erin and Ben begin to tease Jim Bob about the fact that he may not be a Walton because he doesn't look like any of the others, Elizabeth pursues the idea until Jim Bob himself doubts that he is really a Walton, instead thinking that perhaps he was a foundling. He begins asking questions and discovers that a lot of people seem to remember the time when he was born, mainly because of the difficulties his mother experienced during his birth, however these difficulties had never been talked about and so appeared to be quite mysterious. The mystery and secret which have been kept since that time, however, are finally uncovered when John-Boy takes Jim Bob to see his birth record at the county records office.
b: 8 Jan 76 pc: _________ w: Rod Peterson & Claire Whittaker d: Harvey S. Laidman
"The Fox"
gs:
Frank Ferguson [ Allen McCreary ], George Chandler [ Bob Allerton ], Arline Anderson [ Elaine Allerton ], Eddie Reider [ the Yo-Yo King ]
rc:
Ike, Maude
Grandpa has continually told the Walton children about the battle at San Juan Hill where he was part of the unit, which charged to the top of the hill, with Teddy Roosevelt, during the Spanish-American War. Each time he mentions it though his wife becomes quite irate. However when John-Boy begins to organize a reenactment of the event, Grandpa will have nothing to do with it. Apparently he has been "embroidering" the tale, as he puts it, to make it more attractive and his task in the war was nothing like what he had told the children. All the same, though, there is one man at the reunion who makes a special trip to Walton's Mountain to meet Zeb simply because he sees Zeb as a hero.
b: 15 Jan 76 pc: _________ w: Max Hodge d: Richard Thomas
"The Burn Out (1)"
gs:
Paul Jenkins [ Professor Parks ], Pearl Shear [ Zuleika Dunbar ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, Rosemary and Matthew Fordwick, Mrs. Brimmer, Dr. Vance
John-Boy is asked to submit part of his novel to a publishing company, but as he is preparing to do so he loses the whole novel in a fire, which destroys most of the Walton home. Olivia tries to keep the family together as best she can, but with all of the sleeping quarters destroyed, John and Olivia decide that it would be best to allow the children to stay with friends and neighbors. John-Boy has to struggle with the guilt he feels after realizing that it may have been his lit pipe, which caused the fire, and he struggles to rewrite his novel. Mary Ellen stays with Dr. Vance and his wife, but angers the wife with her efforts to learn about medicine and help Dr. Vance with his work. Jason lives in luxury with the Baldwin sisters, and finds that he enjoys the attention and solitude of being the only child around. Erin and Jim Bob stay with the Reverend Fordwick and his wife. Erin also has to deal with guilt as she feels that she is to blame for John-Boy's destroyed novel. If she hadn't waited to save her best dress she wouldn't have been overcome by smoke and needed John-Boy to drop his novel and rescue her. Elizabeth, at the Godsey home, feels that she shouldn't love her family too much, as something bad happens to whatever or whoever she cares about. Ben discovers that he does in fact need some rules, after he finds life without them at Yancy Tucker's awkward and not as appealing as he had thought. The family finally ends up back at the rebuilt house, happy to be with each other once more.
b: 22 Jan 76 pc: _________ w: John McGreevey d: Harry Harris
NOTE: This was originally a two-hour episode.
"The Burn Out (2)"
gs:
Paul Jenkins [ Professor Parks ], Pearl Shear [ Zuleika Dunbar ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, Rosemary and Matthew Fordwick, Mrs. Brimmer, Dr. Vance
John-Boy is asked to submit part of his novel to a publishing company, but as he is preparing to do so he loses the whole novel in a fire, which destroys most of the Walton home. Olivia tries to keep the family together as best she can, but with all of the sleeping quarters destroyed, John and Olivia decide that it would be best to allow the children to stay with friends and neighbors. John-Boy has to struggle with the guilt he feels after realizing that it may have been his lit pipe, which caused the fire, and he struggles to rewrite his novel. Mary Ellen stays with Dr. Vance and his wife, but angers the wife with her efforts to learn about medicine and help Dr. Vance with his work. Jason lives in luxury with the Baldwin sisters, and finds that he enjoys the attention and solitude of being the only child around. Erin and Jim Bob stay with the Reverend Fordwick and his wife. Erin also has to deal with guilt as she feels that she is to blame for John-Boy's destroyed novel. If she hadn't waited to save her best dress she wouldn't have been overcome by smoke and needed John-Boy to drop his novel and rescue her. Elizabeth, at the Godsey home, feels that she shouldn't love her family too much, as something bad happens to whatever or whoever she cares about. Ben discovers that he does in fact need some rules, after he finds life without them at Yancy Tucker's awkward and not as appealing as he had thought. The family finally ends up back at the rebuilt house, happy to be with each other once more.
b: 22 Jan 76 pc: _________ w: John McGreevey d: Harry Harris
NOTE: This was originally a two-hour episode.
"The Big Brother"
gs:
Vicky Schreck [ Muffin Maloney ]
rc:
the Baldwin sisters, Ike, Sheriff Bridges
When dropping John and Olivia off at the bus station, John-Boy meets a young girl, 12-year-old Muffin, who tells him that she has run away from her stepfather who beat her and her mother, but she has become separated from her mother during their travels. John-Boy takes her home, and all of the Waltons, apart from Grandpa, take her and her plight, to their hearts. Grandpa, however, remains quite suspicious of her story. She has come into their lives at a time when John-Boy is beginning to feel as though his younger brothers and sisters are becoming so independent that they no longer want his advice, so he is quite happy that Muffin seems to need him. As the story unfolds we discover, however, that Muffin is trying to raise money to get her swindler grandfather out of jail. She uses a variety of cons to try to raise this money, and is generally successful, until she tries it just once to often with the wrong people.
b: 29 Jan 76 pc: _________ w: John McGreevey d: Ralph Waite
"The Test"
gs:
John Wheeler [ Leonard Gormley ], Abby Dalton [ Stella Lewis ]
rc:
the Baldwin sisters, Maude
Olivia is feeling down and in need of a close girl friend to talk to, and John is upset when equipment fails and there is no money to fix it. Olivia however, finds that she can make some money from home when she is asked to make some dresses for the Baldwin sisters. A woman who owns a dressmaking business in town then spots her needlework skills, and she offers Olivia a full time job, which she accepts. Olivia finds the close friendship she yearned for, but as talk the dress shop owner talks of expansion, leaving Olivia in charge of one of the shops, Livvy decides that the place she really wants to be is at home with her family.
b: 5 Feb 76 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Harvey S. Laidman
"The Quilting"
gs:
Art Gilmore [ Radio Host ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, Yancy, Maude, Mrs. Brimmer, G.W.
When Grandma comes home from nursing a sick relative, she and Mary Ellen clash because Grandma takes it upon herself to organise Mary Ellen's quilting. A quilting was a "back woods" custom to announce to the community that a young lady was of an age when she could accept young men who wished to court her. Mary Ellen, however, finds the custom demeaning and is adamant that she will not participate in it. Grandma on the other hand, goes ahead and sends out the invitations to all the women folk of Waltons Mountain and the quilting does indeed go ahead. John-Boy tells Mary Ellen that the quilting is a way of the women showing just how much they care about her and that she should think about the breach she is causing between both her grandmother and herself, and her grandmother and her mother.
b: 12 Feb 76 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson & Claire Whittaker d: Lawrence Dobkin
"The House"
gs:
Walter Brooke [ Mr. Johnson ], Jay Robinson [ Professor Thaxton ], Bill Sorrells [ Mr. Wheeler ]
rc:
the Baldwin sisters
Grandma finds that the old Whittley house is going to be demolished and she feels that instead it should be renovated for all the community to share. Together with the Baldwin sisters they try to collect signatures to petition that the house not be pulled down. Grandpa, however, goes ahead and gets the contract for the Walton Company to demolish the house, not realizing or remembering why his wife has such sentimental attachments for the old house. In his eyes the house needs to be pulled down, because it is a hazard the way it is, and there is excellent lumber, which can be salvaged from the house, which someone may as well use. Needless to say, tempers fly as the two take opposing sides, and John-Boy gets caught in the middle when he is given his first editorial to write...about whether or not the house should be saved!
b: 19 Feb 76 pc: __________ w: Kirby Timmons d: Harvey S. Laidman
"The Fledgling"
gs:
Walter Brooke [ Mr. Johnson ], Michael McDonough [ Boyd ], Paul Jenkins [ Professor Parks ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, Mike Paxton
When the newspaper, where John-Boy works as a stringer, is closing down, his boss offers to sell him an old printing press so that he might start his own country newspaper. John-Boy has to take a full time job in order to earn the down payment for the press, at the same time trying to juggle school and his other commitments. He eventually finds that he has very little time left to even sleep, so he moves into a boarding house near the college. He also feels that his professor at Boatwright University, who keeps reminding him that he is meant to be working on his novel, is pressuring him. His job at the bus depot ends suddenly and he finds himself with only half of the money he needs for his down payment, so he disappointedly leaves the boarding house and returns home. At home, however, he finds that his professor at college has already made the down payment on his behalf and the printing press has already been delivered to his home and is waiting for John-Boy to write, edit, publish and print his first edition of the Blue Ridge Chronicle.
b: 26 Feb 76 pc: __________ w: Earl Hamner d: Harry Harris
NOTE: As of this episode, it is sometime in 1936
"The Collision"
gs:
Kathleen Quinlan [ Selina Linville ], Eduard Franz [ the Colonel ]
An old flame is rekindled for John-Boy when Selina Linville returns to Walton's Mountain after being away at boarding school. She has grand ideas that John-Boy should join her and go to Spain and write about a war, which is happening there. She claims that he is a coward by not jumping at the chance to go, however he maintains that all of the mountain folk are already fighting their own war: the war against poverty.
b: 4 Mar 76 pc: __________ w: John McGreevey d: Richard Thomas
Production Credits
Executive Producer: Lee Rich
Created by: Earl Hamner, Jr.
Producer: Andy White
Music: Alexander Courage
Production Manager: Lynn Guthrie
"The First Edition"
gs:
Conrad Janis [ Graham Thornbury ], Michael McDonough [ Joe ], Brad Rearden [ Chuck ]
rc:
the Godseys, Sheriff Bridges, Mrs. Brimmer
John-Boy is preparing to publish the first edition of his newspaper, the Blue Ridge Chronicle. While in town asking the Sheriff for a really good headline for the front page, he sees a spectacular car accident. The Mayor of the town has his car out of control, and he crashes into the front of a shop. John-Boy suspects that the reason the Mayor crashed was because he had been drinking and he plans to publish this in his newspaper. He maintains that the public has a right to know the truth, especially as the Mayor is up for re-election. His family, however, believes publishing this story will hurt his good name and reputation and are against John-Boy publishing it. Tensions between the family members mount when John-Boy covers another story, this time regarding a criminal matter involving four teenaged boys, one of whom is his brother Ben. John-Boy claims that the story is newsworthy and should be reported, however his mother believes that the good name of the Walton family should not be plastered over the front page of the paper! John-Boy is torn between doing what is right as a newspaper publisher and editor, and doing what is right for all the people involved.
b: 23 Sep 76 pc: __________ w: John McGreevey d: Lawrence Dobkin
NOTE: Richard Thomas is using a walking stick, the script indicating that John-Boy had an accident with a motorcycle. He uses this walking stick in the next two episodes.
"The Vigil"
gs:
Robert Merritt Woods [ David Spenser ], Sheila Allen [ Fanny Tatum ], Dee Carroll [ Mrs. Vance ]
rc:
Ike, Sheriff Bridges, Dr. Vance
This episode opens with John-Boy interviewing the local Doctor who is preparing to leave Walton's Mountain because he is having trouble making a living in Walton's Mountain. He is finding that, with the Depression, people are having difficulty paying their bills with money, and instead are paying with homegrown produce. He says that food won't allow him to pay his own bills, however, hence the reason for the move. This will leave the people of Walton's Mountain without a Doctor though, and this concerns John-Boy. While the Doctor is away in the city Grandma becomes quite ill with fevers and stomach pains, and Mary Ellen, who has just begun nursing school, tells her that the symptoms she describes are those of the stomach flu which they are seeing a lot of in the hospital and that bed rest is all she needs to recover. Grandma becomes increasingly worse though, and without a Doctor in the vicinity the family is forced to take her to the hospital, where she undergoes an operation. In the meantime Erin has taken a job as an assistant to Miss Fanny, the switchboard operator, who is a very proper and pedantic woman. She gives Erin a difficult time without listening to her excuses and reasons, but she shows Erin how important a job she does when she uses the switchboard to track down the Doctor and sends him to the hospital in time to tend to Grandma. Needless to say, Grandma makes a full recovery, and Mary Ellen learns an important lesson on just what the role of a nurse really is.
b: 30 Sep 76 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Harry Harris
"The Comeback"
gs:
Red Turner [ Merle Haggard ], Wilma Turner [ Pat Quinn ], Jay Robinson [ Professor Thaxton ]
rc:
Yancy, Ike, Sissy, Thelma
As a part of the cost cutting measures being introduced at the Klineberg Conservatory, scholarships are being withdrawn. As a result Jason finds that he has to come up with his tuition fees: $300 for the year's tuition, or in installments of $100, the first payment being expected within a month. He hears of a job for a musician at the Dew Drop Inn, the local bar, and he begins playing the piano and his guitar there each night. Neither his grandmother, nor his mother are very impressed with his new job however, thinking that young Jason will be led astray by all the sinful folk who go there for their entertainment. He also renews his acquaintance with a family he hasn't seen for some time. Seth Turner, Jason's friend who was diagnosed with leukemia in Episode 44, had similar aspirations to Jason, wanting to study music and become a musician. Seth's father was a well known musician, who had a band, but he dropped out of music when his son died. In fact the father, Red Turner, had almost lost interest in life altogether, and Jason forms a plan to encourage him to make a comeback, and uses the Dew Drop Inn as the venue.
b: 7 Oct 76 pc: __________ w: Seth Freeman d: Harry S. Laidman
"The Baptism"
gs:
John Karlen [ Rev. Ezekiel Henshaw ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, Rev. Fordwick, Sissy
The Waltons Mountain community becomes very excited when they learn that a well-known evangelist is coming to the Mountain to lead this year's revival meeting. Olivia has hopes that some of the Walton children will heed the call and become baptized, especially Ben who is spotted at the Dew Drop Inn, by both the evangelist and Reverend Fordwick, with Yancy Tucker. They called in there as soon as the evangelist arrived on the mountain, so that he could see the "center of sin". Both Olivia and Esther also pray that John will take part in the meeting and also become baptized, however John has so far not felt the need to be formally baptized, feeling that he believes in God in his own way and preferring not to go to worship in the Baptist church with the other family members. However John does end up going to the meeting. A sudden storm forces him to go outside to cover the wood which he intended to work on while the others were at the meeting, and a bolt of lightening near him, renders him unconscious and the wood gets wet. Olivia sees this as a sign from God and John duly attends the meeting with the others. When the preacher begins with his "fire and brimstone preaching", however, John walks out, upsetting Olivia further. At the same time Ben is struggling to decide whether he really wants to be baptized adding to Olivia's stress and the division between John and Olivia deepens. Olivia comes to accept John's decision in the end and sees him as a searcher, one looking for religion, which is different from the mainstream. Her distress is diminished somewhat when both Ben and Yancy take the plunge into the river and both become baptized.
b: 14 Oct 76 pc: __________ w: Andy White d: Ralph Waite
"The Fire Storm"
gs:
Pearl Shear [ Zuleika Dunbar ], Barry Cahill [ Buck Vernon ], Robert Merritt Woods [ David Spenser ], Art Gilmore [ Newsreel announcer ]
rc:
the Godseys, Rev. Fordwick, Mrs. Brimmer
John-Boy decides that he will publish excerpts from Hitler's book "Mein Kampf" in his newspaper. It was a book written by Hitler where he vows to lead Germany to world dominance, and John-Boy feels that the people of Waltons Mountain should be aware of what he has written. Many of the community's people, including the Reverend, however, think that they should remain ignorant of what Hitler has to say. John-Boy argues, however, that ignorance will cause people to become afraid and behave irrationally, causing fear and hatred. He thinks that if people know the truth they will not be afraid. Mrs. Brimmer tells John-Boy that her husband was born in Germany and during World War 1 they were victimized wherever they went because of it, and eventually they settled at Waltons Mountain where nobody knew the truth. Hatred and fear does indeed occur, with many people taking their ads out of the newspaper and not buying it. The Waltons even get a rock thrown through their window. As all this is going on, Erin is pleading with her family to allow her to enter a beauty contest, but they are not keen, until Grandpa comes up with a compromise. She doesn't win and blames John-Boy and his article for her loss. The show ends with a symbolic"book burning" thought up by Reverend Fordwick. He says that if the Nazis are burning American books then they should burn a copy of "Mein Kampf". Buck Vernon found this copy and then went on to gather all the other German books he could find and proposes that these are burned too. John-Boy becomes very angry and says that if books are burnt then you can't know about what's in them, and your freedom is taken away. He pauses and picks up one of the books: a German version of the Holy Bible. Ashamed, the Reverend acknowledges that John-Boy did have a point and the townsfolk recognize that ignorance did indeed cause hatred and fear and could cause normally rational people to behave irrationally.
b: 21 Oct 76 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson and Claire Whittaker d: Ralph Senesky
NOTE: As of this episode, it is sometime in 1937.
"The Nightwalker"
gs:
Peggy Webber [ Mrs. Eva Hadley ], Gary Tomlin [ Lorin ], Brian Longley [ Saxophone player ], Larry McNeely [ Banjo Player ], Ralph Henley [ Drummer ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, Sheriff Bridges
When Ike Godsey renovates a hall with the intent on hiring it out to people for functions, John-Boy suggests to Jason that he might raise some much-needed cash by holding a dance for the local people. He begins to organize this, only to find that there is a prowler frightening the people of Waltons Mountain. The prowler appears not to be harming anybody, but as everyone in the community knows everyone else, and nobody knows who this prowler could be, people are afraid that he might harm somebody. The prowler ends up to be the mute son of a new neighbor who finds his place, as well as acceptance, on Waltons Mountain. Once the people know who the prowler is, Jason ends up holding a very successful, and profitable, dance.
b: 28 Oct 76 pc: __________ w: Paul West d: Harvey S. Laidman
"The Wedding (1)"
gs:
Robert Merritt Woods [ David Spenser ], Debbie Gunn [ Patsy Brimmer ], Peter Brandon [ Dr. Spenser ], Jean Howell [ Mrs. Spenser ], Kaiulani Lee [ Miss Nora ], Molly Dodd [ Miss Lynch ], Glenn Robards [ Committee Chairman ], Art Gilmore [ Radio Announcer ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, Rev. Fordwick, Yancy, G.W., Mrs. Brimmer, Curt Willard
Mary Ellen, unexpectedly, announces her engagement to David Spencer, a wealthy young medical intern studying at the hospital where she is a nursing student. The two plan to have a very short engagement, marrying in just a few weeks time then returning to live in Richmond where David will join his father in a medical practice. An engagement party is duly planned and right in the middle of it, the new Waltons Mountain doctor arrives, young and unmarried Curtis Willard. Sparks fly between Mary Ellen and Curt right from the start. In fact many of the folks he comes into contact with claim that he must have failed the bedside manner subject in medical school. He appalls and shocks Miss Mamie and Miss Emily Baldwin when Miss Emily arrives at the clinic and he wants to unbutton her blouse to listen to her chest! Mary Ellen tries to match Curt with the mountain nurse, Miss Nora, even though she herself is attracted to Curt. As the wedding approaches, Mary Ellen becomes more confused about her feelings for Curt and at the wedding rehearsal she finally runs out at the "I do" part and tells David that she can't marry him. Instead she marries Curt.
b: 4 Nov 76 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson and Claire Whittaker d: Lawrence Dobkins
NOTE: This is originally a two-hour episode. Grandma makes a reference to Mary Ellen's coming of age quilting party (episode 98), John makes a reference to Mary Ellen placing a blue-jay's nest on their Christmas tree (pilot episode), and how she and G.W. Haines learned to dance (episodes 24 & 25).
"The Wedding (2)"
gs:
Robert Merritt Woods [ David Spenser ], Debbie Gunn [ Patsy Brimmer ], Peter Brandon [ Dr. Spenser ], Jean Howell [ Mrs. Spenser ], Kaiulani Lee [ Miss Nora ], Molly Dodd [ Miss Lynch ], Glenn Robards [ Committee Chairman ], Art Gilmore [ Radio Announcer ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, Rev. Fordwick, Yancy, G.W., Mrs. Brimmer, Curt Willard
Mary Ellen, unexpectedly, announces her engagement to David Spencer, a wealthy young medical intern studying at the hospital where she is a nursing student. The two plan to have a very short engagement, marrying in just a few weeks time then returning to live in Richmond where David will join his father in a medical practice. An engagement party is duly planned and right in the middle of it, the new Waltons Mountain doctor arrives, young and unmarried Curtis Willard. Sparks fly between Mary Ellen and Curt right from the start. In fact many of the folks he comes into contact with claim that he must have failed the bedside manner subject in medical school. He appalls and shocks Miss Mamie and Miss Emily Baldwin when Miss Emily arrives at the clinic and he wants to unbutton her blouse to listen to her chest! Mary Ellen tries to match Curt with the mountain nurse, Miss Nora, even though she herself is attracted to Curt. As the wedding approaches, Mary Ellen becomes more confused about her feelings for Curt and at the wedding rehearsal she finally runs out at the"I do" part and tells David that she can't marry him. Instead she marries Curt.
b: 4 Nov 76 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson and Claire Whittaker d: Lawrence Dobkins
NOTE: This is originally a two-hour episode. Grandma makes a reference to Mary Ellen's coming of age quilting party (episode 98), John makes a reference to Mary Ellen placing a blue-jay's nest on their Christmas tree (pilot episode), and how she and G.W. Haines learned to dance (episodes 24 & 25).
"The Cloudburst"
gs:
Ron Hajek [ Russell Travis ]
rc:
the Godseys, Curt, Rev. Fordwick, Rosemary Fordwick, Mrs. Brimmer, Martha Rose
John-Boy is having trouble making his payments on his newspaper printing press and the bank warns him that if he doesn't come up with the cash to make the payments, which are in arrears, then they will seize his press. The point he makes, however, is that if they take his press they will take away his potential to earn the necessary money. The banker suggests that John-Boy may be able to investigate selling a piece of land on Waltons Mountain that he owns. The land dealer offers him a good deal for his land, and so he sells, much to his grandfather's disgust. When John-Boy investigates another current land development project being pursued by the same company as he sold his land to, he discovers that the company uses the land for hydraulic mining, a system of mining that destroys the land so completely that nothing will ever grow there again. The company aims to buy up enough parcels of land to enable them to set up this type of mining on Waltons Mountain. While John-Boy is trying to dissuade the rest of the people from selling their land, Mary Ellen faces her own crisis when she is nursing a badly injured Martha Rose. Martha Rose is having difficulty breathing after she fell from a ladder and in order to save her life Curt must perform surgery. Instead of helping him Mary Ellen faints and feels that she has let Curt down. After speaking with her mother she goes over to the Church, where she finds that Rosemary Fordwick has gone into labor. Her husband left her to go to find Curt and with a bad storm brewing Rosemary doesn't want Mary Ellen to leave her alone. Mary Ellen redeems herself admirably when she delivers Rosemary's baby, little Mary Margaret Fordwick.
b: 11 Nov 76 pc: __________ w: Paul Cooper d: Harry Harris
NOTE: Ralph Waite does not appear in this episode
"The Great Motorcycle Race"
gs:
Eileen McDonough [ Patsy Brimmer ], Lewis Charles [ Eddie Stoker ]
rc:
Aimee Louise Godsey, Curt, the Godseys
After Jim Bob helps Ike by repairing his motorcycle, Ike allows him to use it any time he chooses, much to Olivia's dismay. When he wants to enter a motorcycle race using Ike's bike, she is not keen but realizes that she must allow him to grow up and just trust him to make the right decisions. Ike, on the other hand, is far more preoccupied with the news that the Godseys are the next in line to adopt a baby. After receiving the news that Corabeth would not be able to have children they were very upset, but they decided that adoption would be a good solution and are looking forward to getting their baby. Finally the news came through that their baby boy was ready to be collected and so, with great excitement, they head to the adoption agency. They call in at the Walton place on their way home to introduce their new addition to the Waltons, and their baby boy turns out to be a ten-year-old girl, Aimee Louise. The mother of the baby boy decided at the last minute that she couldn't part with her baby and when the Godseys saw Aimee sitting on her bed, seeming so lonely, it was love at first sight, and so Aimee came home with them. Much of the episode deals with the adjustments Aimee, Ike and Corabeth need to make in order to become a family.
b: 18 Nov 76 pc: __________ w: John Joseph d: Richard Thomas
NOTE: This is Aimee's first appearance as the Godsey's adopted daughter.
"The Pony Cart"
gs:
Patrick Slelton [ Tom Wheeler ]
rc:
Martha Corinne
Martha Corinne Walton, John Walton's ninety year old aunt comes to visit the family and upsets everyone by insisting that they do everything her way. Martha Corinne was married to Zeb's brother, Henry. When Olivia finds that Martha Corinne is upsetting her family, she gives a gentle prod to encourage her to go home. John-Boy begins to drive her home but on the way she decides that she would like to call in at her old homestead site to see the view once more, and to visit the old graves of her family members. While there, she has a minor heart attack, so when she recovers, John-Boy insists upon taking her to his home once more, where she can be cared for by her relatives until she dies. She makes John-Boy promise that he will see that she is buried next to her Henry on the mountain, and that he will not tell anyone of her condition. While she is at the Waltons, she becomes very interested in the pony cart which Ben is building, which she calls a shay, the word she says was used when she was young. When Ben says he is going to paint it gray, she offers to paint it as it would have been done during her youth. The result is a lovely, bright pony cart with flowers and birds painted on the side, which Ben is delighted with and which he keeps to remember her by once she has died.
b: 2 Dec 76 pc: __________ w: Jack Miller d: Ralph Senesky
NOTE: It is the summer of 1937.
"The Best Christmas"
gs:
Paul Jenkins [ Prof. Parks ], Lisa Kyke [ Jo Ellen ], Sheila Allen [ Fanny Tatum ], Debbie Gunn [ Patsy Brimmer ], John Heistand [ Radio Announcer ]
rc:
the Godseys, Curt, Rev. Fordwick, Verdie and Harley Foster, Yancy, Maude, Mrs. Brimmer, Aimee
As the Walton family are preparing for what Olivia and John feel might be their last Christmas with them altogether as a family, the bad weather and other emergencies seem to be against everyone all being there. Curt and Mary Ellen had made tentative plans to visit and spend Christmas with Curt's family, a tree falling through the Church roof keeps John and Jason busy all Christmas Eve, Grandma and Grandpa have become stranded in Charlottesville by the snow which fell during their visit to Maude Gormley, Erin is kept at the telephone exchange when Miss Fanny fails to return to relieve her, and John-Boy is busy wading in freezing cold water trying to free Miss Fanny and her niece from their car which ran off the road and into the river. It certainly does not look as if Olivia's wish will come true and that all her family will be present on Christmas morning.
b: 9 Dec 76 pc: __________ w: John McGreevey d: Lawrence Dobkin
"The Last Mustang"
gs:
John Fink [ Glen Oldfield ], Wayne Heffley [ Carl Muntner ], Arthur Malet [ Prof. Ainsley ], Alan Fudge [ Arlo Jessup ], Asta Hansen [ Campaign Worker ]
rc:
the Baldwin sisters, Sheriff Bridges, Ike
An outsider comes to the county to contest Ep Bridge's re-election as sheriff, and Ep feels that compared to the new comer he comes off badly and will lose the job he has had for fifteen years. Ep comments that his opponent is flashy, and a real ladies man, and that many of the townsfolk are so dazzled by him that they forget that Ep has served them faithfully and well during his time as sheriff. John-Boy is drawn into the election when he interviews both men for his newspaper. His favorable interview with Ep's opponent has them send some advertising his way, as well as having them supply a big contract for his father. They believe that John-Boy is "on their side" until it is revealed that this election is only to be used as a stepping-stone into the senate. Meanwhile, Grandpa is drawn into a battle of his own when a wild mustang is captured and kept penned up. He claims that the horse has always run wild on Walton land and was chased off the land so that it could be captured. The merchant holding the horse intends to use it for advertising purposes. As soon as the horse escapes the Waltons brand it to prove their ownership of him, and they allow him to run free for as long as he lives.
b: 16 Dec 76 pc: __________ w: Calvin Clements Jr. d: Walter Alzmann
"The Rebellion"
gs:
Audrey Christie [ Zelda Maynard ]
rc:
the Godseys, Rev. Fordwick, Verdie, Curt, Mrs. Brimmer
Olivia claims that she is bored with herself, not with John and the children, but just with her! She decides that she wants to look different so Corabeth gives her a perm, which sets all the family laughing. Grandma on the other hand, is upset when Zelda Maynard offers her services to Reverend Fordwick and he agrees that she should share the organ playing at the church services with Esther Walton. Esther says that she has always played the church organ apart from when she shares it with Jason, but it has always been a Walton tradition. She is so hurt by the suggestion that she threatens to become a Methodist!
b: 23 Dec 76 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Harvey S. Laidman
"The Ferris Wheel"
gs:
Debi Richter [ Darlene Jarvis ], Dave Shelley [ Wilbur Daives ], Jeff Maxwell [ Car Salesman ]
rc:
the Baldwin sisters, Curt, Sheriff Bridges, Ike
The family is very troubled when Elizabeth begins having nightmares and sleepwalks. In her dream she is on a Ferris wheel, which keeps going around and around and there is nobody there to let her off. John-Boy feels that she may be remembering the carnival that came to the mountain some years before, and that perhaps she had a frightening experience at that time. It is remembered that while the carnival was there previously, Elizabeth became lost for a time and was eventually found down by the river, however she was unable to tell anyone what had happened to her, nor how she managed to get to the river. As the episode unfolds, Elizabeth gradually unlocks her memories and is eventually able to tell everyone just what happened to her on that fateful day. By remembering she also solves a mystery for the Baldwin sisters. This episode also looks at Ben who is becoming very concerned at being continually called Shorty, and is worried that he is not growing as quickly as his brothers. To add insult to injury he realizes that his sister Erin, and his little brother Jim Bob are both taller than he is now. He decides to buy some Wonder Shoes which will increase his height by two inches, but to his dismay, nobody in the family even notices.
b: 6 Jan 77 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson & Claire Whittaker d: Lawrence Dobkin
"The Elopement"
gs:
Michael O'Keefe [ Chad Marshall ], Vernon Weddle [ Rev. Cauldwell ], David Hooks [ Andrew Farrell ], Hank Stohl [ Radio announcer ]
rc:
Maude, Ike and Corabeth (briefly)
During the spring of 1937, Chad Mitchell, Erin's first love, returned to Waltons Mountain. We first met Chad in the previous season of The Waltons, in Episode He liked the country so much that he bought some land there and returned with plans to build a cabin on his land, and hoped to marry Erin. John and Olivia feel that Erin is too young at 16 to contemplate marriage, even though Olivia was only 16 when she married John, and they want her to finish her schooling first. Both Chad and Erin do not want to wait though and make plans to elope. Jason has problems of his own when the Godseys make a visit to their relatives in a nearby town and Ike leaves Jason in charge of the store. Ike instructs Jason not to give credit to strangers, and only to accept cash transactions. When Maude Gormley comes in buying paint and flower seeds, Jason extends her credit, considering her a friend, not a stranger, but when he asks Ike to clarify this, Ike says definitely no credit for Maude! John-Boy goes to see Maude and to tell her of the situation she has put Jason in, and discovers that Maude uses the flower seed to feed the wild birds, and then makes paintings of them.
b: 13 Jan 77 pc: __________ w: Hindi Brooks d: Harry Harris
NOTE: This is the last episode in which Grandma appears, as Ellen Corby had a severe stroke after this episode was filmed. As of this episode it is the spring of 1937.
(Hey if it was the summer of 1937 in Episode 112, how can it be the spring of that same year? It should be the spring of 1938 or something because of the Christmas episode.)
"John's Crossroad"
gs:
Donald Moffatt [ Mr. Morgan ], Christopher Gardner [ Lucas Farnham ], Kenneth Tiger [ Clem Beal ], Patch McKenzie [ Mavis Crawford ], Betty Jinnette [ Miss Agnes ], David Levas [ Kyle Jeffers ], Tom Howard [ Clint Davis ], William Phipps [ Mel Parsons ]
rc:
Curt, Ike
Business is really quiet at the mill, and money is tight at the Walton home so John takes an office job in Charlottesville, working in a government job. When he arrives at work he discovers that the job isn't really what he expected: everyone is instructed to work quietly; the windows are not allowed to be opened and everyone has to stay until the supervisor leaves for the evening, even though working hours officially finish at 6 p.m. John is told by a co-worker that the reason he was employed was to try to push out an older worker who has been there for twenty odd years, and is really just biding time to get his pension. All in all John finds the office a difficult place to work, and Olivia finds being at home all day, by herself, very difficult as well. Zeb is also missing his partner: Esther is apparently in hospital in Charlottesville and he is finding that the Walton children are outgrowing the need for his company. However he finds Elizabeth a willing companion on his adventures, although Olivia is not as keen, claiming that Zeb should not be trying to make Elizabeth into a boy!
b: 20 Jan 77 pc: __________ w: Andy White & Paul West d: Richard Thomas
NOTE: No Grandma. This is because Ellen Corby has suffered a stroke in real life. Her character, Grandma, is written into the episode where she is in the hospital so that tests can be conducted to find out what is wrong with her.
"The Career Girl"
gs:
Billie Ford [ Shirley ], Alice Hirson [ Jane Stephens ], Donald Hotton [ Eli Carr ], Ted Jordan [ Spurgeon Conners ], Sheila Allen [ Fanny Tatum ]
rc:
Rosemary Fordwick, Curt, Ike, Mrs. Brimmer
Erin becomes depressed when, during her graduation ceremony, it is commented that nobody really knows what Erin wants to do with her life, it must be a secret! The fact is that Erin herself doesn't know and she is painfully aware that she is the first Walton child to graduate and not know where she is going. She has been working at the telephone exchange for some time now and feels that she doesn't want to make that her career because she would prefer to put faces to the people she speaks with. She looks at her older siblings and compares them to herself: John-Boy has a talent for writing, Mary Ellen always knew that she wanted to be a nurse, and Jason has a talent for music. Erin doesn't see a talent at all for herself and she is labeled by the family as being the pretty one. She discovers her future career path by accident though, through John-Boy telling her to grow up and think about someone other than herself. She knows that John-Boy has been searching for a typewriter to type out his book, as no publisher will read the manuscript unless it is typed. She finds a workable typewriter in the window of a business school and she offers to work as a receptionist and bookkeeper for the school in exchange for the typewriter. When John-Boy finds her there, he makes her realize that it is the type of work that she is suited to and that she should have training there. As payment for such training he offers the business school free advertising in his newspaper.
b: 27 Jan 77 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Harry Harris
- _
"The Hero (a.k.a. The Go-Getter)"
gs:
Lynn Carlin [ Sarah Griffith ], Eileen McDonough [ Patsy Brimmer ]
rc:
Sheriff Bridges, Mrs. Brimmer, Ike Godsey
Before she became ill Grandma Walton had suggested to John-Boy that he publish the first commemorative Blue Ridge Chronicle to mark the day the Jefferson County Doughboys returned from the war. As he does some research for his article and for the Honor Day, which he is helping to organize, he discovers that their own Sheriff, Ep Bridges, was honored with several awards following his war service. Ep however, has preferred to lock his medals away and not draw attention to them because to him they are a reminder of the killing and the lives lost during the war. He did not see himself as a hero at all. During John-Boy's research he meets someone who was an ambulance driver in the war and who was Ep's first love. This lady, Sarah Griffith, arrives at Waltons Mountain to renew her acquaintance with Ep and befriends the Walton family, especially Jim Bob who is fascinated by a lady who knows about cars. The Honor Day ceremony takes place at the soldier memorial cemetery and we learn that Zeb and Esther's son Ben went to fight the war in France and never returned. A cross is erected in his honor, and young Ben makes a special memorial for his namesake.
b: 3 Feb 77 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Tony Brand
"The Inferno"
gs:
Jack Ging [ Stuart Henry ], Tom Maier [ Bartender ]
rc:
the Baldwin sisters, Curt, Mrs. Brimmer, Ike
John-Boy enters, and wins a newspaper contest. The prize is that he gets an all expense paid trip to cover an important story, which will then be published in a newspaper. His assignment is to cover the landing of the Hindenburg, a German airship, and to interview a German immigrant from the airship. As the airship is landing though, it bursts into flames and he, along with the other onlookers, try desperately to rescue as many people as they can. John-Boy is so affected by the experience that he arrives home and discovers that the words for his newspaper story simply won't come. Meanwhile Curt is finding that Mary Ellen's family is stifling him. He wants to be able to spend some time alone with her, but every time he turns around he feels that he has to share her with another Walton. Fortunately for the young couple, Olivia and John went through a similar experience when they were newlyweds, and Olivia shares their secret with Curt and Mary Ellen.
b: 10 Feb 77 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson & Claire Whittaker d: Harry Harris
"The Heartbreaker"
gs:
Lynda Purl [ Vanessa ], Victor Arnold [ Joe Martin ], J.S. Johnson [ Lou Rhymer ], Paul Weaver [ J.D. Waters ]
rc:
Corabeth, Thelma, Curt, Horace Brimley
Curt's sister, Vanessa, arrives to visit Curt and Mary Ellen, and brings the news that she has left her husband and intends to pursue a singing career. She meets Jason and a friendship, based on their musical interest, springs up, and this soon turns to love. Jason helps Vanessa with both her singing and her guitar playing and he is soon skipping his university classes to be with her. However she meets a Nashville singer and his manager while performing with Jason at the Dew Drop Inn and sees these people as being more important for her career than Jason, and leaves Waltons Mountain for Nashville, and Jason nursing a broken heart.
b: 17 Feb 77 pc: __________ w: Seth Freeman d: Ralph Waite
"The Long Night"
gs:
Lynn Wood [ Hospital Receptionist ], Art Gilmore [ Poetry Pantry announcer ]
rc:
the Godseys, Aimee, Curt
With Grandma being in hospital for so long, finances and loneliness trouble the Walton family. Grandpa, especially, becomes very lonely, depressed and withdrawn at having to be away from his wife of so many years. He is led to believe that he will be able to bring his wife home, yet when he arrives at the hospital he discovers this is not so. He very loudly expresses his disapproval at the hospital of the hospital and its staff and is subsequently barred from coming back again, because Esther needs peace and quiet in order to recover. Meanwhile Aimee Godsey turns to him for help when she is barred from playing with Elizabeth because Corabeth sees Elizabeth as an unladylike influence on Aimee. Aimee feels that Corabeth is trying to turn her into a lady because she doesn't accept or like Aimee for what she is. All Aimee wants is to be allowed to be a little girl and just like everyone else.
b: 24 Feb 77 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson & Claire Whittaker s: Rod Peterson, Claire Whittaker, and Katharyn Michaelian Power d: Harry Harris
NOTE: As of this episode, it is sometime in 1938.
"The Hiding Place"
gs:
Jean Marsh [ Hilary ], Joe Cala [ Newscaster ], Walter Edminston [ voices of F.D.R. and Edward R. Murrow ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, Curt
The niece of the Baldwin sisters, Hilary Baldwin Von Kleist, arrives at Waltons Mountain to stay with the Baldwins. She is an American citizen who married a German. Several receptions and meetings are held in her honor, which the Waltons attend, but John-Boy is frustrated by her lack of comment regarding the way Hitler is handling things in Germany. He claims that an insider would be able to tell the people of Waltons Mountain how things really are over there, and if the possibility of war is a real one. Hilary, however, appears to be blocking something from her mind, and John-Boy's questions bring her memories which she does not want to face. Things come to a head when she arrives at the Walton home for dinner one evening and Jason is there playing the piano in his national guard uniform. He had joined the national guards against Olivia's wishes, for the pay, and also so that he can be prepared to fight should he need to. One look at Jason and Hilary faints. We are told that she was reminded of her own son who had been recently killed by German soldiers, and it was this that she was running away from and blocking out.
b: 3 Mar 77 pc: __________ w: John McGreevey d: Walter Alzmann
"The Go-Getter"
gs:
Lynn Carlin [ Sara Griffith ], Lew Brown [ Mr. Jarvis ], Melody Thomas [ Darlene Jarvis ], Brian Malone [ Usher ], Jeff Cotler [ Fester ], Don Keefer [ Arnie Shimerdy ]
rc:
Sheriff Bridges, Mrs. Brimmer, Ike
John-Boy is getting frustrated because he is nearing the end of his novel, yet cannot find the time or the peace and quiet to finish it. He and Ben have a falling out about working time at the newspaper and Ben declares that he can get a job any time he wants. When John-Boy tells him to do just that, he approaches his girlfriends father who employs him as a car salesman. He seems to do very well in this job, however his family question his high pressure selling techniques. Jim Bob in particular is disapproving when Ben sells Mrs. Brimmer a car which needs work and she cannot afford to get the work done. Fortunately Ben's conscience comes to the party, and he retires from his sales career! In this episode, Sarah, whom we met in Episode 119, arrives back in Waltons Mountain in hope that she might get Ep Bridges to marry her. Olivia does her best to try to get them together, and she enlists John's help as well, although he is reluctant to interfere.
b: 10 Mar 77 pc: __________ w: Andy White and Paul West d: Lawrence Dobkin
NOTE: It is the spring of 1938.
"The Achievement"
gs:
Bettye Ackerman [ Belle Becker ], Maggie Maloony [ Miss Maddocks ], Joan Tompkins [ Mrs. Herbert ], Lynda Sainte-James [ Ticket seller ], John Dayton [ Mail Boy ]
rc:
Rosemary, Daisy, Curt, Ike
After waiting for six weeks and hearing no word of his novel, John-Boy travels to Hastings House in New York to try to track down his lost novel. In actual fact it is not lost, but is just waiting in a huge pile for the publisher to read. The trip ends up becoming the turning point in both his personal and professional life. He returns to Waltons Mountain with the news that his book is going to be published and that he has been commissioned to write another. However he feels that the time is right for him to move from the family home to New York.
b: 17 Mar 77 pc: __________ w: Dale Eunson, Earl Hamner, Andy White d: Harry Harris
NOTE: Other than several appearances later in the series and roles in movies continuing the Waltons saga, this is the last original episode for Richard Thomas as John-Boy Walton. The flashbacks featured here are: Olivia finding about John-Boy's writing and John bringing home a tablet for John-Boy (pilot), Miss Hunter's reaction to the short story (episode 5), Grandma stating that she can tell stories (episode 5), A.J. Covington's appearance (episode 11), and the fire that destroyed his writings (episodes 94 and 95).
Production Credits
Executive Producer: Lee Rich
Created by: Earl Hamner, Jr.
Producer: Andy White
Music: Alexander Courage
Production Manager: Lynn Guthrie
"The Hawk"
gs:
Lynn Carlin [ Sara Bridges ], Sheila Allen [ Fanny Tatum ], George D. Wallace [ Dean Beck ], Hank Stohl [ Radio announcer ], Art Gilmore [ Newsreel announcer ], David Franklin [ Neville Chamberlain ]
rc:
the Godseys, Yancy, Aimee, Curt, Rev. Buchanan, Mrs. Brimmer, Horace Brimley, Thelma
A new preacher comes to Waltons Mountain to replace Reverend Fordwick, and his unconventional ideas and behavior cause conflicts among the church congregation.
b: 15 Sep 77 pc: __________ w: Andy White d: Tony Brand
NOTE: As this season begins, it is September of 1939. This is Reverend Hank Buchanan's first appearance on The Waltons. He takes the place of Reverend Fordwick.
"The Stray"
gs:
Todd Bridges [ Josh ], Ketty Lester [ Mrs. Thomas ], Jonas Agee [ town Boy #1 ], Ken Shriner [ Town boy #2 ]
rc:
Ike, Verdie, Sheriff Bridges, Curt
The Waltons find a little Negro boy hiding in their barn after having walked all the way from North Carolina and the lad quickly endears himself to the whole family, especially John.
b: 22 Sep 77 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Harry Harris
"The Recluse"
gs:
Linda Marsh [ Fern Lockwood ], Lew Brown [ Mr. Jarvis ], Britt Leach [ Easy Jackson ], Eric Lawson [ Shop Foreman ], Joseph A. Butcher [ Anson Adams ], Carol-Ann Williams [ Ben's girlfriend ], Robyn Pohle [ Anson's girlfriend ]
rc:
the Godseys, Curt
Jason goes to Norfolk in search of work and meets a woman recluse who shares his life of music and the young man succeeds in getting her to face up to reality.
b: 29 Sep 77 pc: __________ w: Seth Freeman d: Walter Alzmann
"The Warrior"
gs:
Jerado DeCordovier [ Grandfather Joseph Teskigi ], Ernest Esparza III [ Matthew Teskigi ], Richard Eastham [ Judge Parrish ], Tom Bellin [ Public Defender Cross ]
rc:
Sheriff Bridges
Two strangers come to Waltons Mountain and show that they have roots there, which go deeper than anyone else's and tensions mount on all sides. The strangers are Indians, claiming that the Walton barn is built on burial grounds.
b: 13 Oct 77 pc: __________ w: Joan Scott d: Ralph Senensky
"The Seashore"
gs:
Vickery Turner [ Lisa ], Melody Thomas [ Darlene ], Arthur Franz [ Chief Moresdale ], Michael Richardson [ U.S. Coast Guard Officer Dittenberger ], Robert Gooden [ U.S. Coast Guard Officer Flaherty ], John Hiestand [ Radio Announcer ]
rc:
the Baldwin sisters, the Godseys, Curt
To help with the war effort, the Baldwin sisters offer their seaside cottage, and while the Waltons are busy making it habitable, they come to know a strange English girl, who is struggling against a secret in her past.
b: 20 Oct 77 pc: __________ w: W. Marion Hargrove d: Lawrence Dobkin
NOTE: In this episode, it is the spring of 1940.
"The Volunteer"
gs:
David Clarke [ Abel Bingley ], Nadya Turney [ Lady Customer ], Wendy Rastatter [ Judy ], Channing Clarkson [ Ernie ], Kevin Scott Allen [ Soldier ], Hank Stohl [ Radio announcer ]
rc:
Ike, G.W., Maude
Erin's boyfriend, G.W. enlists in the army after she turns down his proposal of marriage. Problems arise when he invites her to visit him at Fort Leigh. This poses a problem for her strict, but very loving parents.
b: 27 Oct 77 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Philip Leacock
NOTE: In this episode, it is sometime in 1939.
"The Grandchild (1)"
gs:
Beth Raines [ Cassie ], David Hooks [ Ab Hineman ], Joe Ross [ Burlesque comic ], Frank DeVito [ Drummer ], Trish Garland [ Dancer ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, Yancy, Aimee, Curt, Maude, Mrs. Brimmer, Rev. Bunchanan
Mary Ellen's baby is due and everyone on Waltons Mountain is very anxious to know the outcome. For one lonely girl, who has lost her own baby, the occasion is not a joyful one and she kidnaps Mary Ellen's new born, hoping to replace her own baby. Meanwhile, Jason runs into more financial problems when the Dew Drop Inn has a fire and he is forced to find work elsewhere, even though he knows his mother and grandmother would not approve.
b: 3 Nov 77 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson and Claire Whitaker d: Ralph Senensky
NOTE: This is originally a two-hour episode. Mary Ellen is eight months pregnant at the beginning of this episode. There are also recounts made in this episode: Jim Bob's troublesome delivery (episode 92), Grandpa being sick (episode 65), Grandpa being thrown out of the hospital when he visits Grandma (episode 123), and John having pneumonia (episode 75).
"The Grandchild (2)"
gs:
Beth Raines [ Cassie ], David Hooks [ Ab Hineman ], Joe Ross [ Burlesque comic ], Frank DeVito [ Drummer ], Trish Garland [ Dancer ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, Yancy, Aimee, Curt, Maude, Mrs. Brimmer, Rev. Bunchanan
Mary Ellen's baby is due and everyone on Waltons Mountain is very anxious to know the outcome. For one lonely girl, who has lost her own baby, the occasion is not a joyful one and she kidnaps Mary Ellen's new born, hoping to replace her own baby. Meanwhile, Jason runs into more financial problems when the Dew Drop Inn has a fire and he is forced to find work elsewhere, even though he knows his mother and grandmother would not approve.
b: 3 Nov 77 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson and Claire Whitaker d: Ralph Senensky
NOTE: This is originally a two-hour episode. Mary Ellen is eight months pregnant at the beginning of this episode. There are also recounts made in this episode: Jim Bob's troublesome delivery (episode 92), Grandpa being sick (episode 65), Grandpa being thrown out of the hospital when he visits Grandma (episode 123), and John having pneumonia (episode 75).
"The First Casualty"
gs:
Lin McCarthy [ George Haines ], Jean Allison [ Louise Haines ], David Dotson [ Mickey ], Art Gilmore [ Radio Announcer ]
rc:
the Godseys, G.W., Yancy, Sissy, Curt, Thelma, Horace Brimley, Rev. Buchanan
Curtis Willard is called up to serve in the US Medical Corps, and it is a sad day on Waltons Mountain when the body of one of the local boys is bought home from the War to be buried.
b: 10 Nov 77 pc: __________ w: Andy White d: Harry Harris
NOTE: This is G.W,'s final appearance on the show.
"The Battle of Drucilla's Pond"
gs:
Michael Sullivan [ Private Lance ], Alice Hirson [ Jane Stephens ], Joseph Cala [ Sergeant ], Jef Reese [ Sentry ], Kevin Scott Allen [ Soldier ]
rc:
the Godseys, Aimee, Maude, Thelma
While the shadows of war creep closer to Waltons Mountain every day, Olivia paints some of the beauty spots on the mountain, so that valuable links with the past will be preserved for posterity.
b: 17 Nov 77 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson and Claire Whitaker d: Philip Leacock
"The Flight"
gs:
Lynn Carlin [ Sarah Bridges ], Peter Miner [ Joe Douglas ], Michelle Stacy [ Claire ], Dan Priest [ Harrison Bixby ], Jerry Crews [ Ed Larkin ]
rc:
Ike, Sheriff Bridges, Maude, Curt
Jim Bob meets a lad who shares his passionate interest in flying and both make plans for a fantastic future in the sky. Harsh reality, however, brings both boys down to earth.
b: 1 Dec 77 pc: __________ w: Carole Raschella and Michael Raschella d: Ralph Waite
NOTE: The episode occurs during the Fall because Grandpa and Ben are hoeing corn stalks.
"The Children's Carol (1)"
gs:
Sally Boyden [ Tess Wrayburn ], Jeff Cotler [ Pip Wrayburn ], Judith Sharon Morton [ Mrs. Rumsen ], Ivy Bethune [ Landlady ], Ed Owens [ Sgt. Grimes ], David Cramer [ Allem Timmons ], Kate Edwards [ Allison ], Dinah Anne Rogers [ Mrs. Wrayburn ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, Verdie, Curt, Thelma, Rev. Buchanan
As Christmas approaches, two young children who are refugees from the London blitz come to stay at Waltons Mountain in the Baldwin sisters' home. Despite all efforts from those around them to make them feel at home, they remain very aloof. Olivia's faith is greatly tested by this behavior and they eventually stow away in an Army truck. Mary Ellen and John Curtis leave the Walton home to enable them to be nearer to Curt at Christmas, and a robber attacks Verdie.
b: 5 Dec 77 pc: __________ w: John McGreevey d: Lawrence Dobkin
NOTE: This was originally a two-hour episode.
"The Children's Carol (2)"
gs:
Sally Boyden [ Tess Wrayburn ], Jeff Cotler [ Pip Wrayburn ], Judith Sharon Morton [ Mrs. Rumsen ], Ivy Bethune [ Landlady ], Ed Owens [ Sgt. Grimes ], David Cramer [ Allem Timmons ], Kate Edwards [ Allison ], Dinah Anne Rogers [ Mrs. Wrayburn ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, Verdie, Curt, Thelma, Rev. Buchanan
As Christmas approaches, two young children who are refugees from the London blitz come to stay at Waltons Mountain in the Baldwin sisters' home. Despite all efforts from those around them to make them feel at home, they remain very aloof. Olivia's faith is greatly tested by this behavior and they eventually stow away in an Army truck. Mary Ellen and John Curtis leave the Walton home to enable them to be nearer to Curt at Christmas, and a robber attacks Verdie.
b: 5 Dec 77 pc: __________ w: John McGreevey d: Lawrence Dobkin
NOTE: This was originally a two-hour episode.
"The Milestone"
gs:
Louise Latham [ Aunt Kate ], Jim Henaghan [ Mr. Clinton ]
rc:
the Godseys, Rev. Buchanan
Olivia appears to be very nervy and upset and is having difficulty coming to terms with the fact that she is going through menopause. The whole family is worried until she decides to pay a visit to her old home and seek help from her Aunt Kate. Jim Bob is looking for a job and considers using deceit in order to get one.
b: 8 Dec 77 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Philip Leacock
"The Celebration"
gs:
Jack Manning [ J.J. (Joe) Brendamore ], Hal Riddle [ Track Superintendent ]
rc:
the Godseys, Rev. Buchanan, Marcia, Maude, Horace Brimley
Only one more big order is needed to clear the Walton Sawmill of all debts so the Waltons plan a picnic to celebrate the final payment on the loan. However they find out that another member of the community falls foul of the financiers and desperately needs financial help. The girls busy themselves playing matchmaker for the Reverend Buchanan.
b: 22 Dec 77 pc: __________ w: Marion Hargrove d: Gwen Arner
NOTE: This episode takes place sometime in 1940.
"The Rumor"
gs:
Matthew Wanden [ Willie Brimmer ], Ellen Blake [ Marta Brimmer ], Tasha Lee Zemrus [ Katrina Brimmer ], Barry Cahill [ Buck Vernon ], Hal Boker [ Fisk ], Barry D. Blake [ Charley ], German voice [ Chris Anders ], John Heistand [ Radio Announcer ]
rc:
The Godseys, Sheriff Bridges
Germany invades Norway and Denmark causing dismay and distrust when newcomer Willie Brimmer and his family arrive looking for work and a place to live. The suspicion aroused by their arrival is not helped at all by Elizabeth's overactive imagination.
b: 5 Jan 78 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Ralph Waite
"Spring Fever"
gs:
Heather Totten [ Ruby Davis ], Debbie Gunn [ Patsy Brimmer ]
rc:
the Baldwin sisters
Mamie Baldwin fears that it will be her last spring when she discovers that her rosebush is dying. Jim Bob and Ben date each other's girls, but this results in the two boys both being consumed by jealousy.
b: 12 Jan 78 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson and Claire Whitaker d: Richard Chaffee
NOTE: It is the Spring of 1940.
"The Festival"
gs:
James Bond III [ Josh Foster ], T.K. Carter [ Jodie Foster ], Kathleen O'Malley [ Mrs. Wilkens ], Steve Shaw [ George Simmonds ]
rc:
Corabeth, Verdie, Harley, Aimee
Despite prejudice, Jason encourages Josh Foster to audition with him for the Spring Festival; Elizabeth likes a new boy in her class.
b: 26 Jan 78 pc: __________ w: Michael McGreevey d: Gwen Arner
"The Anniversary"
gs:
Christopher Wood [ David Spencer ], John Perryman [ Phone Serviceman ]
rc:
the Godseys, Curt
John and Olivia Walton are preparing to celebrate their 25th anniversary, with each one keeping secrets regarding their present to each other. The children are also busy preparing a surprise family party for them, and Jim Bob is making his own surprise, which ends up blowing the fuses throughout the entire house. Olivia gets a telephone line put on for John, and John builds a gazebo for Olivia on the top of the mountain. The two head off to have their photo taken leaving the children time to get their party ready. However the surprise is on them because the two do not return home. Grandpa however guesses that John's secret has something to do with the mountain and so they pack up the party and take it up to the mountain where they find John and Olivia dancing in the gazebo. While all this is going on, Mary Ellen and Curt are having problems adjusting to being apart. They both feel that they have had very little time to learn about each other and have each been tempted to stray to other people. Curt arrives home unexpectedly just in time for the party, and to allow them to spend some time together.
b: 2 Feb 78 pc: ___________ w: Rod Peterson and Claire Whitaker d: Walter Alzman
"The Family Tree"
gs:
Pauline Myers [ Mrs. Nelson ], Davis Roberts [ Frank Nelson ], Vernon Washington [ the Sexton ], Donald Petrie [ Arnold Kevin ], Amzie Strickland [ Clerk ], Ernestine Barrier [ Miss Estelle Unwin ], William Washington [ Gardener ]
rc:
Ike, Verdie, Harley
Jason helps Verdie investigate her family history; Elizabeth tells a soldier pen pal she is 18 and sends him a photograph of Erin.
b: 9 Feb 78 pc: __________ w: Thomas Hood s: Thomas Hood and Joyce Perry d: Lawrence Dobkin
"The Ordeal (1)"
gs:
Virginia Gregg [ Ada Corley ], Richard Sarradet [ Dr. Jamison ], Julie Gibson [ Evelyn Winfield ]
rc:
the Godseys, Aimee, the Baldwin sisters, Thelma, Sheriff Bridges
Ben and Jim-Bob feel guilty after Elizabeth breaks her legs in a fall from a log pile they stacked improperly. Once out of hospital, the Waltons adjust to Elizabeth's injuries and devise ways to help her learn to walk again.
b: 16 Feb 78 pc: __________ w: Paul West d: Lawrence Dobkin
NOTE: This is originally a two-hour episode.
"The Ordeal (2)"
gs:
Virginia Gregg [ Ada Corley ], Richard Sarradet [ Dr. Jamison ], Julie Gibson [ Evelyn Winfield ]
rc:
the Godseys, Aimee, the Baldwin sisters, Thelma, Sheriff Bridges
Ben and Jim-Bob feel guilty after Elizabeth breaks her legs in a fall from a log pile they stacked improperly. Once out of hospital, the Waltons adjust to Elizabeth's injuries and devise ways to help her learn to walk again.
b: 16 Feb 78 pc: __________ w: Paul West d: Lawrence Dobkin
NOTE: This is originally a two-hour episode.
"The Return (1)"
gs:
Lloyd Nolan [ Cyrus Guthrie ], Sheila Allen [ Fanny Tatum ], Helen Page Camp [ Allie ], Sandy Kenyon [ Willis ], Nancy Priddy [ Nurse Nora ], Walter Brook [ Mr. Johnson ], Lynn Storer [ Burt ], John Perryman [ Merle ], Britt Leach [ Easy Jackson ], Ed Diemer [ Man at Bus Depot ], Rick Beckner [ James (Jim) R. Dolworth ], Don Tuche [ Mr. Preston ]
rc:
the Godseys, Harley, Verdie, Rev. Buchanan, Sheriff Bridges, Thelma, Daisy, the Baldwin sisters
John-Boy decides to revive his hometown's economy by opening the abandoned Guthrie coal mine; Erin conceals her second job. Erin's secret second job is revealed; a sudden cave-in traps John, Jim-Bob, Ben and others in the reopened mine shaft.
b: 16 Mar 78 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Harry Harris
NOTE: This is originally a two-hour episode. Richard Thomas returns as John-Boy in this two-hour episode.
"The Return (2)"
gs:
Lloyd Nolan [ Cyrus Guthrie ], Sheila Allen [ Fanny Tatum ], Helen Page Camp [ Allie ], Sandy Kenyon [ Willis ], Nancy Priddy [ Nurse Nora ], Walter Brook [ Mr. Johnson ], Lynn Storer [ Burt ], John Perryman [ Merle ], Britt Leach [ Easy Jackson ], Ed Diemer [ Man at Bus Depot ], Rick Beckner [ James (Jim) R. Dolworth ], Don Tuche [ Mr. Preston ]
rc:
the Godseys, Harley, Verdie, Rev. Buchanan, Sheriff Bridges, Thelma, Daisy, the Baldwin sisters
John-Boy decides to revive his hometown's economy by opening the abandoned Guthrie coal mine; Erin conceals her second job. Erin's secret second job is revealed; a sudden cave-in traps John, Jim-Bob, Ben and others in the reopened mine shaft.
b: 16 Mar 78 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Harry Harris
NOTE: This is originally a two-hour episode. Richard Thomas returns as John-Boy in this two-hour episode.
"The Revelation"
gs:
Walter Brook [ Mr. Johnson ], Rachel Bard [ Mrs. Garner ], Steve Shaw [ George Simmons ], Tommy Leonetti [ Piano Player ], Will Parker [ the Reporter ]
rc:
the Godseys, Daisy, the Baldwin sisters
John-Boy announces his engagement to Daisy and is offered an assignment in London. When he contacts Daisy's mother, however, he discovers that Daisy has a young daughter. Grandpa "helps" Elizabeth's lemonade business by secretly adding a drop of the recipe.
b: 23 Mar 78 pc: __________ w: D.C. Fontana and Richard Fontana d: Gwen Arner
NOTE: Richard Thomas appears again as John-Boy in this episode.
"Grandma Comes Home"
gs:
Kenny Marquis [ Clarence ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, Rev. Buchanan
An unhappy Grandma returns home to a loving and excited family and an overprotective Grandpa; a shy boy makes plans to see Elizabeth.
b: 30 Mar 78 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson and Claire Whitaker d: Ralph Senesky
NOTE: Ellen Corby returns to the series as Grandma.
Production Credits
Executive Producer: Lee Rich
Created by: Earl Hamner, Jr.
Producer: Rod Peterson
Music: Alexander Courage
Production Manager: Lynn Guthrie
"The Empty Nest (1)"
gs:
Michael Conrad [ Matt Sarver ], Jay W. Macintosh [ Betty Lou Sarver ], Lou Frizzell [ Joe Murdock ], Peggy Rea [ Mrs. Boren ], Sima Conrad [ Secretary ]
rc:
the Godseys, John Curtis
John struggles to fill a huge lumber contract by himself and Erin and Mary Ellen decide to move out of the family home and into an apartment in Charlottesville. Both Matt Sarver and the lumbermen at home offer John good business deals, which help him to fulfill his contract and by the end of the episode Erin and Mary Ellen return home. Also during this episode the family is trying to come to terms with their grief over the deaths of Grandpa Walton as well as their good friend Flossie Brimmer.
b: 21 Sep 78 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson and Claire Whitaker d: Philip Leacock
NOTE: This two-hour episode is dedicated to the memory of Will Geer, the actor who portrayed Grandpa for six seasons. Will Geer died somewhat after the 6th season ended. The year in this episode is 1941, which would also be the same year World War II began. There are some recounts in this episode: Joe Murdock remembering the time Zeb tricked them into moving lumber down the river (episode 90), the scene where Grandma tells Zeb about the first time they walked up the mountain together, when she told him that she was in the family way (episode 43), and the gazebo built for John and Olivia's twenty-fifth anniversary (episode 145).
"The Empty Nest (2)"
gs:
Michael Conrad [ Matt Sarver ], Jay W. Macintosh [ Betty Lou Sarver ], Lou Frizzell [ Joe Murdock ], Peggy Rea [ Mrs. Boren ], Sima Conrad [ Secretary ]
rc:
the Godseys, John Curtis
John struggles to fill a huge lumber contract by himself and Erin and Mary Ellen decide to move out of the family home and into an apartment in Charlottesville. Both Matt Sarver and the lumbermen at home offer John good business deals, which help him to fulfill his contract and by the end of the episode Erin and Mary Ellen return home. Also during this episode the family is trying to come to terms with their grief over the deaths of Grandpa Walton as well as their good friend Flossie Brimmer.
b: 21 Sep 78 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson and Claire Whitaker d: Philip Leacock
NOTE: This two-hour episode is dedicated to the memory of Will Geer, the actor who portrayed Grandpa for six seasons. Will Geer died somewhat after the 6th season ended. The year in this episode is the Fall of 1941, which would also be the same year World War II began. There are some recounts in this episode: Joe Murdock remembering the time Zeb tricked them into moving lumber down the river (episode 90), the scene where Grandma tells Zeb about the first time they walked up the mountain together, when she told him that she was in the family way (episode 43), and the gazebo built for John and Olivia's twenty-fifth anniversary (episode 145).
"The Calling"
gs:
Jeanette Nolan [ Sister Scholastica ], Mitzi Hoag [ Sister Theresa ], Bruce French [ Beau Pauley ], Stacy Nelkin [ Mary Francis Conover ]
rc:
the Godseys, Rev. Buchanan, John Curtis
Jim-Bob's new love, the Baldwin's cousin, has more things than him on her mind as she is preparing to become a nun and Ben unknowingly hires a drunkard to work at the mill.
b: 28 Sep 78 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Gwen Arner
"The Moonshiner"
gs:
Ford Rainey [ Judge ], Brandi Tucker [ Melissa Garner ]
rc:
the Godseys, Aimee, the Baldwin sisters, Boone, Daisy
Jason tries to reform their disreputable relative Boone Walton who comes back to the mountain and promptly gets into trouble with the law and Daisy, John-Boy's ex-fiancee, comes to visit Walton's Mountain.
b: 12 Oct 78 pc: __________ w: Jeb Rosebrook d: Lawrence Dobkin
NOTE: This is Boone Walton's last appearance.
"The Obsession"
gs:
Christopher Woods [ David Spencer ], Brandi Tucker [ Melissa Garner ], Alley Mills [ Nurse ], Suzanne DeLapp [ Superintendent ]
rc:
the Godseys, The Baldwin sisters, Yancy, Sissy, Curt, John Curtis, Daisy
Desperate to do well on her exams, Mary Ellen becomes dangerously dependent on amphetamines while Cissy Tucker decides that she has had enough of Yancy and walks out on her husband.
b: 19 Oct 78 pc: __________ w: Juliet Packer d: Gwen Arner
"The Changeling"
gs:
Russ Marin [ Mr. Larkin ], Patrick Gorman [ Denby ], John Perryman [ Phone Repairman ], Kathy Ritzke [ First Girl ], Kelly Louise Lynn [ Second Girl ]
rc:
the Godseys, Aimee, John Curtis
Elizabeth is about to have her 13th birthday, and is not really looking forward to growing up when a poltergeist appears in the Walton home, frightening everyone. Jason, on the other hand, is enjoying his new job as a radio host who gives advice to the lonely hearts of the district.
b: 26 Oct 78 pc: __________ w: Robert Pirosh d: Lawrence Dobkin
"The Portrait"
gs:
Jared Martin [ Derek Pembroke ], Don Dalesandro [ Doctor ], Lucia Stalser [ Student ], Janine Franklin [ Singer ]
rc:
the Godseys
Erin is strangely attracted to a troubled artist who has just returned from Paris. He asks permission to paint Erin's portrait as a part of a war time mural he wants to create. Grandma gets a canary that refuses to sing.
b: 2 Nov 78 pc: __________ w: John Dunkel d: Ralph Senesky
"The Captive"
gs:
Bronia Wheeler [ Woman ]
rc:
the Godseys, Aimee, the Baldwin sisters, John Curtis
Jim-Bob tries to teach Elizabeth to drive but it seems that she is not a natural. Corabeth's business ventures are ruined by her secret drinking, which is becoming a real problem.
b: 9 Nov 78 pc: __________ w: Ray Cunniff d: Ralph Waite
"The Illusion"
gs:
Todd Bridges [ Josh Foster ], Joan Pringle [ Esther Grant ]
rc:
The Godseys, Verdie, J.D.
Verdie's daughter Esther arrives with her child, bitter over the frustrations of being a college-educated black woman. It seems that even though she has a good education, being a Negro woman she cannot get a good job. Erin, however, manages to help her to find a job at J.D. Pickett's.
b: 16 Nov 78 pc: __________ w: John McGreevey d: Walter Alzmann
NOTE: This is J.D. Pickett's first appearance on The Waltons as the head of a defense plant.
"The Beau"
gs:
Arthur Space [ Marcus Dane ], Lisa Lindgren [ Tanya Bowman ]
rc:
Corabeth, Yancy
Grandma is visited by a former suitor much to Elizabeth's dismay and Jim-Bob starts a business with Yancy to produce fuel from alcohol, instead of the moonshine which Yancy had been making.
b: 23 Nov 78 pc: __________ w: D.C. Fontana and Richard Fontana d: Gwen Arner
"Day of Infamy"
gs:
Robin Eisenman [ Cindy ], Norman Andrews [ Theater Manager ], Sid Conrad [ Professor ], Walker Ed [ Announcer ], Art Gilmore [ Announcer ], Bud Hiestand [ Announcer ]
rc:
the Godseys, Verdie, Curt, John Curtis
The Pearl Harbor attack shakes everyone, especially Mary Ellen, whose husband, Curt, is stationed in Hawaii. Mary Ellen had been preparing for a trip to Hawaii to be with Curt at Christmas time when the news arrives. Curt is assumed to have died in the attack.
b: 7 Dec 78 pc: ___________ w: Paul Savage d: Harry Harris
NOTE: The episode's main point is the United States entering World War II on December 7, 1941. This is also the last appearance of Curt Willard, as he is supposedly "killed" in Pearl Harbor. We are introduced to Cindy, Ben's future wife.
"The Yearning"
gs:
Sean Thomas Roche [ Rev. Andy March ]
rc:
Corabeth, the Baldwin Sisters
Elizabeth finds love when the Waltons house the new minister after a skunk strikes the parsonage and Erin helps the Baldwin ladies to write their memoirs, and in doing so, discovers a ring given to Miss Mamie by her old suitor, Ashley Longworth.
b: 14 Dec 78 pc: __________ w: Juliet Packer d: Nell Cox
NOTE: Rev. Andrew March replaces Rev. Hank Buchanan as the minister.
"The Boosters"
gs:
Pearl Shear [ Zuleika Dunbar ], Llynn Storer [ First man ], Gordon Hodgins [ Second Man ]
rc:
the Godseys, Yancy, the Baldwin sisters
Ben decides to take advantage of a wartime increase in traffic by opening an auto court, despite his father's disapproval while Yancy studies barbering through the mail with the intention of opening a barber shop business.
b: 28 Dec 78 pc: __________ w: Robert Pirosh d: Harry Harris
"The Conscience"
gs:
Hal Bokar [ Sgt. Gates ], David Hunt Stafford [ Lieutenant Billy Steeter ], Sean Michael Rice [ Bert ], Wayne Northrop [ Jeb ], Edwin Owens [ Drill Sergeant ]
rc:
the Godseys
Jason grapples with his misgivings about joining the Army and seriously considers being a conscientious objector. Jim-Bob gets a military tattoo after being told he is too young to enlist.
b: 4 Jan 79 pc: __________ w: Michael McGreevey d: Gwen Arner
"The Obstacle"
rc:
Ike, Mike Paxton, John Curtis
The Walton family takes in an old school friend of John-Boy's who is confined to a wheelchair after suffering an injury in the war.
b: 11 Jan 79 pc: __________ w: Curtis Dwight d: William Bushnell Jr.
NOTE: As of this episode, it is the spring of 1942.
"The Parting"
gs:
Neva Patterson [ Aunt Kate Grover Daly ], Booth Colman [ Dr. C.W. Cauldwell ], Barbara Tarbuck [ Sales Lady ]
rc:
the Godseys
Olivia, worried John is overworking himself, suggests a vacation, only to learn disturbing news about herself after returning home. She discovers that she is suffering from tuberculosis and must enter a sanitarium if she is to recover.
b: 18 Jan 79 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Harry Harris
NOTE: This is the final episode this season that Michael Learned will regularly appear as Olivia Walton. She will make guest appearances as the show goes on.
"The Burden"
gs:
Ivor Francis [ Professor Hoadley ], Tony Moran [ Tinker ], Nolan Leary [ Rev. Bradshaw ]
rc:
Corabeth
An incredible bit of luck saves reckless Jim-Bob from possible serious injury, causing a drastic change in his rebellious attitude.
b: 25 Jan 79 pc: __________ w: E.F. Wallengreen d: Harry Harris
NOTE: Rev. Bradshaw, the fourth minister to appear in the series, is introduced in this episode. He replaces Rev. Andrew March.
"The Pin-Up"
gs:
Christopher Woods [ David Spenser ], Carol Jones [ Jo Ann ], David Hinton [ Private ], Kevin Lee Miller [ Private Wallace ], Kip Niven [ Lt. Clarke Oler ]
rc:
the Godseys
Mary Ellen becomes very overprotective of her son, John Curtis, and neglects her career. Since Curt's death she fears that she may lose her son too. Ben enters a photo of Erin in a contest only to find that the photo is turned into Camp Lee's official pinup.
b: 8 Feb 79 pc: __________ w: Juliet Packer d: Larry Stewart
"The Attack"
gs:
Christopher Woods [ David Spenser ], Lew Brown [ Ed Whipple ], Stanley Grover [ Bill Shyder ], Kenny Marquis [ Clarence ]
rc:
the Godseys, Maude
Ike is hospitalized after a heart attack, leaving Elizabeth in charge of his store; Ben and Jim-Bob go into the molasses business.
b: 15 Feb 79 pc: __________ w: E.F. Wallengreen d: Harry Harris
NOTE: This is Maude Gormley's last appearance.
"The Legacy"
gs:
Jonathan Frakes [ Ashley Longworth Jr. ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters
Miss Emily Baldwin thinks the Army-officer son of her old love is his father, returned to court her. Ashley Longworth, Jr. looks very like his father, who had been refused permission, by her father Judge Baldwin, to marry Miss Emily. Miss Emily still remembers Ashley Longworth very fondly and has always held hope that he might return to marry her. Ashley Longworth Jr., however, appears to be far more interested in Erin. Elizabeth continues to struggle with adolescence.
b: 22 Feb 79 pc: __________ w: William Parker s: Michael Learned d: Gwen Arner
"The Outsider"
rc:
the Godseys
Ben shocks the family with a new bride, and finds married life is not that easy, however Grandma steps in with some very wise advice for the young couple. Ike surprises Corabeth, but with the wrong fountain.
b: 1 Mar 79 pc: __________ W: Robert Pirosh d: Philip Leacock
"The Torch"
gs:
Dorothy Tristan [ Callie May Jesse Jordan ], Christopher Carroll [ Sergeant ], Wyatt Knight [ Soldier #1 ], Daniel Zippe [ Soldier #2 ]
rc:
the Godseys, John Curtis
The Waltons try to protect their father from an old flame who arrives on the mountain and buys the Dew Drop Inn. Elizabeth and Cindy open a canteen for the soldiers of Camp Rockfish.
b: 8 Mar 79 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson d: David Wheeler
"The Talespin"
gs:
Kevin Geer [ Chuck Turner ], Barry Cahill [ Buck Vernon ], John Lawrence [ Deputy ], Jerry Hoffman [ Dr. Canfield ]
rc:
the Godseys, John Curtis
Jim-Bob's dreams of flying in the Air Corps are shot down when he fails an eye test and is rejected by them. He runs off to join the army instead. Mary Ellen tries to match Erin with Curt's old friend, an Army sergeant.
b: 15 Mar 79 pc: __________ w: Claire Whittaker d: Walter Alzman
"Founders' Day"
gs:
Dean Jagger [ Professor Bowen ], John Dayton [ Music Student ], Hank Stohr [ Radio Announcer ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, John Curtis
As a part of his course, Jason is required to compose an original piece of music and the result is Appalachian Portrait. Earl Hamner also appears in this episode to present a small piece on the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Walton family.
b: 22 Mar 79 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Ralph Waite
Production Credits
Executive Producer: Lee Rich
Created by: Earl Hamner, Jr.
Producer: Rod Peterson
Music: Alexander Courage
Production Manager: Lynn Guthrie
"The Home Front (1)"
gs:
Glenn Withrow [ Tommy Satterfield ], George Ralph Dicenzo [ Calvin Satterfield ], Eunice Christopher [ Mrs. Satterfield ], Don Matheson [ Sergeant Barnes ], Todd Susman [ Lapinsky ], Jeanne Campise [ Pearl ]
rc:
the Godseys, Sheriff Bridges, J.D., Aimee
Olivia returns home to find many changes. John helps locate a recruit gone AWOL and Erin considers asking for a raise. Erin finally confronts J.D. Pickett, her employer. Jason shapes up his recruits. A grieving father attacks Jim-Bob and John-Boy is missing in action.
b: 20 Sep 79 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson & Claire Whitaker d: Harry Harris
NOTE: This was originally a two-hour episode. In this two-hour episode, Michael Learned returns as Olivia for the next ten episodes. We get word that John-Boy is missing in action.
"The Home Front (2)"
gs:
Glenn Withrow [ Tommy Satterfield ], George Ralph Dicenzo [ Calvin Satterfield ], Eunice Christopher [ Mrs. Satterfield ], Don Matheson [ Sergeant Barnes ], Todd Susman [ Lapinsky ], Jeanne Campise [ Pearl ]
rc:
the Godseys, Sheriff Bridges, J.D., Aimee
Olivia returns home to find many changes. John helps locate a recruit gone AWOL and Erin considers asking for a raise. Erin finally confronts J.D. Pickett, her employer. Jason shapes up his recruits. A grieving father attacks Jim-Bob and John-Boy is missing in action.
b: 20 Sep 79 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson & Claire Whitaker d: Harry Harris
NOTE: This was originally a two-hour episode. In this two-hour episode, Michael Learned returns as Olivia for the next ten episodes. We get word that John-Boy is missing in action
"The Kinfolk"
rc:
Jeffery, Selena, the Godseys
Cousin Rose arrives at the Walton home with her grandchildren and a determination to make Olivia's life easier and Ike enlists Jim-Bob for a secret project.
b: 27 Sep 79 pc: __________ w: E.F. Wallengreen d: Philip Leacock
NOTE: This is the first appearance of Rose Burton, a cousin of the Waltons. She appears with her two grandchildren, Jeffrey and Selena.
"The Diploma"
gs:
Janette Lane Bradbury [ Ronie Cotter ], Les Lannom [ Sweet Billy ], Madelaine Taylor Holmes [ Grandma Floyd ], Leon Fricke [ Leut. Eller ], Rick Slyter [ Sam ]
rc:
the Godseys, Jeffrey, Selena
Mary Ellen substitutes as the county nurse while John searches for his diploma to prove to the Army that he really did graduate from high school. When he can't locate the diploma he is required to take another test.
b: 4 Oct 79 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Gwen Arner
NOTE: This episode is set sometime in 1943.
"The Innocents"
gs:
Kerry Shear [ Mrs. Kass ], Charles Parks [ Mr. Swanson ]
rc:
the Godseys, Serena, Jeffrey, J.D., Aimee
Olivia campaigns for a day nursery so that the workers at the defense plant are able to leave their children somewhere safe. Plans are being made for the Godsey's anniversary but they are almost ruined by jealousy.
b: 11 Oct 79 pc: __________ w: Juliet Packer d: Gwen Arner
"The Starlet"
gs:
Henry Darrow [ Barry Stone ], Les Lannom [ Sweet Billy ], David Cramer [ G.I. Joe ], Charles Hallahan [ Asst. Director Baker ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, J.D.
A director making a documentary about the Pickett Plant gains Erin's cooperation by telling her she has the potential to become a Hollywood star.
b: 18 Oct 79 pc: __________ w: D.C. and Richard Fontana d: Philip Leacock
"The Journal"
gs:
Richard Venture [ Paul Henshaw ], Diana Douglas [ Mrs. Denman, the Red Cross Lady ]
rc:
the Godseys, Serena, Jeffrey, Aimee
A publisher wants to print John-Boy's manuscript, even though he is missing in action so he approaches John and Olivia for their permission. Jeff doesn't want Reckless put to sleep when he becomes ill.
b: 25 Oct 79 pc: __________ w: Robert Pirosh d: Philip Leacock
"The Lost Sheep"
gs:
Jonathan Frakes [ Ashley Longworth, Jr. ], Elise Catlin [ Erma Jean Small ]
rc:
the Godseys, Serena, Jeffrey
Ashley Longworth Jr. returns to ask Erin to marry him, but their plans are disrupted when he confesses to her that he's an atheist.
b: 1 Nov 79 pc: __________ w: E.F. Wallengren d: Walter Alzman
"The Violated (1)"
gs:
Jordan Clarke [ Son Slater ], Antoinette Stella [ Danny Thatcher ], Diana Douglas [ Mrs. Denman ], John Steadman [ Joe Bascomb ], Macon McCalman [ The Deputy ], Kelly Ward [ Frank Thatcher ]
rc:
the Godseys
Olivia searches for the man who raped an Army wife; Corabeth expects an inheritance; news comes of missing John-Boy. This story is continued in the following episode, "The Waiting".
b: 8 Nov 79 pc: __________ w: Robert Pirosh d: Walter Alzman
NOTE: This story concludes in the next episode.
"The Waiting (2)"
gs:
K Callan [ Nurse Corrigan ], Morgan Stevens [ Sam ], Diana Douglas [ Mrs. Denman ], Regis Cordic [ Dr. Banion ]
rc:
the Godseys, Serena, Jeffrey
Olivia works as a Red Cross volunteer while watching over seriously injured John-Boy's recovery.
b: 22 Nov 79 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Phillip Leacock
NOTE: This is Michael Learned's last appearance as Olivia. John-Boy has returned, but he is in a coma. Also, this is Robert Wightman's first appearance as the new John-Boy.
"The Silver Wings"
gs:
Patsy Rahn [ Betsy Randolph ], Odell Burton [ Buddy Russell ]
rc:
The Godseys, Serena, Jeffrey
Jim-Bob helps a newcomer, the wife of an Air Corps pilot, refurbish an old cabin and finds himself falling hopelessly in love.
b: 29 Nov 79 pc: __________ w: Michael McGreevey d: Stan Latham
"The Wager"
gs:
Cathy Worthington [ Jessica Marlowe ], Mitch Carter [ Sam Barker ], Jonathan Banks [ Jeb Sanders ]
rc:
the Godseys, Serena, Jeffrey, J.D.
Elizabeth coaches Erin and Mary Ellen in a run-and-ride race being held to raise war-bond money; Jeff dreams of meeting a movie star.
b: 13 Dec 79 pc: __________ w: E.F. Wallengreen s: Claylene Jones d: Gwen Arner
"The Spirit"
gs:
Ned Bellamy [ Paul ]
rc:
the Godseys, Serena, Jeffrey, Emily Baldwin
As Christmas nears, Jeffrey befriends an escaped German POW hiding on Walton's Mountain; Corabeth's holiday pageant is canceled.
b: 20 Dec 79 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Herbert Hirschman
NOTE: It is Christmas of 1943.
"The Fastidious Wife"
gs:
Zach Lewis [ Ned ], Denise Latella [ Sue Ann ], Fred Downs [ Dr. Lewis ]
rc:
the Godseys, Serena, Jeffrey
Cindy endangers her unborn baby trying to be the perfect wife, catering to Ben's every whim. Jeffrey names his new cat Harold then finds that he is expecting kittens.
b: 27 Dec 79 pc: __________ w: Loraine Despress d: Gwen Arner
"The Unthinkable"
gs:
Tod Susman [ Ted Lupinsky ], Melvin F. Allen [ Master Sgt. Barnes ], Maryann Oedy [ Flo ], Erica Hunton [ Lucille ]
rc:
the Godseys, Serena, Jeffrey
One of Jason's fellow recruits is a Jewish Polish American, who tells how his grandfather was arrested and killed by German soldiers in Warsaw.
b: 3 Jan 80 pc: __________ w: Dan Ullman d: Ralph Waite
"The Idol"
gs:
Susan Krebs [ Hazel ]
rc:
the Godseys, Serena, Jeffrey, the Baldwin sisters
Elizabeth learns a new progressive teacher she admires is dying. Ben drinks to forget fears of fatherhood. He and Cindy become parents in this episode when their little girl, Virginia, is born.
b: 10 Jan 80 pc: __________ w: Juliet Packer d: Gwen Arner
NOTE: As of this episode, it is the Spring of 1944.
"The Prodigals"
gs:
James Bond III [ Josh Foster ], Macon McCalman [ Deputy Sheriff ]
rc:
The Godseys, Serena, Jeffery, Verdie
Jeffrey and Josh break into Ike's store to retrieve their confiscated gambling winnings. Ben considers going to war after a soldier he meets in town ridicules him.
b: 17 Jan 80 pc: __________ w: Robert Pirosh d: Stan Latham
"The Remembrance"
gs:
Woodrow Chambliss [ Cousin Zadok ], Ivor Francis [ Dean Beck ], Harry Basch [ Harrington ], Ross Elliott [ Colonel Usselbury ]
rc:
the Godseys, Toni
The family isn't sure what to do with Grandpa's cousin who came to collect an old debt from Zeb. Jason pursues a girl named Toni.
b: 24 Jan 80 pc: __________ w: Marion Hargrove d: Herbert Hirschman
NOTE: This is Toni Hazelton's first appearance on the series. As her character will eventually become Jason's wife, Lisa Harrison is Jon Walmsley's real-life wife.
"The Inspiration"
gs:
Philip Linton [ Steve Prince ], Becky Perle [ Norma ], Arthur Hanson [ Dr. Canfield ]
rc:
the Godseys, Serena, Jeffrey, the Baldwin sisters, Drew Cutler
Mary Ellen and John enlist Grandma's help to convince Mamie Baldwin to have a cataract operation.
b: 31 Jan 80 pc: __________ w: E.F. Wallengren d: Ralph Waite
NOTE: Ellen Corby appears as Grandma in this episode. It is said that Grandma had moved to Buckingham County. This is Drew Cutler's first appearance.
"The Last Straw"
gs:
Britt Leach [ Easy Jackson ], Ted Gehring [ Joe Murdoch ], Bob Hastings [ Carl ]
rc:
the Godseys, Serena, Jeffrey, J.D., Dr. Vance
John's nerves are strained to the limit as the orders pile up and the machinery breaks down. Jeffrey builds a soapbox racecar.
b: 7 Feb 80 pc: ___________ w: William Parker d: Harry Harris
"The Traveling Man"
rc:
The Godseys, Serena, Jeffrey, Stanley Perkins
Rose renews an acquaintance with her former dance partner, Stanley Perkins, and he asks her to marry him. Jim Bob decides he wants his own room.
b: 14 Feb 80 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Herbert Hirschman
NOTE: This is William Schallert's first appearance as Stanley Perkins.
"The Furlough"
gs:
Diane Stilwell [ Nan Bennett ], John Furey [ Stewart ], Stephan Keep [ Bragman ], Michael Thoma [ Mr. Truby ]
rc:
the Godseys, Serena, Jeffrey, the Baldwin sisters
John-Boy returns home and tries to recall the details of his plane crash for a comrade's sister. Although he has recovered physically, he still has a problem remembering things. Ike is arrested for draft evasion after he ignores a letter from the army requesting him to enlist.
b: 21 Feb 80 pc: __________ w: Juliet Packer d: Harry Harris
NOTE: John-Boy returns home from the hospital.
"The Medal"
gs:
Jordan Charney [ Capt. Roger Westerby ], Enrique Castillo [ Eddie Ramirez ]
rc:
the Godseys, Sheriff Bridges
Mary Ellen is attracted to a paratrooper who brings her some mementos of Curt. Corabeth's old flame pressures her to meet with him.
b: 28 Feb 80 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson d: Walter Alzman
"The Valediction"
gs:
Gary Imhoff [ Roland Piper ]
rc:
the Godseys, Serena, Jeffrey, Drew
Jim Bob graduates at the head of his class and prepares to go overseas to fight. Erin learns Ashley Longworth has married in London. All the Walton boys go off to fight in the war.
b: 13 Mar 80 pc: __________ w: Claire Whittaker d: Harry Harris
NOTE: Jim-Bob graduates from school and decides to go into the War as a pilot, which sets the basis for the final season.
"A Decade of the Waltons" (120 min)
gs:
Barry Cahill [ Buck Vernon ], Doris Hamner [ Herself ], Bill Hamner [ Himself ], Clifton Hamner [ Himself ], James Hamner [ Himself ], Paul Hamner [ Himself ], Audrey Hawkins [ Herself ], Marion Hawkins [ Herself ], Nancy Jameson [ Herself ], Earl Hamner [ Himself ]
rc:
(via flashbacks) Curt Willard, Marsha Woolery, Mrs. Brimmer, John Curtis, Rev. Fordwick
All the family is preparing for Grandma's birthday and her present is to be a photograph album. This allows us to look back on important moments throughout the series, such as Mary Ellen's wedding (episodes 107-108), John-Boy's departure from the series (episode 125), Grandpa's death (episodes 152-153), Grandma's coming home after her stroke (episode 151), and the Walton house fire (episodes 93-94). Earl Hamner wrote this episode and appears throughout it to tell us about his family, his own mountain in Schuyler, Virginia and about the show itself. At the end of the episode we are introduced to the Hamner family, on whom the show was based, and the actors get to meet their counterparts.
b: 22 May 80 pc: __________ w: Earl Hamner d: Harry Harris and Philip Leacock
NOTE: This special two-hour episode, narrated by series creator Earl Hamner, features the Walton cast and the real Hamner family that the series is based on.
Production Credits
Executive Producer: Lee Rich
Created by: Earl Hamner, Jr.
Producer: Rod Peterson
Music: Alexander Courage
Production Manager: Lynn Guthrie
"The Outrage (1)"
gs:
Jason Moses [ Josh Foster ], Jordan Suffow [ Norman ], Charles Thomas Murphy [ Deputy ]
rc:
Corabeth, Harley, Verdie, Sheriff Bridges, Toni, Drew
John enlists Harley Foster's help with the delivery of an out of town order. Whilst in the town they have to contend with a great deal of prejudice and bigotry, and finally Harley is arrested for a crime he committed many years before. It is left up to John to seek a pardon for him from President Roosevelt.
b: 27 Nov 80 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson & Claire Whittaker d: Philip Leacock
NOTE: This was originally a two-hour episode. In this episode, it is now the spring of 1945, almost the end of World War II. Robert Wightman now joins the cast after making two or three appearances in Season 8.
"The Outrage (2)"
gs:
Jason Moses [ Josh Foster ], Jordan Suffow [ Norman ], Charles Thomas Murphy [ Deputy ]
rc:
Corabeth, Harley, Verdie, Sheriff Bridges, Toni, Drew
John enlists Harley Foster's help with the delivery of an out of town order. Whilst in the town they have to contend with a great deal of prejudice and bigotry, and finally Harley is arrested for a crime he committed many years before. It is left up to John to seek a pardon for him from President Roosevelt.
b: 27 Nov 80 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson & Claire Whittaker d: Philip Leacock
NOTE: This was originally a two-hour episode. In this episode, it is now the Spring of 1945, almost the end of World War II. Robert Wightman now joins the cast after making two or three appearances in Season 8.
"The Pledge"
gs:
Bucklind Beery [ Dr. Hollinson ], Dick Christie [ Sgt. Carey ], Richard Lineback [ Sweet Billy ], Ellen Geer [ Ronie ], Dennis Robertson [ Dean Clifford ], Lawrence Lau [ G.I. ], Chip Frye [ Charley ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, Drew
Mary Ellen becomes increasingly frustrated that her family and neighbors are being put at risk because there is no doctor at Walton's Mountain. After much consideration she decides that she would like to pursue studies at medical school and gradually become the doctor at Walton's Mountain. She encounters a great deal of opposition to her plans from some of the other hospital staff, who do not see the value of a woman becoming a doctor.
b: 4 Dec 80 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Lawrence Dobkin
"The Triumph"
gs:
Mark McClure [ Private Willis ], Dana Gladstone [ Lusco ], Ken Wright [ Slate ], Davis Roberts [ Unknown ], Eldon Quick [ Unknown ], James Nolan [ Unknown ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters
Jason and one of his friends have to deal with the question of killing others during wartime. At home the rations board is investigating Ike and Corabeth.
b: 18 Dec 80 pc: __________ w: Robert Pirosh d: Philip Leacock
NOTE: It is now the Summer of 1945 as of this episode.
"The Premonition"
gs:
Anita Jodelson [ Simone ], Jordan Suffin [ Norman ], Ed Call [ Sgt. Norton ], Woody Eney [ Major Sawyer ]
rc:
the Godseys
John-Boy falls in love with a determined French girl. At home Cindy sees an apparition of Ben in the house, then learns that he has been captured and is now a POW.
b: 25 Dec 80 pc: __________ w: E.F. Wallengren d: Bernard McEveety
NOTE: In this episode, Ben is taken prisoner by the Japanese forces.
"The Pursuit"
gs:
Jennifer Jason Leigh [ Kathy ], Jordan Suffin [ Norman ], Frank Catalano [ Augie ], Richard Molner [ Billy ], Dane Witherspoon [ Clint ], Ken Michelman [ Corp. Bergstrom ], Jerry Hoffman [ Lt. Saunders ]
rc:
the Godseys, Toni
Jim Bob is home on furlough, and meets an old girlfriend who is claiming that she is carrying his baby. Ben defies his captors.
b: 1 Jan 81 pc: __________ w: Michael McGreevey d: Philip Leacock
"The Last Ten Days"
gs:
Jordan Suffin [ Norman ]
rc:
the Godseys, Toni, the Baldwin sisters, Drew
As the war in Japan nears an end, Ben's captor makes an unexpected move and turns him into the American forces. Jason can't commit his future to Toni and the army turns Drew down.
b: 8 Jan 81 pc: __________ w: Marion Hargrove d: Bernard McEveety
NOTE: After 2 Seasons, World War II finally comes to an end.
"The Move"
gs:
Dan Fraser [ Colonel Brunson ]
rc:
The Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, J.D.
Ben returns home from the war with plans to study engineering while J.D. interrupts Erin's vacation. Cindy's father comes to see her and John has some bad news about Olivia: she must be moved to a sanitarium in Arizona.
b: 15 Jan 81 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Harvey Laidman
"The Whirlwind"
gs:
Pamela McMyler [ Betty Howell ]
rc:
the Godseys, Jonesy
After accepting a proposal of marriage from Jonesy, Mary Ellen learns that Curt might well be alive. Jason reopens the Dew Drop Inn.
b: 22 Jan 81 pc: __________ w: Claire Whittaker d: Nell Cox
NOTE: Mary Ellen meets Arlington Wescott Jones in this episode, making it his first appearance on the show. It is revealed that Curt Willard, Mary Ellen's supposedly dead husband, may not be dead at all, which is the basis for the next episode.
"The Tempest"
gs:
Scott Hylands [ Curt ], Pamela McMyler [ Betty Howell ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, Jonesy, J.D.
Mary Ellen discovers that her husband is indeed alive and is living in Florida, but he is quite different from the man she remembers. In fact he tells her that he wants a divorce, leaving her free to marry Jonesy. Curt had, in fact, become impotent as a result of his war injuries and did not want to hold her to a marriage in name only. J.D. begs Erin to come back to work.
b: 5 Feb 81 pc: __________ w: E.F. Wallengren d: Gabrielle Beaumont
NOTE: Curt is played by Scott Hylands in this episode.
"The Carousel"
gs:
Penelope Windust [ Bernadine ], Anita Dangler [ Mrs. Foley ], Bill Erwin [ Dr. Grover ], Edward Bell [ Mr. Nichols ]
rc:
the Godseys, Drew
After Cindy's father dies of a heart attack, she learns that she was adopted and sets out to find her natural mother. Drew's sudden lack of attention in Elizabeth irritates her.
b: 12 Feb 81 pc: __________ w: Robert Pirosh d: Herbert Hirschman
"The Hot Rod"
gs:
Charles R. Penland [ Jody Foster ], Jason Moses [ Josh Foster ], John Carter [ Deputy Sheriff Walt Hendrix ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, Verdie
Jim Bob and Jody return from the service and decide to avoid responsibility for a while. The Baldwin sisters find their grandfather's still.
b: 19 Feb 81 pc: __________ w: Scott Hammer d: Bob Sweeney
"The Gold Watch"
gs:
Carolyn Coates [ Elvira ], Curtis Credel [ Johnny Calico ], Terry Burns [ Dr. Martin ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, Toni, Stanley
Rose's old suitor, Stanley Perkins, returns and conceals a secret about his health from her. Jason and Jody hire a singer to bring business to their newly reopened Dew Drop Inn, but the singer causes problems for Jason when he pays a lot of attention to Toni.
b: 26 Feb 81 pc: __________ w: Juliet Packer d: Walt Gilmore
"The Beginning"
gs:
Kip Niven [ Rev. Tom Marshall ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, Toni
The Waltons Mountain Baptist Church gets yet another new minister, this time Tom Marshall. Toni moves into the Baldwin home and finally admits to everyone that she is indeed Jewish. Despite the differences in their religions, Jason decides to ask Toni to marry him.
b: 5 Mar 81 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Lawrence Dobkin
NOTE: Rev. Tom Marshall, the fifth and final preacher of The Waltons, replaces Rev. Bradshaw.
"The Pearls"
gs:
Orma Lee [ Ronnie Claire Edwards ], Vern Billy Stalcup [ Taylor Lacher ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters
Corabeth's twin sister drops in to see Ike while Corabeth is away. Elizabeth feels very lonely for her parents and makes up her mind to leave home and visit them in Arizona.
b: 12 Mar 81 pc: __________ w: Mary Worrell d: James Sheldon
NOTE: Ronnie Claire Edwards does a double take as Corabeth's cousin, Orma Lee.
"The Victims"
gs:
Carol Jones [ Laurie ], Ben Andrews [ Kenny Ellis ], John Carter [ Deputy Sheriff Hendrix ], Archie Lang [ Buck Vernon ], Michael McDonough [ Deputy Ernie Allen ]
rc:
The Godseys
The Waltons come to the rescue of a woman whose drunken husband beats her and Jim Bob invests in the war surplus hoping to make his fortune.
b: 19 Mar 81 pc: __________ w: Juliet Packer d: Lawrence Dobkin
"The Threshold"
gs:
Pearl Shear [ Zuleika Dunbar ], Ivor Francis [ Dean Beck ]
rc:
the Godseys, Stanley
John-Boy returns home, not knowing what he really intends to do in the future, but an opportunity does present itself. Meanwhile Zuleika Dunbar sets her sights on winning the affections of Rose's beau, Stanley.
b: 2 Apr 81 pc: __________ w: Scott Hamner d: Herbert Hirschman
NOTE: In this episode, the Waltons get their very first television set.
"The Indiscretion"
gs:
Victoria Carroll [ Nina Sue ], Frank Sims [ Alvy Moore ], Dana Craig [ Deputy Bull ]
rc:
the Godseys, Drew
Old love letters make Corabeth think Ike is guilty of adultery and wants a divorce. Drew wants Elizabeth to spend the night with him.
b: 7 May 81 pc: __________ w: E.F. Wallengren d: James Sheldon
"The Heartache"
gs:
Ken Niven [ Rev. Tom Marshall ], Kan Sansom [ Dr. Cole ], Corinne Michaels [ Mrs. Bassett ]
rc:
the Godseys, Stanley, the Baldwin sisters
Rose's happiness with Stanley is threatened by her heart condition and she cancels their upcoming wedding. Cindy finds that work isn't exactly what she expected and she, like Olivia before her, discovers that she would prefer to be at home than at work.
b: 14 May 81 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Herbert Hirschman
NOTE: In this episode, Rose and Stanley get married. This is their last appearance on the series.
"The Lumberjack"
gs:
Morgan Stevens [ Paul Matthews ], Richard Eastham [ Mr. Northridge ], Lew Horn [ Mr. Franklin ]
rc:
the Godseys
Paul Northridge, the son of a man owning a prosperous lumber mill business, arrives at Walton's Mountain and falls in love with Erin.
b: 21 May 81 pc: __________ w: Carol Zeitz d: Harvey S. Laidman
"The Hostage"
gs:
Debbie Lyntton [ Sissy Crooks ], Al Hopson [ Rance Crooks ], Garry Grubbs [ Job Moonie ], Fran Ryan [ Eula Mae Moonie ], Mary Wickes [ Octavia ]
rc:
the Godseys, the Baldwin sisters, Sheriff Bridges
The father of a 14-year old girl promises that she will marry another man from Walton's Mountain, as is the old custom. Mary Ellen, however is appalled that this custom is still practiced and she steps in to try to stop the wedding from taking place. The bridegroom feels that this is unfair though, and kidnaps Elizabeth until his betrothed is returned to him. In this episode, we are also introduced to the Baldwins cousin, Octavia, who pays them a visit. Cousin Octavia is referred to many times throughout the series.
b: 28 May 81 pc: __________ w: Marjorie Fowler d: Herbert Hirschman
"The Revel"
gs:
Bettye Ackerman [ Bell Becker ], Clayton Anderson [ Robert Rockwell ], Mike O'Brien [ James Ingersoll ]
rc:
The Godseys, the Baldwin sisters
John-Boy decides to go to New York to pursue his career as a writer but is forced to return home when times get tough, and back at Walton's Mountain, the Baldwins prepare to hold a ball.
b: 4 Jun 81 pc: __________ w: Scott Hamner d: Harry Harris
NOTE: This is the very last regular episode of the entire series, but The Waltons live on in the reunion movies.
Production Credits
Executive Producers: Earl Hamner and Lee Rich
Created by: Earl Hamner, Jr.
Producer: Robert L. Jacks
Music: Alexander Courage
Cinematography: Kenneth Peach, Jr.
Art Director: John P. Bruce
"A Wedding on Walton's Mountain"
gs:
Tony Becker [ Drew Cutler ], Kristina Callahan [ Unknown ], Richard Eastham [ Mr. Northridge ], David Friedman [ John Curtis ], Adrienne Grant [ Unknown ], Lew Horn [ Unknown ], Joanna Kerns [ Doris Marshall ], Kip Niven [ Reverend Tom Marshall ], Angela Rhodes [ Virginia Walton ], DeAnna Robbins [ Aimee Godsey ], Morgan Stevens [ Paul Northridge ], Louis Welch [ Ashley Longworth Jr. ]
It's getting very close to Valentine's Day at Walton's Mountain, when Erin and her boyfriend, Paul Matthews Northridge, decide that they will get married and that a Valentine's Day wedding would be perfect. Plans for the wedding are coming along nicely until Ashley Longworth Junior arrives back on the mountain and into Erin's life once more. He had been Erin's boyfriend at one stage but had left to go to war and the last Erin had heard of him, he had married someone else. Ashley tries to win Erin back, and in doing so he tries to sabotage an important lumber contract, which had been made by Paul and Ben Walton. Paul is Ben's partner in the lumber mill. Ashley had arranged for the lumber, which was about to be delivered to fulfill the contract, to be stolen, and generally causes all sorts of conflicts between Erin and Paul. Erin's father comes home to see everyone, and he helps Erin to see that Ashley belongs in the past and Paul is her future. Meanwhile we discover that Cindy and Ben are expecting their second baby and Mary Ellen is now in medical school. Mary Ellen's beau, Jonesy, is about to open his veterinary clinic and during the course of the show, saves an expensive horse from being poisoned. Both Jim Bob and Elizabeth are feeling left out because everyone else seems to have someone while they don't. Drew, Elizabeth's boyfriend is away at college and she misses him greatly. Finally Corabeth is still being a busybody and is trying to play matchmaker for Reverend Tom Marshall. She tries her best to find him somebody "suitable". She is quite mortified one morning when she calls on him and a strange woman answers the door. Tom was quite capable of finding his own wife and had married secretly. The movie ends with the celebration of Erin and Paul's wedding. Her mother is unable to come home from the sanatorium where she is recovering from TB, however Grandma does make it to the wedding. Ben and Cindy's daughter, Virginia, makes a lovely flower girl and Mary Ellen and Elizabeth are her bridesmaids. John-Boy as the narrator tells us that the marriage of Erin and Paul is still as strong today as it was then.
b: 22 Feb 82 pc: __________ w: Marjorie Fowler & Claylene Jones d: Lee Philips
NOTE: This is the first of the many Walton movies on NBC in 1982. The original cast is reunited except for Michael Learned and the original John-Boy, Richard Thomas. Erin gets married to Paul Northridge in this movie.
"Mother's Day on Walton's Mountain"
gs:
John Considine [ Unknown ], Joanna Kerns [ Doris Marshall ], Kip Niven [ Rev. Tom Marshall ], DeAnna Robbins [ Aimee Godsey ], Morgan Stevens [ Paul Northridge ]
The Waltons are gearing up for another wedding in this episode, this time for the remarriage of Mary Ellen. She is marrying the vet, Arlington Wescott Jones III, better known as Jonesy. The two marry and set off on their honeymoon, a camping trip, and things are fine until Mary Ellen decides to head to a store to buy some supplies. She turns a corner in her jeep, just in time to see a deer standing in the middle of the track and she swerves to avoid hitting it. The jeep rolls over and Mary Ellen spends the rest of her honeymoon in hospital recuperating. She has sustained internal injuries, which make it advisable for her not to have any more children. This is difficult for her to accept and come to terms with because whilst on their short honeymoon she and Jonesy had been making plans for their future children. Mary Ellen feels that it isn't fair for her to hold Jonesy to the marriage given that he was expecting a marriage with children. He reassures her that she and her son, John Curtis are family enough for him but it is only after Mary Ellen takes a trip to see her mother that she realizes that she has a lot to live for and she happily returns to him. While Mary Ellen is struggling with all this Cindy is reunited with her birth mother who gave her up for adoption. She is very wealthy and wants to provide things for Cindy and her children that Ben cannot afford and this leaves him feeling like a very inadequate father and husband. To add to their stress Cindy goes into labor early and their son, Charlie is born some months early. Problems too, abound between Corabeth and Aimee, when Aimee arrives home appearing to her mother as a tramp and a hussy. Aimee feels that she is not good enough for Cora Beth and that Cora Beth is continually sending her away. She tries to come between Elizabeth and Drew, and it finally takes Jim Bob to tell Aimee that he liked her better when she wasn't trying to be so grown up. By the end of the movie, everything is fine again on Walton's Mountain with Cindy and her children now back with Ben, Cindy's mother accepting their way of life, Mary Ellen, Jonesy and John Curtis being a family and Elizabeth reading an essay about her mother aloud in church on Mother's Day.
b: 9 May 82 pc: __________ w: Marjorie Fowler & Claylene Jones d: Gwen Arner
NOTE: Marry Ellen finally marries Jonesy and Michael Learned makes a special appearance as Olivia from a sanitarium in Arizona.
"A Day for Thanks on Walton's Mountain"
gs:
Royce D. Applegate [ Sweeney ], Daniel Currie [ Peterson ], Robert Donner [ Yancey Tucker ], David Friedman [ John-Curtis ], Jerry Hoffman [ Van Cramer ], Melinda Naud [ Jane ], Angela Rhodes [ Virginia Walton ], DeAnna Robbins [ Aimee Godsey ], Morgan Stevens [ Paul Northridge ]
Elizabeth is feeling really sad because most of the family have made plans to be away from the home for Thanksgiving Day, rather than be together as she had hoped. John-Boy is in New York and Jason is looking into further music study there as well, her parents are staying where Olivia is recuperating, Grandma is in a home, Paul is suffering from the" too many Waltons" syndrome and he and Erin have decided that they need some time together, and even Drew decides that he can't come home. John-Boy, in New York however, feels that he can't write any more and when he sees Jason in New York, he decides to leave his girlfriend Jane and return to Walton's Mountain to recover from his writer's block. It is back here that he does indeed discover what he had missed in New York, and found that it refreshed his soul. John Walton decides to come home for the holiday after all, at Olivia's insistence and Drew also decides to come home to Elizabeth. Jim Bob finds himself in debt after he gets caught up in a scam. He bought a whole lot of automotive parts with money that he borrowed from the Baldwin sisters, and finding that the majority of the parts were worthless. As he says, they saw him coming! Paul finally finds that the house is far too crowded for him after Erin says that now her father is home she wants to spend the holiday at home, and he leaves to stay in the cabin on the mountain. Her father tells him that if he really loves Erin and feels that he can't live in the house with all the Waltons then he should fix up the cabin for him and Erin to live in. Meanwhile Mary Ellen is getting quite disturbed to find her young son is continually missing because he is playing with a friend at the pond. On Thanksgiving Day, however, when the family, including Grandma who is spending some time with them, are looking at old photos, John Curtis discovers a photo of his friend. They are all amazed to find that his "friend" is really old Zeb Walton and that John Curtis seems to somehow see his spirit when he is playing down by the pond. The movie closes with all the family and their friends sitting down for their Thanksgiving dinner and remembering all those who are there, as well as those who aren't.
b: 22 Nov 82 pc: __________ w: Kathleen Hite d: Harry Harris
NOTE: Yancey Tucker returns to the show in this movie.
Production Credits
Executive Producer(s): Earl Hamner Jr., Rich Heller [ CBS #3 ], Lee Rich [ CBS #3 ]
Producer: Earl Hamner Jr. [ CBS #1, #2 ], Sam Manners [ CBS #3 ]
Executive Producer: Earl Hamner and Lee Rich
Created by: Earl Hamner, Jr.
Producer: Robert L. Jacks
Music: Alexander Courage
"A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion"
gs:
Tony Becker [ Drew ], Steven Culp [ Jeff Dulaney ], Kate McNeil [ Janet Gilchrist ], James Karen [ Assistant D.A. Al Sampson ], Stanley Grover [ Sheriff Gilmore ], Christian Cousins [ Clay ], Emily Ann Lloyd [ Katie ], Robert Donner [ Yancy Tucker ], Peter Fox [ Reverend Moseley ], Rachel Longaker [ Aimee Godsey ], Joseph Chapman [ Newsman ]
There seems to have been many changes for the Walton family members as they head into the 1960's. John-Boy is in New York, trying to persuade his fiancÚe to marry him, but she has yet to answer him. Ben and Cindy's daughter, Virginia, has died and Cindy is finding life very lonely without her. She tells Ben that she would dearly love to adopt another baby, but Ben feels that it is not a good idea. He doesn't think that he could love another person's child, and also he is still grieving for Virginia. He eventually does come around though. At this time he is also arguing with his father about their lumber company: he wants to buy a new truck, but John keeps insisting that they can't afford it. Erin now has three children and is separated from Paul. Her decision to start seeing another man causes some indignation among the other Walton family members. Ike and Corabeth become grandparents when Aimee has a little baby daughter, while Elizabeth returns from Europe and reunites with Drew, her old beau. As if that isn't enough excitement, the Baldwin ladies get locked up for brewing the recipe!
b: 21 Nov 93 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson & Claire Whittaker d: Harry Harris
NOTE: This reunion movie marks the return of Richard Thomas as John-Boy Walton, Michael Learned as Olivia, Rachel Longaker as Aimee, Richard Donner as Yancy Tucker, and Peter Fox. Peter Fox played "Reverend Buchanan" on the series, but in this movie, he is "Reverend Moseley". Rose (Peggy Rea) returns to the show also.
"A Walton Wedding"
gs:
Kate McNeil [ Janet Gilchrist ], Holland Taylor [ Flo ], Diane Baker [ Charlotte Gilchrist ], Tony Becker [ Drew ], Roy Brocksmith [ Professor Trumbell ], Nicholas Pryor [ Ralph Gilchrist ], Marshall Borden [ David Drucker ], Deborah May [ Sybil Carruthers ], James Lashly [ Deputy Sheriff Neely ], Peter Fox [ Reverend Mosely ], Milt Tarver [ Chairman ], Rachel True [ Girl Student ]
Richard Thomas once again appears as John-Boy Walton. The year is 1964 and in New York he has met the woman he wants to marry. Her name is Janet Gilchrist and she is an editor of a fashion magazine, and the daughter of a diplomat. The two of them have planned a small wedding in New York and their family and friends from Walton's Mountain will come to New York for the celebration. Janet's Aunt Flo however, has far grander ideas and John-Boy nearly reaches the end of his tether when she begins to take over their wedding preparations. Added to the wedding plan stress, John-Boy is also trying to write an article about his Grandma, but the story seems to be superficial. He decides that he needs to go home to escape the wedding preparations, as well as to reunite with his Grandmother and fill in some gaps, which he feels his story has. While he is on Walton's Mountain trying to put his article together, Janet is left in New York trying to prevent her wedding from getting out of hand. She too leaves the city and heads for Walton's Mountain, and the two plan for a wedding there. Meantime John-Boy is trying to research into Grandma's ancestry and finds no mention of her father in any of the family papers or bible. When he asks her about him she becomes very agitated. Further research into letters held by the Baldwin sisters, reveal that, although he lived in the south, he sympathized with the plight of the slaves and joined the Union to fight against slavery. His neighbors called him a traitor and his family was shamed. Olivia has decided that the time is right for her to return to study and she enrolls in a class at Boatwright University. Being a married woman, with a family, returning to study makes her lecturer wonder why she is there and he makes her time in his class very difficult. John also has his problems. He has recently been elected as a County Supervisor and the lumber company which he and Ben run stands to profit if he votes for a proposed subdivision to go ahead. By this time Elizabeth's boyfriend Drew is also working at the mill. We finally get to the wedding and right in the middle of a wedding song, Jason's wife Toni goes into labor. Fortunately there is a Doctor on hand, and Mary Ellen leaves her bridesmaid duties to go and deliver the new little Walton, Patsy Kline Walton.
b: 12 Feb 95 pc: __________ w: Rod Peterson & Claire Whittaker d: Robert Ellis Miller
NOTE: John-Boy and Janet get married in this movie, and the whole cast, except Will Geer, is there for the celebration.
"A Walton Easter"
gs:
Sage Allen [ Unknown ], Tony Becker [ Drew ], Julie Benz [ Unknown ], Mike Boorem [ Unknown ], Orlando Brown [ Unknown ], Peter Crombie [ Calvin Weeks ], Zack Eginton [ Jimmy Weeks ], Brooke Garrett [ Unknown ], Nicholas Hormann [ Lincoln Terry ], Brittany Levenbrown [ Susan ], Kate McNeil [ Janet Gilchrist Walton ], Jennifer Parsons [ Rebecca Weeks ], Kyla Pratt [ Unknown ], Carmen Twillie [ Unknown ], Patrick Tyler [ Unknown ], Charles Walker [ Unknown ], Sydney Walsh [ Unknown ], Joe Whipp [ Unknown ]
As the movie opens, it is set in 1969 as we get shots of man walking on the moon for the first time. John-Boy is the news anchorperson in New York and he is in the throes of writing a new book. He and Janet are making plans to return to Walton's Mountain once more, for the celebration of John and Olivia's 40th wedding anniversary. This time it is Janet who is pregnant, with her and John-Boy's first child. Accompanying them to see the place John-Boy lived as a child is Aurora, a Time magazine photographer, who is doing a story on John-Boy. Just as Janet and John-Boy have settled into life on Walton's Mountain once more, Elizabeth arrives back from her travels and announces to Drew, who is still working at the mill with Ben, that she is back to stay. She is very upset to find that Drew did not wait for her, and that he has a new girlfriend. She had envisioned that when she arrived home that Drew would be ready and willing to marry her. Problems arise for John-Boy and Janet though, because the longer John-Boy stays on the mountain, the more he becomes convinced that he would like to settle down there, raise his family, and continue with his writing. In fact he is presumptuous enough to assume that Janet would love the same thing and he puts an offer in to buy the cabin where he goes to write. Janet wishes to remain in New York though, and they end up compromising and will use the cabin as a weekend retreat. In the meantime, Mary Ellen gives Janet a prenatal checkup and find that there are two babies, and so Janet and John-Boy now begin to prepare for the arrival of their twins. Drew is totally confused about his feelings for Elizabeth and finally pops the question: "So, are you going to marry me, or what?" After John and Olivia exchange their wedding vows once more, and leave for a short holiday, a gift from their children, John-Boy and Janet leave Walton's Mountain to return to New York. They don't get very far though and Janet goes into labor. Dr. Mary Ellen, of course, is on hand to help out with the birth and soon the newest Waltons, a boy and a girl, are born. Another interesting plot in this movie is the appearance of the Baldwin sisters who, feeling that they are getting on in age, wish to pass on the secret of "The Recipe", to someone. They choose John Walton as their beneficiary, and this causes some interesting and very amusing moments with the Walton men trying to keep Olivia from finding out.
b: 31 Mar 97 pc: __________ w: Julie Sayres d: Robert Ellis Miller
NOTE: This is the very last Waltons movie of the entire Walton legacy. John-Boy and Janet now have children and Drew asks Elizabeth to marry him. This makes a perfect ending to a series that stood the test of time.
NOTES
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