![]() ![]() “There’s something in there that we are missing today, and it’s the sense of community, of unity, of battling through hard times.Have you ever watched one of those TV shows that runs for 15 years in real time, yet on the show remains stuck in, like, 1974…? The show “talked about religion and faith in a way that does not demean people,” Curry said. On a personal note, Cotler, a secular Jew, credits grandpa Zeb, played by the late Will Geer, with teaching her how to sing church songs on the show.Ĭurry, the Kentucky pastor, said “The Waltons” reflected how Jesus often rebukes religious people for hypocrisy in the Bible, while commending an unexpected person - such as a Samaritan who helped a stranger - for showing love and grace. Those lessons, Cotler said, “are perhaps even more relevant today.” Over the show’s long run, the Waltons and their neighbors learned valuable lessons about overcoming differences and treating everyone with love and respect. “I mean, in a small community in the mountains of Virginia in the Depression, if you don’t deal with the church aspect of things, then you don’t deal with things as they were.” “The religious aspect of the show had to do with the fact that Earl Hamner was talking about a time and a place … where those issues were very much in play,” said Thomas, now a grandfather of four. made a rare appearance at church and pointed to Jesus’ words from John 8:7: “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” In 1972′s “The Sinner” episode, a young pastor played by the late John Ritter arrived preaching fire-and-brimstone Bible verses.īut he inadvertently became intoxicated after drinking too much of the “secret recipe” served by the Baldwin sisters, two prim and proper recurring characters who didn’t seem to realize they were bootleggers.Īfter the mishap touched off something of a scandal, John Sr. “I’ve always looked for God in my own way,” he said in one episode.Īn ongoing theme was the appearance in Walton’s Mountain of an outsider - a Jewish family fleeing Nazi persecution, a Black boxer and preacher raising money for a new church, a Hollywood actress who smoked and drank - who met a mixed reception. Olivia was a devout Baptist, but John Sr. and Olivia Walton - played, respectively, by the late Ralph Waite, an ordained minister in real life, and Michael Learned - frequently clashed over their differing approaches to God. “People will joke that it was very saccharine sweet, but I don’t think that it actually was.” “The show frequently told really simple human stories that resonate with people because that’s what life is like,” said Cotler, now an educator in southern California. Kami Cotler, who was 6 years old when she first starred as youngest sibling Elizabeth in a 1971 holiday TV movie that launched the series, still interacts regularly with such fans via her Facebook page, which has nearly 150,000 followers.Ĭotler said “The Waltons” shared “universal truths” that help explain its lasting popularity. ![]() “I just told my kids, ‘One day when I’m old and in my wheelchair, just wheel me in front of ‘The Waltons’ on a continual loop, and I’ll be happy,’” Jackson said. The homespun stories still connect with the 55-year-old mother of three. She became a fan as a kindergartner and as an adult placed “Waltons” DVDs in the resort cabins that her family operated in the Ozarks of northern Arkansas. ![]()
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