- Today I am sharing behind-the-scenes insights
into the episode "The Hunt".
Now, "The Hunt" was actually
the very first episode that we filmed,
although it was not the very first episode that aired.
For some reason, they decided to shift them around.
So, this was about the fourth, third or fourth episode
that originally aired in 1972.
Of course, in this episode,
Mary Ellen has to decide between
the catcher's mitt and the dress,
and this is based upon her crush on G.W. Haines.
Now, when they were casting David Doremus as G.W. Haines,
they actually had me come into the casting sessions,
and read with some of the actors
that were kind of their final choices,
and I guess to kinda see how the chemistry was between us.
But, I always had fun working with David Doremus.
He was a lovely actor,
and it was kind of nice,
the way his character interwove
through the first couple of seasons,
and at first, he was sort of my boyfriend,
and then he became Erin's boyfriend,
and then, of course,
tragically he was the first casualty of war in World War II,
in the episode "The First Casualty".
But, so I particularly remember the casting of David.
I also remember Cindy Eilbacher,
who played Martha Rose Coverdale,
who was also a character
that spanned a number of episodes
over the course of the series.
Now, Cindy and I,
the history that we had was that,
I did a lot of auditioning
for different TV shows and, you know,
TV movies and things like that,
before "The Waltons".
And there was a handful of actresses
that I would see all the time.
We were just in the same category,
and we auditioned for the same stuff.
So she got a lot of roles
that I went out for and didn't get,
so, I think she also actually auditioned
for the role of Mary Ellen,
so this was one of the first times
that I got the role instead of her,
so, I feel like,
although she continued to have a career,
I feel like I was very fortunate
to have landed this particular role over Cindy.
But, she was super talented,
so, I thought she'd played Martha Rose brilliantly,
and then, some of my favorite things in the episode were,
I loved the stuff with the junk man.
And I loved what I started to be able to develop
in terms of Mary Ellen's character
and things about her,
that she was very entrepreneurial,
even as a teen, and, you know,
the bargaining and everything.
And, there have been times
when I've asked to recommend a clip from the show,
and that's one that I will often choose,
is that bartering with the junk man there,
'cause I thought it just epitomized
Mary Ellen's character.
But she was also thoughtful enough
to see that her young sister Elizabeth
really liked that parasol
and threw that one in, too.
So, a fun first episode,
and I was really pleased to have a lot to do,
in terms of diving into the series,
and really establishing my character as this tomboy,
and I'm so glad that she ultimately
chose the catcher's mitt,
I was a tomboy myself,
I've been engaged in a lot of sports over the years,
so, it made sense to me.
Although I liked to dress up,
I was less of a girly girl than I was an athlete.
So, I hope you've enjoyed
this behind-the-scenes of "The Hunt",
and please, again, feel free to comment below,
and, subscribe.
Let me know that you enjoy what's happening here,
and I'll continue to be covering
some of the various different episodes and questions
that you have asked in the comments.
All right, thank you for sharing this with me,
and I'll see you next time.