- Welcome to a new segment
of behind the scenes of "The Waltons" and "Ask Judy."
Today I am taking more of your questions
and some of them specific,
some of them that we just get asked a lot
that I thought I would take up.
As a side note,
often when I answer questions,
particularly in the comments below,
my reply tends to be, in some cases,
I don't know, I don't remember.
These episodes were shot between 1972 and 1981.
We shot over 212 - 15 episodes.
Some of them become a bit of a blur.
At the time that the series started airing in 1972,
we didn't have recording devices for our TVs.
I didn't have a VCR until maybe 1978-79.
So for all of those original seasons,
if I wasn't home on a Thursday night at eight o'clock,
I didn't see it.
So there're some episodes that I may never have seen.
The show did not go into reruns
until after it went off the air in 1982.
So even though I, at that point,
had a record.., a VCR or whatever,
and I would try to record episodes,
I didn't always get a chance to see them.
So it's been fascinating to me.
I've really enjoyed going back
and doing these behind the scenes
because I have gone
and taken a look at some of these episodes again
that I haven't seen for a long time
and it, it does bring back so many wonderful memories
and it's quite nostalgic for me to look back.
Sometimes I watch an episode and I,
I don't remember this at all.
I don't remember filming it (laughing).
I don't remember what happened in these scenes.
You know, I was only 14 when we started the series.
So I apologize if I'm not able
to answer some of your questions in more detail
or give you more specific memories
on some of these episodes,
but I'm really enjoying sharing what I do remember.
And I do appreciate all of your interest in the series.
Next question is from Megan.
She was asking if I have a favorite episode.
I don't have one single favorite episode.
Some of my favorites, I've done segments on already.
And I've mentioned that they were ones I loved.
The Easter Story when our mama had polio
and overcame that,
The Burnout when the house had that fire,
and it was just a very memorable episode to film.
The Fire Storm - one of my absolute favorites.
Such a strong story and such an important message.
So there were, there were episodes like,
like that. Day of Infamy, again, just a strong storyline.
And of course,
some of those episodes that I had a lot to do
as a character,
I liked because it was fun for me
to have a strong storyline, also.
So she also asked if I'm still in contact with my coworkers.
And yes,
that's probably a question I get asked more than any other
when I'm out and about or meet people is, you know,
did the cast get along and do we still see each other?
And that is a resounding, Yes!
We all totally get along.
They are my second family.
We love each other.
We see each other whenever we can.
We talk on the phone. During this whole virus shut down -
we've had some Zoom get togethers.
I've done a couple of Zoom, little, you know,
tea - cocktail parties with some of the cast.
So yes, we're still very close and stay in touch.
So thank you for asking.
Mama, daddy, everybody, I'm pregnant."
- Mary Ellen.
We're gonna be uncles!
(laughing)
Mary Ellen!
- Someone asked if I was pregnant in real life
when I was pregnant with John Curtis on the show.
No, I was not.
I didn't have my son 'till well after the series ended.
So that was all pretend pregnancy.
Also, were there any ad-libbed scenes that made it to air
or accidents they kept?
There was always a certain amount of ad-libbing
in some scenes.
Particularly at the beginning of scenes.
If we were around the kitchen table,
everybody might've been gathering and passing things around.
So there might've been ad-libbing then.
Sometimes at the end of scenes.
Sometimes if there was just supposed to be some announcement
and everybody was supposed to get -
have a reaction to that.
Those types of things would be ad-libbed.
So, yes, that was, that was an ongoing thing
as part of episodes.
There were accidents,
happy accidents that were kept.
I don't know that I could give you a specific right now.
I spoke about that in the segment about The Homecoming
with the grandpa and everybody running to the door
when somebody arrived
and us literally knocking Edgar Bergen
over in his rocking chair,
and they kept that take because it just looked so realistic.
He was not injured,
but it was an accident that they kept.
Have another question here,
where were we all situated while recording the good nights?
The good nights were one of those things,
because it was all audio that they would just grab
at different times.
We'd get some sort of a note down
from the production office that editing needed
the good nights.
So the script would be there.
Whoever was involved with that week's good nights
that needed to be recorded,
would gather around the sound mixer
with the big overhead boom mic.
And we would just do several versions,
several takes of the good nights.
So that might happen in the kitchen, the living room.
Usually they tried to do it indoors.
I, we may have occasionally done it outside,
but sound was always better on the sound stage.
So they tended to grab it at some point
when we were on the sound stage.
And of course they were always different,
so different people were involved
and they'd also have to do it on a day
when all of the actors involved with those good nights
were working.
Ultimately, Robert Wightman was cast to come in
and play the new version of John-Boy.
The cast created our new relationships with that character
and it just played differently.
I think if Robert Wightman had originally been cast
as John-Boy,
all of those relationships and dynamics
would have developed naturally with that group of actors
and probably, no one would have thought anything differently
about it.
It was just,
I believe the difference between Richard's portrayal
and his choices for how he played John-Boy,
and the more subtle way in which Robert
chose to play John-Boy, that, you know,
didn't work for everybody,
but he's a lovely man and a lovely actor.
Another question I get asked a lot about
is why did they bring Curt back?
Honestly, I don't know why,
why they brought the character back.
Again, my best guess is that the character of Mary Ellen
had met Jonesy and was looking at pursuing
that relationship,
you know, getting married to Jonesy.
And I believe story-wise,
they wanted to put some obstacles in her way.
Somebody clearly got the idea
that it would be an interesting obstacle to find out
that Curt hadn't actually died at Pearl Harbor.
So that was created.
Why Tom Bower wasn't back to play the character
of Curt again, I don't know.
Scott Hylands was hired.
Scott Hylands is a wonderful actor.
Again, just a different character, different actor.
So it was,
it was an interesting choice to go that direction
with not only the casting, but the storyline,
all of the details behind it,
I don't really know.
Thank you again for your questions.
That's what I have for you on this segment of "Ask Judy."
I will be back with more of your questions
and more behind the scenes of "The Waltons".
Thank you very much for watching.
See ya next time.