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Today, I'm talking about the episode, "Day of Infamy".
This was another really historic moment
that the Waltons addressed on the series.
The points of realism in this episode,
I was fascinated by.
Us sitting around the radio,
and recognizing that that was really
the way people were able to get news in the fastest fashion.
We didn't have TV. We didn't have telephones everywhere.
But even when we were filming the Waltons,
we didn't have internet yet.
So I wasn't used to that,
but to think that people had to wait
so long to gather information
if it was going to come through
traditional newspapers or newsreels.
So the radio was the lifeline for people
to get updates on important events.
And those weren't always immediate either.
But in this episode, of course, we were, you know,
just glued to that radio for news about what was happening.
We used the actual radio broadcast
of President Roosevelt talking about the attack
on Pearl Harbor.
- [Roosevelt} United States of America
was suddenly and deliberately attacked.
- Those pieces of realism,
I thought were part of what made the Waltons so authentic.
That we didn't invent those things.
We didn't fictionalize those points.
And they added to creating a real sense
that we were there in that time.
These were ways in which I learned more about history
than I ever had a chance to learn through textbooks
or in history classes.
So I really appreciated that additional education
that I got through these things
like this actual radio broadcast,
which I certainly never listened to in school.
So, I felt very fortunate to have those insights,
and through the writers and the research
that they did about these time periods and these incidents.
And then the additional research that I did at times
about these particular incidents.
So, to this day on December 7th,
I remember this episode.
I remember the impact of filming this episode,
watching this episode,
and feeling this connection to that moment in history.
I felt that this episode did a amazing job
of building the tension and the drama
of what that must have been like for people
waiting to hear more news.
The way everything stopped.
That you see people around their radios.
That you see Ike and Corabeth listening to the radio
in their store, and then Verdie coming to our house
and people wanting to hold together and lend support
to each other during this very trying time.
And I think that that, we still do that today in society,
but in a slightly different fashion.
I think this really highlights
the way in which that community relied on each other.
Of course, for Mary Ellen,
this was one of the most heartbreaking episodes.
And personally, I really felt that as the character.
I talked about this when I was speaking about the episode,
"The Burnout", where in that moment,
when we were watching the fire around the house,
and knowing that members of our family
were supposed to be in there,
that it was very easy to play the emotion of that moment.
And I found that the same with the ending
of this particular episode.
The combination of Jim Bob, David Harper,
and the simplicity of his beautiful work
when he shared with me what was in the telegram.
That really moved me.
And then the moments with Ellen, just unspoken.
An exchange and the history that the two of us had together,
and everything that we had been through
during the filming of the Waltons.
There was this really in-depth exchange that we had,
unspoken in that moment, that we both acknowledged,
and I think was really visible in the work,
culminated by Ralph reading the letter that Curt
gave to Grandma, and hearing the beautiful words
that were written to talk about each of the members
of the family as if Curt had written that.
And each of the things that was said was so true
about the characters and feeling them around me,
and everybody sharing that moment,
and the emotion of that moment,
made it really impactful to film
and very easy to experience the emotion of the moment.
It had a truth to it that made it very easy
to play that scene.
And I think that when it was finished and edited together,
it was an absolutely beautiful sequence.
And one that still, when I watch it, even having filmed it,
it moves me every time.
And I'm just always so proud of the show.
I'm so proud to have been a part of it
and the quality of it, and the performances
that everybody gave week after week.
You know, if you're going to be connected and associated
with a show for your entire life,
I'm just just really glad that it's something
that I'm proud to have been a part of.
So, thank you for sharing that with all of us
and helping to keep it on the air for all these years.
I'll be back with more Behind the Scenes of the Waltons.
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