- Welcome back to another segment
of Behind the Scenes with "The Waltons".
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.
So for Valentine's Day,
I thought I would do a special episode
about the romances on "The Waltons."
I wanna start with the first and my favorite
romance on "The Waltons," which was John and Olivia.
They were just so perfect together.
They had obviously tremendous love,
but they were able to support each other
through everything that each of 'em was going through.
They fought at times, but you never questioned
that everything was gonna work out between them.
And I loved the teasing and the bantering
and the twinkle in the eye.
The obvious love, not only between John and Olivia,
but also the real life love between Michael and Ralph,
who really were just so close
throughout their entire time on "The Waltons" and beyond.
Some of my favorite scenes with John and Olivia
were at the seashore when they built sandcastles and played
and when they tried to go away on a honeymoon
and it didn't work out
and they ended up taking the children.
There were just so many beautiful moments.
And then of course, when they remarried
and renewed their vows.
So that was wonderful, too.
The next relationship to me was Zeb and Esther.
They were married for 50 years plus.
And in fact, we saw them celebrate
their 50th anniversary in the episode, "The Heritage."
Another adorable relationship,
the way Grandma was always calling him, "You old fool."
And Grandpa was always teasing Grandma
and trying to get her to loosen up.
But you also really saw when it came down to it
the tremendous bond between the two of them
when Grandpa sat up all night outside the hospital
and when Grandma on his birthday after the heart attack
was so determined to get him moved outside
where the mountain air would heal him.
And of course, the beautiful, beautiful moments
when Grandma comes home after her stroke,
and that they had that last episode together
before we lost Will.
So one of my favorite, favorite relationships
and love stories on "The Waltons".
For the Walton children,
most of the children ultimately ended up
with a husband, wife, or significant other
by the end of the series.
For Mary Ellen, there was Curt,
who she married in Season 5.
And then later on towards the end of the series
in the 9th Season, and then in the reunion specials,
Mary Ellen married Jonesy.
And he appeared in later reunion specials.
And we had the sense
that that was a relationship that was going to last.
Jason, he ultimately married Toni,
who at first it seemed like they weren't gonna be
a good match, but ultimately,
they ended up to be the perfect match.
And in real life, Jon Walmsley
was married to Lisa Harrison who played Toni Hazleton.
They later divorced and Jon has now very happily remarried.
But for Toni and Jason, they married,
they had about five children
all named after various different music legends.
So we felt that that was going to, again,
be an enduring marriage and family.
Ben and Cindy were just a solid couple
right from the beginning, and he brought her home.
He surprised everybody.
They eloped and they had their moments,
particularly when they weren't dealing
well together in the beginning.
And Ben was trying to be too domineering.
And ultimately, Grandma resolved that with the famous broom
and showing Cindy that she should just take a broom
to Ben when he was out of hand.
So that launched a very workable
give and take in the relationship of Ben and Cindy.
For Erin, in the 9th Season,
we did see her meet Paul Northridge,
and then in the first of the reunion specials,
she married Paul Northridge.
Unfortunately, in later reunion specials,
we came to find out that it had not worked out
and they had ultimately divorced, but she did have children.
And we hoped that Erin went on
to find another very happy marriage.
Elizabeth had her longtime boyfriend, Drew.
And in the last reunion special,
Drew does propose marriage to Elizabeth.
And that was a wedding I would've liked to have seen.
We never had a chance to do that reunion
and marry Elizabeth and Drew,
but that marriage exists in my mind forever.
Jim Bob was the only one who never was engaged
or married or really had
what we would consider his significant other.
So we still have future hopes for Jim Bob.
And last but not least, of course,
was John Boy who celebrated his wedding
in one of the reunion specials when he married Janet.
And this really represented Earl Hamner's
marriage to his wife, Jane.
So that was lovely to see.
And then, of course, they had their twins,
which Mary Ellen delivered in the final Walton reunion,
A Walton Easter.
Of course, the Waltons weren't the only ones
who enjoyed their romance and love stories on "The Waltons".
Some of my favorites that I wanted to touch on
were Verdie and Harley.
I mean, how perfect were those two for each other?
And Lynn Hamilton and Hal Williams
were just two of the sweetest, kindest,
most wonderful people we ever had the honor
to work with on "The Waltons".
Also along the way, Ike and Corabeth.
Now, that was a marriage of opposites,
but somehow, they made it work.
And I loved the ongoing dynamics of Ike and Corabeth.
We also had Reverend Fordwick and Miss Hunter.
Of course, there was a little triangle involved there
when John Boy thought he was in love with Miss Hunter.
But ultimately, those two married
and I delivered Rosemary's baby as well.
That sounds weird, but (laughs)
it was lovely to see that relationship.
And it would've continued but John Ritter, of course,
got the series "Three's Company"
so he left "The Waltons" to go pursue
his very successful comedy career.
Next relationship that I wanted to touch on
was Ep and Sarah.
Ep Bridges, our sheriff, and Sarah Griffin,
who was supposed to be someone he had known in the war,
who came back to Walton's Mountain
and they rekindled that love affair
and they also married on the show.
Then we had Yancy and Sissy,
another just comedy relief relationship,
but they seemed very well-suited.
And Robert Donner and Cissy Wellman
were actually married in real life.
So what perfect casting.
Then there was Rose and Stanley.
This happened in Season 9 after some back and forth,
but they really were quite adorable together
and we were happy to see them finally
have their happy ending when they married.
Ann and Curtis Norton of course.
The family was instrumental
in getting the two of them together,
and we saw them in a couple of episodes.
And then of course, they adopted the young Stevie
and became a real family,
the three of them together.
We had Uncle Cody and Cordelia.
Now that had its bumps along the way.
Cordelia had been many times married
and people were concerned, but ultimately,
Uncle Cody knew exactly what he was getting into
and believed that they shared an actual
real, legitimate, sincere love.
And they married.
And I want to believe like all the rest
that they were very happy together.
Then young Olivia and Bob,
who of course married on the mountain,
but then sadly, Bob was killed in a car accident.
So young Olivia was left widowed way too young.
And hopefully, we'd like to also think
that she went on to find another wonderful love in her life.
We had Vera and Wade Walton who went through
some bumpy times along the way, but again,
they found their way when they moved back
to the mountain to go back to who they really were
and their roots and what made them happy
as a couple in the life that they loved.
So happy to see that happen.
Then there were the "didn't quite work out" relationships.
Of course, Miss. Mamie (Miss Emily) and Ashley Longworth.
But how prominent and present did we feel
that relationship throughout the series?
And I think it would've been fun to perhaps
have a spinoff that took
Miss Emily and Ashley on their own journey
that had a happy ending.
And then there was the alluded to romance
between Miss Mamie and Porter Sims
that I think was mostly in Miss Mamie's mind,
but it gave her some comfort.
So those were the relationships, the love stories
on "The Waltons" that I want to touch on here
for Valentine's Day.
I'll be back soon in another episode
with all of the romances along the way,
and we'll track with some of those various
different relationships that members of the family
found themselves engaged in
on the path to their happy ending.
So I wish all of you a very Happy Valentine's Day.
I hope that you are enjoying the day
and a celebration with your loved one,
your significant other.
And I will be back with more behind the scenes
with "The Waltons" and more Ask Judy.
Thanks for watching.