‘Waltons’ patriarch Ralph Waite dies
Ralph Waite, who played patriarch John Walton Sr. on “The Waltons” for nine seasons, died in February at age 85.
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| Ralph Waite |
The series about a rural Virginia
family struggling through the Great Depression , premiered in 1972 and ran
for nine seasons on CBS, earned 13 Emmys, and was watched by 18 million people
weekly. It was the No. 1-rated drama by its second season.
“The Waltons” was based on Earl
Hamner’s best-selling novelized memoir, “Spencer’s Mountain,” which was adapted
into a 1963 film starring Henry Fonda and Maureen O’Hara, “Spencer’s Mountain.”
Michael Learner played matriarch
Elizabeth Walton. Richard Thomas played John-Boy. Ellen Corby, who died in
1999, and Will Geer, who died in 1978, played the grandparents. The other
children were played by Mary McDonough (Erin), Judy Norton (Mary Ellen), Jon
Walmsley (Jason), Eric Scott (Ben), David W. Harper (Jim-Bob), Kami Kotler (Elizabeth),
Roni Claire Edwards (Corabeth), Leslie
Winston (Cindy). Robert Wightman was John-Boy, Jr. Claire Shane played Virginia
“Ginny” Walton.
Future stars appeared in a few
episodes. John Ritter, as the Rev. Matthew Fordwick. Wilford Brimley. as Horace
Brimley; George Tobias, as Vernon Rutley;
Cleavon Little, as Hawthorne Dooley; Paul
Michael Glaser, as Todd Cooper; Sissy Spacek, as Sarah Jane Simmons; Linda Purl, as Alica Hanover; William Windom, as Charlie Snead; Ned Beatty,
as Curtis Norton; Ron Howard, as Seth Turner; Gerald McRaney, as Tim Collins;
and Erin Moran, as Sally Ann Harper.
Series creator Earl Hamner, 90, was
the unseen narrator.
To read more about “The Waltons” and
its cast and guest stars, click on
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