THE WALTONS ​1972 Cast Then and Now 2021 How They Changed

THE WALTONS ​1972 Cast Then and Now 2021 How They Changed

The Waltons is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book Spencer’s Mountain the 1963 film of the same name and the 1971 television movie The Homecoming: A Christmas Story.

The TV movie The Homecoming: A Christmas Story was broadcast on December 19, 1971. Based on its success, the CBS television network ordered one season of episodes based on the same characters and that became the television series The Waltons. Beginning in September 1972, the series subsequently was broadcast on CBS for nine seasons. After the series was canceled in 1981, NBC broadcast three television film sequels in 1982, with three more following in the 1990s on CBS. The Waltons was produced by Lorimar Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution in syndication.

The show’s end sequence featured the family saying goodnight to one another before drifting off to sleep, and according to the BBC (which also broadcast the series in the U.K.) “Goodnight, John Boy” was one of the most common catchphrases of the 1970s.