Several surviving members of the cast of the long-running CBS hit The Waltons are set to reunite as part of Stars in the House, a daily, streaming series created to benefit The Actors Fund and its services, which are providing financial help to people in the arts during the pandemic. Created by Earl Hamner, Jr. and based on his 1961 book Spencer’s Mountain, The Waltons launched with the TV movie The Homecoming: A Christmas Story in December 1971 and then ran for nine seasons on CBS, from 1972 until 1981. During that time, it became a massive hit and such a cultural touchstone that decades after its cancellation, its “good-night, John Boy” sequence has continued to be parodied and homaged.
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Following the show’s cancellation in 1981, NBC picked up The Waltons for a trio of TV movie sequels in 1982. It returned to CBS in the ’90s, where three more would air, with the last — A Walton Easter — airing in 1997.
The January 7 episode of the YouTube series will feature appearances by Richard Thomas (John-Boy Walton), Michael Learned (Olivia Walton), Mary Beth McDonough (Erin Walton), Eric Scott (Ben Walton), Kami Cotler (Elizabeth Walton) and Judy Norton (Mary Ellen Walton), according to Deadline. Of the surviving cast, that leaves only Jon Walmsley and David W. Harper uncommitted to appearing.
Wilford Brimley, arguably the most instantly recognizable member of The Waltons‘ main cast, passed away in August of 2020.
The Waltons centered on a rural Virginia family’s lives and stories during the Great Depression and World War II. Like Little House on the Prairie, which also had a lengthy television run in the ’70s and ’80s, it’s a romanticized version of the author’s own life, drawing from Hamner’s upbringing. The series was one of the most beloved family-focused shows in TV history, drawing praise from critics, audiences, and even folks like former President George H.W. Bush.
Organized after the lights went out on Broadway by SiriusXM host Seth Rudetsky and his husband, producer James Wesley, Stars in the House reunites casts of TV and Broadway projects including Melrose Place, Frasier, SCTV, Rent, and A Chorus Line. Between March and September of 2020, it had raised over $500,000 to help those put out of work by the pandemic.
The Stars in the House’s The Waltons reunion episode will go live at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, on the Stars in the House YouTube channel and at starsinthehouse.com.
