Waltonspalooza
Love 'em or hate 'em, everyone seems to have an opinion about the Waltons. I agree that the show is corny, didactic, and idealistic as hell. In fact, that's probably why I like it so much – because it reminds me of myself. Personally, I don't have a problem with any of that. To people who say that nobody's family is really like that, I say – actually, some families kind of are like that. Not that there are never any real problems, or that everybody always acts the best possible way (whatever that is) – but that there's a conscious effort to be honest and generous and kind with each other, and that when things go wrong, redemption is always possible.Anyway. Here are the answers to the trivia questions:
1. According to Ike Godsey, the Waltons' house is "about a half a mile up the road" from the store. That blew my mind, now that I know how far a half mile really is – not far at all. I would've guessed the house was at least a mile or two away. No wonder those little barefoot Walton kids were always walking down there to hang around.
2. Under his nightshirt (and glimpsed as he leapt out of bed early one morning, through the magic of the stop-action button on our DVD player), John-Boy wears ... are you ready? BLACK UNDERWEAR. My land! I never would've expected that, either. Did teenage boys really wear black briefs in 1932? I don't know how to even begin checking on that.
Moving on: My brother has bravely confessed to having been in love with Olivia Walton (the mother), and also with Caroline Ingalls, the mother on Little House on the Prairie. He didn't like Elizabeth, the youngest Walton girl. And Rozanne didn't like John-Boy and his sanctimonious attitude. This got me thinking about who I liked best, and least.
More guesses? I'll write up the answers later.
Also: On the website of the Waltons Museum in Schuyler, Virginia, there are pictures of the sets for the Waltons' kitchen and living room. I hated seeing all the familiar furniture and walls, and then this big black open ceiling – as if the whole thing had been built inside some giant warehouse or something. Which, for all I know, it probably was.
I hope Kim is right about the actual house, though. It has to have been a real house somewhere, right? How else could they have taken those pictures of it?
6 Comments:
Well Grandpa was my favorite of course. He seemed like the kind of guy who would take you out behind the barn to drink some moonshine - even though he knew he shouldn't. He was always positive and happy despite living with his son and daughter-in-law, all those kids, and that cranky wife.
Here's the breakdown for me:
Liked:
Grandma
Grandpa (Zebulon--what a great name!)
Jason
Ma
Erin
Ike
Neutral
Jim Bob
Mary Ellen
Ben
Disliked
John Boy
Ike's querulous wife
that kid Aimee
Pa Walton (I thought he was scuzzy looking and I hated that union suit he slept in.)
Yancy (the scuzz factor again)
Elizabeth
I forgot to comment on those black briefs!!!!!! I'm sure that as a kid I notice that (it's the kind of thing a kid is always on the lookout for, isn't it?) but in those days there was no way to verify what I thought I saw.
At first, I thought that the explanation must be that they were the underpants that the 1970s Richard Thomas happened to be wearing that day.
But then I decided to find out when men first started wearing briefs. Here's what I found in the Wikipedia:
"Modern men's underwear was largely an invention of the 1930s. On January 19, 1935 Coopers Inc. sold the world's first briefs in Chicago, Illinois. The company placed a Y-shaped front and overlapping fly on knitted drawers in both short and long styles. They dubbed the design the "Jockey" since it offered a degree of support that had previously only been available from the jockstrap (the company itself would later adopt the name Jockey, as well). Jockey briefs proved so popular that over 30,000 pairs were sold within three months of their introduction."
So it *is* possible that it would have been authentic for John Boy to be wearing briefs, if the Wikipedia is to be trusted.
But as far as them being black--the Wikipedia has this to say:
"In the 1950s, underwear manufacturers began marketing printed and colored garments. What had once been a simple, white piece of clothing not to be shown in public suddenly became a fashion statement. The manufacturers also experimented with rayon and newer fabrics like dacron and nylon. By 1960, men's underwear was regularly printed in loud patterns or with images ranging from messages to cartoon characters."
So it seems that what you got a glimpse of was Richard Thomas's taste in underpants--not John Boy's.
I loved those rich spinster sisters that were always raving about their beloved Papa's recipe for moonshine! "The Recipe" they called it. They were so great with their hats and gloves and dangly earrings. I can't remember their names now.
I also liked Jason, and Erin, and Grandpa. Never much liked Elizabeth (who never seemd to grow up), or John-Boy (who had kind of a creepy relationship with his Mom).
Kim-bo-bim
Want some more Walton trivia?
One of the main Waltons writers also wrote the screenplays for Mormon (cough cough) classics Man's Search for Meaning and Johnny Lingo. No kidding. She and my grandmother were close friends.
Carrie
Ooops. Make that "Man's Search for Happiness!" (Viktor Frankl is turning in his grave, I'm sure of it.)
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