The Waltons

*The Waltons*
The Waltons
	Season 1 Title Card
Genre	Historical drama
Created by	Earl Hamner Jr.
Based on	The Homecoming; by Earl Hamner Jr.
Starring	Richard Thomas; Ralph Waite; Michael Learned; Ellen Corby; Will Geer; Judy Norton; Jon Walmsley; Mary Elizabeth McDonough; Eric Scott; David W. Harper; Kami Cotler; Robert Wightman; Peggy Rea; Joe Conley; Ronnie Claire Edwards; Leslie Winston; Patricia Neal (The Homecoming: A Christmas Story); Edgar Bergen (The Homecoming: A Christmas Story); Andrew Duggan (The Homecoming: A Christmas Story);
Narrated by	Earl Hamner Jr.
Composers	Jerry Goldsmith (theme music); Arthur Morton; Alexander Courage;
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	9
No. of episodes	221 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Lee Rich; Earl Hamner Jr.; Rod Peterson;
Producers	Robert L. Jacks; Andy White; Rod Peterson; Claylene Jones;
Running time	45–48 minutes
Production company	Lorimar Productions
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	September 14, 1972 –; June 4, 1981
Related
	The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971); A Wedding on Walton's Mountain (1982);
	Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

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 and the 1963 film of the same name. The series aired from 1972 to 1981.

The television film The Homecoming: A Christmas Story was broadcast on December 19, 1971.^[1] Based on its success, the CBS television network ordered the first season of episodes (to be based on the same characters) and that became the television series The Waltons.^[2] Beginning in September 1972, the series was broadcast on CBS for nine seasons in total. After the series was canceled in 1981, three television film sequels aired in 1982 on NBC, with three more 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 going to bed for the night. According to the BBC (which broadcast the series in the UK), "Goodnight, John-Boy" was one of the most common catchphrases of the 1970s.^[3]

^ "The Waltons" The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971) at IMDb ^{[unreliable source?]}
^ "All About The Creator". All About The Waltons. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
^ "Goodnight John Boy". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved July 4, 2021.

[1] "The Waltons" The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971) at IMDb ^{[unreliable source?]}

[2] "All About The Creator". All About The Waltons. Retrieved 28 October 2017.

[3] "Goodnight John Boy". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved July 4, 2021.

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