{"id":143859,"date":"2025-09-15T01:40:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T01:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/143859\/"},"modified":"2025-09-15T01:40:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T01:40:10","slug":"whos-still-alive-from-the-waltons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/143859\/","title":{"rendered":"Who’s Still Alive From ‘The Waltons’?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\"THE<\/p>\n

TV Guide\/CBS\/Everett Collection<\/p>\n

TV Guide\/CBS\/Everett Collection<\/p>\n

When The Waltons<\/a> premiered on September 14, 1972, viewers were introduced to the close-knit Walton family living in rural Virginia during the Great Depression. The heartwarming drama, created by Earl Hamner Jr. and based on his own childhood, became an instant hit on CBS, running for nine seasons (1972 to 1981), spawning several TV movie sequels, and earning multiple Emmy Awards as well as a place in television history. More than 50 years later, The Waltons remains a beloved classic of 1970s family television, which begs the question: who from the main cast is still with us today?<\/p>\n

John-Boy Walton
\n\"Richard<\/p>\n

Everett Collection; Paul Archuleta\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

As aspiring writer John-Boy Walton, Richard Thomas was the series\u2019 breakout star, even winning an Emmy Award for the role. Thomas left The Waltons after five seasons, but his acting career never slowed down. He famously starred in the 1990 miniseries It as adult Bill Denbrough and later had major TV roles such as FBI agent Frank Gaad on The Americans<\/a>. Thomas remains active on stage and screen. In recent years, he appeared in the Netflix drama Ozark<\/a> and even returned to the Walton family\u2019s world by narrating<\/a> the 2021 film The Waltons\u2019 Homecoming<\/a>\u00a0as well as A Waltons Thanksgiving<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n

Olivia Walton
\n\"Michael<\/p>\n

Everett Collection; JC Olivera\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Michael Learned portrayed kindhearted matriarch Olivia Walton, a performance that earned her three Emmy Awards during the show\u2019s run. After The Waltons, Learned continued a busy television career, winning a fourth Emmy for the 1980s medical drama Nurse and appearing in series ranging from Scrubs<\/a> to General Hospital<\/a>. In 2022, Learned had a memorable guest part as Jeffrey Dahmer\u2019s grandmother in the Netflix series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mary Ellen Walton
\n\"Judy<\/p>\n

Everett Collection; Kevork Djansezian\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Judy Norton, credited in early years as Judy Norton-Taylor, played Mary Ellen, the Walton family\u2019s spirited eldest daughter. Norton continued acting in theater and independent films after the series, and later expanded her talents to writing and directing. In 2018, she wrote and starred in the thriller Inclusion Criteria, and in 2021 she appeared in the web series The Quarantine Bunch. Norton also runs a YouTube channel<\/a> where she shares behind-the-scenes stories about The Waltons.<\/p>\n

Jason Walton
\n\"Jon<\/p>\n

Everett Collection; Bennett Raglin\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Jon Walmsley, who played musically-inclined son Jason Walton, went on to focus on his real-life music career. A talented multi-instrumentalist, Walmsley performed with numerous artists and even provided the voice of Christopher Robin in Disney\u2019s Winnie the Pooh cartoons<\/a> during the 1970s. In recent years, he has released his own music, including a 2017 blues album titled Goin\u2019 to Clarksdale.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Erin Walton
\n\"Mary<\/p>\n

CBS\/Everett Collection; Bennett Raglin\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Mary Elizabeth McDonough grew up on screen as middle daughter Erin Walton. After The Waltons, McDonough transitioned into a career as an author and advocate. She published a memoir, Lessons from the Mountain, about her time on the show, and later wrote several novels. One of her books, Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane, was made into a Hallmark Channel movie in 2018, and McDonough appeared in it.<\/p>\n

Ben Walton
\n\"Eric<\/p>\n

Everett Collection; Paul Archuleta\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Eric Scott, who played energetic younger son Ben Walton, chose a very different path after his acting days. By the mid-1980s, Scott had largely retired from Hollywood. He found success in business, running a private courier and delivery company in California. Scott now lives a quiet life away from the spotlight, though he occasionally appears at Waltons reunions.<\/p>\n

Jim-Bob Walton
\n\"David<\/p>\n

Everett Collection; Bennett Raglin\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

David W. Harper, who portrayed Jim-Bob Walton, the family\u2019s mechanically gifted youngest son, stepped back from acting after The Waltons and its follow-up movies. In the decades since, Harper has kept a low profile, working outside the industry.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Walton
\n\"Kami<\/p>\n

Everett Collection; Bennett Raglin\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Kami Cotler was just six years old when she began playing the youngest daughter, Elizabeth Walton. After The Waltons ended, Cotler pursued education, eventually becoming a teacher and later a principal at a charter school. She works in educational consulting and administration. Though she stays out of acting, she occasionally appears at Waltons reunions and enjoys connecting with fans.<\/p>\n

In Memoriam
\n\"THE<\/p>\n

TV Guide\/CBS\/Everett Collection<\/p>\n

Ralph Waite<\/a> (John Walton Sr.) died on February 13, 2014, at age 85 of natural causes.<\/p>\n

Ellen Corby<\/a> (Esther \u201cGrandma\u201d Walton) died on April 14, 1999, at age 87 of natural causes.<\/p>\n

Will Geer<\/a> (Zebulon \u201cGrandpa\u201d Walton) died on April 22, 1978, at age 76 from respiratory failure.<\/p>\n

Joe Conley (Ike Godsey) died on July 7, 2013, at age 85 from complications of dementia.<\/p>\n

Ronnie Claire Edwards (Corabeth Walton Godsey) died on June 14, 2016, at age 83 from chronic lung disease.<\/p>\n

John Ritter<\/a> (Rev. Matthew Fordwick) died on September 11, 2003, at age 54 from an aortic dissection.<\/p>\n

Where to Watch The Waltons<\/p>\n

All nine seasons of The Waltons are available on streaming to enjoy today. The series streams on Amazon Prime Video<\/a>, Peacock<\/a> and on Freevee with ads. It can also be found on Philo, and the complete series has been released on DVD and digital platforms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TV Guide\/CBS\/Everett Collection TV Guide\/CBS\/Everett Collection When The Waltons premiered on September 14, 1972, viewers were introduced to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":143860,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,134],"class_list":{"0":"post-143859","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-celebrities","11":"tag-entertainment"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143859"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143859\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}