And there were lots of writers writing from personal experiences. You don’t see those elements on television very often. Courtesy of Kami Cotlerįox News: Why does the show continue to resonate with audiences?Ĭotler: It represents a side of American life that isn’t often represented, which is a big, working-class family living in a rural place. And I think just acknowledging how unique our experience was and how enduring it was for each other. And that we were basically part of each other’s lives whether we wanted it or not. And that the bonds we created in this fictional family were family-like connections. But he realized that, as he looked at each of us as we sat in the audience, that he still felt connected. Intense togetherness and then moving on to the next thing.Īnd he said he sort of expected how "The Waltons" would be. And that’s the normal part of being an actor. It was one of our weddings – I can’t remember who it was – but he got up and said normally as an actor, we get together with a group of people, you create an ensemble, you have this very intense personal experience for a matter of weeks, and then you all go your separate ways. He was making sure everybody was good." Maybe he knew he wasn’t going to be around.įox News: Looking back, how did he feel about "The Waltons" after it came to an end?Ĭotler: He said something really interesting about it. And it wasn’t until after he passed away that I thought, "He was checking in. He would tell each one of us, "How are you? Are you OK?" And it wasn’t like a casual "Hey, how ya doing?” It was really intent and him wanting to be sure that we were all good in our lives. He went from one to the other, the castmates. We were all sitting around Michael’s living room. He lived down in the desert so we didn’t see him as frequently as we saw other members of the cast who lived close by. Michael organized a dinner for us and we were over at her house. (Getty)įox News: Do you remember the last time you spoke to him?Ĭotler: Yes, very clearly. Set in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II, the show follows the Walton family, consisting of John (Ralph Waite) and Olivia (Michael Learned), their seven children, and John's parents Zebulon "Zeb" Tyler (Will Greer) and Esther (Ellen Corby). And there was that ridiculous laugh when he was doing something silly like that. He would tell the same couple of jokes to make everybody laugh. He also had some really, really bad jokes. During rehearsals, Ralph would just break into Eric Clapton’s "I Shot the Sheriff," which he sang terribly. And then suddenly you need to have all of this energy and pretend you’re in the middle of a busy family dinner. There’s a lot of sitting around and waiting. But he always did it with enormous gusto nonetheless. He stood up and said, "No, these are parts for native people and it’s wrong to cast any other person in them."įox News: What’s one memory of Waite that still resonates with you?Ĭotler: His singing. And the production company wasn’t planning on casting Native Americans. For example, one time he advocated very strongly about casting because there were certain parts that called for Native Americans. But I was able to get a glimpse of things. So as a little kid, most of that stuff goes right by you. Ralph was also very passionate about politics, how people were treated and social justice.
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