Goodnight John-Boy: Behind the Scenes of a Beloved TV Classic

The author and creator of The Waltons, Earl Hamner's insights and experiences bringing "The Waltons" to life, filled with comments and testimonies from cast members, fans, script writers and more... a masterpiece of Walton history... a purchase that keeps on giving...

The older I get the more I appreciate the Walton's for the wisdom and humor contained in the episodes. I am proud of the decisions they made to take on difficult subjects and to take stands on rights and basic human decency that are all the more relevant today. I refer to this book nightly while re-watching the episodes. I still feel a sense of loss for those cast members that are gone, can't decide which daughter I want to marry (all of them at one point or another), and would love to have had all those brothers-in-law. The whole cast and creative team holds a special place in my heart.

Great book to read if you love the TV show the Waltons

I purchased this book, written by Earl Hamner (creator and producer of the Waltons) and Ralph Griffin (president of the Blue Ridge Publications in Ocean Pines, Maryland), just before I began to purchase each of the nine seasons of The Waltons on DVD. The book was published in 2002, which is really a testament for how loved this series is, especially considering the last season ended in 1981! The first portion of the book introduces Earl Hamner's family, and how he became a writer. Hamner then describes his early writing career, and then his succession of books, starting with "Spencer's Mountain", which led into "The Homecoming", which further led into the TV special of the same name, and which finally led to the highly successful (and loved) TV series. The middle portion of the book explains how the actors were selected to play their roles in the TV series, which I particularly enjoyed. What follows is a very brief summary of each episode from season 1 to season 9. There are many comments and anecdotes from the actors, guest actors, and Walton fans, which make reading the summaries a joy. The book is interspersed with pictures of the cast and scenes from some of the episodes. The book concludes with a chapter on Walton's Mountain Museum (located in Schuyler, Virginia), and then a meaningful tribute written by Ms. Elaine Klonicki. Her tribute summarizes why so many of us were touched by the Waltons, and why we continue to love the show to this day. The appendix contains a list of all the actors who appeared in Walton episodes along with their character names. I could only give the book 4 stars for several reasons. First, the book itself is made rather cheaply. This is stock paper, not quality paper, and likewise, the pictures are black and white and are printed on the same paper, thus, they are not the quality one would like to see. The pictures themselves are quite nice, but would have been appreciated much more in color and on quality paper. Oh well, cannot have everything and still be offered at a reasonable price. The second thing I did not like about the book is the lack of detail on why certain characters left the series, such as Michael Learned, Ralph Waite, Richard Thomas, and Peggy Rea. It would also have been interesting to see a summary of each season's ratings, and how they compared to other network shows. When did the writers learn there was not to be a season 10 - and how did this impact the writing of the final episodes in season nine? I would have appreciated more information in this regard. Finally, this is a very "gentile" telling of the Walton's experience; the book presents little or no behind the scenes squabbles, of which there had to be some! I recall a comment (on a news video) by Michael Learned in regards to Ralph Waite, which indicated some tension between the two of them. Certainly, this is no Kitty Kelly tell-all book, and was not meant to be, but a few additional tidbits of "juicy" controversy would have made the book more complete and interesting. Had this book been done with more actor/TV information, and been of "coffee-table" quality, especially in regard to the pictures, it would be a very nice keepsake. As it is, as much as I adore the Waltons, I am not compelled to want to keep this book forever. It is a valuable easy-reading resource, but it falls short of being a treasured keepsake. I could not give it 3-stars, but how about 3 and 1/2??? konedog

My wife is a Waltons fanatic so I bought this for her, she hardly ever puts it down

Nicely packaged- timely delivery

You really have to be a fan of The Walton's TV show to appreciate this book.It is an old book and I didn't know about it until Judy Norton/Mary Ellen talked about it on you tube.So I got one and it is well-written but disappointed all the pictures are in black and white but oh well.Some good writing from Earl Hamner and then it tells about all the different episodes of all the seasons.I'm happy with my old/new to me book about The Waltons it's good to use for a reference to all the episodes.The most interesting thing to me is it's the TRUE STORY of EARL HAMNER and growing up in his family what an excellent job he has done and I admire Mr. Hamner and The Waltons!

I love this show. I watch it every day. Hallmark shows it.

Good read

Ein absolut tolles Buch für Walton-Fans! Jede Folge wird beschrieben mit vielen zusätzlichen Informationen. Ich habe es genossen und lese immer wieder darin. Na ja, ich bin ja auch Fan 😉

I love the Waltons and I love this book. The extended essay by Earl Hamner is excellent, especially in filling in the background on his own upbringing and how he became a TV & movie writer. The background as to how the original pilot series "The Homecoming" (with Andrew Duggan & Patricia Neal) evolved into The Waltons (with Ralph Waite & Michael Learned - much much better actors for the roles of Dad and Mom Walton) is fascinating. I thoroughly welcome the episode guide, to help me find where we are in the serieses as regards the presence or absence of Richard Thomas, Ellen Corby and Will Geer (I miss you both, Grandma and Grandpa) - and Jonathan Frakes as Ashley Longworth Jnr? Make it so, captain! Earl Hamner, I love you for giving me the boyhood I never had...

I decided to buy this book because I have a high interest in The Waltons 9 Series TV Show which I watched in the late Sunday afternoon in Australia when it was new(1970s). I enjoyed the book which I read completely soon after I received it. The book has a short section before detailing every episode with a synopsis. Many episodes have a paragraph or two from cast, writers, directors and fans from US and UK etc. I had memories of so many episodes when I read the synopses. I do have every episode in my archive. I have a soft spot for actress Ellen Corby(grandma) who lived near the film studios and had a stroke one day at home and was found by a behind the scenes person when she failed to arrive for work. She recovered and came back to the show in a passive role and they allowed her affliction to become part of the storyline and she completed the series. She outlived Will Geer who played her husband, who died of a sudden heart attack late in the series and was referred to in many later episodes. Buy the Book. Buy the DVD sets and enjoy a wholesome series set in the depression and up based on the writer's own family in rural Virginia(Richard Thomas plays the writer in the series). See also Warner Bros Spencer's Mountain and the TV movie The Homecoming with Patricia Neal which was moreorless the Pilot for this series that came at time that US TV networks were shying away from Rural Drama. Sad. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

This is definitely a must have. Even though I have not a had a chance to read it yet it looks like it had a lot of information about each episode and a intro the series.