RIP Earl Hamner, Jr. - the original John Boy

[Vombatus]

Notable to us Virginians, Earl Hamner, Jr., creator of The Waltons, passed away today at 92. He modeled the character John Boy after himself.

Goodnight, John Boy. RIP.

 

[Mr. Sunshine]

Just spent the past 30 minutes rearranging a Metro page to get that in the paper.

 

[WriteThinking]

"The Waltons" was a good show. Probably not many here would admit to watching it regularly, but it was a quality show, for nearly the entire nine years that it ran.

 

[BDC99]

Good night Earl! RIP. They don't make shows like that anymore.

 

[hondo]

Everyone should do themselves a favor and find his book that inspired the series, "Spencer's Mountain." (Don't know why they had to change the names). The kid in the book was named Clay-Boy. Lot of the other kids had the same name in the book and series. The book was superb. Will make you laugh and cry. Do not, however, bother with the Henry Fonda movie, "Spencer's Mountain." It sucked.

 

[Starman]

"Spencer's Mountain," the movie, is worth a look for a few reasons: Fonda, Maureen O'Hara and a young Dan-O James MacArthur as Clay-Boy.
The storyline is basically the proto-Waltons transplanted to Wyoming.

It's a very strictly Sixties kind of movie, because Pa Spencer (Fonda)'s tendency to get falling down drunk in front of the kids and give Ma a few belts to straighten her out was treated as a running comic point.

Obviously Hamner still had some work to do with the concept.

 

[DanOregon]

You think about TV in the 70s and wonder how it ever got on TV. A family in depression-era Virginia? And yet, it was fantastic television.

 

[Riptide]

Everyone watched his show. Every week.

Good night, John Boy.

 

[SpeedTchr]

Well damn. I loved the Waltons. Never missed an episode. My grandfather refused to watch, said it reminded him of some really ****ty times in the country.

 

[Songbird]

I ****ing hated the Waltons. Hated the ****ing theme especially.

My dad watched it religiously though.

What the **** is a John Boy anyway?

 

[SpeedTchr]

Love that theme song.

 

[DanOregon]

As a kid I remember watching the opening credits and thinking "They're all excited because they got a radio?"

 

[Vombatus]

And now kids want designer jeans, tricked out Nike shoes, hoverboard gadgets, and an iphone 7 by the time they are five years old.

 

[Songbird]

As a kid I remember watching the opening credits and thinking "They're all excited because they got a radio?"

Even the Settlers wouldn't settle for a stupid ass radio.

 

[Steak Snabler]

I ****ing hated the Waltons. Hated the ****ing theme especially.

My dad watched it religiously though.

What the **** is a John Boy anyway?

A 101-second television intro? Talk about retro ...

 

[Ace]

I watched it every week, but I'll be damned if I can remember a single particular episode.

Did they go to Hawaii one time and find a tiki idol or was that the Brady Bunch?

 

[Steak Snabler]

I watched it every week, but I'll be damned if I can remember a single particular episode.

Did they go to Hawaii one time and find a tiki idol or was that the Brady Bunch?

There was that time where they were about to get off the mountain, but Gilligan John Boy messed it all up.

 

[Jake_Taylor]

What about the classic episode when the landlord only let John Boy stay on the mountain because he thought he was gay, but he kept coming close to finding out the truth.

 

[cyclingwriter2]

Big fan of the episode where john boy almost helps keith hernandez move, but ben and jim bob talk him out of it.

 

[cyclingwriter2]

I ****ing hated the Waltons. Hated the ****ing theme especially.

My dad watched it religiously though.

What the **** is a John Boy anyway?

Glad I am not the only one who hated the theme music.