Kami Cotler portrayed Elizabeth, the youngest member of the Walton family. Since her time acting on the show she has become a teacher, educator and school principal. Recently, Kami has become quite active on her Facebook page, sharing her memories of working on The Waltons. Preserved here are those memories that she has shared for your easy reference and enjoyment.
If you want to read the comments click the date of each post to go to the original post on Facebook.
Remembering Mary Tyler Moore, who I grew up watching and admiring. If you look over her shoulder in this clip of CBS' 50th Anniversary TV special, you may just see a redhead wearing her first black tie dress.... (also visible are Michael Learned, David Harper, Ralph Waite, Mary McDonough, Judy Norton, and Eric Scott. - AATW editor)
I remember when we learned Richard Hatch was going to be on The Waltons. I was too little to know who he was, but most of the women on set were already in love with him. Very sweet guy.
(Richard Hatch died on February 7, 2017 - AATW editor)
I know many folks are considering not joining us for the Waltons Reunion in Virginia, since the some of the events are sold out, but there are still reasons to go!
1. Meet the cast & get signatures or selfies.
2. Even more importantly, meet the other Waltons fans. Our fans are the nicest people in the world
3. See where the story really happened-- the beautiful countryside where Walton creator, Earl Hamner, grew up.
4. Visit the Walton Mountain Museum
For people who have attended other Waltons gatherings, am I right when I say you'll make new and lovely friends?
Did you know the original Pony Cart from our episode with Beaulah Bondi will be at the reunion? And Rachel and I will get to have a nice long chat while taking photos with folks.
Next weekend Tammi Bula, who created Marcia Woolery, is scheduled to be at the reunion in Virginia. I loved the scene where she ate a carrot while John-Boy read her poetry. Which episode was that from?
Jimmy Fortune, Virginia native of Statler Brother fame, sings his song, "Elizabeth".
A spontaneous moment I will always remember from the Walton Reunion weekend.
Someone asked: I have a question... the food on the kitchen table on the Walton's always looks so good. Was it or did you pretend to eat? We didn't pretend to eat. The prop man made the food for meals and it was real. The challenge was how long it takes to film a kitchen scene-- hours. So by the end, we were full and the food was cold. If you watch Michael, she's a master at not really ever eating....
Kristine from NY asks what is was like working with my brother. It was excellent. My younger brother worked on The Waltons several times. First as a little boy who ask John-Boy if he is the teacher in "The Graduate", then as the naughty son of one of John's old friends, and then as Pip, the WWII war orphan. I enjoyed having him on the set to show around and to join me in school. He worked a lot as a kid, but stopped when he began middle school, as he didn't like missing school.
Donna asks, "I think The Waltons was one of the best cast shows I've ever seen. The show had plenty of guest stars--was there one that stood out to you the most and why?" I remember Beulah Bondi, because everyone was so respectful of her. We all looked forward to John Ritter being on the set because he was so much fun. The actress who played Young Olivia was very kind and patient with me. At the Waltons 40th Anniversary, many of the actors who were guests on our show commented that our set was very friendly and welcoming. I think we all looked forward to guest stars as they were new people to talk to...
Lynn asks if I have any keepsakes from the show. I kept scripts, which are in a box in the garage. I have a mug from some CBS event. I got to take home one costume, the dress from Elizabeth's 4th of July tap dancing routine with Aimee, which I auctioned as a fundraiser for my school. If I'd known the show was ending and I'd end up wishing I had a souvenir, I would have taken an antimacassar from the living room set.
Here's something I never knew existed-- John Ritter narrating a visit to Schuyler, featuring Mary and Jim Hamner. My Dad's home movies are included, too.
Mary McDonough, "Erin" from The Waltons travels back to Schuyler, VA. - a town with no traffic lights, one restaurant, and four churches - where series creator Earl Hamner, Jr. grew up. Hamner's home and many other sites provided his inspiration for the show.
Maureen asked about Blue, the Walton mule, who she commented seemed so well trained. He was pretty chill, though I think at least two different mules played the role of "Blue". There are livestock specialists around LA who train and rent large animals to TV shows. They truck them in and "wrangle" them (that's the official Hollywood term. It would say "Mule Wrangler" on the call sheet.) Blue even joined us at the Hollywood Bowl, when the Walton kids performed Shakespeare to help raise money for Will Geer's theater, Theatricum Botanicum. Mary, David and I rode onto the stage on Blue's back. He froze solid when he saw the audience and we all had to kick like crazy and Jon had to pull hard on his rope to get Blue to move. But then he was fine.
Someone asked how long it took to make an episode of "The Waltons". They took between 5.5 and 7 days to film. The director worked the week prior, planning the filming, and the week after editing and finishing the episode.
Q. Wow, did you ever get a break? Loved every episode. The episode with the Ferris wheel stands out, as well as the fire, you were great in those.
A. We filmed from June to April and had the spring off. Well, the adults did, but the kids just went back to school!
Q. When u we're small Kami how did they work with the small kids how do they teach u to memorize your parts in the movie?
A. My Mom practiced my lines with me before bed when I was very little, but other than that, the kids managed their lines on their own.
Q. Was it difficult for Micheal and Richard to learn how to drive the truck and model A car?
A. I don't know how difficult it was for them, but I remember the cars as somewhat temperamental. For some scenes, they pulled them in with ropes. I never could figure out how to get Jim-Bob's car into gear, so they just put it in gear for me.
"In an episode of the series “The Waltons” (“The Ceremony”), the struggle is with a family’s memory of the Holocaust and a father’s deep trauma concerning all things Jewish. In this episode, the climax comes when the father allows himself to come to his son’s bar mitzvah. The liturgy here is excellent — until the rabbi inexplicably begins “Shalom Aleichem,” a song reserved for the Shabbat dinner table."
Jordan asks about a scene from "The Shivaree" (episode 19 season 3), where Grandma and Mama are talking in the kitchen and Elizabeth runs downstairs and falls onto the kitchen floor. I do remember that. As a child actor, one prides oneself on getting the scene right. You never want to be the person who is responsible for having to do another take. The crew admires a kid, if the kid never slows down the process. So, when I slipped and fell, I just popped up again and finished the scene. I think Michael adlibbed something like, "Are you all right?" and I may have adlibbed a response. They printed it and my reputation as a trooper was reinforced.
Q.INSP began the series again a couple weeks ago and i noticed in the first episodes, the family did not have a tablecloth on the kitchen table. It took about 10 episodes before the oilcloth checkered tablecloth was on. I kept checking.
A. I wonder if it had to do with the audio? We used a wood table in The Homecoming. Perhaps in the series they were having trouble with the clanking and knocking of cups and cutlery on the hard wood. The checkered cloth was slightly padded underneath. I remember there was a small cut in it near where I sat and I would pull the fluffy fibers of the padding through the opening, until Ellen stopped me.
Q.Thats sweet,
Speaking of adlibbing. In the second part of when Harley was being taken to prison for murder..
John Curtis tapped his "grampa" on the arm and said.. "I got new pants" he said "you did, who got them for you, your mommy" John Curtis said " no, Pat ". John said " who's Pat? The lady at the next farm?"
I've since read Pat was the wardrobe guy. What a smart little guy, and so funny john just went with it, and they kept it in.
A. Pat would be Pat Norris, whose name I see as director. I believe he directed some Friday Night Lights.
I was trying to remember how makeup worked on The Waltons. What I recall is that I didn't have any makeup applied in the first season or two, but that I looked so pale compared to the adults that the powers that be told the makeup man to put make up on me. The adults had stick make up applied and I can recall white/cream colored tubes of various shades of makeup lined up on the makeup man's table. He used pancake makeup on the kids, and I can remember wincing on cold mornings outdoors when he applied it with a cold wet sea sponge.
Eric Scott: Kami, my memory was Ben Nye for the pancake and we used bk5 ??
Kami: Ben Nye, that sounds familiar, but I also think the makeups used changed during the run of the show. And when I google Ben Nye it was founded in 1967, so if we were using it in the first season, it would have been cutting edge! I know Bill Reynold's technique and materials changed over the years, because I can remember noticing he was doing things differently and him telling me about it.. like he'd been to a makeup conference or professional development...
Derek asks if we filmed each episode in order. We did not. Scenes were arranged by set & location. So, all the kitchen scenes in an episode would be filmed on the same day. Setting up to film and moving between sets takes time; it's more efficient to shoot out of order. (Thanks to Ralph Senensky's blog, from whence I stole this photo of a script page)
I remember when we learned Richard Hatch was going to be on The Waltons. I was too little to know who he was, but most of the women on set were already in love with him. Very sweet guy.
