'WE LOVED GROWING UP AS THE WALTONS'

FOUR DECADES AFTER THE FINAL EPISODE AIRED, TV’S FAVOURITE FAMILY STILL BRING A WHOLE LOT OF JOY

- Phil Koch

Generations of Aussie families fell in love with homesteaders John and Olivia Walton, and their seven kids, as they forged a simple but happy life on Walton’s Mountain in rural Virginia during the depression era in America.

The Waltons was an unlikely hit when it launched in 1972, in a world exploding with change.

The Vietnam War was still dividing families here and in the US, the Watergate scandal was unfolding, women marched to the beat of feminism and the hippie culture was born.

“The chemistry we had as a group created television magic,” recalls Richard Thomas, who became a huge heart-throb playing the lead role of eldest son, John-Boy, after an initial reluctance to quit movies for a TV series.

Now a dad to seven kids of his own, Richard, 69, believes it was the fun and energy that played out between the actors when they weren’t filming that gave the characters an edge and a global fan base of one billion viewers.