About This Quiz
Was The Waltons one of your favorite television shows? Then this quiz is for you. The show aired in the 1970s, so you might want to brush up on your Waltons trivia before you get started. When you're ready, let's find out how much you remember about this iconic show.
Goodnight John Boy, goodnight Maryellen, goodnight... ok, we could go on, but you get the idea. One of the main things that most people remember about The Waltons was the ending scene of every show, where the family said goodnight to one another... all of them. And, since it was a big family, this took a while.
Starring Ralph Waite and Michael Learned as Ma and Pa Walton, and with Richard Thomas as John Boy, the storyteller of the clan, The Waltons first aired in September 1972 and ran for nine seasons and 221 episodes, ending in the summer of 1981. The series was created by Earl Hamner, Jr. and was based on his book, Spencer's Mountain (which was released as a film in 1963). John Walton, Jr., or John Boy, had six siblings, and his paternal grandparents, Zeb and Ester, also lived in the house. What a houseful!
Do you think you can ace this Waltons quiz? Prove it.
The family lives on Walton Mountain in Virginia, smack in the middle of Appalachia.
Living in the rural Blue Ridge Mountains, John-Boy dreams of becoming a journalist. He would love to go to college but knows that his family can't afford it.
Isaac Godsey, better known as Ike, runs the local general store. He's also the postmaster and the only mechanic around until Jim-Bob Walton opens his own garage.
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The totally oblivious Mamie and Emily Baldwin love making "Papa's Recipe," using their father's secret recipe. What they don't seem to realize is that they are actually making moonshine, not a harmless elixir or tonic.
Each episode of "The Waltons" ends with a few characters speaking about what happened that day, then various family members saying good night as the camera pans the exterior of the home.
John Walton ekes out a living working at the local lumber mill, and also does some farming and hunting to feed his family. As his sons grow older, several of them come to work at the mill as well.
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Local character Yancy Tucker is known as the Robin Hood Chicken Thief because he steals chickens from the rich to help the poor. He also sets the Waltons' barn on fire in season one, but makes up for it when he lets Ben move in after the family's home burns later in the series.
Against all odds, John-Boy becomes the first person in his family to graduate from college, after he attends Boatwright College. He later goes to New York to become a writer, then joins the military.
Tired of being a bachelor, general store owner Ike Godsey falls for John's cousin, Corabeth Walton. The pair get married in season three.
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Mary Ellen dreams of becoming a nurse so she can help people. She later realizes that she needs to train as a doctor in order to make a real difference, so she pursues this very difficult career path -- despite opposite from those who think women shouldn't be doctors.
Mary Ellen is engaged to someone else when Dr. Curtis Willard comes to town. She drops fiance David in favor of the dashing Dr. Curt, who marries Mary Ellen then heads overseas with the U.S. Army Medical Corps.
It's young Jason who loves the music world. He gets a job playing piano at the Dew Drop Inn, then joins a gospel group after the inn burns down. He attends a music conservatory and eventually gets a job on the radio.
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Flossie Brimmer owns the boarding house on Walton Mountain. After she dies, Zuleika Dunbar buys the property in the season seven premiere episode.
John-Boy goes M.I.A. after his plane is shot down in Europe. He spends some time in a coma then develops amnesia, which means that it takes a long time for him to make it home to Walton Mountain.
Known as Sinful Cindy, thanks to a bad reputation, Cindy settles down a bit after eloping with Ben. The pair have two children and Ben goes to work at the mill with his father.
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The youngest Walton, Elizabeth, is best friends with Aimee Godsey. She grows up and joins the Peace Corps.
The only Walton to be born in a hospital, Jim-Bob was also the only one to have a twin. Unfortunately, his twin, Joseph Zebulon, died at birth.
After returning from WWII and working in journalism, John-Boy marries Janet in the special, "A Walton Wedding." Much of the film focused on the efforts of Janet's Aunt Flo, who was determined to throw a perfect wedding whether the bride and groom were happy or not.
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Verdie is a widow struggling to raise her children alone on Walton Mountain. When Harley Foster comes to town, the two eventually marry and adopt son Josh -- an orphan who found his way to the mountain.
The Waltons have seven children, including four boys and three girls. The story is told through the eyes of the oldest son, John-Boy, who narrates the show as an adult looking back at his childhood. An eighth child died at birth.
It's mom Olivia who comes down with polio in the two-part season one finale, "An Easter Story." Thanks to a holiday miracle and a little help from John-Boy, Olivia is cured of the disease with no lingering effects.
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The Waltons finally get a phone in season 6, as John and Olivia celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. She surprises him with a phone, while he builds her a gazebo.
After believing that first hubby Curt is dead, Mary Ellen learns that he is alive but very damaged from his participation in the war. The couple divorce and she marries Jonesy in the special, "Mother's Day on Walton Mountain."
The show starts in the 1930s, and takes viewers through the Great Depression and into WWII during the 1940s. Filming for the show actually took place during the 1970s.
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Olivia and John Walton care for their seven children with the help of John's parents, Zeb and Esther, who share a home with the family.
Sheriff Ep Bridges keeps the peace on Walton Mountain. He helps the Waltons with many problems throughout the show, including tracking down a lost typewriter.
"The Waltons" ran for nine seasons, from 1971 to 1981 -- that's more than 200 episodes! It started life as a 1971 TV movie, called "The Homecoming: A Christmas Story," and was so successful that it became a TV series.
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In such a small community, you only need one teacher. Miss Hunter teaches all of the local children, including the entire Walton family, in a one-room schoolhouse. When the schoolhouse burns down, Ike Godsey lets her teach classes in the general store.
The Walton sons were willing to fight for their freedom, with all four of the boys heading off for battle in WWII. Jim-Bob was stationed at a base near by and the war ended before he had to fight.
The timeline of the show was extended through the TV movies that followed the series. In "A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion," John-Boy breaks the news of the 1963 JFK assassination, which takes place 20 to 30 years after the events on the TV series.
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