Michael Learned Says ‘Waltons’ Fans Were Horrified When They Heard Her Swear
Olivia Walton would never. The Waltons star Michael Learned recently reunited with her onscreen daughter Judy Norton for a cooking lesson and a chat about their time on the classic CBS drama. During their conversation, Learned admitted that in real life, she wasn’t quite as squeaky clean as her character on TV, much to the shock of some fans.
‘The Waltons’ star Michael Learned says her ‘filthy mouth’ shocked some fans
On The Waltons, Learned played Olivia Walton, the kind and compassionate matriarch of the Walton family. In the show, she was very much an ideal mother. Norton — who played Olivia’s daughter, Mary Ellen Walton — wondered what it was like being an inspiration to so many TV viewers.
“You are, to so many people, America’s mom … you were a role model,” Norton said in the video (via YouTube). “What was that like for you in real life representing … such a great example of a nurturing, caring mom?”
“Well, that was easy because I loved my kids,” Learned replied. “I have the good fortune to enjoy my children.”
“I got the great joy of having two families, my own and you guys,” the mother of three said.
Still, Learned wasn’t her TV character, which could lead to some awkward interactions with fans.
“I have a filthy mouth, as you well know,” she said. “I let some kind of swear word escape once, and I saw people … it almost knocked them to the floor. ‘Olivia Walton knows that word!’ She also knows where those kids came from, too.”
At times, Learned even wondered if the show’s cozy, comforting idea of life for a rural family in the 1930s and 1940s was a little too idealized.
“I don’t know if we were selling the people a false bill of goods on The Waltons,” she said in a 1979 interview with the Boston Globe. “Reality is not like that. It was an illusion. But I’m not sure that that’s a bad thing. We may need it. I mean, what’s television if it isn’t fantasy?”
Learned says playing Olivia Walton was a ‘responsibility’
Learned was also acutely aware of how much people looked up to her as Olivia Walton.
“It’s a responsibility, really, when you’re playing that kind of a role,” she told Norton as they prepared an Italian dish based on a recipe Learned’s own mother had taught her.
Norton, who grew up on The Waltons, recalled Learned’s kind and loving qualities and how much she cared about the show’s young cast members. Both actors agreed that the off-screen bond between The Waltons kids, Learned, and Ralph Waite, who played dad John Walton, helped make the show so appealing to audiences.
“We loved you guys,” Learned said. “I don’t think I could have done it [otherwise] … our love for each other was real, and it came across. Which is what made the show what it was.”
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