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Post by mauro43 on Nov 14, 2010 11:59:22 GMT -5
Hi everybody,
my name is Mauro, I write from Italy. I am a big, big fan of almost every American Tv series aired in 70s and 80s (I am 43 years old), and I have just discovered this beautiful forum, full of interesting news about my favorite TV series (even better than “The little house on the prairie”, in my opinion).
Unfortunately there is no DVD in Italy about this unforgettable series, and no VHS are available (when it has been aired, in the 80s, VHS recorders were very expensive, and a very few people got them).
When I knew that DVD were on sale abroad, I though maybe I, too, could get that series, in italian language, so that all my sweet memories of John Boy and all the family could come true, again. But, so far, no news about an Italian edition. This is a pity, but I could not resist! I bought via Amazon.de the german version, which has English subtitles. My English, as you can see, is very poor, but now I’m enjoying every day one episode. After all these years, I still remember situations of many episodes; moreover it is very, very enthralling to hear the original voices… especially Granpa’s speech (I think that what he says is very, very beautiful, and I wrote down many quotes of him).
I have one question, and maybe I could have an answer in this form, full of fans who – like me – love The Waltons with all their heart.
I would like to know why Richard Thomas left the show, at the end of the 5th season. It seems to me that his “departure” has been rather sudden and… “abrupt”. The fact that he does not come back from New York whenever something very important happen (e.g. when Mary Ellen has her baby,…) made me think about that.
I would be very happy if someone could make this clear to me.
I also hope, one day, to visit the places that I can only see on screen.
Ciao from Italia, and… Goodnight everybody!
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Post by Marilyn on Nov 14, 2010 13:02:09 GMT -5
Welcome Mauro! I see you love the Waltons as much as the rest of us do! I believe John Boy's contract expired and he went on to do other things in his career. It was sad to see him go. He was such a huge part of the show.
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Post by mauro43 on Nov 14, 2010 13:35:20 GMT -5
Thank you very much ssMarilyn for your kind reply... but what bitter disappointment to hear that.
If a contract expires, but the series is almost perfect and there is no (other) reason to stop it, I do not understand why the contract had not been renewed.
I have thought about this, but I do not remember other TV series in which the leading actor leaves the cast, and disappears without a strong reason.
I think that he could have gone on, and make - al least - some GREAT guest star appearances (because he was really a good actor).
I would like to know what the truth is, so I could blame SOMEONE (Richard, the producer, ...)!
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Post by michelle on Nov 14, 2010 20:13:44 GMT -5
I believe what happened was at the time Richard Thomas left the show he was 27 years old and he felt that he wanted to play parts in which the characters he were to play would be closer to his agegroup.
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Post by Marilyn on Nov 14, 2010 21:35:10 GMT -5
Thank you very much ssMarilyn for your kind reply... but what bitter disappointment to hear that. If a contract expires, but the series is almost perfect and there is no (other) reason to stop it, I do not understand why the contract had not been renewed. I have thought about this, but I do not remember other TV series in which the leading actor leaves the cast, and disappears without a strong reason. I think that he could have gone on, and make - al least - some GREAT guest star appearances (because he was really a good actor). I would like to know what the truth is, so I could blame SOMEONE (Richard, the producer, ...)!
I believe it was Richard's decision not to renew. I'm positive they would have loved to have him renew! |
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Post by ncwaltonsfan on Nov 15, 2010 16:50:28 GMT -5
It was Richard's decision not to return to the series because he wanted to take on other roles and to avoid being typecast.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2010 17:30:49 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum,Maura.
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Post by davidm on Nov 16, 2010 16:13:33 GMT -5
Richard didn't want to be typecast in one role. This is a problem most actors face. One thing that drove this point home to him is everyone who ran into him would say, "Goodnight John Boy." A few times and its funny, but after a few hundred times it became annoying. He wanted to do characters that weren't so sweet and nice and innocent. I heard an interview where he said that he was turned down for many roles because of his John-Boy image. In time he got over it and he did appear in the last 3 reunion movies, and he appeared in the reunion that was just done last month, Oct. 2010.
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Post by bcrd5000 on Dec 25, 2017 16:03:56 GMT -5
Thomas did quit to avoid type-casting and do bigger things. However, he is remembered only for his time on The Walton's and he never did anything that was bigger and/or better than The Walton's.
He should have stayed and kept the big paychecks (since Waite was making 40,000 an episode, Thomas had to making more) rolling in and the show might have lasted 11-14 years instead of 9.
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Post by JeriJet on Dec 25, 2017 17:57:46 GMT -5
Thomas did quit to avoid type-casting and do bigger things. However, he is remembered only for his time on The Walton's and he never did anything that was bigger and/or better than The Walton's. He should have stayed and kept the big paychecks (since Waite was making 40,000 an episode, Thomas had to making more) rolling in and the show might have lasted 11-14 years instead of 9. Richard did not exactly quit.... his contract was for 5 years, and he never intended (probably wisely) staying with the show beyond that. Even so, he had trouble rising above the John-Boy attachment. I don't think the size of his paycheck was of much interest to him.... Although he has stated a fondness for the show, it hasn't seemed to served him well. |
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Post by JeriJet on Dec 31, 2017 1:01:28 GMT -5
Thomas did quit to avoid type-casting and do bigger things. However, he is remembered only for his time on The Walton's and he never did anything that was bigger and/or better than The Walton's. He should have stayed and kept the big paychecks (since Waite was making 40,000 an episode, Thomas had to making more) rolling in and the show might have lasted 11-14 years instead of 9. Richard did not exactly quit.... his contract was for 5 years, and he never intended (probably wisely) staying with the show beyond that. Even so, he had trouble rising above the John-Boy attachment. I don't think the size of his paycheck was of much interest to him.... Although he has stated a fondness for the show, it hasn't seemed to served him well. Just remembered that I discovered and joined this forum when I was trying to find out exactly when it was that Richard first starting wearing his hearing aids.... and now I don't remember if we ever came up with the answer !! .... |
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Post by jrijr on Dec 31, 2017 8:27:17 GMT -5
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Post by nedandres on Jan 3, 2018 22:27:28 GMT -5
Richard has gone on to have a widely respected and diverse body of work. Although I enjoyed the rest of the seasons, the show was never really the same without him as the focus. He is such an exceptional actor. He tends to elevate whatever he is appeating in. Although I missed him in “The Waltons,” career wise I think he made the right decision to leave.
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