We Recently Met Mary McDonough (Erin)

[ForeverWaltons]

Mr. Forever and I have met Mary twice before (California Sept. 2012 & Lynchburg Virginia Feb. 2015). My foreverettes have been wanting to meet a 'Walton' and we recently took them to a book signing of hers so they could meet her. When we arrived in the parking lot we let our foreverettes know what was going on. Our middle son (he's ten) got all excited and starting yelling "Yes! I can't believe I am finally getting to meet a Walton. Thank you momma and daddy. Thank you!"

We walked up as Mary was addressing people that had came. When she saw Mr. Forever and I she said, "I just saw you in Lynchburg." Mary was telling about her first book, "Lessons from the Mountain: What I Learned from Erin Walton." People wanted a follow-up to the book and wanted to know how I overcame it all and got where I am today. I was going to do it but my Publisher said they were in the novel business. I had never written a novel but said I would give it a try, that's how my new book "One Year" came to be.

She read an excerpt from her new book and then was open for questions. I asked her if Richard Thomas' (John Boy) class ring that he wore on the show was his personally or a prop. She said it was a prop. I asked if she had kept anything from the show. She replied that they had no idea that The Waltons was going to be canceled. When we finished up the ninth season and left we thought we would be coming back for season ten, so we didn't get anything. We probably would not have been able to anyway because all of the props were rented. You can't take a rented prop.

She said that she does have four things. A blue dress with a lace collar, a black dress and when they were filming the 1982 movie "A Wedding On Walton's Mountain" they were having a hard time finding the right wedding dress for Erin to marry Paul in. Mary's mother suggested her own wedding dress and Mary wore her mother's actual wedding dress in that movie. Naturally Mary still has the wedding dress. Mary said that she was thinking about putting it on Ebay and donating the money to her cousin's charity. She was sidetracked by other people talking to her so she never said what the fourth thing is that she has.

Mary wanted to know if we all had read her online interview with The Birmingham News:

www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2015/05/actress_mary_mcdonough_doesnt.html

Mary mentioned that it just came to my mind in the interview that Erin would still be a school principal and wouldn't it be wonderful if Ashley had gotten his act together and now we were married. Jonathan Frakes (Ashley in the series) and I had great chemistry together. When we started filming the movie of Erin getting married (1982 A Wedding On Walton's Mountain) I wanted Jonathan Frakes back as Ashley. He was in Hawaii filming an episode of "Hart to Hart" and they would not wait on him. They got Louis Welch to play Ashley and nothing against Louis as he is a wonderful man but he was no Ashley. We just didn't have that chemistry and when people see that movie and Erin is torn between Paul (Morgan Stevens) and Ashley (Louis Welch) there should have been no wondering whom to be with. It was easy to see it should be Paul instead of Ashley.

Mary was wonderful with my foreverettes and I took group pictures and individual pictures of them with Mary. She gave them her autograph. We were there about an hour just hanging out around and with her. I am going to try to get Mr. Forever to post a few of the pictures. Mary autographed four pictures and a script for me that I brought.

Our middle son kept thanking us on the way home for bringing him to meet Mary...then he continued to thank me for the next two days! LOL!

[ForeverWaltons]

Mary also brought up the Walton's movies about people wondering where Virginia, Charlie, Jonesy, Cindy, etc. are in some or all of them. She said what Eric Scott (Ben) has said in the past. The people behind the movies didn't care about consistency. Eric Scott said that he brought up several of the things to them while filming and they told him that no one would remember. Characters missing had to do with the budget (money) too.

Mary told us that Leslie Winston (Cindy Walton) was pregnant in real life when they filmed the 1995 movie "A Walton's Wedding." They were writing in her character being pregnant since she really was. In the end they decided to not have Leslie in the movie because of the budget and had Lisa Harrison (Toni - Jason's wife) be pregnant in the movie instead. Mary said that it really hurt Leslie. I can imagine that it did!

My own observation: Since Jon Walmsley (Jason) and Lisa Harrison (Toni) were really married to each other at the time, that's why she was in the movie when Cindy (Ben's wife) and Jonesy (Mary Ellen's husband) wasn't.

[Heather]

Thanks for sharing Glad the kids enjoyed and it does really stink that Leslie was left out of the movie. Wish we could go back and make some edits and straighten the movies out. Kind of like they reworked the Star Wars films

[patriciaanne]

I have read and heard so much about Mary that I feel like I've already met her. I read her first book and have to get the second. What a great thing to meet someone you have enjoyed all these years and see what a genuine person she is. But then the entire cast seems to be that way.

[sdw]

ForeverWaltons I am glad your children got to meet Mary,and really enjoyed it,most children would not know about The Waltons, and would not
watch the show.It was very interesting what Mary told you about The Waltons.