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Post by bullgator on Mar 7, 2011 21:48:56 GMT -5
Beulah Bondi - what a wonderful actress. Her portrayal of Martha Corinne Walton always amazes me. Of course she was a noted actress in movies having been nominated during the 1930s for two Oscars as best supporting actress. What an honor for her (and the Waltons) to win an Emmy in 1976 (at the age of 88) for her role in Walton episode, The Ponycart. Both The Conflict and The Ponycart (or should I say "Shay") are among my favorite Walton episodes. How fortunate we are that the Waltons attracted established talent like Beulah Bondi and Mel Tillis and actors on the rise such as John Ritter and Ron Howard.
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Post by dfnmeows44 on Mar 8, 2011 14:57:57 GMT -5
She wass wonderful on The Pony Cart and Shay---I believe that is how they get that expression" the old horse shay....."
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Post by Marilyn on Mar 8, 2011 16:57:59 GMT -5
She was a fantastic actress! I've been in horses all my life and have never heard this term before - the old horse shay.
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Post by timetraveler on Mar 8, 2011 19:46:39 GMT -5
I enjoyed watching how they made the pony cart. I also enjoyed watching Elizabeth use the spinning wheel on [The Conflict]. The boys were also lucky to receive the arrowheads.
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Post by bothepug on Mar 9, 2011 16:52:54 GMT -5
Her episodes along with Cousin Zadok episode are maybe my favorites
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Post by davidm on Mar 9, 2011 17:03:28 GMT -5
I liked her in the episode where there was a standoff between the Waltons and the state. John Boy got shot.
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sissy
Newspaper Vendor
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Post by sissy on Mar 9, 2011 17:22:42 GMT -5
Oh, I totally agree....Ms. Bondi brought SO MUCH to the show. She was my favorite "secondary" character. I wish she had been in more episodes. In The Conflict, I love the scene at the end, when she is sweeping the floor of her cabin, getting ready to leave for the last time, and she is reminiscing to John-Boy about the day she and Henry got married, and how she could still smell his bay rum...oh, and the scene where she is writing a letter to Pres. Roosevelt asking him to bring her back to the mountain to be buried when she dies. And in the Pony Cart, don't you think her acting is FANTASTIC when everyone is sitting around eating ice cream, and she is talking about her early life with Henry? She was so realistic and believable--it made me feel like I was sitting with my own Grandmother!
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bucky
Reporter
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Post by bucky on Mar 9, 2011 19:16:48 GMT -5
She was really quite amazing in that role. It almost seemed that she was imbued with the spirit of a pioneer woman - she did it so well. Given her age she certainly could have known some elderly pioneers, perhaps she even using someone she knew as inspiration. The scene Sissy mentions where Martha-Corinne sniffs the air was just electric. She probably would have known Will Geer and Ellen Corby, possibly having acted with them I really loved that so many older actors had such great parts. Maud was one of my favourites.
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Post by john8486 on Mar 9, 2011 19:22:41 GMT -5
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Bondi and Ellen Corby appear in "It's a Wonderful Life" ? Bondi as Jimmy Stewart's mother and Corby as a building and loan customer ?
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bucky
Reporter
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Post by bucky on Mar 9, 2011 19:30:48 GMT -5
Maybe someone who has the movie will know.
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Post by john8486 on Mar 9, 2011 19:37:23 GMT -5
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Post by dfnmeows44 on Mar 13, 2011 16:21:15 GMT -5
She just made a brief appearance during the run on the bank. She just asked for 12.50 at the time when most customers were asking to close their accounts. Beulah Bondi appeared toward the end after George is shown what the world would be without him. She says that Uncle Billy has been in the insane assylym ever since he lost his business---implying that George was not there to come up with the cash---or they called it the kitty---to keep the Building and Loan in operation and they ended up with 'mama dollar and papa dollar' and they said they must get together to start a big family right away .
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Post by ncwaltonsfan on Mar 13, 2011 16:33:23 GMT -5
It is my understanding that Ellen Corby ad-libbed her request for $17.50 . Jimmy Stewart ad-libbed his kiss of Ellen Corby. Frank Capra liked it and kept it in the film.
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bucky
Reporter
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Post by bucky on Mar 13, 2011 21:49:38 GMT -5
Bondi was also in earlier scenes at home with Stewart. I do remember the one where he and 'Harry' were teasing her in the kitchen or dining room.
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Post by ncwaltonsfan on Mar 14, 2011 13:03:36 GMT -5
I remember that also.
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