While the beloved ’70s historical drama, The Waltons, was known for its wholesome storylines, the show’s star, Richard Thomas, once revealed that the cast’s behind-the-scenes antics were a bit more racy.
During a 2016 interview for the Television Academy Foundation, Thomas, who famously played John-Boy Waltons until his departure from the series following its fifth season, said that there were quite a few bloopers from The Waltons that viewers wouldn’t expect.
“A sexy violent show is not likely to have the funniest outtakes, but a family, a sort of well- behaved family, is going to have the best outtakes, right?” said Thomas.
Thomas then shared one scandalous moment while shooting a Waltons episode at Burbank’s Warner Bros. Studios. He recalled that fans of the series were on a studio tour, while he and his castmate, Will Geer, who played Grandpa Zebulon “Zeb” Walton, were “sitting in Drucilla’s pond” while wearing “swimming trunks” for a scene. According to Thomas, he and Geer decided to “moon” the fans on the Warner Bros. Studio tour while singing “Yankee Doodle Dandy.”
“You never saw a tram pull away so fast in the history of tours,” quipped Thomas.
During the Television Academy Foundation interview, Thomas also shared that he and the late John Ritter, who played the Waltons character, Reverend Matthew Fordwick, often weren’t on their best behavior while filming scenes together.
“John Ritter and I used to try to make each other throw up,” shared Thomas, now 75. “If we could get the other guy to gag somehow during the scene. We were very bad. We were very, very, very bad. John was very, very bad. We were bad influences on each other.”
Thomas went on to say he believed the show’s cast and crew “enjoyed” his and Ritter’s dynamic. However, he suggested that the show’s directors may not have appreciated the pair’s behavior.
“I think the directors, they were nice about it, but I think they wanted to shoot us both frequently. They had to think very carefully before they put the two of us in the scene together,” said Thomas.