Oct 17 2024 58 mins
The Walton family saga so deeply moved us that scores of devoted fans are now sharing the show with their children and grandchildren.
Set in Depression era Virginia, The Waltons invited audiences to watch a family overcome adversity through their love, perseverance and the opening of their minds and hearts.
During its nine year run, we watched the Walton kids grow up right along with us. Between the ages of seven and sixteen, Kami Cotler portrayed the youngest Walton, Elizabeth and while doing show she gained the additional families of her Walton co-stars and fans.
Kami joins us to talk about a childhood spent on the set of an iconic historical drama, her illustrious and inspiring career as an educator and the ongoing events and celebrations which continue to unite The Waltons and their audience.
Kami's career as a teacher and administrator was rooted in her own education, a unique hybrid of inventive and creative on-set tutors and public schools.
On-set learning did harken back to the one room schoolhouse where Kami learned alongside her older casemates and could easily audit some of their fascinating lessons which were way ahead of her grade level.
Additionally, The Waltons’ set doubled as a constantly evolving, hands-on classroom. Post-Waltons, Kami’s first teaching job was in rural Virginia, which provided a real life emersion into the fictional setting she had inhabited for nearly a decade, and it's where she developed her style and approach as an educator.
We talk to Kami about her Youtube channel where she reacts to beloved episodes and interviews her wonderful Mom. She tells us what she wishes she’d asked Will Geer and Ellen Corby about working with Woody Guthrie and Laurel and Hardy and she shares how fans are consistently helping her better remember specific events and episodes!
Today, Kami organizes Waltons themed gatherings around the country that are proving to be an enormously rewarding experience for both cast and fans. And, Kami pretty much aces a round of Waltons Trivia!
Plus, Fritz and Weezy are recommending Social Studies on FX and Hulu and Score on Prime.
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