MovieChat Forums > The Waltons (1972) Discussion > Warning about Tabloid Cover Story

Warning about Tabloid Cover Story

posted 9 years ago by FlushingCaps
6 replies | jump to latest

I won't dignify the rag by naming it, but one of the supermarket checkout publications has the Waltons on the current cover with a headline saying, "We Were Exploited."

I took a few spare minutes to read the short article. There was virtually nothing in there to make it worth anyone's time to read, let alone buy the stupid thing.

The only allegations regarding the notion of being "exploited" voiced by any of the quoted actors who portrayed the Walton children, were 1) they weren't paid nearly as much as they deserved, and 2) the production company was cheap, with regard to not going around telling them how wonderful they were and buying them nice gifts from time to time. Sometimes, they were coarsely told how they have to get to their "marks"--the places they needed to stand for scenes, and not blow their lines, because it cost time and money to re-shoot scenes--which is, of course, true.

Whatever they were paid, I'm sure they couldn't have gotten more from some other line of work at their ages and with their experience. "Not paid what you're worth"--get in line with the way most people feel.

The prime focus of the story was how the series was not expected to be a hit, due to it's tough competition when first aired, and how the children had a wonderful time playing on the set when waiting for their scenes. The child actors and actresses apparently bonded so well that they continue, over 40 years after the series began, to see each other every so often and correspond.

There was nothing shocking or revealing, nobody claimed to have been abused by anyone connected with the show, or otherwise, and other than capsule summaries of what the kids did after the series with their lives--and these are brief--along with recent photos, headshots, there was, to me, no reason at all to pay attention to this article. It was about as worthless as it gets.

I only picked it up because I had time to wait and wondered what big thing happened to "exploit" these people. Nothing at all in the story pointed to any sort of exploitation.

I believe it was 4 tabloid pages, including many photos, so I urge you to either ignore this altogether, or, read it while waiting in line and put it back because you should not waste your money on such things.

[–] sjbradford 9 years ago

Haha - the kids weren't paid nearly what they deserved? If they had been paid what they deserved, it would have been a lot less. None of the six younger kids could really act, which is why none of them went on to do anything else, acting-wise.

As for not enough gifts: Lorimar, the production company, was notoriously tight, so that's not a big surprise. And if anyone did get nice gifts, it should have been the actors who could actually act.

[–] jlgas 9 years ago

If it were possible to accurately measure a program's worth to the production company, and thereafter each actor's worth to the program and each paid accordingly, there would be nothing left to invest in new ideas. Aspiring writers would never get taken on, programs such as The Waltons would not get made, actors' contracts would be written up to include payback if the program made a loss etc etc.

We hear there are those who muddy the waters and estimate their worth by gauging the public reaction if they were to leave the show, which generally inflates the amount they could get doing something else.

Mr Frampton, vis-a-vis your rump

[–] AmyJolamb 9 years ago

A few of the "Walton kids" shared a link to it on their Facebook pages. They made it sound almost like a joke. I found the whole thing pitiful.

[–] Eyeball-Chambers 9 years ago

In all fairness, I blame the magazine for taking liberties using words like exploited, while the actual quotes were alone the lines of “We did not get rich from that show,”.

It was Michael Learned who mentioned how cheap the studio was in relation to the gift giving, she was given a bunch of flowers and asked why there was nothing for the kids and “The running joke was that Lorimar was so cheap that their idea of a party was one can of beer and 13 straws!” Michael tells Closer with a laugh.

Whenever I see anyone of the cast during interviews, they have nothing but fond memories and stories to tell.

They were not at all claiming exploitation, nor was the word even used in the story, only as on the cover as an attention getting device. Blame the magazine.

[–] TheXmanCometh 9 years ago

Commenting on young actors in television shows from that era there are definitely places where they could have been taken better care of financially. Back then actors rarely shared in any royalties from merchandising and there were Waltons lunch boxes, dolls, board games, Christmas records, etc. Other casts (Happy Days) later sued to get any money that was made using their likeness.

I wish I could remember who he was but I saw an interview with a former male actor who mentioned how many people that talked to him assumed that he didn't have to work since the show he was on was still being shown on television (repeats) and being sold on DVD but none of that money was making its way to him. He was just a normal worker bee trying to make the mortgage payments like everyone else.

Last it is pretty evident that at least one of the Walton children was taken advantage of. From Mary McDonough's book "Lessons From The Mountain" (page 35):
"Only once did I tell my mom about a crew member who insisted I kiss him every day behind a backdrop. I was about twelve and I bought a trendy outfit to wear to the first day back at work for a new season. It was a cute crop top and a pair of hip-hugger jeans. As we got closer to the studio, I got scared. I knew the crewman would want his kiss. I was maturing and I sensed my new outfit would get me into more 'trouble.' I didn't want to touch him ever again."

Luckily Mary told her mother about "the crew guy who coaxed and teased me into doing it all last season" and Mary refused to let the behavior continue. It's one thing to be thrifty with gifts to the cast, but how could a studio be so lax with the children that a grown man could be alone with Mary like that every day?

[And thank you Mary for having the courage to share this story.]

[–] jefgg 8 years ago

"Not paid what you're worth"--get in line with the way most people feel.

Exactamundo

Anyone who wants to read the article can click on
http://www.closerweekly.com/posts/cast-the-waltons-speak-out-exclusive-81499