This Disgusting Behind-the-Scenes Fact About ‘The Waltons’ Made The Cast’s Stomach Turn
What To Know
- The iconic dinner table scenes were far less adorable and appealing behind the scenes.
- Filming family meal scenes was quite difficult, especially because they would take a long time, which had undesired consequences on the food.
- Cast members described the dinner scenes as unpleasant and even “nightmarish” due to the deteriorating state of the food.
The Waltons is best known as one of the most beloved and enduring family dramas in American television history — a warm, character-driven portrait of life during the Great Depression and World War II. But it had its gross moments, too. At least behind the scenes.
Apparently, the family meal scenes were difficult to shoot, and multiple takes meant the food sat under hot studio lights for hours, long enough for it to grow stale and even congeal. To make matters worse, the same dishes were often reused shot after shot, getting older (and less appetizing) with each take.
According to Kami Cotler, who played Elizabeth, the food got “very gross” after using the same plates for multiple takes.
In an interview with the cast, the actress revealed the disgusting truth about some of those dinner scenes. “A three-minute kitchen scene takes four hours to film,” she said. “So the food just gets more and more congealed, and they put [it] on your plate and scrape it back onto the serving dish. But Ralph, he was realistic. He would eat.”
Courtesy of Everett Collection
Costar Michael Learned backed up this claim when talking to the Television Academy. “I don’t want to talk about the dinner scenes. They were a nightmare. A NIGHTMARE! We dreaded them,” said the actress who portrayed Olivia Walton. “First of all, you have to do a master shot, and then once you do that, and the kids are flicking mashed potatoes at each other. And Cami’s playing with the salt, and I’m bored to tears.”
“A dinner scene could last half a day and and by the end of all the food getting re-scraped back into the serving dishes. We had corned beef — chipped corn beef — and that was a nightmare beyond imagining. By the end of that corn beef was just disgusting. There was practically mold growing on it,” recalled Learned.
Mold? A little something to remember while watching those heartwarming scenes around the iconic dinner table.
Remind