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The popular "good night" routine in The Waltons was actually based on an activity from the home of the show's creator Earl Hamner Jr. He said that this would go on until his father told him and his siblings to be quiet.
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John Ritter left the show after four seasons because he was offered the lead on Three's Company. He has said that the fact that he had to give up his role as "Reverend Fordwick" was the only regret in taking the role on Three's Company.
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While his character "John Sr." did not go to church regularly, Ralph Waite was a licensed minister in real life. He actually helped out his co-star John Ritter with his role as "Reverend Fordwick".
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"John Walton Sr." (Ralph Waite) actually had an older brother, "Ben", who was killed in World War I. In his honor, "John Sr." named his third son "Ben"!
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For Ralph Waite and Richard Thomas, it actually wasn't the first time they played father and son. They had worked together on the movie Petting in 1969 - Thomas played the role of "Peter" and Waite played his father, but wasn't credited.
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Although the show is set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of West Virginia, almost the entire series was actually filmed on the Warner Bros. studio lot in Hollywood, California.