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Even after his departure from the series, Richard Thomas loved The Waltons
"To some people, I’ll always be that character."
Many people couldn’t understand Richard Thomas’s reasoning for leaving The Waltons behind after the show’s fifth season. Thomas had been a central figure on the series since its inception, and as John-Boy, had led the series to success. The Waltons had quickly become one of America’s favorite series. Why would Thomas want to leave that behind?
Of course, Thomas loved his time on the series and would always speak highly of the show. However, the actor had aspirations beyond television. Later, Thomas enjoyed a prolific stage career and later returned to television in shows like The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson and The Americans.
When discussing the series after his departure, Thomas was pressed as to whether he chafed against an audience eternally seeing him as the character he portrayed in The Waltons.
“In a way, I don’t ever want to bury the John-Boy image,” Thomas said during an interview with the Chicago Tribune. “I love that show and that portrayal. I mean it.”
However, Thomas also understood that he couldn’t play John-Boy forever.
“You have to balance something like that by doing other things,” said the actor. “It can take years and years to wipe away an image built up by six years of television. To some people, I’ll always be that character. But why let it kill you?”
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