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Michael Myers from Halloween was in an episode of The Waltons
He also happens to be Erin "Joanie Cunningham" Moran's brother.
In the late 1970s, actor Tony Moran was looking for his big break even though he was no stranger to the industry. His sister, Erin, had been playing Joanie Cunningham on Happy Days for years at that point.
In 1978, Moran (Tony, that is) got a small part in a low-budget horror film — what is practically a struggling-actor rite of passage. Little did he know the role would become one of the most recognizable scary movie villains in history and spawn an entire horror franchise.
The movie? The original Halloween. Moran played killer Michael Myers, though only after he is unmasked. Nick Castle and Tommy Lee Wallace acted as Myers for most of the movie, sporting the famous modified version of a Captain Kirk mask.
In a 2012 interview, Moran gave his initial thoughts on the project.
"I thought it was about the corniest thing I'd ever heard, a horror movie called Halloween," he told AL.com. He revealed that he didn't even tell his friends that he had won the part because he was embarrassed. Of course, the film was an instant hit, grossing millions of dollars and becoming one of the most profitable horror movies of all time.
Not that Moran shared in those profits. He was only payed $250 for his vital, but brief, role.
A year after the movie was released, Moran appeared to audiences in a very different context. He played Jim-Bob's friend "Tinker" in an episode of The Waltons.
In "The Burden," Jim-Bob has a near-death experience. His car almost crushes him while he's working underneath it. Jim-Bob then decides to become a preacher, something Tinker makes fun of him for.
Jim-Bob ultimately decides not to become a man of God but as Earl Hamner's closing narration states, "Although Jim-Bob never became a preacher, his deeply religious experience added an important dimension to his life."
Tony wasn't the only member of the Moran family to be in The Waltons. Erin played Sally Ann Harper, a girl Ben Walton likes in the season three episode "The Song."
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Also, series creator Earl Hamner Jr. was a FB friend of mine. He was always good at returning my messages, when I asked about the series.
