Though The Waltons provided a nostalgic escape for viewers in the 1970s, the series never shied away from more difficult topics. What audiences might not have realized, however, was that behind the scenes, the show’s stars were also dealing with similarly difficult issues.

Ralph Waite, best known as John Walton Sr., admitted during an interview with the Bangor Daily News that when offered an opportunity to audition for the series, he believed the series had little promise. In fact, it was what drew him to the series in the first place. “I never expected the show to last, didn’t want the show to last,” said Waite.

Waite had been working as a stage actor in New York before heading to California to visit his daughters. Though he originally intended his trip to be short, his representation had different ideas.

Watch The Waltons on MeTV!

Weekdays at 12 PM

*available in most MeTV markets

“My agent urged me to stay on the West Coast and pick up some money to take back to New York. He had an offer, he said, for me to be part of a cast of a Waltons series he was sure wouldn’t last 13 weeks.”

However, during filming as the series gained traction, Waite admitted he was struggling with addiction. “I was a wild man. I was an alcoholic. It had taken me many years to progress from the stage I liked to consider a ‘happy drunk’ to the state of acute alcoholism. And by the time I started on the show I was at a point where there was no such thing as a lunch period without two, three - or more - martinis. When I’d finally report back to the set, I was pretty much out of it.”

At some point, Waite understood that in order to live a better life, he would have to overcome his addiction.

“I suppose, as the saying goes, I just got sick and tired of being sick and tired,” said the actor. “More than that, though, it was the show that had a profound effect on me…I simply came to the conclusion that I couldn’t go around loaded all the time if I was to act the part of a kind, responsible parent to many children.”