'70s TV Legend Reveals the One Famous Line He Still Hears From Fans 50 Years Later
Richard Thomas made his debut on The Waltons more than five decades ago, but one line from the beloved classic TV show still stays with him-and he hears it on a daily basis.
Speaking with People magazine in a new interview, Thomas, 74, revealed he never gets tired of fans saying "Good night, John-Boy" to him. The iconic line closed out the CBS drama series for years as the Walton family members turned out their lights at bedtime at the end of each episode.
On The Waltons, Thomas played eldest son John-Boy Walton for nine seasons, from 1972 to 1981. The actor told People that he still loves it when fans say the "good night" line to him, and he noted that when he performs stage shows, he regularly hears it during the curtain call.
"I get lots of 'Good night, John-Boys.' It's very sweet. It makes me very happy," the actor said.
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Based on Earl Hamner Jr.'s true family story of growing up in a small town nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, nearly every episode of The Waltons ended with the family saying good night. Hamner once told The Television Academy Foundation that Thomas saw his childhood home in person and understood how the "good nights" came to be.
"That was something that we actually did when I was growing up," Hamner recalled. "We would say good night to each other all over the house, and sometimes we get carried away, and we'd go say so many good nights that my father, who had to get up early in the morning, he'd say, ‘All right, that's enough.' And Richard Thomas, after his first trip to Virginia, came back and he said, ‘You know I always wondered how you people could say good night and be heard. But then I saw the house; it's such a little cracker box that now I understand."
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Thomas told The Television Academy Foundation that the good nights "were emblematic" of what The Waltons was about.
"No matter what happens during the day, no matter what the family went through, no matter who was in conflict, no matter what the hardship might have been … when it was time to go to bed, when it was time everyone was together… after the drama of the episode, it was the making whole again of the family," he explained.
Thomas also shared that he expected the "Good night, John-Boy" phrase to follow him forever.
"It'll happen today at some point. It'll happen several times today before the end of the day," The Waltons star said of hearing the phrase. "It'll be on my tombstone, I'm sure. … I'm John Boy. ‘Good night, John-Boy' has always been with me and I love it."
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This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 8:43 AM.