Grandma and Grandpa Walton's portrayers were forced to keep a secret

Will Geer and Ellen Corby shared more than a bed on The Waltons

Millions know Will Geer and Ellen Corby for portraying Zeb and Esther Walton and they were beloved as the Grandpa and Grandma on The Waltons which ran on CBS from September 14, 1972 –June 4, 1981. The duo were the patriarch and matriarch of the family based on the life of Earl Hamner who grew up in Schuyler Virginias, during the Great Depression years.

Richard Thomas who portrayed John Boy Walton once said of Geer that he was not acting as Grandpa-he was grandpa and shared how he kept the cast in stitches and enjoyed mooning them. Corby and Geer were not only connected by working together as a married couple but they also were forced to share a secret that would preserve their careers. Both of the beloved actors were gay but had married to keep people out of their business.

The woman who portrayed Esther Walton and the man who was Zeb Walton the parents of John Walton ( Ralph Waite) were living a double life because of the way they would have been viewed at that time by their fans and Hollywood was not having it.

Stella Luchia was Ellen Corby's "friend" for 4 decades

Stella Luchetta was labeled as Corby's “caretaker” and the women presented themselves publicly as only good friends. I have personally seen this play out over the decades where after a woman dies people will begin saying that her good friend had actually been her lover. In Ellen Corby's situation, she married Francis Corby, to keep up appearances and to preserve her reputation from what today would be considered homophobic attitudes.

Corby's “friendship” with Stella Luchetta lasted for forty-five years until she+ died. She loved children but never had any of her own and considered the seven cast members who portrayed the Walton children as the grandchildren she never had. Her last words before she passed away were to her "friend “love you.”

Will Geer loved yet rejected Harry Hay

Will Geer fell for Harry Hay a gay rights activist and both were active Communists. Geer broke things off because he wanted children and married Herta Ware who gave him 3 children-Ellen, Kate, and Thad Geer. The couple divorced after 20 years but later reconnected. Hay was said to be heartbroken at Gear's decision and upon his death said to Ware "I had him first" to which she replied, " I had him the longest". The agents of both Geer and Corby were said to have pushed them into "New York Marriages" to give the appearance they were straight.

There was a fear that the viewers of The Waltons would be shocked to find out about the secret lives of the actors who portrayed Grandma and Grandpa Walton because they were so beloved as a couple. Even when both dealt with health issues they were welcomed back to the set and unlike Richard Thomas who portrayed John Boy and had two additional actors in the role Corby and Geer were never replaced.

Geer and Corby's additional roles

When Geer died so did his character and when Corby suffered a stroke she returned to The Walton's set and her illness was written into the script for Grandma. Will Geer had a number of memorable roles in film including Jeremiah Johnson, Winchester 73, Salt of the Earth, Napoleon and Samantha, A Woman Called Moses, and In Cold Blood.

Ellen Corby's movie roles include The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, Vertigo, Night Passage, and Caged. Corby also portrayed a memorable character named Mrs. Lesh who sold Barney Fife (Don Knotts) a lemon in the season 3 episode of The Andy Griffith Show Barney's First Car.