

Instead of seeing herself as a budding star, she saw herself as nothing more than "Rachel the schoolgirl" in the eyes of these casting directors. Is this Michael Learned in The Waltons or something else?
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Up until then, she’d been rising as an actor, appearing as John Denver’s daughter in the movie Oh, God and taking guest roles on popular TV programs like Little House on the Prairie and Roots.īut burnout came quick for the young star, who by 1979 was sick of going to auditions where a casting director asks, "Send in about 50 little blondes." The character was played by a child star named Rachel Longaker, who landed the role on The Waltons after appearing as a girl with ESP in an ABC after-school special.įor Longaker, this stint on The Waltons was hitting the bigtime.Īs a child, she longed to be an actor, and not just someone with "a lot of teeth and hair" as 13-year-old Longaker told the Baltimore Sun in 1979, but a star performer with real acting chops like her heroes, Jane Alexander and Joanne Woodward.Īlthough her parents disapproved of her dream, they moved to Los Angeles in 1977, shortly after Longaker got the recurring role on The Waltons. On The Waltons, Aimee appears in 16 episodes, established as Elizabeth’s best friend.

In the story, it’s Elizabeth Walton whom Corabeth Godsey deems a bad influence on her adopted daughter Aimee. There’s a sweet subplot in The Waltons episode "The Long Night" that centers on two little girls just trying to have fun, only to be divided when it’s deemed one of them is less ladylike than the other.
