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Kami Cotler was just six years old when she filmed The Homecoming: A Christmas Story. But she still has strong memories of working on the 1971 made-for-TV movie that spawned The Waltons. 

Kami Cotler says being in ‘The Homecoming’ was ‘very exciting’

Cotler played Elizabeth Walton in the heartwarming story of a Depression-era family hoping to celebrate Christmas with their father, who has had to leave home to find work. She recently reflected on shooting the movie on location in Wyoming.

“I am not sure that I truly remember filming the opening scene from The Homecoming, but I do have clear memories of filming [in] Jackson Hole, Wyoming,” she wrote on Instagram on December 8. 

“My being in a TV movie was very exciting for my family, and the trip to Wyoming made it all the more exciting. My Mom took time off work to be with me, and my Dad and my brother joined us for a few days. My Dad took home movies with his Super 8 camera of us rehearsing the scene outside the store with the missionary and of the kids making snowmen in the hotel courtyard. There wasn’t snow on the ground when we first arrived, and I believe the production company had to truck some in from higher elevations early in our shoot. ”

Getting to play in the snow was a special experience for Cotler, especially once the flakes really piled up. 

“We were kids from southern California, so when it finally snowed we were very, very excited,” she recalled. “I do clearly also remember the snow coming up to my knees when we filmed the scene where the kids walk from the barn to the house.”

Cotler also has fond memories of horsing around with her co-stars. 

“I also remember Jon [Walmsley] or Richard [Thomas] would pick me up like a sack of potatoes when camera stopped rolling and run back to starting positions for the next take,” she said. “I think I was slung over a shoulder and jostled all the way back.”

Edgar Bergen put on a show for ‘The Homecoming’ cast 

While The Homecoming is set at Christmastime, filming took place several months earlier, around Halloween. Cotler went trick-or-treating door-to-door at The Virginian Lodge in Jackson Hole “because it was Halloween and it’s quite a big deal at six years-old to miss that.” 

The cast also enjoyed a special show from ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, who played Grandpa Zebb.

“Our teacher, Mrs. King, had a mask and the crew all had candy in their rooms to give to us. While we were there, Edgar Bergen gathered all the kids around the giant stone fireplace in the lobby and did his show for us, bring out Charlie McCarthy and throwing his voice so it sounded like Santa Claus was up the chimney,” she wrote. “We children were entertained, but the adults were spellbound.”

Cotler’s co-star Judy Norton, who played Mary Ellen Walton, also has fond memories of filming The Homecoming. 

“It was sort of a working vacation,” Norton said in a video shared on YouTube. “And I think we all just thoroughly enjoyed it. Just very, very special times. It was just the best. And a great way to kick off just the years and years of wonderful memories that I have from being part of [The Waltons].” 

The Homecoming: A Christmas Story is streaming on The Roku Channel.

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