Mary Elizabeth McDonough (born May 4, 1961), sometimes credited as Mary Beth McDonough, is an American actress and writer, best known for her role as Erin Walton on ''

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural mountainous Western Virginia of the Appalachian Mountains / Allegheny Mountains / Blue Ridge Mountains chain, during the economic hardships and mass unemp ...

'' from 1972 to 1981, and several subsequent made-for-television reunion films in later decades.

Early life

McDonough was born on May 4, 1961 in the

Van Nuys Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1 ...

section of Los Angeles, California, the third of four children to Lawrence and Elizabeth (née Murray) McDonough. Her father was an

Irish American Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry. Irish immigration to the United States From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...

ex-

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

from

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, while her mother was from

La Junta, Colorado La Junta is a home rule municipality in, the county seat of, and the most populous municipality of Otero County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,322 at the 2020 United States census. La Junta is located on the Arkansa ...

. McDonough was raised in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, in what she described as a working-class family. She and her siblings were raised in the Northridge section of Los Angeles, and attended the Our Lady of Lourdes School on South Eastman Avenue in East Los Angeles. McDonough was an active theater student, and became interested in acting in elementary school.

Career

McDonough began her career as a child actor, portraying Erin Walton in the series ''

'' beginning in September 1972, a role which she would portray until the series' finale nine years later in 1981. She made her feature film debut with a minor part in the action film ''

Lovely But Deadly ''Lovely But Deadly'' is a 1981 action film about a cheerleader who goes undercover to fight drug dealers. The film stars Lucinda Dooling, John Randolph, Mel Novak and Richard Herd. Directed by David Sheldon with a story by Lawrence D. Foldes, ...

'' (1981) before co-starring with

Melissa Sue Anderson Melissa Sue Anderson (born September 26, 1962) is an American-Canadian actress. She began her career as a child actress after appearing in several commercials in Los Angeles. Anderson is known for her role as Mary Ingalls in the NBC drama series ...

in the television horror film ''Midnight Offerings'' (1981). McDonough was subsequently cast in a lead role in the slasher horror film ''

Mortuary A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have cus ...

'' (1983), opposite

Lynda Day George Lynda Louise Day George (born Lynda Louise Day; December 11, 1944) is an American television and film actress whose career spanned three decades from the 1960s to the 1980s. She was a cast member on ''Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series), Mission ...

and

Bill Paxton William Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor, filmmaker and musician. A versatile character actor known for his distinctive Texan drawl and everyman screen persona, he was a four-time Golden Globe Award and a Prime ...

. She reprised her role of Erin Walton in several of ''The Waltons'' subsequent television reunion films ''A Wedding on Walton's Mountain'', ''Mother's Day on Walton's Mountain'', and ''A Day for Thanks on Walton's Mountain'' (all released and televised in 1982). In 1987, she had a lead role in the dark comedy '' Funland'', about an unhinged amusement park operator. In the 1990s, McDonough appeared again as Erin Walton in a further three ''Waltons'' reunion made-for-TV films: ''A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion'' (1993), ''A Walton Wedding'' (1995), and ''A Walton Easter'' (1997). In the 2000s, she returned to other television acting roles, guest-starring on ''

Boston Legal ''Boston Legal'' is an American legal comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004, to Decem ...

'' (2004–2008 on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

) and '' The New Adventures of Old Christine'' (2006–2010 on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

). McDonough has been a radio guest on international and syndicated shows such as ''Get Focused Radio'' with Kate Hennessy. She can be seen on the internet in the show ''McDougall M.D.'' as part of the broadcasts on the TBN network. In 2018, McDonough's book ''Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane'' was adapted into the

Hallmark Channel Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. ...

film of the same name starring

Alicia Witt Alicia Roanne Witt (born August 21, 1975) is an American actress and musician. She first came to fame as a child actress after being discovered by David Lynch, who cast her in ''Dune'' (1984) and ''Twin Peaks'' (1990). Witt was a regular on Cyb ...

and

Colin Ferguson Colin Ferguson (born July 22, 1972) is a Canadian actor, director and producer.
Yahoo! Movies; acce ...

. McDonough also appeared in the film in a minor supporting role.

Personal life

McDonough suffers from

lupus erythematosus is a collection of autoimmune diseases in which the human immune system becomes hyperactive and attacks healthy tissues. Symptoms of these diseases can affect many different body systems, including joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, heart, ...

, which, she claimed on her ''In the Know'' plastic surgery awareness website, stemmed from leaking

silicone In Organosilicon chemistry, organosilicon and polymer chemistry, a silicone or polysiloxane is a polymer composed of repeating units of siloxane (, where R = Organyl group, organic group). They are typically colorless oils or elastomer, rubber ...

from her

breast implants A breast implant is a prosthesis used to change the size, shape, and contour of a person's breast. In reconstructive plastic surgery, breast implants can be placed to restore a natural looking breast following a mastectomy, to correct congenital ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Other work

References

Sources

External links

McDonough's official site

The Mary McDonough Fan Club
(bilingual) * {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonough, Mary Elizabeth Living people Actresses from Los Angeles American child actresses American film actresses American people of Irish descent American television actresses Catholics from California People with lupus People from Van Nuys, Los Angeles Writers from Los Angeles 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Date of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)