Michael Learned: In her two-and-a-half-hour Archive interview, Michael Learned speaks of her early life and theatrical training. She recalls early roles on Canadian television and acting on stage in San Francisco in a production of “Private Lives” directed by Francis Ford Coppola. She discusses her iconic role of “Olivia Walton” on the classic CBS series The Waltons, recalling how she replaced Patricia Neal who’d earlier played the role. She describes her chemistry with Ralph Waite who played “John Walton,” her husband on the show. Learned outlines the various changes over the run of the show, including the declining health of Ellen Corby (“Grandma Walton”), the death of Will Geer (“Grandpa Walton”), and the departure of Richard Thomas (“John-Boy”). She speaks of leaving The Waltons and her subsequent return to television in the short-lived series Nurse. She talks about numerous guest-starring roles, made-for-television movie roles, and roles she played in various daytime dramas. Adrienne Faillace conducted the interview on November 11, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California.
Michael Learned – IMDb: Michael Learned, Actress: The Waltons. Four-time Best Actress Emmy Award winner Michael Learned was born on April 9, 1939 in Washington, D.C. The oldest of six daughters of a U.S. State Department employee, she was raised on her family’s farm in Connecticut. The family moved to Austria when she was age 11, and it was while attending boarding school in England that she fell in love with…
Jeanne Cooper taking medical leave from Y&R: Long-time Y&R star Jeanne Cooper will be absent from Genoa City for a period of time. The Emmy winner will be on medical leave, but she will return. Veteran actress Michael Learned will temporarily take over the role of Katherine Chancellor.
My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: Michael Learned (born April 9, 1939) is an american actress . she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series four times . her maternal grandfather was an attaché for the united she was nominated for six Emmy Awards and won three for her role of Olivia Walton . her character’s abrupt disappearance was explained by Olivia developing tuberculosis . Learned starred in four of the six Waltons reunion movies made during the 1980s and 1990s . for her portrayal of Olivia Walton, she was nominated for four golden globe awards . she starred as Learned was nominated for two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress . she later had starring roles in the unsuccessful 1988 drama Hothouse and 1989 sitcom Living Dolls . in 2005, she played Judge Helen Learned played Shirley Smith on ABC’s General Hospital . in the fall of 2011, she played Katherine Chancellor on the CBS daytime soap opera, The Young and the Restless . she had three sons by the marriage — Caleb, Christopher, and Lucas Donat . her second marriage, to Glenn Chadwick, lasted from 1975 to 1977 and ended in divorce . in 1979, she Learned has been sober since 1977 . she has been married to lawyer John Doherty . the couple resides in california .
