Judy Norton Taylor is one of the most versatile actresses in the arts; her film and theater credits are extensive and impressive. After evaluating all of her creative works, it reveals her importance to the mediums of film, TV and theater, and is a paradigm for other actors who want to star on the big screen, small screen or live stage.
Judy Norton-Taylor was born on January 29, 1958 in Santa Monica, California and was raised in a two-parent household. During the 50s and 60s in the United States, the majority of citizens within the country identified with a religion. The most popular were the many different versions of the Christian faith.
Judy Norton Taylor became a Scientologist at the age of 13, and became such a devout member that she earned the title of ‘minister’. At the age of 18, she married Douglas Taylor but requested a divorce in 1976. She also re-married to Lynn Hughes but that relationship also ended in divorce.
Judy Norton Taylor began her career as a child actor, which puts her on a long list of other child stars who had difficulties when they became teenagers and adults. Many child actors identify that it can be tough for the public and the fans to relate to you as a person because they want you to remain that charming child star forever.
Judy tried to overcome this in her 20s when she decided to pose nude in the August 1985 issue of Playboy. She continued her career in the hopes of shedding the child star image. She married Randy Apostle in 1991. They had one son and then divorced in 2001.
Judy has seemingly found the right relationship as she is currently married to Robert Graves. She seems to be in a good place with this marriage, as it does not interfere with her creativity or career. She is still writing, directing and acting mostly on the big screen and live theater. Judy also has several other talents. She is a singer; her latest album entitled Reflections released in August 2016, she competes in horse jumping, skydiving, skiing and tennis.
Judy has been performing on the live stage since the age of seven. As a young artist she landed several small roles on television shows before she performed in one of her most popular roles as Mary Ellen in the television movie The Homecoming, A Christmas Story. Her performance of Mary Ellen was so popular that it was turned into a starring role on the tv show, The Waltons.
After years of playing Mary Ellen The Waltons had its last season, and instead of jumping directly into another role for television, Judy decided to move to Canada and open two Dinner Theatres. She currently performs as a solo performer in Judy Norton and Friends and in musicals like Annie get Your Gun, Cinderella and Hello Dolly among others. Judy is still a triple threat as a performer who can write, act and direct.
Even though Judy is involved in various performance mediums right now, many of her fans will always remember her role as Mary Ellen as their favorite character she portrayed. It is important to stop and think about the transition she had to make as an artist in order to play Mary Ellen in both a made for TV movie and a television series.
In the TV movie, there is a broad opportunity for viewers to get to know the character. However, on weekly televised shows, there is more of an opportunity for the viewers to experience the emotions, motivations and obstacles that Mary Ellen had to go through. As an actress, it must have been somewhat difficult to take a popular role and creatively turn it into a character that is so likeable that viewers would want to tune in each week.
This would be too difficult of a process for the average actor, but Judy handled it well and it made The Waltons a successful television program. What makes the transition even more surprising is that she was only 13 years old when she was cast as Mary Ellen on the television series.
While she’s not on television very often these days, Judy continues to land roles in films. Her latest movies are Broken: A Musical (2015), The Sparrows: Nesting (2016), and Finding Harmony (2017). Keep in mind that she is also working on music, writing and directing at the same time she was cast in these film roles.
Even though The Waltons ended decades ago, it is still alive through social media. Judy answers questions about the show from her fans on Instagram, where she provides them with a behind-the-scenes look at the television series. She also recently launched a YouTube channel in order to connect with her fanbase.
Many of her fans probably came from her performance in the holiday special The Homecoming: A Christmas Story, a television program through which The Waltons was a spin-off.
The television series is based on Earl Hamner Jr.’s childhood during the Great Depression and World War II. There were only three networks on television at the time, and Judy’s performance in The Waltons competed for ratings against The Mod Squad on ABC and The Flip Wilson Show on NBC. Judy did not know if CBS were committed to recording and airing the full 13-episode first season, or if they were using the show as a test to see if could bring in an audience.
During the second season, Judy and her castmates made history by becoming the second most-watched show on television in 1973, behind All in the Family. Judy appeared in nine seasons, 221 episodes, and six made for television movies. Today we can see her performances on the show on MeTV, weekdays at 12 p.m. ET.
Judy is a strong example of how to express creativity in the arts and entertainment fields. When things were not going so well, she did not give up. Judy made adjustments in her life and in her craft and turned them into new opportunities.
Even though she never really got away from people remembering her roots as a child star, Judy figured out a way to take her career in new directions. She is now embracing social media and sharing a lot of interesting content about her work and experiences. She shows no sign of slowing down and is committed to bringing her creativity to life through various platforms.
