TLDR: Helen Kleeb played Miss Mamie and Mary Jackson played Miss Emily on The Waltons from 1972 to 1981, and both returned for later TV movies. Earl Hamner Jr. based the moonshine-making sisters loosely on a mother and daughter from his own family. Checked October 23, 2026.
The Waltons had plenty of colorful neighbors, but none got more laughs than two elderly sisters who made a moonshine they called the Recipe. Miss Mamie and Miss Emily Baldwin turned up in the series from its first season.
Here is who they were, who played them and where the idea came from. For the writer behind them, see our guide to Earl Hamner Jr., and for the family next door, the cast of The Waltons.
Miss Mamie and Miss Emily Before the Series
The sisters first appeared in the 1971 television movie The Homecoming: A Christmas Story, which aired on December 19, 1971. Josephine Hutchinson played Mamie and Dorothy Stickney played Emily, according to Wikipedia’s episode list.
When the weekly series began in 1972, the roles went to two new actresses, Helen Kleeb as Mamie and Mary Jackson as Emily.
How Hamner Created the Baldwin Sisters
In an interview with INSP, Hamner said the sisters were loosely based on a mother and daughter well known in his family who loved alcohol. He also named two bootleggers as inspirations and said he romanticized them considerably.
He made the TV sisters sweeter and more refined than their real-life counterparts. That mix of gentility and homemade whiskey became the heart of the characters.
The Recipe and the Episodes Built Around It
The Baldwins offered visitors a sample of each new batch of the Recipe and waited nervously for their reactions, according to Mary Jackson’s hometown obituary. Wikipedia’s episode list shows the Recipe at the center of many of their stories.
In “The Typewriter” on October 12, 1972, John-Boy borrows an antique typewriter from the sisters. In “The Star” a week later, a meteorite hits their Recipe room, and they read it as a sign from their late father.
Cousin Homer runs off with more than 100 jars of the Recipe in “The Reunion” on December 14, 1972. In “The Revelation” on March 23, 1978, Grandpa spikes the children’s lemonade with it.
The sisters misplace their father’s recipe in “The Moonshiner” on October 12, 1978. In “The Tempest” on February 5, 1981, Corabeth tries to convince them to sell and move.
Helen Kleeb, Miss Mamie
Helen Kleeb was born on January 6, 1907, in South Bend, Washington, and began acting on stage in Portland, Oregon. Her film roles included The Manchurian Candidate in 1962, and in 1963 she played Mattie Glover in the Hamner script Jess-Belle.
She played Miss Mamie from 1972 to 1981 and later appeared as Elizabeth Ann Hollingsworth on The Golden Girls in 1988. She died on December 28, 2003, in Los Angeles at age 96.
Mary Jackson, Miss Emily
Mary Jackson was born on November 22, 1910, in Milford, Michigan, and worked on Broadway before moving to Hollywood in the 1960s. She played Miss Vogel and Mrs. Parnell Rigsby on The Andy Griffith Show and Jane Fonda’s mother in Fun with Dick and Jane.
She had a small uncredited part in a 1963 Twilight Zone episode, “Of Late I Think of Cliffordville,” according to Wikipedia. She died on December 10, 2005, at age 95 and is buried in Milford, where she was a charter member of the historical society.
How the Two Actresses Won the Roles
ME-TV reports that both women first auditioned for Miss Mamie. Hamner and producer Robert Jacks struggled to settle the parts, and Jackson said she felt right for Emily.
Jackson also said a casting director once told her she could not do comedy, which insulted her. The same article says the two had met earlier in an unemployment line and bonded over needing work.
The Sisters After the Series
Jackson returned for several Waltons TV movies, including A Wedding on Walton’s Mountain and A Day for Thanks on Walton’s Mountain in 1982 and A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion in 1993. ME-TV says both sisters came back for A Walton Wedding in 1995 and A Walton Easter in 1997.
Kleeb and Jackson died almost exactly two years apart. In Schuyler, Virginia, the Walton’s Mountain Museum has a seized moonshine still on display with information about the sisters, as ME-TV describes.
More about the show appears in our list of things you did not know about The Waltons.
Baldwin Sisters: Frequently Asked Questions
Who played the Baldwin sisters on The Waltons?
Helen Kleeb played Miss Mamie and Mary Jackson played Miss Emily from 1972 to 1981.
What was the Recipe?
The Recipe was the sisters’ homemade moonshine, which they offered to visitors as a sample of each new batch.
Were the Baldwin sisters based on real people?
Hamner said they were loosely based on a mother and daughter in his own family who loved alcohol, plus two bootleggers.
Who played the sisters in The Homecoming?
Josephine Hutchinson played Mamie and Dorothy Stickney played Emily in the 1971 television movie.
When did Helen Kleeb and Mary Jackson die?
Helen Kleeb died on December 28, 2003, and Mary Jackson died on December 10, 2005.
