Quick Wiki
- Full Name Kami Cotler
- Occupation Former Actress, Educator
- Nationality American
- Birthplace California, USA
- Birth Date Jun 17, 1965
- Age 59 Years, 5 Months
Quotes
Kami Cotler | Biography
Cotler had also appeared in the 1972 television series 'Me and the Chimp,' as Kitty Reynolds'The Waltons' is a nine-season American television drama set in rural Virginia during World War II and the Great Depression. After the success and popularity of the 1971 television movie 'The Homecoming: A Christmas Story,' the CBS television network scheduled a season of episodes based on the same characters, and it became the television drama 'The Waltons.' The series was broadcasted on CBS from 1972 to 1981. Cotler portrayed young Elizabeth Walton in the movie, six franchise movies, and the series.
Kami Cotler is an actress best recognized for portraying young Elizabeth Walton in the television series 'The Waltons.'
Who is Kami Cotler?
Kami Cotler is an American actress and educator. She is best known for the television movie The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971) and six more franchise movies released in later years. The CBS network released a series based on the movie The Waltons. Colter reprised the role of young Elizabeth Walton in all the franchise movies and series. In 2010, she again appeared in the television movie A Walton Family Reunion.
After leaving the entertainment industry, Cotler helped launch several charter schools and is serving as an educator. She had run a boutique travel company and managed a cafe in San Francisco in the past.
Cotler is married to American actress Kim Howard, and the couple shares two children.
Early Life & Education
Kami Ann Cotler was born on 17 June 1965 in Long Beach, California, USA. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in Social Sciences. Cotler did her degree course after the eight-year series The Waltons came to an end. Following college, she also earned her teaching credential.
Early Career
It all began when Cotler and her mother approached a photographer to get some photographs done for her grandmother. The photographer informed her mother that Cotler could do commercials as she had the features of appearing on screen and was also very talkative.
According to her mother, Cotler continued to bug her about it until she sent the images they took that day to the agent recommended by the photographer. Her mother assumed that she would ask for it for a few days until she gets bored, but Cotler was determined about it.
Debut Role
At six, she landed the role of young Elizabeth Walton, the youngest child of the Walton family, in the 1971 family drama The Homecoming: A Christmas Story. The movie plot was based on the early 1930s, where the Walton family was getting ready for Christmas. On Christmas Eve, the family members were waiting for John Walton to return home from his work in the city that was 50 miles away. However, as he had not returned home, the family got increasingly concerned about it.
Talking about her experience as a child actor in a 2017 interview, she said, "I had the right temperament to work as a kid; I was naturally curious and self-possessed. I really enjoyed the rhythm of working on a series, getting makeup, rehearsing, dropping into school while they set up, and filming."
Subsequent Roles
The following year, in 1972, Cotler got her next big role in the television series Me and the Chimp. She portrayed the role of Kitty Reynolds and appeared in 13 episodes of the comedy series. The same year, she appeared in the television movie, The Heist as Wendy Craddock.
'The Waltons'
The Waltons is a nine-season American television drama set in rural Virginia during World War II and the Great Depression. After the success and popularity of the 1971 television movie The Homecoming: A Christmas Story, the CBS television network scheduled a season of episodes based on the same characters, and it became the television drama, The Waltons.
The series was broadcasted on CBS from 1972 to 1981. The Waltons was an inspiration from the childhood of the writer and producer, Earl Hamner Jr.
Later, six more television movies were aired during the 1980s and 1990s, namely: A Wedding on Walton's Mountain (1982), A Day for Thanks on Walton's Mountain (1982), Mother's Day on Waltons Mountain (1982), A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion (1993), A Walton Wedding (1995), and A Walton Easter (1997).
Her Character
Cotler played one of the key roles of the show, Elizabeth Tyler Walton, the youngest child of John and Olivia Walton. She was 6 years old when the series began, having been born in the fall of 1927. She was free-spirited and outgoing but sensitive.
Cotler had appeared in 212 episodes throughout the series and had also reprised the role in all the subsequent television movies. Moreover, she was also featured in the 2010 television movie, A Walton's Family Reunion. Colter and other cast members returned to the set almost 30 years after the series concluded its historic run.
Career as an Educator
Cotler got her first teaching job in a small, rural Virginia district, where she worked in an interdisciplinary, alternative high school program teaching at-risk high school children. In 2001, she returned to Los Angeles with her husband and two kids and became actively involved in the charter school movement. Cotler became the founding co-director of a K-8 arts-integrated charter. She is also the founding principal of Environmental Charter Middle School. The California-based educational institution helps children from underprivileged communities in Southern Los Angeles County prepare for college by embracing the environment.
In 2004, she got the position of founding co-director of the Ocean Charter School. She worked there until 2007. Cotler then created her educational consulting firm and began working to develop charter schools and homeschooling families. She has been a member of the Board of the American Montessori Society and currently is Vice-Chairperson on the Ocean Charter School board of trustees.
