Touched by an Angel

Episode 599: “More True Stories From Touched By An Angel”

Episode 599:  “More True Stories From Touched By An Angel”
Original Air Date: March 10, 1999
Written by: Glenn Berenbeim
Directed by: Tim Van Patten
Produced by:

Martha Williamson
Jon Andersen
R.J. Visciglia, Jr.

Guest Cast:

 

Dave Dravecky
Celine Dion
Randy Travis
Wynonna Judd
Ed Begley, Jr.
Concetta Tomei
Joan Van Ark

 

 

Roma Downey, John Dye, and Della Reese host this one-hour special exploring some of the true stories behind Touched By An Angel and the important role that music plays in the series. In the first segment, former major leaguer Dave Dravecky talks about episode #102, “Show Me the Way to Go Home.” In the episode Earl, a dying high school baseball coach, must come to terms with his bitterness over the fact that a Vietnam War injury prevented him from playing professionally. Dravecky relates this to his experience of losing his pitching arm to cancer, and how his faith in God helped him through.

Next, a couple from Arkansas speak about episode #401 “Great Expectations” about a couple who finds out the wife is pregnant with a baby with Down Syndrome. Much like the couple in the episode, they speak about the initial disappointment they felt when they learned their child had Down Syndrome, and their eventual understanding of God’s blessing.

Randy Travis tells of his experience on his first episode of Touched, episode #110 “Fear Not” and how it was a miracle that the show ever got finished — he had recently had back surgery, couldn’t bend over and was advised by doctors to rest. Everyone was amazed that one couldn’t tell how much pain he was in when watching the episode!

Executive Producer Martha Williamson speaks about episode #210 “Til We Meet Again” about a family saying goodbye to their dying father. This was the hardest Touched episode for her to write, a very personal episode about her own father and her relationships with her own siblings. At the end of the episode, the family sings to the father as he passes away, and Martha reveals that the voices singing are actually herself, her husband, and her mother.

Wynonna Judd speaks about the 100th episode of Touched, episode #508, “Psalm 151” in which she plays the mother of a child with cystic fibrosis. The music in the show is what drew her to it in the first place, and we hear clips of the song “Testify to Love” which Wynonna sings in the show.

Also in the 100th episode is Celine Dion, who shares about her own loss of a niece to cystic fibrosis. For the special’s finale, Della Reese performs a full- length version of the Touched By An Angel theme song “Walk With You” with a back-up choir, over a montage of memorable clips from all five seasons of the show.

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