'Little House on the Prairie' cast talk 50th anniversary, remember Michael Landon

Table Of Content

• Movie specials
• Jason Bateman had a small but important role long before Arrested Development
• Little House on the Prairie's Melissa Gilbert, Karen Grassle and Alison Arngrim Reunite Ahead of 50th Anniversary
• Dean Butler as Almanzo James Wilder
• Lucille Ball Died 35 Years Ago, But Her Legacy Lives on Through 2 Children and 5 Grandchildren — Meet Them All!
• Melissa Gilbert had bit roles before pursuing writing and politics
• Wendi Turnbaugh as Grace Ingalls
• Melissa Gilbert (Laura Ingalls)

Little House on the Prairie was loosely based on Laura Ingall Wilder's iconic Little House book series about her childhood growing up in the Midwest in the late 1800s. The show aired over 200 episodes and a handful of specials during its nine-season run and was lauded for both its performances and compelling depiction of adolescence and family issues at the time. The main man of the little house, Charles Ingalls, or Pa, was a hard-working, honest, salt-of-the-earth kind of guy.

Little House on the Prairie's Alison Arngrim and Melissa Gilbert Were Close (Exclusive) - PEOPLE

Little House on the Prairie's Alison Arngrim and Melissa Gilbert Were Close (Exclusive).

Posted: Sun, 24 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Movie specials

In 2023, she mounted a new production of the play during the SAG-AFTRA strike. Melissa Sue Anderson played Mary Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie from seasons 1 through 7. "So I have to say it started out really, really great. It didn't stay great," she added, referring to the tension that grew after she asked for a pay raise for season 2. She later reconnected with Landon and reconciled before he died in 1991. "Mike and I ended on a positive note and I was so, so glad for that," she said. Melissa Gilbert started acting at a young age and was cast as Laura Ingalls Wilder at 9 years old.

Jason Bateman had a small but important role long before Arrested Development

Gilbert also opened up about how "emotional" it was for her to be back at Big Sky Ranch, since she spent her entire adolescence from the time she was 10 years old until she was 18 on the show. "I'm remembering so much and so much of my childhood and so many wonderful experiences and emotional experiences attached to all of these people." Gilbert called Landon, who died in 1991 at the age of 54, "magnetic," saying he "drew me in but he also played with me right away." "Good Morning America" caught up with cast members Melissa Gilbert (Laura), Karen Grassle (Laura's mother Caroline) and Alison Arngrim (Laura's nemesis, Nellie Oleson) to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the series and discuss its lasting legacy. After Little House, he appeared in Witless Protection and Boss.

Little House on the Prairie's Melissa Gilbert, Karen Grassle and Alison Arngrim Reunite Ahead of 50th Anniversary

For those of us of a certain age, "Little House on the Prairie" will always be emblazoned in our hearts and souls. The feel-good, surprisingly progressive TV series ran from 1974 to 1983 and imparted moral lessons on courage, standing up for the underdog, and always doing what is right and what benefits others. As noted by the official "Little House on the Prairie" website, the show was based on a series of books penned by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The books weren't mere fiction; Ingalls Wilder was inspired by what her family experienced living in the Midwestern United States during the 19th century. Among those who have left a lasting impact on Gilbert is the late Michael Landon, who not only played Ingalls patriarch Charles, a.k.a. "Pa," but also produced the series as well as directed and wrote many episodes.

His co-star was Victor French who had previously co-starred on Little House with Landon. Unfortunately, Michael Landon died in 1991 from pancreatic cancer, but we owe much of the authenticity of Little House to Michael and his vision. In 2023, the actor and director launched Let's Be Clear with Shannen Doherty, a podcast that reflects on her life and career. “I wanted to be clear about what it was like for me to work with Michael Landon on Little House, what it was like to work with Wilford Brimley on Our House, to talk about the days.

The Ingalls family brought to life from Wilder’s beloved books became a part of our lives and has since charmed the next generations. Since the show’s end in 1983 the cast has changed tremendously — and some have sadly passed away — but they will all live on in our hearts. Doherty would go on to battle rumors of being difficult throughout the years. While she has enjoyed great success on television, she has personally endured quite a lot. Doherty was diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time in 2015, and in 2019, her cancer returned.

When Michael Landon decided to leave the show (though he stayed on as executive producer and occasional writer and director), a spin-off sequel show was created, the focus now placed on the characters of Laura and Almanzo, and more characters were added to the cast. A new family, the Carters (Stan Ivar as John, Pamela Roylance as Sarah, Lindsay Kennedy as older son Jeb, and David Friedman as younger son Jason), move into the Ingalls house. Meanwhile, Almanzo and Laura take in their niece, Jenny Wilder (played by Shannen Doherty), when Almanzo's brother dies and raise her alongside their daughter, Rose.

Michael made sure that people on the set understood that they were involved in something good, something wholesome. He had a distinct vision of how the show should resonate with its viewers and he was right. Melissa Gilbert was perhaps the most famous child actor in the world during the show’s original run. She played the role of Laura Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie and first got her start in the industry as a child actress in the 1960s.

My mom embroidered a silhouette of Laura Ingalls on my denim school bag. Despite appearances, in the years that followed the end of "Little House," Melissa Gilbert revealed that the relationship with her on-screen niece had broken down dramatically. I created this website in 2008 that is dedicated to the career of Melissa Sue Anderson. "There are people who will perennially assume that I'm 12 years old," the West Wing actress said. "And I will always be that girl, full of wonder and running through the fields. Half Pint is inside me always. But we are all aging." "When we did the show, we went, 'Yeah, this is a really good show, Oh, it seems to be a hit, that's nice.' But the idea that 50 years later, people would still be excited about it, it's absolutely mind-blowing," Arngrim said.

He passed away in 2014 from pneumonia just months before his 90th birthday. We’ll surely never forget him, especially as Nels Oleson, whose good judgment and sense of fairness, helped make viewers feel better about themselves when watching. Post Little House, Arngrim continued working in TV shows and was an AIDS activist after her friend and on-screen husband Steve Tracy died from the horrific disease. Her last acting credit was in 2021’s Even in Dreams and on a TV short called Livin’ On a Prairie in 2017. Melissa, 59, has also recently been promoting a new podcast with her husband, Timothy Busfield, and talks about her experience working on Little House in one of the episodes!

What was it like to be on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine when you're in your early twenties? Matthew Labyorteaux first appeared on Little House on the Prairie in 1976 as a younger Charles Ingalls in flashbacks. He later joined the cast as Albert, the adopted son of Charles and Caroline, a character created for the series. Labyorteaux's brother also appeared as Laura's friend, Andrew "Andy" Garvey. After Little House on the Prairie, Arngrim guest starred on The Love Boat and Fantasy Island. Her solo show, Confessions of a Prairie Bitch, premiered in New York in 2002 and has toured globally.

Gilbert recognizes this in women, their almost impossible need to tell her about their lives, to thank her. But sometimes, instead, they just burst into tears and can’t say anything, and now worry the photo they want to take with her will be ruined. I wanted to tell her how I looked forward to Mondays, that my parents told my older sister and me they were getting a divorce on a Sunday night, and all I could think about and do was wait until Monday to feel safe and secure with the little house. How my mom named me Laura after Laura Ingalls Wilder, about the floral long dress and the school bag.