Have you watched the series Little House on the Prairie, the idyllic drama revolving around settler life in the 1800s? It doesn’t matter if you caught it when it was actually aired (1974-1983) or if you watched reruns, you probably have been mesmerized by Laura Ingalls. If you are a fan of the show, you probably love the entire Ingalls family (even the not-so-good guys like Nellie). A lot actually happened behind the scenes, so keep reading to learn more about these lesser-known facts and to find out what happened to the show’s stars after it ended.
Good Friends
Laura and Nellie may have been each other’s competition on the show but in reality, the actresses who played the characters were actually good friends. Later in the series, Nellie married Percival, who was played really well by gay actor Steve Tracy.
Good Friends
Gilbert could not stand seeing Alison Arngrim and Tracy kissing, so the two actors went the extra mile to exaggerate the kisses they did in front of Gilbert. Sometimes friends like to annoy one another, but all in good fun.
Alcohol And Drug Addictions
On the set, alcohol and drug addictions among actors were not uncommon. These substances were plentiful on the set and the crew reportedly could finish two cases of beer in a day. They defended themselves by saying that they drank to deal with the stress which came from filming, dubbing harder days as “three-case days.”
Alcohol And Drug Addictions
Michael Landon was really keen on drinking, and it was revealed in Melissa Gilbert’s autobiography that she was not aware of just how much he drank. Landon even used to put vodka in coffee or soft drinks, and nobody actually knew how much alcohol he drank both on set and in private.
Religious Beliefs
On the show, Michael Landon portrayed a good Christian, but he was actually Jewish and was born Eugene Maurice Orowitz. From his name, it is pretty clear that he was, at least, part Jewish but he was not bothered by spreading the Christian message.
Religious Beliefs
The actor was born in New York, but was raised in New Jersey. His mother was Catholic and his father was Jewish, but Landon said his cultural identity was Jewish. While he did not take part in any type of organized religion, he once said he believed in God.
Not A Real Brunette
If you thought that Landon’s luscious curly brown hair was real, you were wrong. Well, the color was not real, but you would have to agree – the dye job was really well done!
Not A Real Brunette
Landon took great care when it came to his coloring job, seeking the help of professionals. Whenever he had grays, the bright sun would cause a weird purple-green gleam on his hair, so at that point, professional help was called in. The specific shade of dye that the actor used was ash brown.
Discussing Important Issues
These days, the show is seen as a rather light story but at the time it was aired on TV, it was actually revolutionary! It dealt with issues that were taboo or pretty controversial back then.
Discussing Important Issues
Some of the topics that were highlighted were prejudice, racism, addiction, and rape. What the show did – raising such topics – is very important since other shows during that time did not dare to do it.
Family
Willie Oleson, the brother of Laura’s rival, was actually portrayed by Jonathan Gilbert, the real life adopted brother of Melissa Gilbert. This information about the cast members definitely took a long time to sink in.
Family
However, Melissa explained in her autobiography that she and her brother are sadly no longer in touch. It is surely sad to hear that siblings do not communicate anymore.
Not Friends
Ever since they were children, Melissa Gilbert and Melissa Anderson were rivals and never got along, which persisted throughout the show. To be honest, no one likes bad-tempered people.
Not Friends
Just imagine what it must have been like working on the same series for many years with someone you dislike. That is exactly what happened here, which is something too horrible to wish even on our worst enemy.
Walnut Grove Is Real
If you think it cannot possibly be true that Walnut Grove and Laura Ingalls who lived there exist, then we are here to tell you that they are real. The location is really important to the show’s story.
Walnut Grove Is Real
Laura Ingalls Wilder, who have handled numerous films in her lifetime, wrote the book on which the show was based on. When she was a child, she used to live in Walnut Grove, a city in Minnesota.
Wigs Can Be A Pain
On the set, Alison Arngrim needed to wear a wig and the beautiful curls that her character Nellie had were far from real. Wigs do work charms, right?
Wigs Can Be A Pain
Actually, Alison Arngrim had natural blonde hair, but it was quite fine, so it could not hold the weight of those beautiful curls. The wig was tightly attached to her and it actually made her scalp bleed.
Unfortunate Commonality
There were several cast members who got diagnosed with cancer and they sadly succumbed to it as well. One of them was Michael Landon, who had pancreatic cancer. Others who unfortunately also had the disease were Kevin Hagen and Victor French, probably known better as their characters – Doc Baker and Isaiah Edwards.
Unfortunate Commonality
The only who managed to win the battle with cancer was Charlotte Stewart (a.k.a. Miss Beadle). A lot of people believe the actors got cancer due to the radioactively contaminated materials which were in the surroundings on the set.
The Downside
No one can avoid puberty, even Melissa Gilbert. As a child actor, that is the downside of taking part in a series with a close cast.
The Downside
Naturally, Melissa Gilbert continued to grow independent from the show’s timeline. Her body was developing more feminine features but she was not supposed to grow up yet on the show. That is the reason she needed to bind her chest on a daily basis. Isn’t it awful?
Michael Landon And His Pranks
To lighten up the mood on set, Michael Landon played pranks on his fellow actors and the staff. He really liked to play pranks on everyone, so not a day goes by without him pranking someone.
Michael Landon And His Pranks
One iconic example is when he continued chasing Laura Ingalls even though the shot was finished and the cameras were off. Poor Melissa had to keep running as if running while filming was not enough.
Blowing Up Walnut Grove
In the final episode, the people living in Walnut Grove decide to blow the town up even though they were banned from the land!
Blowing Up Walnut Grove
Actually, the producers rented out the land where filming of the show had been done. They were supposed to return the land in mint condition once the shooting was finished. Michael Landon, however, had something else in mind and he though of putting in practice the total destruction which was in the script for the final episode.
Melissa Sue Needs To Chill Out
Melissa Sue Anderson portrayed Mary, the oldest sister of the popular TV family. Other cast members developed a close relationship, but she did not take part in it and seemed reserved, remote, and anti-social…well, according to her cast mates.
Melissa Sue Needs To Chill Out
Some people thought it was due to the way that she was raised – her parents were overprotective. However, others simply said that she was full of herself, mean, and someone who “needs to chill.”
Melissa And Michael’s Relationship
In the beginning, Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert were exquisite friends. She was only 11 when her father passed away, and Michael became a father figure in her life according to the actress. As the show progressed, their feeling for each other grew.
Melissa And Michael’s Relationship
However, at one point, Landon left his wife be with Cindy Clerico, who was twenty years his junior. Since then, Gilbert distanced herself from the actor and his family until they totally ended all types of communication.
Losing Consciousness
California is a wonderful place, and Simi Valley seems perfect for movie sets, but is it actually perfect? In spite of being big, empty, and downright gorgeous, the place was way too hot.
Losing Consciousness
The period costumes made things even harder because of all the layers and the weight. On the first day of filming, the assistant director and Alisson Arngrim passed out on set. It makes us wonder if they had a doctor on set for situations like this.
Not Shy To Show Some Skin
When it comes to his body, it cannot be denied that Michael Landon had quite a figure. The actor was not shy to put it on display either, showing off his physique on camera not just on the show but also on Bonanza.
Not Shy To Show Some Skin
Every time his character got injured, he would take his shirt off to achieve a total cinematic effect. Rumour has it that the actor went commando.
Melissa Gilbert’s First Kiss
As Melissa Gilbert matured with the Little House on the Prairie, her first kiss happened on set. The actress was pretty young and inexperienced, so she was really nervous when it was time to film the kissing scene on Laura’s wedding night.
Melissa Gilbert’s First Kiss
For Melissa, things were even worse since Dean Butler who portrayed her love interest Almanzo Wilder was already 23 years old while she was just 15 at the time. To be fair, her anxiety seems reasonable.
Melissa Gilbert And Laura Ingalls Are Complete Opposites
Melissa was completely different from the character she played on the show. Some would say that in real life, Melissa was a wild child, taking a particular liking to bad boys – Hollywood bad boys.
Melissa Gilbert And Laura Ingalls Are Complete Opposites
Some of the guys she dated include Scott Baio, Michael Landon Jr., and Tom Cruise, and she was even engaged to Rob Lowe for a short time. In addition, she has been married thrice, first to Bo Brinkman, then to Bruce Boxleitner, and finally to Timothy Busfield.
Twin Actresses
Twins Sidney and Lindsay Greenbush portrayed the character Carrie. Although the director did not really need two actresses, he needed the twins for his set to avoid violating the child labor law.
Twin Actresses
Fun fact: When they were filming the opening credits, one of the twins fell down the hill by accident. The director liked the scene and decided to keep it, so that is how the incident ended up in the credits and made history!
Gabriel Tree
Karen Grassle played Caroline “Ma” Ingalls, but did you know that she used a completely different name when she auditioned for the role? She went by her stage name, Gabriel Tree, which is definitely quite a name.
Gabriel Tree
When Michael Landon learned of her stage name, the actor gave her a piece of advice – use her real name instead since her stage name sounds way too odd, hippie, and is simply too much. Despite being memorable, we do not really understand why she used Tree as her last name.
Script Recycling
The show Bonanza made Michael Landon famous but apparently, that is not the only thing the actor got from the series. As a matter of fact, he took scripts which were to be filmed, edited them, and made new scripts for Little House on the Prarie.
Script Recycling
They call this script recycling, and it was nothing new and was actually a common practice at the time. Some shows used scripts they filmed in earlier seasons and edited them for their later episodes.
Third Time’s A Charm
Alison Arngrim conveys a clear message – if you want something, go and get it! The actress auditioned for several roles before the producers realized she was the perfect choice for one of them.
Third Time’s A Charm
Arngrim auditioned for Mary and Laura, and both times she failed to get the part. After the third time she auditioned, she finally landed the part of Nellie. Third time’s a charm, and the role really suit her!
Height Issues
It is actually not uncommon for male actors to be shorter than their co-stars, but sometimes the guys need to appear taller, so this has to be sorted out. However, unlike women who can solve this problem by simply wearing heels, it is not as easy for the men.
Height Issues
Michael Landon was in such a situation, so had to wear platform boots. on some occasions the 5-foot-9 actor had to stand on higher ground to appear taller than he actually was.
Recycling Ideas
Before starring on Little House on the Prairie, Michael Landon wrote ideas for and acted on another series – Bonanza, where he portrayed Little Joe Cartwright for 14 years! The public liked his ideas, so he recycled some of them. Michael Landon prided himself on starring, writing, directing, and producing LHOTP.
Recycling Ideas
The list of recycled episodes include “A Matter of Faith” adapted from the original “A Matter of Circumstance”; “Someone Please Love Me” taken from Bonanza’s “A Dream to Dream”, “The Silent Cry” recycled from “The Sound of Sadness”; “He Was Only Twelve” inspired by “He Was Only Seven”; “Little Lou” based on “It’s a Small World.”
Always In Style
Starting September 19, 2016, fans can watch Little House on the Prairie on COZI TV four times daily. If you are wondering why the show returned to the small screen, it is because of the show’s success in the U.S. In fact, you can also catch reruns on INSP and the Hallmark Channel.
Always In Style
The episode of LHOTP titled “I’ll be Waving as You Drive Away” was included in the 1997 ‘100 Greatest Episodes of All Time’ list and it was on the 97th spot. The show was also very popular in Spain and a show based on it was aired in the late ‘70s. The series is called La Casa de la Pradera, which became immensely popular and earned some of the Spanish cast members prestigious Spanish TV awards.
Life After LHOTP: Michael Landon
There is no doubt that Landon is someone who will be remembered a long time for his career. After finishing Little House on the Prairie in 1982, he went on to star on Highway to Heaven, where he played an angel who went to Earth and partnered up with a human (played by Victor French), and was featured on the 1991 series Us, which is about a man who was finally released from prison after he was wrongly convicted.
Life After LHOTP: Michael Landon
Landon was included in TV Guide’s 50 Sexiest Stars of All Time list, was married three times, and fathered eight children. Unfortunately, he got diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 1991, and not long after, lost the battle. Life Magazine did an issue on him which featured his story about his career, life, and battle with cancer.
Life After LHOTP: Karen Grassle
It may be hard to believe but Karen Grassle did not have a lot of experience before the show, and starring on Little House on the Prairie as Caroline “Ma” Ingalls was definitely her big break. When the series ended, she left Hollywood and went to New Mexico to open the Santa Fe Resource Theater Company. However, not long after that, Grassle came back to California for the filming of Kevin Costner’s Wyatt Earp, where she landed a part.
Life After LHOTP: Karen Grassle
She went on to become a famous actress and appeared in several things including the 1981 film Harry’s War and episodes of the shows Hotel and Murder, She Wrote. Because Grassle portrayed Ma really well, she won the hearts of a lot of people and was even inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.
Life After LHOTP: Melissa Gilbert
Melissa Gilbert’s performance on LHOTP enchanted everyone, and her passion for acting never died out. She starred in films like The Diary of Anne Frank (1980) and Heart of the Storm (2004), and appeared on TV shows, such as 7th Heaven, Nip/Tuck, Batman: The Animated Series, Babylon 5, and Dancing with the Stars, where she partnered up with Maksim Chmerkovskiy in the show’s 14th season.
Life After LHOTP: Melissa Gilbert
In spite of being completely in love with acting, Gilbert ventured into politics in 2016 as the Democratic candidate for Michigan’s eighth congressional district. She had a relationship with and was briefly engaged to Rob Lowe, and she has been married three times, with two children.
Life After LHOTP: Jason Bateman
Jason Bateman gained success from appearing on the Little House on the Prairie, going on to star on the series Arrested Development as Michael Bluth, which is a role he is famous for. In 2016, Netflix started streaming the show with one additional season and in 2017, he began starring on the Netflix series Ozark. In addition, he was featured on other TV shows including The Family Fang and The Gift.
Life After LHOTP: Jason Bateman
He has acted in over 40 movies, such as Tropic Thunder, Couples Retreat, Horrible Bosses and more recently, Office Christmas Party and Central Intelligence. Bateman has received many acting awards, with the most important being a Golden Globe in 2013. He has dabbled directing as well with his film Bad Words.
Life After LHOTP: Alison Arngrim
Well-known for her golden-locked character on the series, she continued to act on TV, on the stage, and in films, and has won many awards. Gilbert and Arngrim may have been enemies on the screen, but they were really good friends behind the scenes and are still in touch to this day. According to the stand-up comedian, it was “like having PMS for seven years” when she played Nellie on Little House on the Prairie.
Life After LHOTP: Alison Arngrim
Aside from acting, she release her record “Heeere’s Amy” and published her comic memoir titled “Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated.” Her book on childhood stardom had a perfect mix of light-hearted and tragic tone and was adored by critics.
Life After LHOTP: Melissa Sue Anderson
Right after show, Melissa Anderson became a TV starlet, with her acting skills earning her the Emmy for Best Leading Actress in a Drama Series back in 1980. She won the award for her performance on Which Mother is Mine?, an ABC Afterschool Special. She acted in some other series, such as Murder, She Wrote, The Equalizer, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and her first movie credit was Happy Birthday to Me.
Life After LHOTP: Melissa Sue Anderson
Just like other the other stars of LHOTP, Melissa Anderson published her autobiography, “The Way I See It: A Look Back at My Life on Little House,” in 2010. Melissa Sue Anderson now lives in Canada together with husband Michael Sloan and the couple’s two children. She was also inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame.
Life After LHOTP: Todd Bridges
After Todd Bridges appeared on the Little House on the Prairie as the young son of Mississippi sharecroppers, he went on to play a recurring role on Everybody Hates Chris and star on Diff’rent Strokes as Willis Jackson. Both roles made him really famous.
Life After LHOTP: Todd Bridges
Throughout his adult life, Todd struggled with substance and drug abuse, and got into trouble with the law, even facing murder charges at one point. However, his lawyer managed to save him by saying that Todd was abused when he was a child, which caused his addiction, and that he got framed for the murder. Despite all this, he and his brother saved a paraplegic woman from drowning.
Life After LHOTP: Ernest Borgnine
For fans of the Little House on the Prairie, they know him as Laura’s spiritual guide in the episode “The Lord is My Shepherd.” Even if you do not remember him for playing this part, chances are you have seen him act in one of the things he had filmed during his 60 years in Hollywood.
Life After LHOTP: Ernest Borgnine
Some notable parts he did include a voice acting role on Spongebob Squarepants and a role on the American sitcom McHale’s Navy. He received several different nominations and awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the 1955 film Marty, and an Emmy nomination for his guest appearance on the TV show ER. He was 95 years old when he died of renal failure.
Life After LHOTP: Merlin Olsen
Merlin Olsen completely changed the direction of his life when it came to his career, from being a professional football player for the Los Angeles Rams (from 1962 to 1976) to being an actor and playing farmer Jonathan Garvey on the show.
Life After LHOTP: Merlin Olsen
After he appeared in the episode “Little House” on Little House on the Prairie, he landed roles on Father Murphy and Aaron’s Way, though he quit acting in 1988. Sadly, in 2010, he passed away at the age of 69 because of malignant pleural mesothelioma.
Life After LHOTP: Dean Butler
This actor is more than just Laura’s lover on the show. He starred on stage productions of the West Side Story and Into the Woods, played Hank Summers on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and appeared on The Love Boat, JAG, Who’s the Boss, and Murder, She Wrote, among other things.
Life After LHOTP: Dean Butler
Aside from that, Butler lent his voice to narrate the DVD specials of Little House on the Prairie called The Little House Phenomenon, a six-part documentary that included additional features and behind the scenes footage. The actor and his wife, Katherine Cannon, first met on the auditions for Father Murphy, which Michael Landon directed, so the couple has Landon to thank for that!
Life After LHOTP: Shannen Doherty
Do you remember Almanzo’s niece Jenny, whom Almanzo and Laura raised with their daughter Rose? Yes, she was played by Shannen Doherty, but the actress is most likely known for playing Prue Halliwell on Charmed and Brenda Walsh on the original Beverly Hills 90210. She has acted in films like Bukowski, Bethany, and Kevin Smith’s movies Mallrats and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
Life After LHOTP: Shannen Doherty
She is another actor from LHOTP who has to thank Michael Landon because she rose to fame when she starred on Landon’s Father Murphy. Doherty is now a spokesperson for cancer awareness, having fought the battle against cancer and won! She openly speaks about the topic and her own personal experience with cancer.
Life After LHOTP: Kyle Richards
She might have been only six years old when she appeared on the Little House on the Prairie, but she had a pretty successful career afterwards. On the show, Kyle Richards was the daughter of Isaiah and Grace Edwards, but she has acted on other TV shows and movies including Halloween, ER, Down to Earth, Watcher in the Woods, and National Lampoon’s Pledge This.
Life After LHOTP: Kyle Richards
She also appeared on Paris Hilton’s reality shows (who is her niece) My New BFF and The Simple Life. She can also be seen in 138 episodes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, where she constantly fights with Brandi Glanville! She was also on The New Celebrity Apprentice, which was hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Life After LHOTP: Melissa Ann Francis
Melissa Francis, also known as Missy Francis, played the Ingalls family’s adopted daughter, Cassandra Cooper Ingalls, from the seventh season of the show. However, it was not her first time acting since she started her carrier pretty early, having starred in a child shampoo advertisement at a very young age. She appeared and starred on many TV series and films, such as Galactica 1980, ALF, Mork & Mindy, Woman and Child, St. Elsewhere, Scavenger Hunt, Bad Dreams, and more recently in Hardball, The Dictator, and Race to Witch Mountain.
Life After LHOTP: Melissa Ann Francis
In addition to her acting career, Francis studied economics at Harvard University and developed an interest in journalism, eventually becoming a primary weekday presenter on Fox News Channel’s America’s News HQ. Aside from all of that, in 2010, she published her autobiography titled “Diary of a Stage Mother’s Daughter: A Memoir,” where she unloaded the abusive things that her mother did to her when she was a child.
Life After LHOTP: Sean Penn
You might not remember Sean Penn being on Little House on the Prairie, and he was not even included in the credits, but this is because he portrayed an insignificant schoolboy in the episode “The Voice of Tinker Jones,” which was directed by Leo Penn, his father. He might have acquired the insignificant role because of his father, but playing the character awoke Sean Penn’s passion for acting.
Life After LHOTP: Sean Penn
His first lead role was in the film Dead Man Walking and he has since become one of Hollywood’s best-known actors. He has been nominated numerous times and has many awards to his name, including a Best Actor Award in the 1996 Berlin Film Festival, two Oscars for Milk and Mystic River, and nominations for the Academy Award for his films Sweet and Lowdown and I Am Sam. In addition, he has taken an interest in political activism and filmmaking.
Life After LHOTP: Lindsay And Sidney Greenbush
Little House on the Prairie’s Carrie Ingalls, or the youngest Ingalls sister, was played by Rachel Lindsay Rene Bush and twin sister Sidney Robyn Danae Bush. However, Lindsay was more on set because Sidney broke her arm and needed to wear a cast. After the series, they appeared together on a number of advertisements and tried to have individual acting careers, but did not have much success.
Life After LHOTP: Lindsay And Sidney Greenbush
They both live in California, but neither of them act – Lindsay has become a boxing expert while Sidney owns a horse ranch. Rocky, Sidney’s late husband, committed suicide back in 2006, but Lindsay’s love life is more romantic, having married Daniel Sanchez, whom she met on set. Daniel knew Lindsay since they were children and they tied the knot at the place where they met!
Life After LHOTP: Madeleine Stowe
She may have appeared in only the episode “Portrait of Love” in season seven, but Madeleine Stowe really surpassed her character Annie Crane. She acted in a few mainstream films.
Life After LHOTP: Madeleine Stowe
She had her break in 12 Monkeys, the 1995 sci-fi noir movie that she starred in. However, her best-known role must be Victoria Grayson on the ABC series Revenge.
Life After LHOTP: Matthew Labyorteaux
Matthew portrayed one of the characters that are not originally found in the semi-autobiographical books. The actor joined the cast from season five as Albert Quinn Ingalls, the Ingalls family’s adopted son.
Life After LHOTP: Matthew Labyorteaux
After the Little House on the Prairie was completed, he had appearances on other shows, including Michael Landon’s Highway to Heaven, and ventured into voice acting, doing voiceover for the Disney animated film Mulan. Fun fact: After he became the Pacman champion back in 1982, he and his brother established a Youth rescue fund, which now works together with the Los Angeles Youth Supportive Services in order to help youngsters who need assistance.
Life After LHOTP: Victor French
It is clear that Victor French had a great contribution to the Little House on the Prairie as he portrayed Isaiah Edwards. Aside from co-directing some episodes with Michael Landon, Victor also co-starred on Landon’s Highway to Heaven, where he played Mark Gordon, the human friend of Landon’s angel.
Life After LHOTP: Victor French
Unfortunately, Victor was a heavy smoker for most of his life, and he died of lung cancer when he was only 54 years old. A total of six actors and members of the crew got diagnosed with cancer, which made the public assume that radioactive waste in the surroundings of the set somehow caused it. Although there is no proof, Michael Landon, Kevin Stewart, and Merlin Olsen also died of cancer, while Shannen Doherty and Charlotte Stewart won the battle.
Life After LHOTP: Leslie Landon
Her father, Michael Landon, was unfortunately all too familiar with a bad childhood, so he made sure that his children did not experience any of that, and he helped them with everything that they did. Michael cast Leslie for many guest appearances, and one day, she finally landed the part of the school teacher Etta Plum. After starring on Father Murphy, which is also her father’s project, she decided that acting was not for her.
Life After LHOTP: Leslie Landon
She went on and got qualifications instead – a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University and a Ph.D. in marriage and family therapy at the California Graduate Institute. She has co-authored a book titled “When Children Grieve: For Adults to Help Children with Death, Divorce, Pet Loss, Moving, and Other Losses”.
Life After LHOTP: Jonathan Gilbert
On the show, he played Willie Oleson, Nellie Oleson’s brother, but in reality, he is actually Melissa Gilbert’s adopted brother. He had a minor role in the film The Miracle Worker, but he quit acting completely afterwards.
Life After LHOTP: Jonathan Gilbert
His adoptive parents – Barbara Crane and Paul Gilbert– being actors might have something to do with it, but that is unknown. He is currently a stockbroker and has not been in contact at all with his sister. According to Melissa Gilbert, “he cut ties with her for unknown reasons.”
Life After LHOTP: Bonnie Bartlett
This actress who played Grace Snyder Edwards to perfection was one of the cast members from the Little House on the Prairie who definitely made show business notice her. She acted on North and South: Book II, the mini-series V, Boy Meets World, and St. Elsewhere.
Life After LHOTP: Bonnie Bartlett
Her performance on St. Elsewhere as Ellen Craig earned her an Emmy award. She did it with her husband who portrayed…her husband – Dr. Mark, and as a matter of fact, they both won an Emmy award for the said roles in 1986. Definitely a power couple!
Life After LHOTP: Lucy Lee Flippin
Lucy Lee Flippin’s portrayal of Almanzo’s sister, Eliza Jane Wilder, landed her other parts on the small screen, such as Fran Castleberry on Flo and her iconic roles on Full House, Beverly Hills 90210, and Golden Girls. She also acted films, including Soccer Dog: The Movie, Rat Race, and Little Black Dog.
Life After LHOTP: Lucy Lee Flippin
The actress currently lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In addition, she appeared on LA’s Geffen Playhouse!
Life After LHOTP: Katherine Macgregor
The character Harriet Oleson was crucial for the show, but Katherine MacGregor, on the whole, completely abandoned acting on the small and big screen and went to theatre instead. Nellie’s gossiping mother was married twice before she starred on the Little House on the Prairie.
Life After LHOTP: Katherine Macgregor
She first married Bert Remsen, and then Edward G. Kaye-Martin, her colleague who is a director and teacher. Before she went into retirement, she taught the art of acting to kids at the Wee Hollywood Vedanta Players. Today, she lives as a passionate Hindu.