I’ve been a Little House on the Prairie fanatic since the first time I laid eyes on Melissa Gilbert’s Laura Ingalls. As a little girl, the LHOtP books were my favorite books, so when the series premiered, I was fascinated by watching these beloved characters come to life.
During the day, I still catch old episodes on tv, and I’m still as transfixed then as I was now. There’s nothing quite like escaping to a whole other time with a group of characters you’ve grown up with.
One of my favorite episodes of all time (in fact, if I was pressed, I’d say it was my very favorite), Sweet Sixteen, aired this morning on the Hallmark Channel. I sat, eating a snack and drinking my Diet Dr. Pepper as I relived Almonzo and Laura’s declaration of love along with their first kiss.
And in true “me” fashion, I teared up when Laura realized that Almonzo loved her as much as she did him.
Great stuff!
Beautiful Melissa Gilbert, 44, is NOW playing Ma Ingalls in the musical Little House on the Prairie. It, appropriately enough, kicked off this month in MInneapolis. Is that cool or what? Click HERE for more pictures and information.
Up for a little Little House Trivia?!
- Melissa Gilbert (Laura) is the youngest person to receive a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.
- Melissa’s the half-sister of Sara Gilbert (Roseanne’s Darlene) and sister of Jonathan Gilbert (Willie Olsen).
- She has dated both Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise.
- She has been married to actor Bruce Boxleitner since 1995.
- In the last episode, The Last Farewell, they really did blow up the town! Michael Landon (Star and Producer) didn’t want bulldozers to destroy the buildings, soo he wrote a story which gave the inhabitants the chance to say farewell to their town themselves. The only building left was the most important one – the schoolhouse/church.
- Alison Arngrim (Nelly Olsen) and Melissa Gilbert are best friends.
- Alison Arngrim first tried out for the role of Laura – when she didn’t get it, she auditioned for Mary. When THAT failed, she tried out for Nelly and was hired immediately.
- When they were filming the kissing scene for the episode I sat glued to this morning, Melissa’s mother (Barbara) was on the sidelines crying “My baby!” so much that she had to be consoled! Dean Butler (Almonzo) has said that the first kiss between them was so nerve-racking for everyone, that there were chaperones on the set to make sure nothing unseemly was going on. I wonder which one they thought would be unseemly!
- Melissa Gilbert recalls that Michael Landon (“Pa”) had a unique way of inspiring child actors to cry when it was required. Apparently he would work himself up emotionally, face her with his eyes full of tears and ask her, “Do you know how much I love you?” to which she would get all teary and emotional in response.
- Melissa Gilbert named one of her sons after Michael Landon.
- Johnny Carson was a long-time friend of Michael Landon’s.
- Victor French (Mr. Edwards) was another of Michael Landon’s closest friends.
- Alison Arngrim (one of the most underrated talents ever) often fainted on the set of “Little House on the Prairie” because where the show was taped ( California’s Simi Valley) frequently saw temperatures over 100 degrees.
- After the actor who portrayed her husband on Little House, Percival, (Steve Tracy) died from AIDS, Alison Arngrim became an AIDS activist.
- Matthew Labyorteaux (Albert) and Patrick Labyorteaux (Andy) were brothers.
- Matthew was born with autism and a hole in his heart.
- In 1992, Matthew and Patrick appeared before a House sub-committee to plead the case of runaways and raised $11 million for youth shelters across America. They also founded the Youth Rescue Fund.
- Jason Bateman (James Cooper Ingalls) and Shannen Doherty (Jenny Wilder) went on to achieve household name status.
- Little House on the Prairie ran from 1973 to 1984. Actually thanks to stations like Hallmark and TVLand, it’s still running, and touching hearts, today.
