‘Little House on the Prairie’ Star Melissa Gilbert Gets Emotional Talking About the Late Michael Landon
Michael Landon created some amazing shows before he died in 1991, including the beloved Little House on the Prairie. While working on the series, Landon became very close with the cast and crew and they often share special memories of the star, including how much they learned from him. Melissa Gilbert was just a child when she started working with Landon and she became close with him and his entire family.
“Michael was the quarterback, right?” she shared during an interview to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the series. “So he set the tone of what we were doing. Mine was unique in that I was the only cast member who regularly socialized with him and his family. We all vacationed together during spring break to Hawaii — the same hotel every year. Mike’s kids went to the same school I went to. I slept over at their house all the time. They slept over at my house.”
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Also, Landon always ensured that Gilbert and the other kids felt comfortable on set. Gilbert admitted that she hated doing photoshoots and Landon understood her hatred. “I don’t like doing still photography, so it can be uncomfortable for me,” she added. “But as a kid, it was even worse, and Michael hated it as much as I did. So he would do everything in his power to make me laugh while we were shooting pictures … I’m laughing, and it’s because he had just taken one of my pigtails and shoved it up my nose.”
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During the holidays, Landon’s giving spirit was even stronger; Gilbert shared that he would use the money he received to announce the Rose Parade each year to buy extravagant gifts for the cast and crew of Little House on the Prairie. “So he sacrificed his New Year’s Eves, basically, to be at the Rose Parade at 3 a.m. so that he could give us all really amazing Christmas presents,” she explained.
Scott Enyart/TV Guide/NBC/Everett Collection
While Gilbert now lives a quieter life with her husband Timothy Busfield, she also runs a company called Modern Prairie and pays tribute to her roots at Little House on the Prairie fan events. “The show itself is just so special and so wonderfully well written, but also because that’s my childhood and that’s my surrogate family,” she concluded. “I have these wonderfully elaborate ‘home movies’ with many people who are not with us anymore, and I get to revisit them now when I watch a rerun of Little House.”
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April 2019
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