Little House On The Prairie
Ah Little House on the Prairie! Such a classic story. From the books by Laura Inglalls Wilder to our screens in the 1970’s, everyone adored this story about a Western pioneer family in Minnesota. The show ran from 1974 until 1983, but luckily for us, there have been reruns to keep the beloved show alive and well. Now, it’s not just the older generation who speaks of Laura, Mary and even Nellie with fondness and nostalgia. However, we want to talk about what happened behind the scenes. What was the real story with these actors?
There was something so endearing about watching this pioneer family from Walnut Grove, Minnesota confront the issues of the time back in the late 1880’s. Things were not always easy for the family. Remember when Mary began to lose her eyesight? Eventually, she left to become a teacher at a school for blind children. Oh, let’s not forget the big move to Dakota and then back again. Of course, the series needed to show us when Laura Ingalls finally meets Almanzo Wilder, her future husband. In the show’s final season (season 9), we see Laura’s parents, Charles and Caroline sell the farm and leave her with Almanzo in Walnut Grove.
We watched Laura Ingalls and her family deal with everything from poverty and faith to prejudice, alcoholism and child abuse. Of course, the show also had plenty of comedic, lighter moments. Before we got the show with the stars we’re going to discuss, we had a two hour pilot film on NBC. Now, it’s time to get into the real behind the scenes story!
Annoying Melissa
Even though the characters Nellie (Alison Arngrim) and Laura (Melissa Gilbert) were rivals on Little House on the Prairie, things were very different off camera. Later on in Little House on the Prairie, Nellie got married to Percival, who was played by the actor Steve Tracy. Though Tracy was gay in real life, it didn’t matter. Tracy and Arngrim loved making out in front of Melissa Gilbert, who did not have as passionate a love life on screen with Almanzo Wilder (Dean Butler). They did this just to annoy poor Gilbert. Steve Tracy and Alison Arngrim did everything to make their on-screen kisses way over-the-top just to antagonize innocent Gilbert.
Annoying Melissa