Who Was Melissa Gilbert’s Favorite ‘Little House’ Scene Partner?
When Patrick Labyorteaux kicked off The Patrick Labyor Sheaux podcast last year, longtime fans of Little House on the Prairie were thrilled. And fans were especially excited about the recent podcast guest — none other than Melissa Gilbert, the beloved Half-Pint herself, ready to dive into all things Little House, Michael Landon and beyond.
Their chat started off with laughter and a little reminiscing about their school days on set. “You were speaking French and doing math, and I was making mud pies,” Labyorteaux teased, giving Gilbert a nod for always being the smart one on set. Gilbert, of course, played Laura Ingalls, the spirited center of Little House, while Labyorteaux joined the series a bit later as Andy Garvey, Laura’s pal in Walnut Grove. His real-life brother, Matthew Labyorteaux, played Albert, the adopted Ingalls son.
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While Laura may have been the show’s narrator, the emotional anchor was always Michael Landon as Charles Ingalls. Landon didn’t just star as Pa but he also helped shape the series behind the scenes too, writing, directing and producing. Gilbert lit up when talking about him, remembering just how much he shaped her early career.
“For all of us littles, Melissa Sue [Anderson], myself, Robyn and Rachel [Greenbush],” she said during the episode, “[Michael] just sort of nurtured performances out of us. It was just very easy with him. He would praise us when we did well, and then he would scowl if we weren’t completely connected.”
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Gilbert went on to reflect on what made the experience so special. “I think he found us all really enchanting. And he hired kids who were very natural, intentionally, so we didn’t come in with cuteness, we came in with just a kind of grounded-ness. And at the time, I just remember thinking, ‘Boy, this is the best game of dress-up any girl ever played.’ It was just fun. It wasn’t a job.”
Labyorteaux jumped in to say, “I don’t care who you are, if you’re a foot away from Michael and he starts crying, you’re not gonna do anything but lose it, right?”
Then he added something that any actor who’s ever worked with a legend probably understands. “Every scene I did with Michael was so much better than every scene I did with anyone else because, like you say, if you listen, your brain and your mind and your face do all the things that it needs to do because you’re watching him emote for real.”
Watch the entire podcast episode below:
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