‘Little House on the Prairie’: Karen Grassle Makes Bold Confession About Michael Landon Tension
What To Know
- Karen Grassle revealed longstanding tension with Michael Landon on the set of Little House on the Prairie, stemming from denied raises and his strong-willed personality.
- Grassle described how Landon’s crude jokes and mocking behavior led her to distance herself from fans and cast members after leaving the show in Season 8.
- After publishing her memoir, Grassle reconnected with fans and was surprised by their enduring affection for her character, Caroline “Ma” Ingalls.
Little House on the Prairie star Karen Grassle made a bold confession about her tension with Michael Landon.
In an interview with People published on December 17, the actress who played Caroline “Ma” Ingalls admitted that the reason for pulling back from fans stemmed from clashing with her on-screen husband.
Landon portrayed Charles “Pa” Ingalls, in addition to writing and directing the beloved historical drama series. In Season 2, things took a negative turn between Grassle and Landon after Landon denied her a raise.
“I ran myself into the ground with resentment and anger and hurt feelings and just pure exhaustion,” she explained.
She added, “I did see that if somebody else was really strong-willed [like Landon]…they would absolutely butt heads, heels would be dug in.”
Everett Collection
In her 2021 memoir, Bright Lights, Prairie Dust, Grassle revealed that Landon — who died in 1991 from pancreatic cancer — made crude and sexist jokes on set, also claiming that he mocked her. She acknowledged pulling back from Little House on the Prairie fans as a result, after leaving the show in Season 8.
“I had limited my interactions with fans very much,” she told People. “I really didn’t go to many events. I didn’t hang out with everybody. I separated myself.”
When her memoir was published, Grassle said she came to a realization.
“I’ve got to get out there. So I started with social media, and I started going out to these events,” she recounted. “I was astonished at what I learned about people’s affection for the character of Caroline.”
Little House on the Prairie aired for nine seasons from 1974 to 1983. In addition to Grassle and Landon, the show starred Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls Wilder, Melissa Sue Anderson as Mary Ingalls, Rachel Greenbush and Sidney Greenbush as Carrie, Victor French as Mr. Edwards, Alison Arngrim as Nellie Oleson, Dean Butler as Almazo Wilder, and many others.
Little House on the Prairie, streaming on HBO Max, Prime Video, Philo, and FRNDLY TV