Patrick Labyorteaux Opens Up About the Rejected ‘Little House on the Prairie’ Spinoff (Exclusive)
What To Know
- Patrick Labyorteaux reflected on the close-knit, family-like atmosphere on the Little House on the Prairie set, noting that several cast members worked alongside their real-life siblings.
- He discussed the emotional impact of filming the tragic episode where his on-screen mother died, which also marked the departure of actress Hersha Parady from the show.
- Labyorteaux revealed that the Garvey family’s move to Sleepy Eye was intended as a backdoor pilot for a spinoff series, but the project was ultimately rejected.
Little House on the Prairie‘s Patrick Labyorteaux, who played Andy Garvey, greeted fans at the Hollywood Show in Burbank, California, on Saturday, January 10, taking photos and signing memorabilia.
We caught up with the actor and podcast host for a few minutes as he shared his memories about on the set dynamics, that heartbreaking episode where his on-screen mother died, the rejected Garvey family spinoff and more.
Patrick (left) and Matthew Labyorteaux (right). Credit: Everett Collection
How the ‘Little House’ set became a family affair
The Little House set was truly a family affair, as Patrick and Melissa Gilbert both had younger siblings who starred on the show during its nine-season run (1974-1982): Melissa’s adopted brother Jonathan Gilbert played the bratty Willie Oleson, and Patrick’s younger brother Matthew Labyorteaux had a bigger role as Albert Ingalls, the adopted son of Charles (Michael Landon) and Caroline (Karen Grassle) Ingalls.
“What’s great about the Little House cast is a lot of people talk about it when you’re shooting the show, ‘Oh, it’s like a family,’” Labyorteaux explains. “But on Little House, I was there with my brother. Melissa Gilbert was there with her brother. There were twins [Sidney and Lindsay Greenbush, who played Carrie Ingalls]. It was like a literal family.” The Greenbush’s brother, Clay, also appeared as an uncredited school kid in several episodes.
Credit: NBC/Everett Collection.
Patrick joined the series in Season 4, when the Garvey family moved next door to the Ingalls’. But his late arrival didn’t impact his closeness to his former castmates.
“We’ve known each other for 50 years. And we do keep in touch,” Patrick added. “There’s a huge circuit of Little House conventions, and we use those times to hang out and catch up. It’s been really, really fun. I’ve had a great time.”
Shooting one of the series’ saddest episodes
Merlin Olsen and Hersha Parady. Credit: Everett Collection
Season 6 of Little House aired the two-part episode “May We Make Them Proud” in February of 1980. While the episode started out lighthearted with Albert and Clay (Bill Calvert) stealing a pipe filled and trying to smoke (believing women liked men who smoked), their mischief resulted in a horrific accident where the school for the blind caught fire. Both Mary Ingalls’ (Melissa Sue Anderson) baby and Alice Garvey (Hersha Parady), who tried to save the baby, perished in the fire as a result of their carelessness.
When it came to acting out the death of his on-screen mother, Patrick credits the show’s sound, set design and more with helping him deliver his performance. “Well, one of the other things about Little House is David Rose’s music is so evocative. And when you’re watching the show, there’s so many things that they do from the lighting to the music, to the editing that pumps your performance up,” he adds. “I worked on the performance as far as understanding how I would behave and why I would be sad. But, you know, it was a really weird time, too, because we had on the show that I would lose my mom, but it was also the last show that Hersha, who played my mom, was in. So, I was sad that she wasn’t going to be around.”
Patrick was also dealing with storyline changes, as the Garveys would eventually be written out of the show and would make a move to Sleepy Eye, which was going to be a backdoor pilot for another series.
The Garvey family pilot spinoff that never quite happened
It was bittersweet when Jonathan Garvey (Merlin Olsen) and his son Andy (Patrick) left Little House, but also exciting, as the promise for a new spinoff was in the works. Patrick remembers reading the final Little House script he was in. “It was just kind of sad. I was leaving the show and then you read the script and it’s like, it’s sad,” he recalls.
Katherine Cannon and Merlin Olsen in ‘Father Murphy.’ Credit: Gene Trindl / TVG / ©NBC / Courtesy Everett Collection
But it wasn’t all sorrow. “I was leaving the show, but my brother was still on the show, so it wasn’t like I wasn’t going to see anybody. Plus, it was also a period of time where we thought maybe we would be doing a new show, so it didn’t feel like we were leaving. It felt like transitioning.
“And then later, they didn’t pick the pilot up, and then ended up doing Father Murphy with Merlin Olsen, and they couldn’t have the same kid on a different show with the same guy. So, they got another kid who looked just like me. That was a bummer. That was when it was hard, and that was about eight months later.”
How Michael Landon treated the child actors on set
©NBC/Everett Collection
“Little House was not a stressful set. You know, Catherine Bell and I were on a TV show called JAG, and that was a stressful set. Michael had figured out everything on Bonanza … he was wonderful. He understood how to interact with kids without talking down to them,” Patrick shared. “You know how sometimes adults are like, ‘Hey, buddy, what’s going on?’ And they like become not an adult. They’re trying to be cool. Michael was never like that. He would talk to you normally. And I love that about him. I mean, he was just so talented. I write and I direct, and I act, and I do all that because Michael did that.”
Patrick’s been sharing his stories about Little House, JAG (1995-2005), Heathers (1989) and other roles he’s played, along with celebrities he’s worked with and all things pop culture and Hollywood, on his weekly podcast The Patrick LabyorSheaux With Patrick Labyorteaux.
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