Here’s How ‘Little House on the Prairie’s Steve Tracy Changed Alison Arngrim’s Life Forever

LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, Alison Arngrim, Steve Tracy, — c

What To Know

Steve Tracy, who played Percival Dalton on Little House on the Prairie, was closeted and confided only in his close friend and co-star Alison Arngrim.
After Tracy was diagnosed with AIDS and eventually passed away in 1986, Arngrim supported him through his illness.

If you grew up watching Little House on the Prairie, you probably have something of a soft spot for Percival Dalton, played by actor Steve Tracy. You remember him, right? He was the only guy kind enough and patient enough to win over Nellie Oleson (Alison Arngrim). It was Tracy who brought Percival to life during his two years in the series, where he defied everyone’s expectations and somehow, against all odds, made viewers believe that he was indeed happily married to Walnut Grove’s very own town brat.

However, behind the scenes, Tracy had a secret. You see, he was gay, and he worked incredibly hard to keep his private life hidden while working on the show. Why? Because way back then, society and even the more progressive entertainment industry did not seem to want to openly address the issue of homosexuality.

The only person on set that Tracy truly trusted with the truth was his costar, Arngrim. During his time working on Little House, the two actors had, much like the characters they played, grown quite close. However, unlike the character she played in the show, Arngrim had a knack for making friends. Her relationship with Tracy, while not romantic, was every bit as strong as the one they played out on screen.

Then, in 1986, a few years after his time on the series, Tracy announced that he had been diagnosed with AIDS. Looking back on it much later, Arngrim realized that he was probably already sick around 1981, right when they were still making Little House, and she was, in her words, “kissing his face off for the cameras.” Instead of getting upset, however, she showed her true colors and did what any real friend would do. Arngrim was a constant support. She even took him to many of his medical appointments.

LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE -- "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not: Part 1 and 2" Episode 23 and 24 -- Aired 5/5/80 -- Pictured: (l-r) Steve Tracy as Percival Isaac Cohen Dalton, Alison Arngrim as Nellie Oleson Dalton

NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

Allan R. Ellenberger, writing for The Hollywoodland Revue, said that Arngrim watched Tracy “go through something grueling: Experimental drugs that were painful, required procedures Tracy would have to repeat every few hours, all undertaken with the knowledge that it might not work soon enough to help him. She recalled him telling her, essentially, that if it was too late for him, maybe it could help save someone else.”

Prior to contracting the disease, Tracy was already a pretty small man. As the illness progressed, it took a heavy toll on him, causing him to get very thin until he dwindled down to almost nothing. As was the case with many folks who contracted the HIV virus and developed AIDS in the ’80s, the disease ultimately took Tracy’s life. He was just 34 years old when he died on November 27, 1986.

After Tracy’s death, Arngrim had to deal with some incredibly mean rumors. Because their characters had been so close on TV, some people thought she might have caught AIDS just from kissing him. Sadly, she found herself having to explain to people that a person cannot catch the disease from a kiss. But instead of getting angry at the ignorance, she channeled those experiences into helping others who were sick as well as informing the general public at large.

Putting her on-screen talents to the test, for seven years, Arngrim hosted a cable access talk show called AIDS Vision. She also volunteered for years at AIDS Project Los Angeles, working their telephone hotline, assisting at their food bank, and serving as a public speaker. Unstoppable, she also worked as a program manager at another non-profit group supporting children and families affected by AIDS. Arngrim, to this very day, continues to make sure that Tracy is remembered not just as Percival, but as a kind friend who, without a doubt, changed her life forever.

Writing for The Advocate, Arngrim said this: “Through my activism… I made a couple of hundred best friends along the way. Of course, I lost most of them to the disease, but I still see all of their faces — and hear all of their voices — clear as day. Steve’s is the brightest and loudest among them. And he has all the best lines.”