Part of the reason why the cast of Little House On The Prairie seemed like such a happy family on the show, was because they had tons of fun together in real life.
Certainly, the Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie represented an ideal family. However, the cast wasn’t just pretending to care about their onset family. Over the years, countless stars from the show have opened up about their experiences with their castmates – and they’re almost all positive. And one of the biggest contributors to positive onset experiences was the show’s star, Michael Landon. During an interview, Alison Arngrim, who played Nasty Nellie, talked about Michael’s effect on the cast.
“There was no real cast drama because Michael [Landon] would not allow it,” said Arngrim.
During the same interview, Landon’s widow, Cindy, confirmed how much he loved his family from the show.
“If you watch Little House, truly it was like watching Michael,” Cindy said. “The love that he had for his family, the type of person he was – it was all apparent.”
Of course, when it was time to work, Landon knew exactly what he wanted for each scene of Little House on the Prairie. But, as a seasoned actor, he also knew how tensions could quickly build onset. So, he took it upon himself to crack jokes and keep the cast laughing – as proven by this blooper reel from the show. During the video, Michael Landon improvs hilarious quips during the scene. But the most adorable bloopers occur when he’s lovingly messing with his onset kids.
Michael Landon ‘Ate’ Live Frogs On the Set of Little House On The Prairie
During an interview, Rachel Greenbush, who starred as Carrie Ingalls, said that Michael Landon “was a big practical joker.” Greenbush shared how she and her costar, Melissa Gilbert, would catch frogs in the creek and bring them back to the set.
“We used to go with Melissa to catch frogs in the creek,” Greenbush said. “We would bring them back to Michael, and then he would put them in his mouth and walk up to people, open his mouth and the frog would jump out! People would freak out!”
We wish that made it onto the Little House on the Prairie blooper reel! But Landon wasn’t the only one who joked around on set. In her book, Prairie Tale, Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura on the show, shared that she and Alison Arngrim had a hilarious lunch ritual while filming Little House on the Prairie.
“At lunch, we constantly tried to gross each other out by mixing together the most disgusting combinations of food—and eating them!” said Gilbert. “One of my more memorable creations was butterscotch pudding and radishes. It wasn’t half bad.”
