By India McCarty
LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE stars Dean Butler and Karen Grassle said there was no one “quite like” their late co-star Katherine MacGregor.
“I’m going to be really straightforward about this,” Butler, who played Almanzo Wilder, said in an Instagram video. “I absolutely adored Katherine. I’d never met anyone quite like Katherine.”
MacGregor played Harriet Oleson on the hit show and often shared the screen with Grassle, who portrayed Caroline Ingalls.
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“It was wonderful to work with her,” Grassle recalled. “Katherine and I both loved to rehearse, and that was how we struck it off with each other.”
She continued, “We would play off each other…it was really, really rewarding with such a fine actress.”
MacGregor died in 2018 at the age of 93. In addition to her work on LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, the actress also appeared in shows like MANNIX and ALL IN THE FAMILY, as well as shows on and off Broadway.
The actress shared that she read the Little House on the Prairie books to prepare for the role but, after noticing Mrs. Oleson was hardly mentioned, decided she would create the character herself, combining meanness with humor.
“Anyone that mean has to be a fool,” she told NBC. “So I began mixing farce into it.”
In a recent interview with BuzzFeed, Charlotte Stewart, who played Miss Beadle, also reflected on her friendship with MacGregor.
“Katherine was always so funny,” Stewart shared. “I took her very seriously, which I had to as an actor. But Katherine was such a good actress, and she was nothing like Mrs. Oleson…Katherine was quite a complex character, which made Harriet even better.”
Melissa Gilbert, who portrayed lead character Laura Ingalls, posted on Instagram at the time of MacGregor’s death, remembering her former co-star.
“This woman taught me so much…about acting…vintage jewelry…life,” she wrote. “She was outspoken and hilariously funny. A truly gifted actress as she was able to play a despicable character but with so much heart. Her Harriet Oleson was the woman our fans loved to hate. A perfect antagonist. The thing people outside of our prairie family didn’t know, was how loving and nurturing she was with the younger cast.”
Gilbert continued, “I really loved her and I find great comfort knowing that she is at peace…Farewell Scottie. I hope with all my heart we meet again.”
While viewers loved to hate Mrs. Oleson onscreen, the stars of LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE have nothing but fond memories of the talented and kindhearted actress who brought her to life.
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