4 Surprising Secrets About LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE
By Movieguide® Contributor
LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE is a childhood classic so many of us continue to enjoy over recent years. Fans feel nostalgic about the beloved series, especially after hearing the news of a reboot coming to Netflix. You may think you know everything there is to know about the show, but Movieguide® has gathered together some little-known facts that may surprise even the biggest fans! From set details to enduring friendships between cast members, you’ll surely enjoy these behind-the-scenes secrets about LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE.
The Same Set As The Wizard Of Oz
The beloved LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, a show about a family and their Minnesota homestead in the late 1800s, was filmed on the same set as THE WIZARD OF OZ. Production moved from Paramount to MGM in the 1970s. Alison Arngrim, who played Nelly Olsen, opened up to Closer Weekly about the excitement of the new set.
“They were ripping up the floor of the set, and what Melissa {Gilbert} and I see, lying beneath, was the Yellow Brick Road!” Arngrim said. “Melissa and I went nuts. We were dancing around, singing the song, pretending to be Dorothy!”
A Dramatic End
Another shocking secret is that Michael Landon, who fans know as “Pa,” directed THE LAST FAREWELL, the last TV Prairie movie. The plot called for the townspeople to blow up Walnut Grove to stop a land baron from taking it. Production had leased the land and had to return it to its original state, so Landon decided to blow up the set.
“What if we blow up the town? That would get the buildings all in pieces and you still can bring in your equipment to pick up the debris and cart it away.” So he wrote the explosions into the script but made sure to leave the homestead and church untouched. “I think it makes for a good strong pioneer ending,” Landon said. “It was also a nice catharsis for the cast and crew. There were lots of tears when we finally blew up the town. The actors had all become very attached to their own buildings, so it was very emotional.”
Too Fancy For Some?
Some LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE fans may be surprised to know that a producer, Ed Friendly, quit the show because he thought the family was too fancy compared to the books. Several changes caused tension between Friendly and the other series’ producers.
During an interview with People Magazine, Friendly revealed that he and Landon disagreed about changes made on the set, from giving the Ingalls kids shoes and moving them from a sod house to a frame house. “One NBC (person) said, ‘I find it depressing to live in a sod house.'” Friendly claimed, “I’ve renamed the series How Affluent Is My Prairie? … They have everything but a Cadillac.”
Real Life Friendships
While Laura Ingalls and Nelly Olsen were rivals on LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, the actresses Melissa Gilbert and Alison Arngrim are friends in real life. Arngrim shared her memories of first meeting Gilbert on the set and how their friendship bloomed.
“She looked small enough that I could put her in my purse, but she also looked like she could chew her way out of it,” Alison said. “She was this tiny, fierce little thing — all freckles, braids and teeth!” The girls bonded over their lives as longtime child actors from showbiz families. “We started hanging out. We would have slumber parties, would go to each other’s birthday parties and such.”
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