Behind the scenes of
'Little House on the Prairie'
The Ingalls family on the frontier and off the set
Alex Q. Arbuckle
1974-1983
From 1932 to 1943, Laura Ingalls Wilder published the Little House... books, a series of children’s novels based on her childhood in the rugged American Midwest during the late 19th century. The books were highly successful, and remain in print today. In the 1970s, NBC executive Ed Friendly began working on a television adaptation, and tapped Bonanza's Michael Landon to direct the two-hour pilot. Landon agreed to direct, under the condition that he could also play the lead role of Charles Ingalls. Landon cast nine-year-old Melissa Gilbert to play the young Laura Ingalls, and her brother Jonathan to play the role of Willie Oleson. He hired four more pairs of siblings to play roles, including two sets of twins who shared parts. Though set largely in rural Minnesota, the series was shot chiefly on the Big Sky Ranch in Simi Valley, California, with the soundstage at Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank.Premiering in 1974, the series ran for 204 episodes, 87 of which were directed by Landon. Reruns of the beloved series still air in syndication on several channels.
I came home and found my 12-year-old daughter devouring the Laura books. Then I discovered my wife had devoured them when she was a girl, and was reading them again. So I went to NBC and told them Little House was it. - Michael Landon
We're trying to stick close to the true story. The problem is the books were short and over four years - I think we can run four years - we'll need more than 100 stories. So, we have to invent some. - Michael Landon
Not a day goes by that I don't think about it and burst into tears. It's like stepping through a looking glass. There's a part of me that's always going to be Laura. - Melissa Gilbert ("Laura Ingalls")
