Melissa Gilbert Reflects on Michael Landon's Impact 50 Years AfterLittle House on the Prairie: 'He Set the Tone' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Melissa Gilbert and Michael Landon.Photo:Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty; Ron Galella Collection via Getty

Melissa Gilbert, Michael Landon

Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty; Ron Galella Collection via Getty

Michael Landonleft a lasting impression on the cast and crew ofLittle House on the Prairiebut perhaps no one more so thanMelissa Gilbert.

During a recent interview to commemorateLittle House on the Prairie’s50thanniversary, Gilbert, 60, spoke with PEOPLE about her experiences working on beloved show with Landon and the special friendship they shared.

“Michael was the quarterback, right? So he set the tone of what we were doing,” Gilbert says of Landon, who died in 1991 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. “Mine was unique in that I was the only cast member who regularly socialized with him and his family.”

“We all vacationed together during spring break to Hawaii — the same hotel every year,” she continues. “Mike’s kids went to the same school I went to. I slept over at their house all the time. They slept over at my house.”

Melissa Gilbert, Michael Landon and Melissa Sue Anderson on the cover of PEOPLE’s Sept. 11, 1978 issue.

Melissa Gilbert and Michael Landon People Magazine Cover 1978

Landon also found ways to make her laugh, even during their slightly more awkward moments working together. During the photoshoot for the cover of PEOPLE’s Sept. 11, 1978 issue, for instance, eking out a smile from Gilbert required some effort.

“I don’t like doing still photography, so it can be uncomfortable for me,” she explains. “But as a kid, it was evenworse, and Michael hated it as much as I did. So he would do everything in his power to make me laugh while we were shooting pictures … I’m laughing, and it’s because he had just taken one of my pigtails and shoved it up my nose.”

Landon’s kindness extended elsewhere, too. The actressshared with PEOPLEin March that Landon — who played patriarch Charles Ingalls and also took on other roles on the show — also went above and beyond for theLittle House on the Prairiecast and recalled a specific tradition he had to get the cast “amazing” gifts.

“Every year for NBC, he would announce the Rose Parade and instead of taking a payment for that, he would use that money to buy the cast and crew Christmas presents every year,” said Gilbert then, adding, “So he sacrificed his New Year’s Eves, basically, to be at the Rose Parade at 3 a.m. so that he could give us all really amazing Christmas presents.”

Melissa Gilbert and Michael Landon on ‘Little House on the Prairie.'.NBCU Photo Bank

“The Aftermath” Episode 8 – Aired 11/07/1977 – Pictured: (l-r) Melissa Gilbert as Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder, Michael Landon as Charles Philip Ingalls

NBCU Photo Bank

“There were alotof tears," Gilbert recalls. “People burst into tears. ‘Oh, my god, my whole childhood wasyou’ and ‘thank you so much’ … for being there for them whatever they were going through.”

Melissa Gilbert, Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, Melissa Sue Anderson and Lindsay or Sidney Greenbush.Fotos International/Getty Images

Melissa Gilbert, Michael Landon (1936 - 1991), Karen Grassle, who holds an unidentified baby, Melissa Sue Anderson, and Lindsay or Sidney Greenbush Little House on the Prairie.

Fotos International/Getty Images

Gilbert’s husband Timothy Busfield is also a “huge fan” of the show and enjoys watchingLittle House on the Prairiewhen it’s on.

“If we’re flipping channels and it happens to be on, he will land on the channel and watch, so I consequently will watch with him,” she explains.

Revisiting the show in this way still gets Gilbert emotional even five decades later.

“The show itself is just so special and so wonderfully well written,” she continues, adding, “but also because that’s my childhood and that’s my surrogate family. I have these wonderfully elaborate ‘home movies’ with many people who are not with us anymore, and I get to revisit them now when I watch a rerun ofLittle House.”

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Allnineseasons ofLittle House on the Prairiecan be streamed on Prime Video and Peacock.

source: people.com