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Dean traveled to the Little House movie set a few days after graduating from college. For a variety of reasons, it would be a memorable day.
Butler was expected to pull a horse-drawn wagon 200 yards down a hill in the opening sequence. He had never done it before, and things didn’t really go as planned when Michael yelled, “Action.” Butler dropped the reins to reach for his hat as the air took it up. Simultaneously, the unmanageable horses spurted off the road and charged in the direction of an oak tree.
Fortunately, a crew member reached the horses before they struck the tree, despite the yelling of the audience.
If Michael Landon had chosen to perform the scene, Dean’s first day on Little House could have gone more smoothly.
Butler remembered Landon saying, “Well, I think I have to double, you know,” as Michael approached her while chewing on a cigarette. “I can double you, but I can’t change the show’s horses.” Although it was my first experience with Michael, it was a lot of fun.
Was Albert dead?
In 1978, a young Matthew Labyorteaux would play Albert Quinn Ingalls, who would go on to become a major character in the series.The Ingalls family adopts the little orphan, although many TV viewers were unaware of his departure from the show.
In the 1983 television film “Little House: Look Back to Yesterday,” Albert receives a leukemia diagnosis. However, did he pass away? To this day, it is still uncertain.
In an interview a few years back, the former child actor stated, “He never really died in the episode and I think maybe it’s left up in the air to debate… but it was sort of an unspoken thing that we knew he was going to die.”
A timeless error
There is a noticeable omission in the grand climax of the television film The Last Farewell, which is based on Little House on the Prairie. Since it is set in 1901, it is obvious that by the beginning of the 20th century, the majority of the characters should be in their 60s or 70s.
The actual Charles Ingalls, for example, died in 1902. By now, the younger characters—Jenny, Cassandra, Nancy, Carrie, and James—should have entered young adulthood.
However, looking at pictures from the last seasons, it seems like nobody has aged much, as though Walnut Grove had stopped time. On the other hand, the Wilders had previously relocated to Missouri around the turn of the century.
traveled to India on a pilgrimage.
Did you notice that The Last Farewell lacked Katherine MacGregor, who played Harriet Oleson for all nine seasons?
She was on a trip to India because of her newfound Hindu beliefs, according to some sources, but there is more to her absence from the series finale. Other accounts claim that it was the result of a long-running personal dispute between her and Michael Landon regarding her pay and the use of her talent.
We hope you have enjoyed this humorous behind-the-scenes peek at Walnut Grove as we conclude our exploration of Little House on the Prairie’s gaffes and errors.
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