If you think Little House on the Prairie was picture-perfect, think again!
This beloved classic, known for its timeless charm, wholesome stories, and adventurous spirit, wasn’t without its share of slip-ups.
Despite its seemingly flawless appearance, a myriad of bloopers and mistakes somehow made it past the editing room.
I still find myself glued to reruns of Little House on the Prairie, just like my parents were back in the day. In an instant, it transports us to the late 19th century, and introduces us to the resilient Ingalls family.
Watching the episodes now, it’s clear that the show’s message is as powerful as ever — treating others with respect, embracing honesty, and valuing the importance of family and friends.
But those of us with a sharp eye have discovered a treasure trove of blunders and goofs that are sure to make you do a double-take — and maybe even make you chuckle.
Laura’s mystic pregnancy
Laura first announced her pregnancy late in season seven, during a warm season, with the flowers blooming and the prairie looking its best.
Yet, by the time the following summer rolled around, she was still very much expecting — leaving fans wondering just how long this prairie pregnancy was supposed to last.
Honestly, it just felt like there was a disconnect between the writers and the rest of the team, a clear case of sloppy story management.
Nellie Oleson wore a wig
We all remember Little House on the Prairie‘s resident troublemaker, Nellie Oleson, brought to life by Alison Arngrim. But did you know Nellie’s role in the show was much bigger than in the original books?
The character’s expanded presence is a testament to just how much viewers loved to hate this mischievous villain — especially when she teamed up with her equally conniving onscreen mother, Harriet.
Many surely remember Nellie’s iconic blonde curls, but achieving that look was no easy task. Alison Arngrim’s own hair was transformed into those signature ringlets using an old-fashioned curling iron that had to be heated in an oven — a rather painful process that required both time and patience.
The solution was to bring in a wig. To keep it securely in place, they used a large metal comb along with dozens of long, straight metal hairpins.
Colonel Sanders Cameo
One of the funniest bloopers on Little House on the Prairie has to be the unexpected appearance of Colonel Sanders, the iconic founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, in a season eight episode titled ”Wave of the Future.” In this storyline, Nellie’s restaurant transforms into a franchise.
But, as you can imagine, things don’t go as planned, and Nellie regrets the whole ordeal. In an attempt to break free from the contract, she teams up with Charles and Nels to open a rival restaurant.
Then, in a bizarre twist, none other than Colonel Sanders himself shows up, offering Harriet a deal to start her own chicken franchise.
Now, here’s where the hilarity kicks in: the good Colonel wasn’t even born until 1890, and KFC didn’t hatch until 1952. Meanwhile, Little House is supposed to be set in the 1870s and 1880s! Talk about a time-traveling entrepreneur.
And for a little extra flavor — whenever fried chicken showed up in any meal on the show, rumor has it that it actually came straight from KFC. So, maybe Colonel Sanders’ cameo wasn’t that far-fetched after all.
The missing coats
This is something I’ve often wondered about — the glaring lack of winter coats during freezing weather. In the episode titled “Bless All the Dear Children,” Laura’s baby gets kidnapped around Christmas in Minneapolis.
Now, anyone familiar with Minneapolis in December knows it can be downright frigid, yet everyone is strolling around without a coat, as Gilbert points out.
This oversight might be due to the fact that the show was filmed in Tucson, Arizona, during the summer months.
A fashion slip
In some episodes, you can catch a glimpse of Caroline’s bra when she moves just the right way. Considering the series is set in the 1870s and 1880s, this is a bit of an anachronism — since bras weren’t even invented until 1912!
Some of the women also sport hairstyles with perms or curls on set – a look more at home in the 1970s than in the 1880s.
On a similar note, you might have noticed that most of the men in the series are clean-shaven, which is a far cry from the historical photos of the era. In reality, the vast majority of adult men sported facial hair — beards were all the rage. In fact, Charles Ingalls himself had a beard for most of his adult life. It seems like the show’s grooming choices didn’t quite match the rugged fashion of the time.
A dummy instead of a living person
In the season five episode “The Odyssey,” an intense moment unfolds when an unknown assailant tries to throw Albert off a moving train.
But Laura quickly jumps into action, shoving the villain off just in time to save Albert. However, amidst this dramatic scene, a funny blooper happens.
Keen-eyed viewers can spot a dummy being thrown from the train, landing awkwardly in the grass. Meanwhile, a fearless stuntman rolls down the hill, outdoing the stationary dummy in a hilarious contrast.
Melissa Sue Anderson was ”cold and aloof”..
From seasons one to seven of Little House on the Prairie, Melissa Sue Anderson won the hearts of fans as the beautiful blonde-haired Mary, the eldest child of Charles and Caroline Ingalls.
However, her co-stars found it challenging to connect with her. Both Melissa Gilbert and Alison Arngrim shared in their autobiographies that Melissa Sue Anderson —nicknamed “Missy” on set — often came across as cold and aloof during her time on the show. Yet, when you look at photos of the cast together, it’s hard to believe there was any distance between them.
Rumors swirled among the crew that Missy’s overprotective mother contributed to her tendency to keep to herself.
But Nellie and Laura became best friends
Alison Arngrim played the original mean girl, Nellie Oleson, the arch-nemesis of good girl Laura Ingalls, portrayed by Melissa Gilbert. But behind the scenes, it was a different story! Alison and Melissa hit it off and became the best of friends.
When the cameras stopped rolling, they were like real sisters, sharing laughs and creating memories that went beyond the show.
Off-set, they were partners in crime, enjoying sleepovers at each other’s homes and pulling pranks on their unsuspecting co-stars. Who would have thought that the fierce rivalry on screen would spark such a fun and playful friendship off-screen?
The Fallout of grief in “My Ellen”
One of the most memorable episodes of Little House on the Prairie is titled “My Ellen,” which revolves around the tragic drowning of Ellen Taylor.
When Laura and Mary go skinny-dipping with their friend Ellen Taylor, they suddenly find themselves in a tricky situation. Some boys come by, prompting the girls to hide underwater until the coast is clear.
While Laura and Mary manage to resurface safely, Ellen tragically becomes trapped and drowns. The aftermath is heart-wrenching, as Ellen’s grief-stricken mother, in her sorrow, blames Laura for the tragedy.
During Ellen’s funeral, her mother is overwhelmed with sorrow and blames Laura for the tragedy, saying, “YOU did this!” This gut-wrenching accusation hits Laura hard, especially since she already feels guilty about what happened. What stands out, though, is how the adults around them react. Instead of stepping in to defend Laura, they only exchange worried glances and let her suffer alone in her pain.
It’s a confusing moment. With so many adults present, including Reverend Alden and Doc Baker, you’d expect at least one of them to comfort Laura and reassure her that she isn’t to blame. Instead, they leave her to grapple with the harsh words on her own. In “My Ellen,” the emotional weight of the story is undeniable, but there are moments that feel disjointed in terms of storytelling
Michael Landon put frogs in his mouth
Pranks seemed to be a big part of the filming culture, and it was Michael Landon who often led the charge with his creative and funny antics. One hilarious prank was revealed by Rachel Greenbush, who played the youngest Ingalls sibling, Carrie.
The mischievous duo of Greenbush and her on-screen sister, Melissa Gilbert, would sneak off to the creek during breaks for some frog-catching adventures. With their slimy little friends in tow, they’d return to the set to surprise Landon.
In a playful twist, he would take the unsuspecting frogs and pop them in his mouth, then stroll over to fellow cast and crew members. With a cheeky grin, he’d open his mouth to let the frogs jump out, sending everyone around him into startled fits of laughter and panic.
Melissa Gilbert’s rift with Michael Landon
The cast had such great chemistry that you’d think they were a real family, and off-screen the co-stars were a big part of each other’s lives for many years.
But things weren’t always smooth between the actors, and one major incident caused a lasting rift between Melissa Gilbert and Michael Landon.
It all started when the young star discovered news that would forever change how she saw Landon. Landon, while married to his second wife Marjorie Lynn Noe, began an on-set affair with a much-younger woman, Little House‘s makeup artist and stand-in Cindy Clerico.
Gilbert recalls noticing how close Landon and Clerico were becoming on set, but dismissed the thought, refusing to think Landon would cheat on his wife.
“It was nothing untoward; they weren’t ever in a closed-off room, not that I saw,” she wrote in her memoir. “But Mike would walk around holding her puppy, and she was a pretty young thing who wore stylish tight jeans, leotards, and high-heel boots.”
Soon, the cast, including Gilbert, discovered the affair and were devastated by the actions of the actor they had looked up to as a father figure.
“For us, as kids, it was a real blow,” Melissa Sue Anderson later recalled in her biography. “Although we knew he could be difficult at times and had his flaws, we never dreamed he was capable of inflicting that kind of pain on his real family.
“For me personally, I had held him up to a higher moral standard. He had really let me down.”
The traveling quilt
Eagle-eyed fans with laser-like vision have spotted another hilarious blooper: the family quilt seems to have a mind of its own! This elusive quilt pops up in various locations throughout the series — on the Olsens’ bed, Charles and Caroline’s bed, and even on other characters’ beds.
Mostly white with a charming design resembling a double wedding ring quilt, it’s clear that some props were reused for efficiency.
And speaking of locations, have you noticed the Ingalls children’s puzzling journey to and from school? Their route seems to change from episode to episode. Sometimes, they cross the bridge and stroll past the sawmill, while other times they mysteriously appear on the road behind it.
Dean Butler almost killed himself
Some of the cast came into the show in later seasons, one of whom was Dean Butler, who starred as Laura Ingalls’ husband, Almanzo Wilder.
Just days following his college graduation, Dean made his way to the film set that was Little House. It would be a day to remember — for many reasons.
In Butler’s first scene, he was supposed to drive a horse wagon 200-yards down a hill. He had never done it before, and when Michael screamed “action”, things didn’t really work out. The breeze picked up his hat, with Butler instinctually dropping the reins to reach for it. At the same time, the horses, no longer under control, flew off the road and charged towards an oak tree.
People in the production were screaming, but luckily, a crew member managed to reach the horses before they hit the tree.
Dean’s first day on Little House could’ve gone better, with Michael Landon deciding to do the scene instead.
“Michael came up to me, chewing on a cigarette, and said ’well, I think I have to double, you know’,” Butler recalled Landon saying. “‘I can double you but not replace the horses on the show’. That was my first taste of being with Michael, but it was great fun.”
Did Albert die?
Albert Quinn Ingalls, played by a young Matthew Labyorteaux, would become a keystone of the series in 1978. The little boy is an orphan who is adopted in by the Ingalls family – but his exit from the series eluded many TV viewers.
In the 1983 made-for-TV movie ”Little House: Look Back to Yesterday”, Albert is diagnosed with leukemia. But did he die or not? That remains unclear to this date.
“He never officially died in the episode and I think maybe it’s kind of left up in the air to debate… but it was sort of an unspoken thing that we knew he was going to die,” the former child star said in an interview some years ago.
A timeless mistake
In the grand finale of Little House on the Prairie, the TV movie The Last Farewell, there’s a glaring oversight. Set in 1901, it’s clear that most of the characters should be in their 60s or 70s by the start of the 20th century.
For instance, the real-life Charles Ingalls passed away in 1902. The younger characters, like Carrie, Jenny, James, Cassandra, and Nancy, should have transitioned into young adulthood by this point.
Yet, when viewing images from the final seasons, it appears that everyone has aged remarkably little, as if time stood still in Walnut Grove. However, historically, the Wilders had moved to Missouri around the turn of the century.
Went on a pilgrimage to India
Did you notice that Katherine MacGregor, who played Harriet Oleson throughout all nine seasons, was missing from The Last Farewell?
While various reports state that she was on a pilgrimage to India due to her new Hindu faith, her absence from the series finale has another layer. According to other sources, it stemmed from a longstanding personal conflict with Michael Landon over salary and how her talent was utilized.
As we wrap up our journey through the bloopers and mistakes of Little House on the Prairie, we hope you’ve enjoyed this lighthearted look behind the scenes of Walnut Grove.
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