Unquestionably. I always thought of Nels as the unsung hero of the show for not murdering her. The shows would have been a LOT shorter if he had. Just a lot of people milling around saying things like "It's always the quite ones."
I saw an interview with him where he said that when they first met Katherine acted pretty much like Harriet. She tried to tell him what to do with the scenes. He said he finally had to tell her 'look.....you don't direct me and I don't direct YOU!' Once he put his foot down, the got along well during the entire series. Of course, Michael Landon was was an awesome director so they didn't need HER! LOL
Ellen Corby, as Grandma, served that same purpose on The Waltons, although I don't think she was the comedienne Katherine MacGregor was. Creator Earl Hamner originally told Corby that her portrayal of Grandma was too harsh and unlike his own grandmother, and she replied that the show was full of "sweet" characters, and that it needed a bit of "tartness" to prevent it from becoming too saccharine. I do think it is a valid point.
Him and Ike on the Walton's had to be the two most patient TV husbands to ever exist. At least Cora beth would redeem herself by the end of a episode where Harriet seldom did.Both played wonderful bitches though.
It was hilarious, but Katherine MacGregor badly injured her back when she fell off the horse - in the scene where she and Mr. Oleson were headed to Sleepy Eye to try to intercept Nellie and Luke.
@@evelynbeveraggi8724 Allison Arngrim said there was no actual pepper on the chicken but she likes spicy food, so she would actually have enjoyed it if there was pepper. Also, if you watch closely, you'll see that she just keeps chugging that glass of water. Michael Landon kept filling it up & telling her to keep drinking & don't stop.
In the episode where Laura adds pepper to the chicken, you can hear Harriet flub her line in the kitchen. She mistakenly starts to pronounce Almanzo's name correctly, then stops and mispronounced it. You can see Caroline trying hard not to laugh.
You know guys, in reality, the REAL Mrs. Oleson who's name was actually 'Owens' (but was changed for the book by Wilder) was the exact opposite of Harriet. She was a nice, good, kind, sweet and forgiving woman. Because her daughter Nellie was so mean, Michael Landon and the writers had Harriet's personality written to more match Nellie's so the audience would believe she was the Oleson's daughter. They thought if both Nels and Harriet were good people, from where would Nellie get al her meanness?
Katherine MacGregor was marvelous in this role and a versatile, brilliant actress. And I don’t use that term lightly. Watch her in the early episodes where Harriet is sinister. Completely convincing. And she’s just as great later on when they make Harriet into the comic relief. She also nicely pulls off Harriet’s serious moments, such as when her old boyfriend, a minister, visits.
Katherine MacGregor played the roll of Mrs. Oleson to the hilt! She blossomed the role into the funniest character that would repeatedly steal every single scene she was in.
You know, she based Harriet's character on her mother's friend bc she loved her so much & she didn't want Harriet to be just a "box" character. Way to go Katherine.....You're great! 🎉🎉🎉🎉❤️❤️❤️❤️
@@JefferyWaybright That's interesting. So many great Harriet moments from the camping trip with the leaf collecting to sweeping the cave floor when Nels was kidnapped to when she adopted the awful copycat of Nellie.
Funny how people who play bad or annoying characters are very nice in real life. Melissa Gilbert said that Katherine MacGregor was like a mom on the set and was nice to everyone. Alison Arngrim, who played Nellie was super nice but Melissa Sue Anderson was a total snob on the show and jealous that Melissa Gilbert was the star and got all the attention.
I concur. It was Karen "Ma Ingalls" Grassle who proclaimed Katherine MacGregor as her No.1 friend on the show, and their friendship went on until MacGregor's death. Karen herself described Katherine as a big sister and many times a second mother. She really helped her through some really dark times in her life on set and off. Onset it was Michael Landon and his politicking which is akin to Hulk Hogan in WCW. Offset Karen was sadly in a losing battle with alcoholism and drug addiction for much of the show's run. She helped get clean, sober, and tobacco free by 1978. It just comes to show that many times than not the people who play the most deplorable people on camera are almost if not the exact opposite in real life.
Katherine was a very nice person, she played the character very well. I think Melissa Sue Anderson is just misunderstood. She's an introvert and most of the cast are friendly and extroverted even if she really was mean on set. It's not a surprise. A lot of that happening in Hollywood. Lots of jealousy.
@@markhaddox7220 it's a different show of course but another example of stars that played the most deplorable people who were the greatest people in real life was Larry Linville who played Major Frank Burns on M*A*S*H. Every one of the cast members who worked on that show and who worked with him have all said that he was just about the nicest person who worked in the entire MASH genre.
Another thing to consider is that some actors and actresses who play both good and bad guy roles are actually not so great people in real life. Some are even notorious for letting their true nasty and horrible selves bleed into the bad guy characters they portray which can create a toxic environment for other cast members and crew.
LOL! I never seen a fly swatter with the swatter floppy like that! Harriett, Nellie and Nancy were the best villains on television. It was fun to watch their crooked schemes backfire on them. And Willie was also perfection as the attempt-to-be-bad kid brother.
Simple music can make you sing simple hug can make you feel better and simple thing can make you happy, i hope my simple "Hello" bring smile on your face 😊
Michael Landon struck gold when he hired Katherine McGreagor as Mrs. Oelson. He gave her a starting point and she just took off with it. She ended up being a regular villain. That's hard to do but she was perfect for it. She was a huge part of the show's success.
The scene where Harriet gets caught in the drapes in front of the restaurant 8:45 is simply PRICELESS. As Katherine McGregor stated it herself during an interview, Mrs Oleson is a "foolish woman"
GAS! 😂🤣 I remember watching that when it first aired when I was a little boy and I couldn't stop laughing for 5 minutes! LOL The same when she sat on the toilet and pulled the flush chain! 😂 I LOVE Mrs. Oleson! Growing up we had a neighbor up the street who reminded me of her! Her demeanor and always bragging about her children! I wish with the "Luke" episode Cozi would have shown the Oleson's riding on that horse with Harriet carrying the shotgun when she thinks Nellie and Luke eloped! That was hysterical!
I LOVE this show more today than when I was a kid ❤ This WHOLESOME show is just PRICELESS! It has an awesome blend of elements-- Serious, Humorous, and Sentimental. And, Harriet Oleson is my absolute favorite ❤
She made this show. To this day I love and adore the Oleson family. All of them. They could have had a spin-off and it would of worked with them. Harriett was so funny and I’m surprised she never won an Emmy. “Nellie darling” and “for heavens sake Nels”. Love her.
So true, sometimes it's not the lead character of a TV show 📺 that makes it funny & entertaining. Mrs. Olsen took it to another level just like Dr. Smith from "Lost in Space" & Boss Hoss in The "Dukes of Hassard", odd characters. 🤔
Yes and don't forget the time Mary had to go to the hospital for a live saving operation. Harriet was right at the front of the donation line, replete with a smile for Charles. She had her good side and she was usually the biggest victim of her petty squabbles, except for Nels who could clearly take care of himself.
🥰 I loved it when Harriet and Nels were affectionate with each other. I love that despite how they fight a lot, they can still make each other smile, laugh, be silly, and have their moments showing they truly love each other.
@@stephaniegormley9982 She was always the first to donate when there was a crisis in Walnut Grove concerning the children. And lets not forget how many times she allowed the Ingalls to get by on credit on things. And i'm sure those debts were never repaid.
Simple music can make you sing simple hug can make you feel better and simple thing can make you happy, i hope my simple "Hello" bring smile on your face 😊
The best show ever made!! Katherine made the show w/ her craziness😂💥!! She was amazing actress!! They all were! Watched this show so much, I know the lines!( LoL)
It really turned Harriet into a real person. She had depth. I made you remember that, as fun as it was too see her get her comeuppance, we still didn't want to see people be mean to her. You still cared for Harriet.
I loved this show when I was young, and now, I record the reruns to watch on rainy days. It's one of the best wholesome shows they had on TV and brings back great memories. These clips were hysterical. Thanks! What I loved most about this show, there was always a great moral story behind every episode to be learned, and praising God, putting their trust in him, a God-fearing town. It was such a bummer to me when I found out about Michael Landon and how he mistreated Karen Grassle, who played his wife, Carolyn, not paying her enough money for her part, and she felt trapped being on the show, and the show would be nothing without her. She couldn't walk off the set and leave the show. I watched all her interviews, read her book, and what she said about the hard times he gave her and a few other actors, and it's hard to imagine him being like this, seeing he was such an icon. *The show wouldn't be the same without the great actors they had on it, especially Karen Grassele's role as Caroline.*
I agree. I just read the book, but I wish I had not. I would have preferred just having my happy memories, without the backstory. Because it was awful for both actresses behind the scenes. But in the books Ma wasn’t really involved and Harriet was a added character on the show. But after reading her book I realized just how awesome these actresses were. Especially since Karen was nothing like Ma.
I know! I can't imagine Michael Landon being this kind of person but I guess people can fool you! I feel so bad for Karen Grassle and for the other actors that had to deal with this kind of treatment, it wasn't right!
One of my favorite show when I was growing up. Mrs Olson and Nellie annoyed me so much. These clips brought back memories. 😂 Mr. Olson was a saint to deal with them. The Ingalls were my favorite family. ❤
My dear Katherine MacGregor. What an absolutely delightful character you put into Mrs Harriet Oleson. You and the Oleson family brought great family entertainment with every appearance.
I will always remember her speech to Nancy when she tried to convince her to be adopted. She talked about Nelly showing she knew what was really good and evil in her daughter, so in life too.
I loved the one where Nellie was faking like she was crippled and in a wheelchair, until Laura peeped her through the window doing the Macarena, so to get even, sbe pushed Nellie down this big ass hill and she rolled into tbe creek splashass right in front of Mrs. Olson.
@@hannahroberts673 LOL 😂 Here is an image you can picture in your mind Hannah. Pa in the little house playing his fiddle and Ma and the girls dancing the Macarena to his song! 😜
cant say anything else than , loved the whole entire serie all the chars , superb tv show , Mrs Olsen reminds me of my own mother in many many ways , both in the face and things she did . Katherine playes her brilliant , may the actors who have passed rest in peace , regards from sweden .
You ever see the episode where she says something to Mr. Edwards. And he mutters to himself after she leaves, "That woman could make a train take a dirt road".
I always loved when she gave it to Nellie! lol. She usually thought Nellie could do no wrong, but when she realized she did, she didn’t always let her get away with it! :)
Katherine MacGregor, when she was picked to play Harriet Oleson, they could not have picked a better actress. She was and always will be missed. There will never be another.
Change the setting to 2022 and you've got Mrs. Karen Oleson. At least she doesn't stand for cheating like the other Karens do. Oh, and how the heck did she predict The Sims? She is SO RIGHT about those digital characters that we love to torture on our computers! 🤣🤣🤣
Simple music can make you sing simple hug can make you feel better and simple thing can make you happy, i hope my simple "Hello" bring smile on your face 😊
Not if you read Alison Arngrim's memoir "Confessions of a Prairie Bitch." She said that 'she was not actually Mrs. Oleson incarnate, but my God, she was close.' However did DID say that Katherine, unlike Mrs. Oleson, was not prejudice.
Mrs.Olsen and spoiled Nelly were the characters you love to hate. But when you see them doing interviews, and other things, yout hate turned to love because they mastered the craft of acting so tastefully you were fooled into thinking, these two were actually bad to the bone!😂😂😂😂😂
