As a 19 year old with severe anxiety everyday I’m so grateful for LHOTP. It’s my natural antidepressant. The only show that calms me down after a bad anxiety attack. I love it so much ❤️
What a wonderful show. I loved watching it. Always made me feel very good. It's a shame the television standards aren't what they used to be. I rarely turn it on - there's so much garbage.
There was and never will I be a movie star like Michael Landon Sr. Most if not all of his movies had class. There was no cursing and foul words in his programs.
Betty T. Smith I had the good fortune to make a wrong turn back in the late 80's and drove right up to someone's front gate. I was trying to turn around, no easy feat in a minivan on a narrow drive, when a car pulled up behind me. My friend and I were sure we were going to get yelled at by an angry homeowner. As I worked on a 95 point turn, our kids turned around in the back and started giggling and making faces. I checked the rear view mirror and there was Michael Landon making silly faces at the kids! He was pretty good at it too because all four kids were laughing hysterically and so was he. Once I got turned around, I apologized for blocking his drive and he was so sweet about it. He said that, between me trying to turn around and the silly face contest with the kids, he had the best laugh he'd had in ages! My ten year old heart fell in love with him all over again! It wasn't until my girls were older and started watching Little House that it clicked in their heads that the "funny face man" was Pa Ingalls. I'm so glad they have that wonderful memory of that kind, sweet man.
Movies? You mean TV series. He was a genius- great actor, writer, director and producer for like 35 years straight- Bonanaza, LHTOP, Highway to Heaven. What a shame he chose to smoke 5 packs of cigarettes per day and drank booze every day, even on set. He would probably still be alive in 2018 had he never touched cigarettes. Guy lived a hard life with 3 wives and 8 or 9 kids.
Carl Mape ML knew what ppl wanted to watch and that family- friendly shows made money, but he himself was a heavy drinker, a serial adulterer, and an angry dad. Michael Landon was no Charles ingalls
Destroying the site of the LHOTP series was a huge mistake. It could have been a tourist destination for millions of people around the world who knew and followed this series and had beautiful memories with it. I am one of them.
Everything Michael Landon did, whether it was starring in, producing or directing, was pure gold. I think he wanted to show people what humanity should be like. The Golden Rule was somehow stitched into every episode
It does my heart so good to see the friendship and bond that Melissa and Dean have. It actually gets me a little teary eyed, like when she rests her head on his shoulder and he says, "That's familiar." You can tell that the cast was truly a family on and off set. And that makes the show all the more special to me.
They have a special friendship he very respectful of her as an actor, he knows acting across from her she was practically a tv veteran already and who the show and her pushed his career up and he always be Almanzo i mean ML knew what he was doing when hired him, he a handsome man gawd yep had a crush on him lol i be like lucky Laura lol. He knew the audience had to like him anf the real Almanzo was a bit dashing too though i do not think he was tall like Dean. But nice to see they can relate as adults now, yeh there was some nice chemistry going on. Melissa has said she was scared to work with him and tried to make him uncomfy loved to see him make mistakes, yeh he fond of her mean he gave her her first kisses on onscreen,then they had to act like a young passionate couple in front of millions lol. Dean seems to have taken on the ML agenda spokesman role for the show, he got ML hat that mike gave him.
Little House was filmed in Simi Valley....for three of those years, we lived nearby...also in Simi. ❤ One of the best family shows ever. 🌹 I wish they could have just left the set up for people to see. What a treasure that would have been.
I agree I thought is was a horrible Idea to destroy the entire set I have heard the reasons but I still think it was selfish and not really in the character of the Little house storyline . I think the school /church existed for a while but was destroyed later by fire occur in that area.
Once the show was over, the lease was up. They had to return the land to pre LHOTP state because the owners feared the cattle and wildlife would take over and that the buildings may catch fire. Was cheaper to blow them up as opposed to taking them down.
I agree..... people from all the world would come to visit the location. I live in Italy and I love this movie, I watch it over and over again.... I'd love to come and visit these places... It's my dream. They should have left the village the way it was because many people love it even after so many years..... ❤
@@nasciacito6651they are actually rebuilding some of the main ones for the 50th anniversary nd i think its only gonna be for 3 days in march 2024 when you can go to big sky movie ranch nd take the tour nd see exactly where the buildings were. I would love to go to that..i live in PA nd don't think id be able to afford it but thats going to be so awesome.
Alison Arngrim (Nellie) Said in an interview that Micheal Landon told her that he didn't want to see the set popping up in bad westerns and B horror flicks.
He also had a deal with the land owners to return it the way they found it. He didn't want to use tractors and this was a great way to give a final closure.
I don't know think Landon should've kept it as a piece of history. When I went to California saw the set of Bonanza and it was really nice to see as a tourist
Wow... just simply wow. I've watched this on DVD and it gets me every time. If I was Melissa Gilbert and I had the connection that she had with Michael Landon... I would have started to cry just by looking at the area where the house and barn use to be (there was a lot of Pa & Half Pint moments in that outside location). What would have really had me crying my eyes out is at 9:36 when they are looking at Michael Landon's hat. I would have lost it. I'm a Michael Landon Fan and just watching that part makes me cry. Michael Landon was one of the greatest actors ever. To me...when he was acting, he wasn't just putting on an act...I felt like he showed a part of who he really was as a person. A loving, caring, respectable, funny and down to earth person. I believe that separated him from other actors during his career and I believe it separates him from the actors of todays world. Michael Landon is a one of a kind and what he had, is something that can't be taught to the actors of today.
I'm Melissa Gilbert same age, but 21 days younger. She was born in May 8 and I was born in May 27. How wonderful it used be dreaming her dreams as Laura on Little House on the Prairie. Watching this made me cry missing this beautiful time of my life as 9 y.o. child. Thank you, and what a pity you had to delete the part 2 :(
Almanzo Was one of my favorites !!! I love his outlook and just him at the core!! What a great great show!! I grew up on it and my girls grew up on it too....we all still watch it together !! It will never get old.... it’s as classic as it gets!!! Warms my heart still !!💜
I actually cried a lot through this 2005 recording with the two of them. And thought it was amazing they found one post still standing of the corral by the little house near the barn. Wow
@@nicholaskoester7054 No, she didn't. That was Genie Francis (Laura of Luke and Laura on General Hospital) who married Riker, Jonathan Frakes. Melissa married Bruce Boxleitner then they divorced and she's now married to Timothy Busfield. I read her autobiography which was quite good.
I loved this show and still watch it today. It's on my cable channel. When I heard Micheal had passed even before I cried my heart out. As I watched this last show you knew it was an ending to a great show. I wished it would of picked up but it couldn't. It was meant to be what it was a capsule in time and life. Thank you for sharing your journey with us.
Awwww how I loved this show, they don't make good wholesome shows anymore, I grew up watching this show I have childhood memories, tears and more tears
I would have love to go tour the church/school house, mercantile, mill and the little house, Garvey , Edwards places and meet Melissa Gilbert, Melissa Sue Anderson , Karen grassle , Dean Butler and all the cast
Too bad they had to destroy all those memories. . couldn't leave it. .belong to a cattle ranch. .and it had to put back the same way it was. . if it could have been done another way they could have moved the movie set homes to a place where people can visit it..but I that wasn't possible. . it would have been a nice idea?
My favorite show as a kid, and now my 12 year old daughter watches it every day in reruns. Cassandra and James were introduced in yesterday's episode....
That's soo funny you wrote that, last week, I saw the 2 episodes that introduced James and Cassandra. I haven't watched the shows in years and now getting back into the show.
I absolutely loved this show. I am currently watching every episode of every year. This was such a wholesome family oriented show and it should be watched by current generations. God bless everyone who is still alive from this series.
Hester Sue is still alive I was just reading about her, she's about 83, she was/is a great singer and dating back a way she was on "Groucho Marx You Bet Your Life" Which can be seen free on here.
My favorite show I grew watching milissa gilbert alwahs looked towards sunday nights ingalls was like second family to me and when they had the 2 hour finale I was so upset cause I knew I lost a second family hope that they remake lhotp
@@yvonnespearing that's not true! They rented that land and had to leave it as they found it, so rather to dismantle them the story line was written so they blew it all up. But it was interesting, the only building that stayed intact was the church.
I was jealous that he won Laura’s hand ... lol In real life it was a long courtship... and Almonzo had serious competition from his chiseled better looking best friend, Cap... Somehow Almonzo won... Tragically, Cap died in an accident after the courtship. Got to feel bad for poor Cap Garland.. loses the girl, goes on with his life.. happy at least that his best buddy had Laura... then dies in an accident... right around the time his wife gave birth to his child... tough times. There was an episode in the series that paid homage to him.. very tragic... “God hates a coward” - Cap
Is Melissa and Dean best friends in real life ? I can never watch Little House too much because good,quality clean programs as this never goes out of style. Today’s programs are nothing except trash. I still watch little house everyday .
I still get tears in my eyes watching the scenes of them blowing up the town. I remember feeling like a part of me was lost watching the end of the show.
+singers333 It is a ranch that has cattle on it as part of the contract with the ranch they had to remove the buildings. The little house and the church was removed and placed somewhere else.
Not as many as you'd think. Look at places like Corner Gas, widely beloved show was filmed in an actual gas station. A couple years after the series finally there just wasn't enough business.
This makes me feel so emotional. Especially because was watching The Little House On The Prairie all day long and Laura & Almanzo are my favorite charcaters.
I grew up watching Little House. I live about an hour away from the movie ranch where the exterior portion of the show was filmed. I would love to walk through it , but I do not think that it is open to the public. Watching the actors do it was really nice. Thank you for posting.
I believe it's private property. Also a bad fire ravaged the area a few years ago so don't think it would be very recognizable. But I agree. I would absolutely love to walk through it (the town).
Rest in Peace Michael Landon, Victor French, Dabbs Greer, Kevin Hagan, Merlin Olsen, Richard Bull and Katherine MacGregor. I hope I didn't leave anyone out :))!
Megan B OMG. welcome home half pint.. just that sentence put tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat.. I never saw the finale but I'm sure it was a tearjerker.😰
Wow--this is touching. I'm crying. I want to see this for real. So sad there's no buildings to visit. I wish they hadn't blown up the buildings. Maybe one can be rebuilt. The fans will come. I will.
that imho would be a big mistake.Cause then it would be anybody's town. As a dedicated fan of the show i honestly want it to be the true fans town. Probably a little selfish but i realy wouldn't like to see the streets of Walnut Grove being loaded with one day tourists. Let's keep the beautifull memory of it alive by sharing it with people who are realy into LHOTP. Making it a theme park takes away a lot of the magic. But again, that's just a one persons opinion. Little House greetings from Holland!
I think that to build a house in the exactness of the original set house, as well as the town, is a great idea. It would be very much like the make-believe ponderosa ranch that once stood out in Nevada.
Melissa Gilbert looks so much better...and so much more real than she does in some later interviews. Here, she's a real person. In the interviews...she's like a stick doll!
ajuma55 Agreed. She never looked good with make up on. And the more makeup they put on her for the show, photo shoots and interviews the worse she looked. All she needed was some eyeliner and Melissa was set to go. They needed to make her look like a woman after meeting, "Manly" in the the beginning of the sixth season. She looks like a real woman here. Historically speaking, girls from her class (poor farmers) of the late 19th century DID NOT where makeup. It was considered whorish.
They had to had to show her looking more adult and not like a child. Need to remember in that time 15/16 was considered adult. Plus Laura started teaching at 16 so she couldn't continue wearing twin braids. It was too childish. Though I do agree they could have made the make up look more natural.
I have been watching it since I was a little girl. When I moved to the states from Canada I have rewatched it because I was lonely. And I have since rewatched it all a few times since Covid-19. It’s the only show that gives me peace. It will always be my favorite show forever. My mother introduced me to it when I was a little girl and I was hooked.❤️
Michael Landon has created something so big! This show, his legacy, has touched so many generations and will touch many more in the future! R.I.P. dear Michael! You'll always be blessed with love ❤
I love this Show so much!!!!! I have season 1 and 2, my parents just need to get me the rest of the seasons though!!! At least they still show re-runs on hallmark. 😘➡️🎥🏡
Excellent presentation of the feelings and insights to the series that millions cherish and enjoy in even larger numbers, world-wide even now "iconic". Manly and Laura are in all of our hearts.
EVERYONE WHO COMMENTED SHOULD GET A KICK OUT OF THIS: I WATCHED 'LITTLE HOUSE' EVERY WEEK... until it got to 'A NEW BEGINNING', which was around the time I got married. THE COMICAL THING WAS THAT EVERY EPISODE SAID "BASED UPON THE "LITTLE HOUSE" SERIES OF BOOKS WRITTEN BY LAURA INGALLS WILDER." BUT, it wasn't until Laura & 'Manly' GOT MARRIED THAT I MADE THE CONNECTION!!!! That brought back to me the time Laura told her family that some day she was going to write a book all about their little house on the prairie. AND, SADLY, I remember when an episode in December 1980 was interrupted by a NEWS BULLETIN. My nephew and I were watching LHOTP, and we were p*ssed about the interruption, until they said that JOHN LENNON had been shot, AND a few minutes later they announced that he was dead. BUT, LHOTP WAS AN EXCELLENT SHOW!!!! AND, it you have NOT seen the t.v. movie THE MIRACLE WORKER, starring MELISSA GILBERT as Helen Keller, AND PATTY DUKE as Ann Sullivan (in the early 1960s motion picture of THE MIRACLE WORKER, Patty Duke played the part of Helen Keller! Miss Duke won an OSCAR AWARD for that, and she was 13 or 14 years old!!!), If you have NOT seen the t.v.movie of it, FIND IT, AND WATCH IT!!! IT WAS MADE BY "HALF-PINT PRODUCTIONS", owned by MELISSA GILBERT!!!!!!! YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!!!!!!!
The first truck I ever owned was a 1975 Ford F150. I named it Laura. After Laura Ingalls. I had a major crush on her when I was growing up. Any girl who climbed and liked to fish was the marrying kind I used to say
That was so sweet of Dean Butler to bring Michael Landon's hat to Melissa. She loved Michael like crazy. She even named her second son after him. He really was a father to her. She'd go to his house on weekends sometimes and hang around with his kids, and Michael and his then-wife Lynn were like her parents. They had a period of estrangement after Michael dumped Lynn for Cindy, who was much younger than he and a stand-in on LHOTP. (Ironically, Michael had previously dumped his first wife for Lynn, who was a stand-in on "Bonanza.") That really hurt Melissa and she didn't have much contact with him for a while, but they reconciled, and she was really hit hard by his death.
It was private property on a working ranch with cattle. The choice was bulldoze it or blow it up. Fire would have been out of the question is Southern California.
For me... this show truly is "going home".... for I grew up watching this series from my grandfather's house out in the country. Everything about this show... from the music during the introduction, to the beloved characters, to the scenery itself... automatically transports me back across the years and miles to a much simpler place and time where I gathered with the family to watch Little House on the Prairie... a show that we all waited for and very much loved! So for me, it brings back nostalgic and emotional memories of time gone by and of those no longer with us... both on screen... and off. 😢
Yes, it's strange how for so many people this village is home. I live in Italy, but if I could choose a place where to live, I would choose Walnut Grove. I watch it every day, over and over again. For me, it's my home and every time I watch the last episode, I cry... I can't understand why, but it happens every time.... It's so sad to see my village getting destroyed.... So many memories, I feel I really lived my life and my childhood there.... It's a strange feeling. It's the only movie I really love watching and it makes me feel feel better....
I cracked up when she said she was always running and yelling.I was just thinking the same thing.She would be sent to get help,arriving out of breath trying to explain something.
the owners could have made millions running tours if they would have left it up,if not Michael should have asked them could they put up beautiful signs where everything was in each spot.Guess he did not think to do that.Sad.I remember being out in CAILIFORNIA before they tore it down and the owners let my Mom and I walk through it.
Her story about Landon's creature living behind the door LOL. Those are the kinds of memories you can thrive on. Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.
I saw little house on the Prairie play/ musical at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey , I think March, of 2009 . Melissa Gilbert was in it as well.. it was THE best performance I had ever seen! Phenomenal! I never knew. Melissa Gilbert was such a great singer!
Melissa Trower I am sure it was good and if it came to Toronto I am sure my whole family would have seen it. However, they should have left alone. 9 good perfect seasons. You don't mess with a legacy like that.
I was sad when thy ended it this way. That meant they could never make a tv movie in the future to give us back this special show once in a while. I still watch it every day on tv.
Too bad they had to destroy all those memories. . couldn't leave it. .belong to a cattle ranch. .and it had to put back the same way it was. . if it could have been done another way they could have moved the movie set homes to a place where people can visit it..but I that wasn't possible. . it would have been a nice idea?
Now that I think about it, I sort of understand why they had to burn down the Blind school... Because Michael Landon didn't want anyone to use the set or other things. It was a beautiful & big house. It is so sad, I loved that house.
me and my sis had a big to do when it was the last episode (town blowing up), we had all sorts of covers and pillows and got comfy by the couch. Its a wonderful memory as are the messages the show brought to us. I was raised on this show, its telling nowadays.
This made me cry. I grew up watching this. I also remember watching Little House reruns with my daddy when he took his last breath in 2006. I was sitting there thinking all the times we watched these shows together and he passed while we were watching.
Little House was and still is my favorite show of all time. I have been watching reruns two and three times. I would love another show like to his one but it wouldn't make it in 2020.
I think it would make it. I hear that the show is more popular now than it was back in the day. There is something about the traditional values it portrays that people are hungry for. I think shows like this would be highly success nowadays.
