Original ‘Little House On The Prairie’ Stars Then And Now

More than 50 years after the premiere of “Little House on the Prairie,” Netflix is rebooting the series. Where are the original cast members from the classic TV show?

Little House on the Prairie, of course, is the family drama based on based on famed author Laura Ingalls Wilder’s book series about her life growing up in the Midwest. The series Little House on the Prairie — which is based on Wilder’s third book of the same name — is set on her family’s farm in Walnut Grove, Minn.

The series kicked off in March of 1974 with the airing of the pilot episode on NBC and began its official run in September of 1974. In total, the original Little House on the Prairie ran for nine seasons consisting of 204 episodes, from 1974 to 1983.

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Little House on the Prairie stars Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls and Michael Landon and Karen Grassle as her parents, Charles and Caroline Ingalls, while Melissa Sue Anderson plays the oldest daughter in the Ingalls family, Mary.

In addition, twin siblings Sidney Greenbush and Rachel Lindsay Greenbush share the role of the second-youngest daughter, Carrie, and twins Wendi Turnbaugh and Brenda Turnbaugh play the Ingalls’ youngest daughter, Grace.

Other prominent cast members in Little House on the Prairie include Allison Arngrim as Nellie Oleson, the antagonistic daughter of general store owners Harriet (Katherine MacGregor) and Nels (Richard Bull). Matthew Labyorteaux also starred in the series as Albert Quinn Ingalls, who was adopted by the Ingalls family, as did Dean Butler as Laura Ingalls’ future husband, Almonzo Wilder.

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On Friday, Netflix announced the core cast of the streamer’s Little House on the Prairie reboot, with Alice Halsey starring as Laura Ingalls. In addition, Luke Bracey and Crosby Fitzgerald have been cast as Charles and Caroline Ingalls, while Skywalker Hughes will play Mary Ingalls.

Here’s a look at where some of the core cast members of Little House on the Prairie are now.

Melissa Gilbert (Laura Ingalls)

After the Little House on the Prairie series ended in 1983, Melissa Gilbert reunited with several of her castmates for three TV movies: Little House: Look Back to Yesterday in 1983 and Little House: The Last Farewell and Little House: Bless All the Dear Children in 1984.

Gilbert also appeared in several guest roles after Little House on the Prairie, including Fairie Tale Theatre (1985), Babylon 5 (1996), The Outer Limits (1998), Touched by an Angel (1998) and Nip/Tuck (2006), and starred in the series Sweet Justice (1994-1995) and had a recurring role in the Secrets & Lies (2015).

More recently, Gilbert starred in the TV movie Hometown Christmas (2018) and the feature film When We Last Spoke (2019). This year, Gilbert had a guest role in the series When Calls the Heart.

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In addition to her screenwork, Gilbert has appeared in several stage productions, including a musical version of Little House on the Prairie.

Gilbert played “Ma” Caroline in the production, which was previewed in 2008 in Minneapolis and toured the U.S. from 2009-2010. In February, Gilbert joined fellow actor Mark Moses for the Off-Broadway production of Still in New York City.

Gilbert also served two two-year terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 2001 to 2005. In 2010, Gilbert published her autobiography Prairie Tale: A Memoir.

Karen Grassle (Caroline Ingalls)

Following the Little House on the Prairie series, Karen Grassle reprised her role as Caroline Ingalls in Little House: The Last Farewell in 1984.

Grassle also appeared in guest roles in the TV series Hotel (1983) and Murder, She Wrote (1987 and 1988), and also starred in such films as Wyatt Earp (1994), Tales of Everyday Magie (2012) and Not to Forget (2021).

Like Melissa Gilbert, Grassle has appeared in several stage productions, appearing in plays in Santa Fe, N.M., San Francisco, Fredricksburg, Va., and Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Grassle published her memoir Bright Lights, Prairie Dust: Reflections on Life, Loss, and Love from Little House’s Ma in 2021.

Melissa Sue Anderson (Mary Ingalls)

During her time on Little House on the Prairie, Melissa Sue Anderson also starred in the 1976 television movie The Loneliest Runner, Michael Landon’s semi-autobiographical tale written and directed by her fellow Little House star.

After Little House on the Prairie, Anderson appeared in several guest roles in such series as Hotel (1984 and 1985), Murder, She Wrote (1984), The Equalizer (1987), X-Men: The Animated Series (1993 and 1994) and Burke’s Law (1994).

Additionally, Anderson starred in several films, including Far North (1988) and Dead Me Don’t Die (1990). Anderson’s latest film appearance came in 2018’s The Con is On.

In 2010, Anderson published her autobiography The Way I See It: A Look Back at My Life on Little House.

Michael Landon (Charles Ingalls)

Less than a decade after wrapping up the Little House on the Prairie series, Michael Landon died of pancreatic cancer on July 1, 1991, at age 54.

Prior to Little House on the Prairie, Landon played guest roles on more than two dozen series and starred in a handful of films including the 1957 horror classic I Was a Teenage Werewolf. Landon landed his breakthrough role as “Little Joe” Cartwright on the legendary series Bonanza, appearing in all 14 seasons and 430 episodes of the TV Western through 1973.

In addition to Little House on the Prairie, Landon also starred in the television films Little House: Look Back to Yesterday in 1983 and Little House: The Last Farewell and Little House: Bless All the Dear Children in 1984.

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Following Little House on the Prairie, Landon starred as Jonathan Smith in the hit TV fantasy series Highway to Heaven for five seasons from 1984-89. The series also starred the late Victor French, who starred as Isaiah Edwards in a recurring role on Little House on the Prairie from 1974-1983.

In addition to writing and directing his semi-autobiographical TV movie The Loneliest Runner in 1976, Landon directed 89 episodes of Little House on the Prairie and 94 episodes of Highway to Heaven.

Landon’s last screen appearance came in the 1991 TV movie Us, which he also wrote and directed.

Allison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson)

Following her work on Little House on the Prairie, Allison Arngrim starred in such TV projects as I Married Wyatt Earp (1983) and the feature films The Last Place on Earth (2002) and Make the Yuletide Gay (2007).

In 2018, Arngrin appeared in the comedic short film Livin’ on a Praire, as a counselor dealing with a woman obsessed with the Little House on a Prairie TV series.

In 2010, Arngrin published an autobiography about playing the spiteful Little House on the Prairie character called, Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated.

Matthew Labyorteaux (Albert Quinn Ingalls)

Matthew Labyorteaux joined Little House on the Prairie during Season 3 in 1976 and appeared in 88 episodes through the show’s final season in 1983.

After Little House on the Prairie, Labyorteaux appeared in the TV movie Little House: Look Back to Yesterday in 1983 and starred in the adventure series Whiz Kids from 1983-84). Matthew Labyorteaux’s brother, Patrick Labyorteaux, also had a recurring role on Little House on the Prairie, appearing in 44 episodes throughout the show’s run as Andrew “Andy” Garvey.

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Matthew Labyorteaux also appeared in several guest roles after Little House on the Prairie, including such series as Simon & Simon (1983), Highway to Heaven (1985), Amazing Stories (1985), Hotel (1988) and Night Court (1989).

In addition, Labyorteaux had voice roles for Pokemon the Movie: Destiny Deoxys (2004) and GI: Sigma 6 (2005-06) and a regular voice role in the series Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (2004-08). Labyorteaux has also done voices for Yu-Gi-Oh! and Star Wars: The Old Republic video games.

Dean Butler (Almonzo Wilder)

Dean Butler joined Little House on the Prairie in Season 6 in 1979 to play Almanzo Wilder, the future husband of Laura Ingalls.

After Little House on the Prairie, Butler reprised Almanzo for the TV movies Little House: Look Back to Yesterday in 1983 and Little House: The Last Farewell and Little House: Bless All the Dear Children in 1984.

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In addition, Butler appeared in guest roles in such series as Fantasy Island (1983 and 1984), Who’s the Boss? (1984), Hotel (1985 and 1986) and starred in the comedy series The New Gidget (1986-88) opposite Caryn Richman (both pictured below in 2021). Also, Butler had a recurring role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer from 1997-2002.

Butler has also worked on documentary content on Little House on the Prairie, including 2015’s Little House on the Prairie: The Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder, which he directed and narrated.

In 2024, Butler published his memoir Prairie Man: My Little House Life & Beyond.

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