Karen Grassle, the interpreter of Caroline Ingalls, publishes an autobiography in which she denounces the degrading behavior of Michael Landon, alias Charles Ingalls.
A cult series. “The Little House on the Prairie” is undoubtedly one of the most famous series of all time. Between 1974 and 1983, viewers followed the daily life of the Ingalls family, 19th century American pioneers who came to settle in the village of Walnut Grove. Family adventures that have met with great success from the first season. Forty years after the end of the show, Karen Grassle, the interpreter of Caroline Ingalls publishes her autobiography “Bright Lights, Prairie Dust”. The opportunity for her to return to the filming of this cult series. An achievement that would not have been easy every day. The reason ? The odious behavior of the director Michael Landon, also interpreter of Charles Ingalls, who died in 1991. And the image of the benevolent father seems far from the reality of the film set.
According to Karen Grassle, the actor was a humiliating person who made “Vile sexual jokes”. “Mike was making disgusting jokes about smelling a woman after sex” she confides. In addition to its “Jokes” displaced, he did not hesitate to denigrate her and to make fun of her physique. But that’s not all ! Michael Landon would have simply refused to increase it to reach a “Fair wage”. The 74-year-old actress recalls that he estimated that her salary should be the same as that of the children in the show. “I felt insulted as a filming partner on the show. I didn’t want to rip anyone off, but I expected a fair wage (…) as a woman in the 1970s film industry, j I was so used to these humiliations that I never thought to reprimand him. I stayed professional. “. A rather toxic relationship that Karen Grassle did not seek to change, explaining that at the time, she was trying to get out of a problem with alcoholism.
A version confirmed by the interpreter of Nellie Oleson
Questioned by the Daily Mail, Alison Arngrim, the interpreter of Nellie Oleson confirmed this not very complimentary portrait by Michael Landon. “People still think of him as a nice, healthy farmer, but when you knew him he was mostly berserk, bad and dangerous,” she says. so we couldn’t really call him Charles Ingalls. “ The 59-year-old actress, however, clarified that he could also be “Hilarious and incredibly talented”.
Announced for years, “The little house on the prairie” will be entitled to its reboot. The film would be in production even if for the moment no date of diffusion, nor the composition of the cast have been revealed.