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Buzz Feed
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Patrick Labyorteaux Reflects On 'Little House' & Andy Garvey
One of the best parts of Little House on the Prairie is the memorable supporting characters. Who can imagine Walnut Grove without the Olesons or the Garveys? Season Four introduced us to Jonathan, Alice, and Andy Garvey, who became close friends with the Ingalls. To continue celebrating 50 years of Little House, I chatted with Patrick Labyorteaux about his audition, working with his brother Matthew [who played Albert Ingalls], Michael Landon, favorite episodes, and more! Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. BuzzFeed: You started Little House at the beginning of season four. Can you tell me about your audition? Patrick Labyorteaux: It was a pretty awesome experience. I'd been a fan of Little House because I was the same age as Melissa [Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura], and I loved watching a kid my age go on all these adventures. On a Wednesday, I had just watched an episode — I think it was "Bunny" or "The Race" — and that Thursday, my mom told me I had an audition for Paramount. I auditioned for Susie Sukman, the casting director. She said, 'I want you to read for Michael Landon,' and it turned out it was for Little House. I thought, 'Great, I love Little House!' They were shooting in Simi Valley that day, about 90 minutes from Paramount in Hollywood, so they put us on a bus. It was myself, my mom, and five other kids with their moms. We drove up there, and they had a base camp set up where all the big trucks and generators were in one area. We're coming up over this hill, and there's Walnut Grove, as we all know it, and under the main tree in the middle of the square was Michael Landon dressed up like Pa. Michael had this amazing ability to make you feel like he's just another guy, even though he's Michael Landon. We auditioned, and then he gathered all of us around. I was right next to him; he had his arm around me, and he goes, "I want to thank everybody for coming to read. We'll let everybody know as soon as we make our decision." We all started to leave, and he held on to me and leaned down. He goes, "You stay here," and he said it in a way where I felt I was in trouble! So everybody leaves. And he says, "Okay, you got the part, kiddo!" I couldn't believe it! I went to wardrobe, I tried on some outfits, and then I started work the next day. So Wednesday, I watched the show, and Friday, I'm on the show! What was it like filming your first episode, "The Wolves?" The next day after my audition, I was filming in the hay loft with Melissa, Melissa Sue, and the baby Carrie twins. At the end of the episode, I went around to say goodbye and thank everybody. Melissa [Gilbert] goes, "What are you doing?" I'm like, "It was great working with you!" She goes, "You're in the next episode!" I was told that I was on the show, but I understood that to mean I was on the show this week. I didn't know Andy Garvey was a recurring character. It was around a month before I realized that I had signed a contract, and I'm in a lot of episodes. I thought it would only be a couple episodes, but then it ended up being a few years. You had the unique experience of getting to act with your brother Matt. What was that dynamic like? (Laughs) He's my brother. Sometimes we'd get along, sometimes I couldn't stand his face. If you have a sibling, you know! The funny thing is, it was unique if it were any other show other than Little House. Melissa and Jonathan were brother and sister, and we had multiple sets of twins on the show with baby Carrie and baby Grace. A lot of the kids who were extras, like in the class and in the church, were children of the crew members. So on Little House, it actually wasn't unique to be on the set with another family member. Having said that, I was really happy that my brother and I got to do the show together. Getting to be on the same show and doing all of our press and appearances together was really helpful, for emotional support and for being under the gun. I remember we did this press tour where they flew us down to New Orleans. We were put in a hotel, and we did interviews for a couple of days. Back in the day, there wasn't Zoom — you would show up at a hotel, and they would interview all the NBC TV stars for the year. So we got to do those press junkets together, and it was always fun. My brother and I were adopted at different times; I was adopted at nine months old and Matt at ten months. The big question from the press was, "What was it like living in an orphanage?" It's like, I don't know, man, I was nine months old! So my brother and I would laugh about that. As far as working on the set, it was really great. If we ever had scenes together, we could rehearse at home, and that would save us time. I want to highlight a few specific episodes, starting with "Men Will Be Boys," where Andy and Albert go on an adventure in the woods. What are some thoughts you have on that episode? That's my favorite episode, mainly because it was with my brother and me. We shot it up in Sonora, up in Northern California. I loved Little House because it's about Laura going on adventures, and this time, Albert and Andy were going on an adventure! There's nothing better than going camping with a full Hollywood movie crew. You're out in the woods and you're camping, but they've brought everything. They're doing all the heavy lifting, but we get to benefit from it. We got to swim, we got to do all this stuff. The other reason why I love the episode is that Michael and Merlin [Merlin Olsen played Jonathan Garvey] were so funny in it. It was just us dudes hanging out on the set and working together. I loved Merlin, and Michael was an amazing inspiration as an actor, writer, and director. I really wish that Michael had done a comedy at some point, because he's really funny. I also love the scene at the halfway house! All the actors in there were really, really fun to work with. It is definitely my favorite episode. The next one I wanted to highlight is "The Cheaters," where Andy and Nellie cheat on their school tests. Well, firstly, Alison [Alison Arngrim portrayed Nellie] is a force of nature. If you see her at any kind of event, she's at 100% and I've never not seen her at 100%. When I first met Alison on the set, it was outside in Walnut Grove. She walked up to me, and she goes, "Have you seen Pink Flamingos [1972 film]?" And I go, "I don't know what Pink Flamingos is." She starts explaining about John Waters to me, and she was into all these independent movies. I always describe meeting Alison like she started talking to me as if we were in the middle of a conversation, and that conversation has never really stopped. She's the same person I met 50 years ago. The difference between Alison and Nellie was the same difference between Katherine MacGregor and Mrs. Oleson. When we were on set waiting to shoot, they were one type of person, and then when we were in the scene, they were a completely different person. For the most part, I think I was pretty much like Andy. I mean, I'm just a guy playing around and hanging out. Alison wasn't anything like Nellie, you know, Nellie was mean, and Nellie could be really manipulative. When we did the episode "The Cheaters," I remember thinking it was an episode where I had a lot to do. In many episodes, I didn't have a lot to do, but I was still on set all the time. It was really fun to work with Alison — no matter how hard my mom tried to be mean when we ran dialogue, it wasn't the same as how Alison would do it. The last episode I wanted to dive deep into is "May We Make Them Proud," with the fire at the school. That's a super dramatic episode, especially when you're watching it with the David Rose music! For me, it was a difficult period because Andy's mom, Alice Garvey, dies in the blind school. Then in the next episode, Jonathan and Andy move to another town, so I'm leaving the show. It was kind of a backdoor pilot that they didn't pick up. The idea was that Merlin would be the sheriff of a town, and I was going to be his son. The network said, "We want Merlin, but we don't want him as part of Little House." So they did the show Father Murphy, and had to cast a kid who looked just like me for that show. It's kind of sad because I was leaving Little House. When you're 15 and getting fired, even though you didn't do anything wrong, you're losing a job, and it sucks. The good news was that my brother was still on the show, so I saw all my friends whenever I could. We talked about a bunch of your co-stars, but can you tell me more about working with Hersha Parady and Merlin Olson? I got along great with Merlin and Hersha. Hersha played my mom, and I remember her being very motherly. It was sort of like my mom was on the set. I'm not a method actor at all, but I was a kid. If there's a lady playing your mom, I didn't try to avoid her, but like, I didn't want to be scolded, or I didn't want to be taken care of by two moms. Don't get me wrong, Hersha was amazing. As an actor, I loved doing scenes with her — she's got a great history, and she was really talented. But I was basically acting like a young boy having his mom on set. Merlin was a bit of a different story. My dad was really sick, and he was in the hospital all the time. I kind of needed that father figure, and I was looking to connect with Merlin. Merlin was an amazing guy who really took me under his wing. At the time, I didn't understand that he knew what was going on with my dad. I thought that I was getting away with getting an extra father for free, but he knew what was going on and was really sweet about that. What are you up to now? I'm a fan of your podcast! I'm still acting and writing screenplays, and I also started an acting school, Working Actors School. It's fully online; you can do it from anywhere. You don't have to be in Hollywood, and that's kind of the way the industry is now. It's for adults, it's for kids, and we have different classes for different age groups. It's a great school if you're looking to start out. The podcast started around the Working Actors School. I thought, "Well, how am I going to get people to know that the school exists?" A friend of mine said, "Why don't you try TikTok? Talk about your school, or put up some lectures or something." I did a couple, and on one of them, I told a story about, I think, Carol Burnett. I got like 400,000 views, and I had only been on TikTok a few weeks. I thought, "I'll just tell stories about people I've worked with!" Then reality hit, and I was telling stories, and they weren't all getting 400,000 views, but I could see the idea was working. I would also mention the acting school, and that was my idea of promotion. I realized I'm going to run out of stories, so I started talking to people that I've worked with. That's where the podcast came from. It's The Patrick LabyorSheaux with Patrick Labyorteaux. It's on YouTube and anywhere you get your podcasts. We talk about a person's career, their acting, and their experiences. I've had so much fun with it! It's been over 50 years since the show aired, and it's still so popular. Are you surprised by the fanbase Little House continues to have? I approach it from a couple of different angles. One, I'm a big science fiction and comic book guy. I understand the concept of a fandom, especially with shows like Lost, and also Star Wars and Star Trek. I get the idea of people connecting with Little House, especially since it was about something that really happened. I also think this recurrence got turbo-charged by the pandemic, and everybody found the show again. On a technical level, we shot on film, and so it's gorgeous. You can up-res to 16:9 because there's a film negative, which they've done to a lot of these episodes. Michael and I had lunch one day. Mike would eat with everybody, because he wasn't like one of those TV stars. He was just a guy on the show, and it just happened to be his show. We were sitting there, and we ended up being the last two people at the table. At the time, Mork and Mindy was a huge hit, and Robin Williams was breaking out, and you couldn't get away from it. I asked Michael, "Hey, are you worried about Mork and Mindy? It's huge!" They were on ABC, and we were on NBC, and I think we were going up against them. He goes, "No, not really." And I go, "But they're so cool!" He goes, "Our show is about the past. We're already predated. You'll be able to watch Little House in 50 years, and it'll still be on TV." He literally said that to me. What I didn't understand was the idea of reruns and syndication and, at that time, that meant being on local stations. There was no cable, there was no internet, but local stations would buy the shows and rerun them. The reality is, he was absolutely right. This type of show will always be able to be viewed because it focuses on interactions between humans. That's never outdated.
New York Post
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Melissa Gilbert reveals moment her birth father ‘knew' she was his child
After Melissa Gilbert's biological father saw her on television, he knew that the young actress was his child. The former child star, who played Laura Ingalls Wilder in 'Little House on the Prairie,' recently appeared on her co-star Patrick Labyorteaux's podcast, 'The Patrick LabyorSheaux.' She described what it was like getting in contact with her birth father after she welcomed her son Dakota in 1989. 'I didn't tell him who I was, and then he asked me, 'Well, who are you? What do you do?'' Gilbert recalled. 'And I said, 'Well, here's the thing… Did you ever watch 'Little House on the Prairie?' And he said, 'You're Laura, aren't you? I knew it.' He knew it.' 'He could see,' the 61-year-old shared. 'And when I met my half-siblings, we all looked alike. So you could definitely see it… It's pretty clear.' Labyorteaux, who was also adopted, said he had a similar experience. Like Gilbert, his birth mother died before he was able to find her. 'I never met her, but I met her family, who was a stepfamily,' the actor explained. 'She had three kids that she had inherited from the husband that she married. So, she had three kids, but they weren't her biological kids. She only had one biological kid… They would watch 'Little House' and when I would show up… because of my eyes, they would go, 'Oh, that's probably your kid.' And they would make fun of her like that… They were right.' 6 'Little House on the Prairie' actress Melissa Gilbert said her biological father saw her on television and knew she was his child. Getty Images for BAM 6 'He said, 'You're Laura, aren't you? I knew it.' He knew it,' Gilbert said about her dad. Courtesy Everett Collection Gilbert was adopted by actors Barbara Cowan and Paul Gilbert. Her biological parents were also in entertainment. According to the star, her birth mother was an exotic dancer and her father was a stock car racer and musician. 6 Melissa Gilbert in 'Little House on the Prairie' in 1974. Courtesy Everett Collection 'It was pretty clear that it was in me,' said Gilbert on pursuing showbiz. '… All the kids are performers on both sides of that family. So it was genetic and environmental.' 'They were each married to other people and had three children each and ran off together and conceived me on a motorcycle trip in the desert,' she said. 'Explains a lot. And then they left their spouses for each other and got married after [getting] pregnant with me and moved all the kids in, so I was number seven. So, the decision was made to put me up for adoption.' As Gilbert got older, she yearned to discover her roots. 6 'I realized there's got to be more,' the actress said about connecting to her roots after giving birth to her son. GC Images 'When I saw [my son Dakota] for the first time, I went, 'Oh my God, he had my eyebrows, and he had my lips, and I've never seen anyone that looked like me,'' said Gilbert. 'And then I realized there's got to be more.' Her family background wasn't the only thing that Gilbert faced after 'Little House' came to an end. In the podcast, she described how, as an adult, many fans still expected her to be Laura Ingalls. 'It was weird,' Gilbert admitted. 'I think people still, almost into my 40s, always kind of half expected a 12-year-old to come in with a fishing pole [and in] gingham. And that, at that time, to me, felt like a weakness.' Gilbert said it was a 'shock factor' when people realized that she was 'a full-grown adult with opinions and ideas that are smart and work.' For her, it was important to have an identity outside of Hollywood. 6 'I think people still, almost into my 40s, always kind of half expected a 12-year-old to come in with a fishing pole [and in] gingham,' Gilbert said about people wanting her to be Laura Ingalls. Courtesy Everett Collection '[As child actors] we either grow up super sheltered and don't know how to do things like wash dishes, or [be] super overexposed and exploited,' she said. Gilbert added that the second group are the ones that end up struggling with 'the big problems.' Keep up with today's most important news Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters So at age 22, she moved to New York City to appear in an Off-Broadway play. 'There I was at 22, living on my own with my cat and my dog in New York City, and completely unprepared to live on my own entirely. Completely,' she said. '… I had to figure out how to do so much stuff that I had no clue about,' she shared. 'Like, I didn't realize that you could break a $100 bill at a bodega, and you didn't have to go to a bank. It's little things like that… At one point, [I] let the dishes pile up in my sink so bad, and I didn't have a dishwasher, so I threw them out and bought new dishes. On my $700 a week salary at that point.' Still, Gilbert had fond memories of growing up on the set of 'Little House.' 'Our set was as kid-friendly as a set could be at that time,' she said. 'Even with all the adult shenanigans going on, we were sort of protected from a lot of that. I didn't know half the stuff that the grown-ups were doing until they started writing books about it.' Back in 2024, Gilbert told Fox News Digital she had to eventually leave Los Angeles to age gracefully. 6 'Our set was as kid-friendly as a set could be at that time,' Gilbert said about her time on 'Little House.' Courtesy Everett Collection 'I looked at myself in the mirror several years back,' the 61-year-old recalled at the time. 'I was living in Los Angeles, and I did not recognize who I was. I had overfilled my face and my lips. My forehead didn't move. I was still dyeing my hair red. I was driving a Mustang convertible. I was a size two in an unhealthy way. I looked like a frozen version of my younger self, and that's not who I was.' Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! 'I was stuck,' Gilbert admitted. 'I could feel myself fighting it. And I said to myself, 'It's time to age.' I had to leave Los Angeles to do that – not Hollywood – Los Angeles specifically.' Gilbert said she and her husband, actor Timothy Busfield, moved to his home state of Michigan following their wedding in 2013. They lived there for five years. She felt free to finally age. 'I stopped coloring my hair,' she explained. 'I had [my] breast implants removed. I decided to just be the best, healthiest version of myself without this pressure to look a certain way, and it paid off in a huge way.' 'I finally found my feet as a woman, fully, 100 percent strong in my own knowledge, in my own accomplishments. Everything got easier. And a bonus? I have a lot more free time not staring in a mirror, sitting in a dermatologist's chair, or sitting in a hair chair.' In 2019, Gilbert and Busfield purchased a rustic cottage on 14 acres in the Catskill Mountains. Life today is 'incredibly fulfilling,' she said. 'It's remarkable,' Gilbert gushed. 'I love being this age. There are things about it that are not a lot of fun. I don't like it when my ankles ache in the morning or my skin's drier. Aging is not for sissies, but it is certainly better than the alternative. And I've never felt better in my skin.'
Time of India
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Melissa Gilbert pays a tribute to Michael Landon on his 34th swath anniversary; says, 'Hard to Believe'
Melissa Gilbert pays tribute to her Little House on the Prairie co-star Michael Landon, 34 years after his death On Tuesday, July 1st, Gilbert reposted an Instagram carousel photo that featured glimpses into Landon's life, including a behind-the-scenes image of the Little House set where the two of them worked together. "Wow.". 34. Unbelievable," Gilbert, 61, wrote in the caption. She also had a message for Landon's family and said she was "thinking of and sending all my love" to his nine children: Mark, Josh, Cheryl, Leslie, Michael Jr., Shawna, Christopher, Jennifer, and Sean. The post originated at the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network to commemorate the anniversary of July 1, 1991, when Landon died. The group stated that Landon was the first public figure to make a public announcement about pancreatic cancer, drawing national publicity to the disease. "He wasn't just an icon of Hollywood — he was a father, a storyteller, a dreamer," the group explained. "And on the anniversary of his death, his family tells us how they keep his legacy alive." The post featured thoughts from some of Landon's kids. Shawna Landon said she still passes on his values: "I instill some of his strong beliefs in my children – to work hard, be a good human being and live each day to the fullest." Michael Landon Jr. highlighted that storytelling is an integral aspect of paying tribute to his father's legacy, and he has stated, "I love to create stories that honor my dad's legacy, emphasizing the importance of family and community." Leslie Landon Matthews also remembered her father's kindness and warmth. "My Dad was a very loving and affectionate man; he had a wonderful sense of humor and laughter always had a high priority in our household," she explained. "He took time to improve the lives of others and never was too busy to assist those in need. Landon, who played Charles Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie, was also the show's producer and directed numerous episodes. He passed away on July 1, 1991, at age 54 — three months after revealing that he had cancer.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Netflix's Little House on the Prairie Reboot Releases First Cast Photo as Filming Begins in Canada
Filming on Netflix's Little House on the Prairie is now underway in Canada — four months after the series was first greenlit — and with that milestone comes a photo of the full cast, at their first table read. Described as 'Part hopeful family drama, part epic survival tale, and part origin story of the American West,' Netflix's 'fresh' adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's iconic semi-autobiographical Little House books promises 'a kaleidoscopic view of the struggles and triumphs of those who shaped the frontier.' More from TVLine Boston Blue: Gloria Reuben Joins Blue Bloods Offshoot as Family Matriarch Rachel Brosnahan to Follow Up Superman With Presumed Innocent Season 2 Lead Jonathan Jackson's General Hospital Exit, Explained: 'The Hope Was to Stay On Longer' Alice Halsey, whose previous TV credits include playing daughter to Brie Larson in Apple TV+'s Lessons in Chemistry, will play wee Laura Ingalls, while Skywalker Hughes (Joe Pickett) will fill the role of older sister Mary. Filling the roles of Ma and Pa will be Crosby Fitzgerald (Palm Royale) and Luke Bracey (the Aussie star of 2015's Point Break remake), as Caroline and Charles. Jocko Sims (New Amsterdam) will play the 'generous and kind-hearted' Dr. George Tann, while Warren Christie (Alphas) will fill the role of John Edwards (a Civil War veteran 'who catches the eye of every single woman in the county'). Additionally, Meegwun Fairbrother (Burden of Truth), Alyssa Wapanatǎhk (Riverdale), Wren Zhawenim Gotts (Echo) and Xander Cole will form a family as a farmer named Mitchell, his 'opinionated' wife White Sun, their 'wildly imaginative' daughter Good Eagle and their 'good-hearted but bull-headed' son Little Puma. Rebecca Sonnenshine (The Vampire Diaries, The Boys) serves as showrunner on Little House and will executive-produce alongside Trip Friendly (son of original series EP Ed Friendly), Joy Gorman Wettels, Dana Fox and Susanna Fogel. Sarah Adina Smith (Lessons in Chemistry, Hanna) is set to direct the first episode. With production on the eight-episode Season 1 just getting underway in early June, no release date or premiere window has yet been announced. Want scoop on, or for any other TV show? Scrawl it in chalk on your classroom slate, or shoot an email to , and your question may be answered via Matt's Inside Line! Best of TVLine Young Sheldon Easter Eggs: Every Nod to The Big Bang Theory (and Every Future Reveal) Across 7 Seasons Weirdest TV Crossovers: Always Sunny Meets Abbott, Family Guy vs. Simpsons, Nine-Nine Recruits New Girl and More ER Turns 30: See the Original County General Crew, Then and Now
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Netflix's Little House on the Prairie Reboot Releases First Cast Photo as Filming Begins in Canada
Filming on Netflix's Little House on the Prairie is now underway in Canada — four months after the series was first greenlit — and with that milestone comes a photo of the full cast, at their first table read. Described as 'Part hopeful family drama, part epic survival tale, and part origin story of the American West,' Netflix's 'fresh' adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's iconic semi-autobiographical Little House books promises 'a kaleidoscopic view of the struggles and triumphs of those who shaped the frontier.' More from TVLine Boston Blue: Gloria Reuben Joins Blue Bloods Offshoot as Family Matriarch Rachel Brosnahan to Follow Up Superman With Presumed Innocent Season 2 Lead Jonathan Jackson's General Hospital Exit, Explained: 'The Hope Was to Stay On Longer' Alice Halsey, whose previous TV credits include playing daughter to Brie Larson in Apple TV+'s Lessons in Chemistry, will play wee Laura Ingalls, while Skywalker Hughes (Joe Pickett) will fill the role of older sister Mary. Filling the roles of Ma and Pa will be Crosby Fitzgerald (Palm Royale) and Luke Bracey (the Aussie star of 2015's Point Break remake), as Caroline and Charles. Jocko Sims (New Amsterdam) will play the 'generous and kind-hearted' Dr. George Tann, while Warren Christie (Alphas) will fill the role of John Edwards (a Civil War veteran 'who catches the eye of every single woman in the county'). Additionally, Meegwun Fairbrother (Burden of Truth), Alyssa Wapanatǎhk (Riverdale), Wren Zhawenim Gotts (Echo) and Xander Cole will form a family as a farmer named Mitchell, his 'opinionated' wife White Sun, their 'wildly imaginative' daughter Good Eagle and their 'good-hearted but bull-headed' son Little Puma. Rebecca Sonnenshine (The Vampire Diaries, The Boys) serves as showrunner on Little House and will executive-produce alongside Trip Friendly (son of original series EP Ed Friendly), Joy Gorman Wettels, Dana Fox and Susanna Fogel. Sarah Adina Smith (Lessons in Chemistry, Hanna) is set to direct the first episode. With production on the eight-episode Season 1 just getting underway in early June, no release date or premiere window has yet been announced. Want scoop on, or for any other TV show? Scrawl it in chalk on your classroom slate, or shoot an email to , and your question may be answered via Matt's Inside Line! Best of TVLine Young Sheldon Easter Eggs: Every Nod to The Big Bang Theory (and Every Future Reveal) Across 7 Seasons Weirdest TV Crossovers: Always Sunny Meets Abbott, Family Guy vs. Simpsons, Nine-Nine Recruits New Girl and More ER Turns 30: See the Original County General Crew, Then and Now
