‘Little House On The Prairie’: 8 Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know

From the moment it hit the airwaves in 1974, the TV adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved Little House on the Prairie book series became must-see family viewing. Little girls begged for sun bonnets and prairie dresses, and big girls were busy making vintage-inspired Gunne Sax dresses for school dances and other formal affairs. The show proved a passion project for Michael Landon, who sought another surefire hit after rising to fame on the long-running Bonanza. Casting himself as the morally upright, fiddle-playing Charles “Pa” Ingalls, Landon was surrounded by spirited newcomers Melissa Gilbert (Laura Ingalls), Melissa Sue Anderson (Mary Ingalls), twins Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush (who shared the role of Carrie to skirt child labor laws). Erstwhile theater actress Karen Grassle signed on as Caroline “Ma” Ingalls. And though Little House usually offered viewers comforting, familiar and often instructive entertainment, the series also boasted secrets and silliness, before and behind the camera. Here are a few.