David's Little House Star Profiles and Trivia

Chad Cowgill (Chad Christian) worked for Michael Landon a total of five times in a six year span. He was in two Little House episodes, two Highway To Heaven episodes and the movie Sam’s Son which Michael directed. Chad’s other appearances were on Quincy M.E., Lottery and Silver Spoons. His last acting job was on Adam 12 in 1990, never to be seen on the screen again.  

julmer70 wrote:

I take it your not a "Big Valley" fan?   

Yeah!  And I think I see "Truth or Consequences" sandwiched between Gunsmoke and Gomer! 

The Sheriff Was A Doctor Too!

F. William Parker is an actor who began his career in 1963 on General Hospital. Since then he has some 130 credits to his name. He was on Highway to Heaven and had parts on such shows as West Wing, NYPD Blue,  Eight is Enough and several major motion pictures.


He Was On One Episode of Little House As The Sheriff


He Also Diagnosed Debra Winger's Character in A Major Motion Picture

LeRoy Sweet Wasn’t So Sweet!

Leroy Sweet is an actor who worked for Michael Landon three times from 1981 through 1985. He was in Highway To Heaven in the episode “The Devil and Jonathon Smith” as The Baartender. He was in two Little House episodes. The Reincarnation of Nellie Part 1, and The Empire Builders. He also appeared on BJ and The Bear as a brawling barroom cowboy.

His last role was in 1992 on Boris and Natasha as the man in the pretzel line……..

Chez Lister was born on February 12, 1969 in Los Angeles County, California, USA. He worked for Michael Landon several times between 1981 and 1983.

Other credits included Little Nikita, Family Ties, Cagney and Lacey, and The Sky Is Gray.

He was in ten episodes of Father Murphy as Eli in 1982 and 1983. His last acting appearance was in Little Nikita in 1988.

One Episode Of Little House  

Darrell Zwerling was an American character actor in film and television He was born in Pittsburgh, Pa. in 1929. His most famous role was Hollis Mulwray--the unfortunate water authority commissioner in Roman Polanski's "Chinatown". From 1968 through 1991 he had 53 film credits.

He appeared in such programs as The Young and the Restless, Matlock, Dynasty, Murder, She Wrote, Hill Street Blues, and Cagney and Lacey to name a few.

He was in one episode of Father Murphy. He appeared in two episodes of The Red Hand Gang with Matthew Labyorteaux in 1977.

He died this year (2014) at the age of 84.

He was in one Little House Episode

Ralph Smiley was born on July 24, 1916 in New York City, New York. He was an actor, known for My Favorite Spy (1951), How I Spent My Summer Vacation (1967) and A Bullet for Joey (1955).

His acting career began in 1951 in movies after which he went into television. In the sixties and seventies he had roles in Rawhide, The Munsters, Get Smart, Ironside, Police Story, Quincy M.E., and Marcus Welby M.D., to name a few.

In 1977 he was in one episode of Little House, his last appearance.
In September of that year, he died at the age of 61 in Los Angeles.

Same Sets! Different Programs..............
Below Are Two Different Shots From Bonanza. Both at Paramount.........

Michael Utilized Same Sets For Little House
This is a Shot from Bonanza.......Main Street Winoka in Little House......
Dakota Hotel and Saloon are at left........


This was a shot of Virginia City in Bonanza......The Sleepy Eye Blind School at the end of the street.......Also was the exterior hospital Albert was diagnosed in for Look Back To Yesterday.............

Jim Antonio was born on January 27, 1931 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA as James Antonio. He is known for his work on Catch Me If You Can (2002), Pleasantville (1998) and Outbreak (1995).

His first appearance on the screen was as an oil field worker in Splendor In The Grass as an oil field worker. It was an uncredited role. Through 2007 he had a total of 105 credits both in movies and television.

He guest starred in the Waltons and was on one episode of Little House.

Currently 83 years old.


Walton's Appearance


One of the many guest stars that appeared both on The Waltons and Little House on the Prairie

You got that right!

The Miss Beadle of Walton's Mountain......................

Mariclare Costello (born February 3, 1936 in Peoria, Illinois) is a television, stage, and movie actress. She is a lifetime member of The Actors Studio. Costello's most notable role was Rosemary Hunter Fordwick, teacher, on the television series The Waltons, from 1972 to 1977. In 1977, after her role on the Waltons, she played matriarch Maggie Fitzpatrick on the short-lived drama show The Fitzpatricks.

Her first film appearance was in The Tiger Makes Out (1967). In 1970, she appeared on stage in "Harvey" at the ANTA Theatre, in New York City. She is also well remembered for her role as a hippie-vampire in the 1971 cult horror film Let's Scare Jessica to Death In the 1981  film Ragtime, she portrayed Emma Goldman in a scene that was ultimately deleted from the theatrical release, but still included on the DVD.

She was married to actor Allan Arbus until his death in 2013.

Some other appearances included Judging Amy, Chicago Hope, Lou Grant, Kojak, and the movie Ordinary People.

One Episode Of Little House


[

Holy Cow, I never realized that she was the same actress.

LIWnut wrote:

Holy Cow, I never realized that she was the same actress.  

That's the fascinating thing about character actors......

Ward Costello was born on July 5, 1919 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for General Hospital (1963), Missing (1982) and MacArthur (1977).
After World War II, he worked as a journalist and as foreign news editor for CBS. Subsequently trained for acting at the Yale School of Drama in Hartford, Connecticut, and at the Old Vic and the University of Birmingham in England. During World War II served in both the British RAF and the U.S. Army Air Corps.

He played characters in 2 movies that have Adm William Halsey. The Gallant Hours (1960) and Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970). In The Gallant Hours he played Captain Harry Black, Halsey's Chief of Staff. Halsey was portrayed by James Cagney. In Tora! Tora! Tora! his character of the Captain of the USS Enterprise is uncredited and is in the target practice scene with Halsey, portrayed by James Whitmore.

From 1957 through 1989, he had 42 credits both in television and on the big screen. Tendency to play a man of authority. Played a Senator on General Hospital, an Admiral on Star Trek, a Deputy Chief on Police Story, a Captain on The Streets of San Francisco, and General George C. Marshall in the movie MacArthur.  

He retired from acting in 1989.

He died on June 4, 2009 in Redlands, California, USA, a month before his 90th birthday

One Episode Of Little House

I always thought he was a babe...both he and the guy who played "Marco." Two cuties.   

Ever Wondered How They Make People Sweat In The Movies?

We all remember "Stone Soup" when Walnut Grove was in the throws of a heat wave.

Here's how they produced the sweat that Willie was suffering from...............

The sweat and tears our bodies naturally produce have a slightly different viscosity than ordinary water. Plain H20 doesn't bead on the skin the same way real sweat and tears do. You could use plain water to create stage sweat, but you'll find that it doesn't look as realistic as natural sweat. An old theater makeup trick is to mix glycerin and water together to produce a thicker fluid that looks more like real sweat. You can also use this mixture to make fake tears and even blood if you add a little red food coloring.

"The Rain Hadn't let Up For Two Months"........But There Was Sunshine!

Two Scenes From Gold Country................

Notice The Sunlight Hitting The Church...and The Blue Sky Above It! But It's Raining Hard At The Mercantile!


Sunlight Hitting The Mercantile


Typical Rain Machine On A Movie Set

That's great about the rain machine. You will also notice in "A Christmas They Never Forgot" that it's very sunny out the morning Hester Sue arrives with the wagon holding Mary and Adam, but it's supposed to be cold and stormy because it's snowing.

That Was A Pretty Sunny Snow Storm - California Style!


But! They Made Up For It In The End!

Good catches!

I seem to remember reading - or maybe we talked about it here - that the budget for the early shows was limited, so during winter scenes, they only showed the snowy scenes through windows and doorways, so that they wouldn't have to use acres of fake snow.