David's Little House Star Profiles and Trivia

Much has been said about the destruction of Walnut Grove at the end of the series. There were MANY reasons for it as Kent McCray pointed out. Melissa Gilbert stated several times that Michael didn't want the sets used by anyone else.

Below, is a good example of what she was talking about. This is the Walton's home. It was used for many shows after The Walton's ended. They merely alter it a little and probably no one noticed. It was used several times on Mayberry RFD after The Waltons was no longer in production....

Did I miss Eileen Heckart on your list on page 1? She played Amanda Cooper in Dance With Me.

LIWnut wrote:

Did I miss Eileen Heckart on your list on page 1?  She played Amanda Cooper in Dance With Me.  

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Norma Ransome was born on October 14, 1914 in Chicago, Illinois. She was an actress, that had a very brief acting career.  She was married to Arthur Peterson Jr.. He was a popular figure on the television program SOAP. He played The Major. Pictured below.

She died on September 24, 1998 in Pasadena, California at 83 years of age.

She was in That’s O’Toole in 1949, The Bionic Woman in 1976 and her last appearance was in 1982 on Little House….One Episode.

Noni White is an actress and a writer. Some of acting appearances included 7th Heaven, Hunter, Toughlove, Falcon Crest and Taxi.

She wrote screenplays for 102 Dalmations, Tarzan, and The Lion King to name a few.

She was on one Little House Episode

Michele Marsh was born as Michele Noelle Buhler. She is an actress, known for Fiddler on the Roof (1971), My Name Is Khan (2010) and A Memory in My Heart (1999). She has been married to Peter Szabadi since May 15, 2005.

She has also done commercials for such companies as  Home Depot; Kodak; Maxwell House Coffee and TJ Max.

Since 1971, when she appeared in the movie Fidler On The Roof as Hodel, she has had over 45 film credits to her name. They include Desperate Housewives, The West Wing and Star Trek to name a few.

She worked for Michael Landon in two productions. She played Barbara Hopkins in a Highway To Heaven episode entitled Choices in 1989.

One Little House Episode in 1982.

J. Edward McKinley was born on October 11, 1917 in Seattle, Washington, USA. He was an actor, known for The Party (1968), Advise & Consent (1962) and The Angry Red Planet (1959). Played a client for McMahon and Tate on the television show Bewitched (1964) 10 times.

Beginning in 1959, he had 89 credits to his name. They included Bret Maverick, Eight is Enough, Airport 1975, Gunsmoke, Irosnside, Batman and Bonanza to name a few. His last screen appearances were for Michael Landon.

He died on July 30, 2004 in Beverly Hills, California. He was 86.

He appeared in one episode of Highway to Heaven as Charlie in Jonathon Smith Goes To Washington.

He was in three episodes of Little House.
What Ever Happened To The Class of 56 – 1980 – The Conductor
Darkness Is My Friend – 1980 – The Conductor
Rage – 1982 – Mr. Phillips

Long before The Monster of Walnut Grove, The Swamp Thing and The Evil Hulk Visited The Prairie!

Comments on being a stuntman……..
“I was very fortunate, being 6' 5". There was a time I throw a standing backflip off the ground. I was blessed with some modicum of agility. It's an art. The idea is to do it and not get hurt, but to make it look like you've been wiped out. Anybody can hit the ground. The idea is that if you have to get up and do it again, you do it the same way. It's acting with your body.”


Big, brawny, and imposing actor and stuntman Dick Durock was born on January 18, 1937 in South Bend, Indiana. The fourth of five children; he grew up in South Bend, Indiana and New Jersey. After serving a stint in the Marine Corps and briefly working as a computer programmer, Durock went to Hollywood to eke out a career in show business. He eventually amassed hundreds of credits in both movies and TV series alike (Durock sometimes worked on two different shows in the same day). Durock began his career in 1967 as the stunt double for Guy Williams on the final season of Lost in Space (1965). He also doubled for both Buddy Ebsen and Max Baer Jr. on The Beverly Hillbillies (1962). With his rough face, large, strong, muscular build and towering 6' 5" height Durock was usually cast as mean thugs who get beat up by the hero. Durock achieved his greatest enduring cult popularity with his excellent portrayal of the titular kind-hearted mutant superhero in Wes Craven's delightful Swamp Thing (1982). He reprised the part in the amusingly campy sequel The Return of Swamp Thing (1989) and the spin-off cable TV series, Swamp Thing (1990). Durock's other memorable roles include one of the terrorists in The Enforcer (1976), the bare knuckle brawler who fights Clint Eastwood at the start of Any Which Way You Can (1980), pie-eating contest champion "Bill Travis" in the charming Stand by Me (1986), and a hostile redneck hunter in the notorious turkey Howard the Duck (1986). Among the films Durock has performed stunts in are Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995), License to Drive (1988), The Monster Squad (1987), Heat (1986), Runaway Train (1985), The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982), Bronco Billy (1980), 1941 (1979), Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (1975), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Hammer (1972) and Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972). Durock had guest spots on such TV shows as Star Trek (1966), Baretta (1975), Quincy M.E. (1976), The Rockford Files (1974), Little House on the Prairie (1974), The Incredible Hulk (1978), The A-Team (1983), Magnum, P.I. (1980), Falcon Crest (1981), The Fall Guy (1981), Knight Rider (1982), Married with Children (1987) and Dynasty (1981). He played the "Imperious Leader" on the science fiction series, Battlestar Galactica (1978). He was a proud and active member of the Stuntman's Association of Motion Pictures for over 20 years. Durock lived in Southern California with his wife Jane and made frequent guest appearances at movie conventions held all over the country.

He died after a long battle with Pancreatic Cancer at age 72 on September 17, 2009 in Oak Park, California.

One Episode of Little House

James Shigeta, a top Asian-American actor of the early 1960s who starred in the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Flower Drum Song, died Monday in the Los Angeles area, publicist Jeffrey Leavitt announced. Family members said he was 85.

The handsome Hawaiian, who later appeared as the ill-fated chief executive of the Nakatomi corporation in the Bruce Willis action film Die Hard (1988), had a great two-year run in Hollywood starting in the late 1950s.

Shigeta made his feature debut in Sam Fuller’s Los Angeles-set noir The Crimson Kimono (1959), playing a young detective, and followed that by portraying a young Chinese man in the American Old West who battles a freight line operator (Jack Lord) over a woman in James Clavell’s Walk.

Born: June 17, 1929, Honolulu, HI
Died: July 28, 2014, Los Angeles, CA

He was in episode of Little House
"To Live With Fear"

Mr. and Mrs. Rooney

George Dickerson was born in July of 1933 in Topeka, Kansas. His television career began in 1979 the television series "A Man Called Sloan". He made subsequent appearances in House Calls, Charlies Angels, Hill Street Blues, B.J. and the Bear and The Greatest American Hero to name a few. In 1982 he was in Father Murphy in the episode "In God's Arms" as Mr. Wade. Twenty years after breaking into television, he made his last appearance in "A Stranger In The Kingdom" as Sheriff Mason Wade.    

Barbara Beckley began her acting career in 1980. She had twenty three credits before she left the screen in 1997. They included Lou Grant, Dynasty, Matlock, and Dallas to name a few. She was in one Highway To Heaven episode entitled "Friends" in 1986 as Mrs. Bates. Her last appearance was in Port Charles in 1997.

They both appeared in one episode of Little House.
They adopted Michael and Josh.

Mr. and Mrs. Dalton

E.M. Margolese was born in July of 1920. His first appearance on television was on a TV series called “Encounter”, way back in 1950. Way back in 1955. He had 17 credits as an actor throughout the next forty four years. His last television appearance was in 1999 in a series called “Due South”.
He passed away at the age of 80 in Canada on June 16th, 2001.

Bea Silvern was born in March of 1926. She had 29 screen appearances, mostly television in career that lasted for forty two years.  They included The Untouchables, Police Woman, Charlie’s Angels, CPO Sharkey, Eight is Enough and The Jeffersons to name a few. She was in one episode of Highway to Heaven as Miss Wilson in Jonathon Smith Goes To Washington. She also appeared in Dallas as Sarah Ewing in 1987 and 1989.

She passed away in August of 2013 at the age of 87 in Los Angeles.

Both appeared in one episode of Little House

Mr. and Mrs. Wilder

Woody Eney was born in June of 1937 in Canberra, Australia. His first television appearance was in 1976 in Ryan’s Hope. He had 57 credits to his name through 1993 with his last role in Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey. Other appearances during his seventeen career included Roots, Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Eight is Enough, The Waltons, Dallas, Falcon Crest and Family Ties.

Aileen Fitzpatrick had her first television role in 1975 in a TV movie entitled F. Scott Fitzgerald in Hollywood. She followed that up with roles in Eight is Enough, Lou Grant, Knots Landing, Cagney and Lacey and Cheers. Her last role was in 1995 in the TV series VR.5 as a nurse.

Both were in one episode of Little House

Mr. and Mrs. Dortmunder

Richard Donat was born in June of 1941 in Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada. He is known for his roles in Canadian and American television. He is currently into his fourth season as a cast member of the Canadian-American TV series, Haven. Donat is the younger brother of Peter Donat and the nephew of British actor Robert Donat.

Richard’s brother, actor Peter Donat was married to Michael Learned of
Walton’s fame from 1956 through 1972. The marriage ended in divorce.


Donat has had a long career playing character roles mainly on television, though he has had minor roles in films such as The Weight of Water and Amelia. He has also narrated several documentaries, including a number of Nova episodes.

Among his TV appearances Donat was Doctor Burnley in the Canadian television series Emily of New Moon from 1998 to 2000. He played Colonel Boyle, the fort commander in the Canadian comedy series Blackfly for its two seasons, 2001-2002. Currently he plays Vince Teagues, one of the editors of the local newspaper in the town of Haven from the TV series of the same name. Although Haven is supposed to be in Maine, the series is filmed in Nova Scotia where Donat hails from.

In 1984 Donat won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for "Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Leading Role" for his work in Brecht's In the Jungle of Cities. In 2007 he won a Merritt Award for "Outstanding Performance - Supporting Actor" for his role in Sam Shepard's Fool For Love.

Richard Donat is also a director and won the Mecca Award in 2004 for his direction of The Drawer Boy.

As of 2014, his last project was "Lure” which is now in post- production.

Mary Hamill was born in December of 1939 in Flushing, New York. She was an actress in nine productions from 1977 through 1989. They included Logan’s Run and Quincy M.E.. She was also the dialogue coach in the TV series Annie McGuire from 1988 through 1999. During the last two years she was in Knick-Knacks and Winter Rye, two short subject films.

Both were in one episode of Little House

Mr. and Mrs. Phipps

Hugh Warden was born in January of 1914 in Oklahoma. He began a brief acting career that consisted of 19 credits in 1966 in the TV series Perry Mason. Seven years later he came back to the screen the movie “Tom” and followed that up with appearances in ABC Afternoon Specials, Death Wish II, and the TV series Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. His last appearance was in 1986 in Beyond The Next Mountain.

He died in Los Angeles in February of 1986 at the age of 72.

Delores Albin, also had a brief acting career. Her first role was in the TV series Thicker Than Water in 1973. Other appearances included Flo, WKRP in Cincinnati, Father Murphy , Happy Days and Night Court. Her last role was in Sisters in 1994.
She was in one Little House Episode.

Hugh Warden appeared in two Little House Episodes. He was a ticket Agent in The Empire Builders in 1982. One year earlier he was in I Do Again as Mr. Phipps.  

Small Parts And A Very Short Career

Lorrie Blower worked for Michael Landon in three productions and disappeared from the acting scene.

A Little Movie Trivia!



 In the spring of 1983, Michael and the crew were working on writing three "Little House" TV-movies that would wrap the series--and in an unusual way for the series to end. Three scripts were written and approved by NBC. They were "Look Back to Yesterday", "Bless All the Dear Children", and "The Last Farewell". The final film, "The Last Farewell" was written and directed by Michael Landon.

      They were all filmed back-to-back in June and July of 1983. Post-production was from August through October 1983, with the network slotting them for airplay some months ahead. "Look Back to Yesterday" was aired on December 12, 1983, with Albert Ingalls contracting a rare and deadly blood disease.  However, Albert survives the ordeal as Michael didn't believe in killing off good characters on his show. The silence of film explains it perfectly. Not to mention he and Matthew Laborteaux were very close, like father and son.

      "Bless All the Dear Children" was the second television movie made and later aired on December 17, 1984. Laura and Almonzo's infant, Rose Wilder, is abducted by a woman, but all turns out well at the end of the story.

      "The Last Farewell" was the third and final television movie made and later aired on February 6, 1984. In the climax, the townspeople blow up all the buildings in Walnut Grove, to keep greedy land developers from building on their land. Only the church and the Ingalls' homestead remained intact on the property. The final scene has white rabbits outside the house, that the Carter's children were raising in the story.

 

His Brother Was On Gilligan's Island!

Ken Johnson, birthdate unknown, is an actor who was in 27 titles from 1966 through 2004. He was an imposing figure that often played bully types because of his size. He appeared in such movies as 1000 Corpses, Massacre at Shelton High, So I Married An Axe Murderer and The Killing Stone.

His Brother was Russell Johnson of “Gilligan’s Island fame.

He appeared in One Little House Episode

He and his brother do look alike!

- Hello and Goodbye (1983) ... (writer)
- A Child with No Name (1983)
- Once Upon a Time (1983) ... (writer)
- Alden's Dilemma (1982)
- The Return of Nellie (1982) ... (writer)
- A Faraway Cry (1982) ... (teleplay - story)
- Days of Sunshine, Days of Shadow: Part 1 (1982) ... (writer)
- Second Chance (1982) ... (writer)
- Uncle Jed (1982) ... (writer)
- A Christmas They Never Forgot (1981) ... (written by)
- The Lost Ones: Part 2 (1981)
- The Lost Ones: Part 1 (1981)
- I Do, Again (1981)
- Goodbye, Mrs. Wilder (1981)
- The In-laws (1980)
- Divorce, Walnut Grove Style (1980)
- Fight Team Fight! (1980)
- Crossed Connections (1979)
- The Faith Healer (1979)
- The Enchanted Cottage (1979) ... (writer)
- Barn Burner (1979) ... (writer)
- The Godsister (1978) ... (written by)
- Men Will Be Boys (1978)
- The High Cost of Being Right (1977) ... (written by)
- The Aftermath (1977) ... (written by)

I’m sure out of the list above, all of us could find a few that we loved. But there’s one thing for sure. They all had one thing in common. That one thing would be Don Balluck…………  

Why would someone born in Cleveland in 1929, who had acted in New York off-Broadway plays, want to write western screenplays? Don Balluck said that it came about as a complete surprise.  He’d never been interested in westerns until he moved to Los Angeles. His wife and infant daughter took a plane while he packed up the car and drove from New York. Deciding to take the northern route through Utah, “with the sun frying me and the dust blowing, I stopped the car and got out. What I experienced I couldn’t get from a hundred books or movies about the West. There were mountains in all directions. I couldn’t believe how many. It looked like every person in the state could own one and there’d still be thousands left over.

“There wasn’t another car in sight and I had a powerful sense of loneliness in that desolate and spectacular setting and I suddenly thought, ‘My God, I’m driving though in a modern automobile,when only eighty to a hundred years ago people were struggling through in house-drawn wagons. Without roads? Through mountains like I was staring at? Of course I’d always known that. I’d just never felt it before on a personal level that basic courage people had to have attempted the West.”

But the experience didn't convince him to write western scripts until sometime later. When he was assigned his first western script, he was able to relate to his Utah experience “instead of some old Gary Cooper movie. Later on, I was able to spend considerable time in places like Texas, Arizona, Montana, and the gold country in central California around Modesto, and my appreciation deepened.

Balluck spent years writing for “Little House on the Prairie,” and considered the experience  “simply the best. It was a first-rate group of people, totally professional, who knew how to get things done with consistent quality on time and budget. I’ll always feel fortunate to have been on that job. The writing itself was the most satisfying. The opportunity to draw on so much personal experience. I used the struggles my own family had a lot on that show.”

He also served as executive story consultant on both “Little House” and “Father Murphy”. Covering forty-five episodes in one season was a bit much, “so the following year my assistant  took over 'Father Murphy' and I stayed with 'Little House'"

When asked what it was like to have Little House end, he said, “A lot of us didn’t feel quite finished with it. It wasn’t pleasant packing up my office and leaving the studio.” He was shocked at what was then available. “A plethora of silly, empty shows. . . In Hollywood you’re known for what you did last week or last month.  I was known for 'Little House', and that didn’t translate too well into what the industry was doing generally.”

The police shows he had written previously were three years out, so he had a brief stint on a fairly interesting series that was also cancelled. He then did some freelancing. One of his aired scripts was a “Magnum P.I., “ then a “Mike Hammer,” but the star was sent to prison so that show was also cancelled.  Balluck recalled his earlier experience when he first freelanced for "Little House," and was then invited aboard as a member of the staff. “Sometimes a writer is hired on staff by reputation alone, as I was on ‘Hell Town.” The most important method, though, is to select a writer as a potential staff member and give him or her an assignment by way of demonstrating the desired aptitude. In other words, a kind of paid audition.”

Balluck said his writing schedule depended on a deadline. “Ideally, I like to start late in the morning and gradually warm up. By mid-afternoon I’ll have a good lock on things and turn out my quota.” Revisions to a television script depend on a lot of things, he said. “Once the show’s staff gets it ready for production it might need to be shortened or lengthened. There are budget considerations. Certain scenes cost too much to be shot as written. Sometimes locations aren’t available and scenes need to be changed from outdoors to indoors or the reverse. And sometimes, somebody just gets the idea to put something in or take something out.”

Asked if situations or characters were more important in a TV script, he said, ‘The situation is critical in order to sell the idea. It mustn’t be overcomplicated and it has to contain elements which suggest story possibilities, if we’re talking about a series. Once that’s established, full attention to the characters must be made or it won’t go far. ‘Magnum,' for example, was an outstandingly good situation where the lead character has it both ways. One: he’s broke and needs to hustle clients. Two:: he’s able to live a lush lifestyle courtesy of his rich friend. Yet how long would it have lasted without such good chemistry of lead characters?

When asked what kind of metamorphosis a script goes through before it’s finished, Balluck said, “Make sure the mechanics of the story work or it could backfire. With the confidence that it does, all manner of exciting discoveries are possible in the creative phase of the actual writing, If we’re talking about a screenplay and not a television episode, I wouldn’t ever be concerned about it being too long. The editing process, if one is good at it, can be extremely enjoyable and will take care of the necessary cutting. Then once it’s as good as it can be and a proper length, start combing through it and make it better. I generally don’t consult anybody until I’ve repeated that process enough and have no further ideas for improvement. If it’s an assignment, the producer will know who has a comparable expertise. Amateur opinions can be deadly.

Most valuable screenwriter personality traits, he said, are courtesy and a sense of humor. "We have  to deal with a lot and it’s just plain prudent to maintain a certain equanimity. There’s strength in getting what you want without hurting or humiliating anyone."

Don passed away in April of 2000 in Burbank, California. He was seventy years old. One great writer!  

(Interview excerpted from Maverick Writers)

Very interessant topic !

Ever Wondered Who Bunny Really Was?

His name was Ott and was owned and trained by Bobby Davenport. Ott was a thoroughbred stud.

He was one of Hollywood's top horses from the 1960's through the 1980's. Owner-trainer Bobby J. Davenport got him in the early 1960's near Lone Pine, California. 5’5” tall.

He was in three episodes of Little House as Bunny……
Journey in the Spring – 1976
The Race – 1976
Bunny - 1976

Ott’s other credits included

1979 The Villain as Whiskey

1977 Thunder (TV Series)  12 episodes as Thunder

1975 Run, Joe, Run (TV Series)  as The Wild Stallion

1975 Escape to Witch Mountain   Thunderhead / Horse

1972 Bonanza (TV Series) as Stallion

1971 Lassie (TV Series) as The Black Mustang

1971 Black Beauty as Black Beauty

Davetucson wrote:

His name was Ott and was owned and trained by Bobby Davenport. He was a thoroughbred stud and a Tony Award Winner!

What Mr. Davenport did in his private life is no business of ours.

Rob!

Lisa wrote:

Rob!

Never mind Lisa. I have edited the info........One must be careful what one writes due to the sick and demented minds that are all around us...

Dave wrote:

Owner-trainer Bobby J. Davenport got him in the early 1960's near Lone Pine, California. 5’5” tall.

How does a horse win a Tony?