David's Little House Star Profiles and Trivia

The Ice House in Walnut Grove was an integral part of the subject matter in many episodes. They were an important part of everyday life in the 1800's. We take ice for granted now days, but it took a lot of work back then just to keep it on hand.

Ice houses large and small were common sights in the 1800s. They stored big blocks of ice cut from rivers or lakes. Carefully cut and packed with sawdust or straw, ice blocks could remain frozen a full year or longer. Ice harvesting was a traditional rural activity and a big business.

Ice blocks were used in insulated “ice boxes” to keep food cool at home. Dairy farmers used ice to keep butter, cheese and milk fresh for market. Chipped ice was served in drinks or used to make ice cream. Feverish patients were made more comfortable with cool, damp cloths.
The inhabitants of the early west enjoyed a cool drink during the hot summer months, just as we do today -- hence the massive excavations referred to as ice houses. These brick-lined, wood-floored structures were generally 15 to 20 feet in depth and 12 to 15 feet in diameter.
Dairy products, meats, and other perishables had to be kept cool, and what better way to do it than to cut the ice from a frozen lake or a local pond during January, store it in a circular, subterranean cavity, cover it with straw, and preserve it for the warm months ahead.

These massive ice boxes maintained an adequately cool temperature throughout the summer months. Though not as efficient and convenient as our modern refrigerators, they did the job and kept fresh butter, milk, meats, and vegetables on the table, and, of course, ice for the after dinner drink.

Nels Retrieving A Block During A Heat Wave - "Stone Soup"

Harriet Cooling Her Dogs in "Stone Soup".

Soddies

In the treeless lands of the plains and prairies, log cabins were out of the question. In places where a settler might have to drive sixty miles to see a single tree, homesteaders turned to the ground beneath their feet for shelter. The sod house, or "soddy," was one of the most common dwellings in the frontier west. The long, tough grasses of the plains had tight, intricate root systems, and the earth in which they were contained could be cut into flexible, yet strong, bricks.

Ground soaked by rains or melting snow was ideal for starting sod house construction. When the earth was soft and moist, homesteaders would break the soil with an ox- or horse-drawn sod cutter, which was similar to a farming plow. Sod cutters produced long, narrow strips of sod, which could then be chopped into bricks with an axe. These two- to three-foot square, four-inch thick sod bricks were then stacked to form the walls of the sod house. Soddy roofs were constructed by creating a thin layer of interlacing twigs, thin branches, and hay, which were then covered over with another layer of sod. Many sod houses were built into the sides of hills or banks, which saved time, since settlers could simply carve out a space in the hill, and build only a front wall and roof.

As a result of their extremely thick walls, soddies tended to be cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Soddies were also extremely cheap; one 1870 Montana settler reported spending only $2.78 on the construction of his entire sod home. However, there were several drawbacks to sod-house living. Since the house was literally built of dirt and grass, it was constantly infested with bugs, mice, snakes, and assorted other "varmints and vermin." One sod-house settler lamented that, "In the afternoons, every afternoon, the rattlesnakes would come out of their hidden dens in the walls and roof, and sun themselves on the western window-sill." The very best sod roofs tended to leak, which turned indoor dirt flooring into a quagmire. Wet roofs took days to dry out, and the enormous weight of the wet earth caused many roofs to collapse.

Even in the very best weather, sod houses were plagued with problems. When the sod roof became extremely dry, dirt and grass fell like rain inside the house. One settlers' guide suggested that "an umbrella is indispensable when preparing meals in the sod home.


As soon as homesteaders saved up enough money, many left their soddies for more pleasant quarters. Others chose to improve their soddies by layering boards on their exteriors, and giving their homes a more "settled" look. Within a few years, most abandoned soddies were completely swallowed up by the plains ... eroded by wind and rain.

When railroads reached the frontier, as they did in Montana in 1880, materials such as lumber, tar paper, and shingles were immediately available to newly arrived homesteaders. The sod house was abandoned in favor of the board-and-batten claim shanty, as it was much easier for settlers to build a frame shelter than to cut sod and stack bricks.


Homestead shanties, like log cabins and soddies before them, were usually comprised of one (usually fairly small) room. Shanties were often built directly on the ground, with a dirt floor and no foundation. Shanty walls consisted of studs, horizontal boxing, and a layer of tarpaper held on with lath. On the windswept prairies, ceaseless winds could literally tear the walls from a shanty; if the walls held, poorly anchored shanties toppled over and blew away. Though shanties were more pleasant quarters than soddies in many ways, they were extremely difficult to heat in the winter -- and bake-oven hot in the summer. One Montana settler reported that she could "bake bread in July by placing it next to the steaming tar-paper wall."


Shanties appealed to homesteaders because of their relative portability. When families with adult or nearly adult children made multiple claims in the same area, they would move the shanty around from claim to claim as "proving up" times drew near and visits from Land Office Inspectors became imminent. When settlers married, one homesteader often took their shanty to their spouse's claim to double the size of their home. After "proving up" time, shanties were easily expanded and improved.

They Had Two Soddies On The Little House Set

One Built on The Side Of The Barn.....Notice the Sod Roof
Scene From "Angry Heart"


One Built Into The Hill Up The Path From The Barn
Scene From "Author, Author"

Going To School In The 1800's


Would you like to experience what going to school was like in the late 1800s? To start with, imagine everyone in school sharing only one teacher and one classroom.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, most American students attended a one-room schoolhouse. A single teacher would typically have students in the first through eighth grades, and she taught them all. The number of students varied from six to 40 or more. The youngest children sat in the front, while the oldest students sat in the back. The teacher usually taught reading, writing, arithmetic, history, and geography. Students memorized and recited their lessons.
The classroom of a one-room schoolhouse probably looked much like your own. The teacher's desk may have been on a raised platform at the front of the room, however, and there would have been a wood-burning stove since there was no other source of heat. The bathroom would have been outside in an outhouse.

In some schoolhouses, desks were slabs of wood fastened to the walls. The benches children sat on were just planks supported by wooden legs. Inside of this outer circle were seats for the younger children. The scholars sat facing the walls with their backs facing the teacher. The windows were high up so the scholars couldn’t look out and be distracted.

The wooden schoolhouse was heated by a fireplace at one end. The bigger boys had to carry wood from the wood shed outside to keep the fireplace burning in cold weather.
In 1872 school was open for about 10 or 11 weeks in the summer and about 10 or 11 weeks in the winter. They only had two school terms. There was no school in the spring or the fall, so they only attended about 100 days a year. School started around the third week of May and the third week of November.

The teacher taught all grades and all subjects.

Scholars would hear the teacher ring the school bell and enter the building through two separate doors…one for the boys and one for the girls. They sat on separate sides of the room too!

They learned reading, writing, arithmetic, history, grammar, spelling, history, rhetoric, (public speaking) and music.
The teacher would call each grade to the front of the room for “recitation” of their lessons. They would read or answer out loud while the other students would be doing “busy work” at their seats. When they were sent back to their seats, the teacher would call another grade to the front for recitation. This went on all day long unless the teacher read a story to the whole class or conducted music lessons or worked on special projects with the scholars.
Children were allowed to bring a Bible to school and read it in their spare time.

Scholars had one hour off from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. to eat and play. This hour was called nooning. Students would bring their "dinners" outside and play for most of the hour anywhere they wished, as long as they could hear the school bell at 1:00 calling them back to classes.

Scholars brought their "dinners" from home in “berry pails” or baskets. Their mothers may have packed hard boiled eggs, apples, pears, bread with meat or lard, corn bread, cheese or sausages. In the winter they might bring raw potatoes that the teacher would put in a big iron bucket on the hot stove. By lunch time they would be hot baked potatoes. Students carved their initials into their potato to identify it.

The students’ only drink would be water from the bucket that the bigger boys filled from the well many times each day. They all drank from the same tin cup or dipper! A second bucket of water would be kept in the room for washing hands.

Some schools would have two outhouses in back of the school, separate for boys and girls. These were little wooden buildings, with wooden seats with a hole. You sat over the hole and did your business and it would simply fall down into a deep hole under the shed! They were also known as privies, short for private. Sometimes the privy was called the necessary. Boys often waited until they could run off into the woods during nooning time.
Students brought their own toys from home, simple leather balls, homemade cloth dolls, wooden ring toss games, horse shoes, jacks, marbles and Jacob’s ladders. They could go swimming in the brook during nooning time, go fishing, have tea parties, chase squirrels, have snowball fights, play Tag, Snap the Whip, Hide and Seek, and many other organized games. They never wasted a minute of nooning time so they rarely went home for lunch. Too far!!

Paper was much too expensive for everyday lessons, so students wrote their lessons on slates. Slate is a black type of rock that was cut into thin sheets, ground smooth, and then set into wooden frames. Slate pencils made of clay, or a softer kind of slate, were ground into cylinders and used to write on the slates. Slates could be erased with an old rag time after time as scholars finished lessons. Since slate was rock, it never wore out and there was no waste at all.
Paper was used mainly for penmanship. Until the 1840's scholars practiced with ink and quills (goose feathers). Later, scholars practiced with steel tipped pens that they dipped into ink bottles.

Notebooks called "copybooks" were made at home for their penmanship lessons and for taking important notes. Scholars would purchase a few sheets of cheap "foolscap" paper, and pile five or six sheets on top of one another. The student or their mother would hand stitch the pages together down the middle, fold the "book" in half at the stitching, and create their "copybook." Later in time, they could purchase them at mercantile.
Schoolbooks were scarce, so children had to bring their own books from home. They might even have to borrow books from a neighbor or a cousin or someone who had graduated from the 8th grade. The teacher never had a whole set of books for the class. In fact, she probably never had matching books for any grade or subject! The books were tiny in size and they were used over and over until they were very worn out. The school “library” might be a just a small book case with only about 20-30 books!

Children were expected to be on their best behavior at all times because the teacher had a hard job to teach all grades in such a small space.
They were polite and knew their manners. They addressed their teacher like this:
“Yes, Ma’m and No, Ma’m” or “Yes, Sir and No, Sir”
The number one rule was: NO WHISPERING.
Scholars had to remain busy on their seatwork all day.
Teachers were allowed to punish scholars who did not heed warnings to behave. Parents supported the efforts of the teachers to be good disciplinarians.
Teachers used many creative forms of discipline.
DeSmet, South Dakota - Re-creation of One Room School House

John Milford born in September of 1929 in Johnstown, New York, was an American actor in theatre, television, and films, playing scores of roles, often as a western villain.
Milford studied Civil Engineering at Union College but chose to pursue his first love, acting.
After making his film debut in Marty in 1955, Milford went on to act in dozens of film and TV roles, especially in westerns such as Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Big Valley, The Rifleman, The Virginian. A total of 162 programs.

In 1965 Milford had a recurring role as Cole Younger in the TV series The Legend of Jesse James.

Throughout his career Milford continued to work in the theatre. He founded the Chamber Theatre at 3759 Cahuenga Blvd, pioneering Equity Waiver productions in Los Angeles, and helped launch the careers of actors such as Richard Chamberlain and Vic Morrow.

Milford's Los Angeles Times obituary credits him with using his engineering background to help create the original design for the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

Milford died of skin cancer in August of 2000 at the age of 70. He was survived by his wife, TV producer Susan Graw, and two sons.

He Was In One Little House Episode
Times of Change - 1977 – As Ennis O’Connell

Opposite Johnny Crawford in "The Rifleman"
Episode "Pitchman"

Herbert Nelson was an actor whose repertory ranged from Shakespeare to Broadway comedy to television drama and soap operas.

Born in Stillwater, Minn., in 1913, he began his 50-year career in the Midwest, playing in tents and in stock as well as at the University of Minnesota. Between 1937 and 1941, he did more than 30 different network radio shows, spending three years in Chicago before coming to New York in 1941 with ''The Guiding Light.''

He made his Broadway debut in the Laura West and S. J. Perelman comedy ''The Night Before Christmas'' in April 1941. For the next four years, he served in the Signal Corps and then toured Europe with the Soldier Show Company of ''Golden Boy.''

After the war, he spent four years as a member of the Barter Theater repertory company in Virginia. There, in 1946, he also helped inaugurate the Virginia State Theater in Abingdon, the country's first state-subsidized theater, with Noel Coward's ''Blithe Spirit.''

The 1950s was marked by many roles in live television dramas and daytime serials, including ''Believe It or Not,'' ''The Honeymooners,'' ''Perry Mason'' and four years with Hal Holbrook in ''The Brighter Day.''

He performed many times at the New York Shakespeare Festival under the direction of Joseph Papp, including a role in 1964 as Desdemona's father Brabantio in ''Othello.''
While he worked in New York, Nelson's home was in suburban Leonia, where he was active in civic affairs. He moved to Venice, Calif., in 1968, and lived there until 1989.

During the late 1960s and 1970s, he had parts in many television shows, including ''The Bold Ones,'' ''The Waltons,'' ''Little House on the Prairie'' and ''Maude.''

His screen credits include ''Little Big Man,'' ''The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid,'' ''The Wilderness Family'' and ''The Hindenberg.''

Passed away in July of 1990 at the age of 76 in Englewood, New Jersey.

One Little House Episode
Times of Change – 1977 – As Fletcher Hancock
John Sanderson Jr. (Radames Pera) Worked for Him

Lisa Reeves, born in California, was a sexy, slender and spirited blonde actress who greatly enlivened a couple of enjoyably low-brow 70s drive-in sexploitation comedies. She had boundless energy, a bubbly, perky, upbeat personality and strikingly attractive looks.

Lisa was delightful as a foxy high school student in The Pom Pom Girls (1976) and quite appealing as Steve Guttenberg's sweet girlfriend in The Chicken Chronicles (1977). Reeves was likewise solid and engaging as an enticing underage bar maid in the entertaining made-for-TV disaster movie Ski Lift to Death (1978) (TV). Lisa did guest spots on the TV shows "The San Pedro Beach Bums" (1977) "Little House on the Prairie" (1977), "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries" (1977) and "Police Woman" (1974).

She abruptly stopped acting in the late 70s. She worked behind-the-scenes in production assistant capacities on the film Speak Like a Child (1998) and the TV show "The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne" (2000). Lisa Reeves now lives in Oregon. Her hobbies include reading, horseback riding and jogging on the beach.

She acted in nine titles between 1975 and 1978.

One Little House Episode
Times of Change - 1977 - As Claire Lawrence
The Girl John Sanderson Cheated On Mary With.

In Pom Pom Girls A Year Before Little House

Paula Shaw was born in July of 1941 in The Bronx, New York.

She is best best-known for the movie, Freddy vs. Jason (2003), playing Jason's mother, "Mrs. Pamela Voorhees". The original actress, Betsy Palmer, turned down the offer to perform her best-known character again, so she was replaced with Paula Shaw.

She began her television career in 1969 and has , so far, appeared in 62 titles, mostly television. She recently completed a TV movie entitled “Cedar Cove”. She also played “Mrs. Byrne” in 44 episodes of “Mr. Young”, a TV series.

She now lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

One Little House Episode
Times of Change – 1977 – As Angela
Lady of the Evening

As Pamela Voorhees - Jason's Mother
Freddy Vs. Jason 2003

Barbara Morrison  was born in Weston-super-Mare, England in 1907, and graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. She made her American debut in the Chicago production of "Dream Girl."

She appeared in films including "Marriage of a Young Stockbroker," "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" and "Assault on a Queen." She also appeared in numerous television shows, including "Love, American Style," "Green Acres," "Petticoat Junction," "The Brady Bunch" and "The Carol Burnett Show." Film credits included From here To Eternity, Papillion and My Fair Lady.

She died of heart failure in March of 1992 at the age of 84 at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, Calif. She was 84 years old.

81 Titles from 1946 through 1977.

Her Last Appearance Was On
Little House On The Prairie
Times of Change – 1977 - Dowager

Montana Smoyer was an American actress. She was sometimes credited as Monte.

Montana Smoyer was born Montana Jean Marshall on Thursday, November 27th, 1924, in Wichita, Kansas, United States.

As an actress, Montana Smoyer has been seen in movies such as "Sam's Son", released in 1984, in which she portrayed Maxine Wagner, "Sixpack Annie"(1975), and "Linda Lovelace for President"(1975). She also played a waitress in two episodes of Highway to Heaven in 1986 and 1987.Also appeared on The Love Boat, Eight is Enough and Gloria, a total of 23 appearances from 1975 through 1987.

She died on Thursday, December 16th, 2004 at the age of eighty (80) in Kern Valley Healthcare District, Lake Isabella, California, United States.

One Little House Episode
Here Come The Brides – 1977 – As Philomena (Wife of Justice of the Peace)
Waiting To Throw The Rice! (Center)

Leon Belasco was born Leonid Simeonovich Berladsky on October 11, 1902 in Odessa, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire [now Ukraine]

He began his acting career on the big screen in 1938. He was adept in playing overbearing or temperamental waiters or musicians. Prior to acting, he was leader of a society orchestra which had the sole distinction of introducing the Andrews Sisters to American audiences.

He was in 139 titles in a career that lasted some forty two years. His last appearance was on Trapper John, M.D. where he played a head waiter; right after a Little House Episode in which he also played a head waiter.

He passed away on June 1st of 1988 in Orange, California. He was 85 years old.

One Little House Episode
The Rivals – 1978 – Monsieur Francois

Sam Gillman was born in February of 1915, in Lynn, Massachusetts. He was always a serious looking actor with stage experience and had extensive credits in television. He was very close friends with Marlon Brando and Wally Cox. He began his acting career in 1950 and shortly thereafter appeared with Marlon Brando in “The Wild One” in 1953. He went on to appear with Marlon Brando in several other films.

TV credits included Kojak, Baretta, The Waltons, Mannix, Gunsmoke, Shane and the Untouchables to name a few.

He died in December of 1985 in North Hollywood, California at the age of seventy.

One Little House Episode
The Rivals – 1978 – As Si Perkins – Freight Boss

Sam Gilman Playing Chess
On The Set of "Burn" With Marlon Brando

Woodrow Parfrey born in October of 1922, was an American film and television actor from the 1950s to the early 1980s. He appeared on Broadway in Advise and Consent (1961).
Born Sydney Woodrow Parfrey, in New York City, he was orphaned as a teenager. He fought at the Battle of the Bulge during World War II and was wounded and captured by the Germans. He married Rosa Ellovich and trained under acting teacher Erwin Piscator at the New School for Social Research.

Woodrow Parfrey received a rare screen credit as a "Special Guest Star" in the "My Friend, My Enemy" episode of Bonanza.

Parfrey acted almost entirely on Broadway or regional stage in the late 1940s and 50s, turning to TV and film substantially in the 60s. Though usually a supporting player, he played many focal TV guest-star roles, mainly in the late 60s when fantasy and spy shows relied heavily on distinctive guest players. He appeared five times on The Man From U.N.C.L.E., more than any other guest star except Jill Ireland (who also appeared five times). In 1967 he appeared as Brock in the 4th seaon of the sci-fi tv show "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" in the episode named "Fatal Cargo". He is often remembered as "one of TV's great slimeball villains". He later appeared in the short lived 1979 CBS series Time Express.

Parfrey also scored a few big A-movie parts, most notably as a prisoner in Papillon (1973). Parfrey's frequent association with that film's director, Franklin Schaffner, also included a bit as Maximus, one of the three "See No Evil" orangutan judges in Planet of the Apes (1968). He appeared in small parts in The Outlaw Josey Wales, Bronco Billy, Dirty Harry, and Charley Varrick.

Parfrey died of a heart attack on July 29, 1984, aged 61, in Los Angeles. His son is "underground" publisher Adam Parfrey.

He appeared in 190 titles in a career that lasted from 1950 through 1984.

One Little House Episode
Be My Friend – 1978 – As Reverend Pritchard

In Papillon as Prisoner Clusiot - 1973

Lenora’s Auto Biography

Lenora May is a native New Yorker. Queens to be precise. Always singing and dancing, she earned a BFA in theatre from the University of Miami. Starring in many stage productions such as Emily in "Our Town", she originated the role of Bianca in "Leave Of Absence" which became the first college production to perform at the New Dramatists Theatre in NYC. Fellow classmates co-star included actor Ray Liotta. After graduating, she moved back to NY and began acting professionally. Starting with commercials and theatre, she then caught a break starring in "Jaws II". Eventually arriving in LA where she starred in her first of many TV episodics, "Little House on the Prairie", "Island Son","Cop Rock", and most recently, "ER" and "Medium" to name a few. Lenora has starred in several in TV movies such as "Fantasies", "Living Proof" and "Hobson's Choice". Lenora's range stretches from drama to comedy in such films as "House II" and "When a Stranger Calls" and most recently, "Confessions of a Shopaholic" and "Knifepoint". In addition, Lenora originated the role of Carol in the west coast premiere of "North Of Providence" at the Ensemble Studio Theatre. Lenora is married to veteran film/TV writer Craig Heller and has 2 very cool children. Recently, on stage, she performed the true story of growing up with her single mom\'s 5 marriages and numerous boyfriends in a one woman show called "Eli's Birthday". In the show, Lenora played 29 characters. Lenora and Craig have co - written a screenplay based on this story called "Beginning", and are in the process of producing it. Lenora is also producing the film "Music In The Air", in collaboration with producer Vanessa Greene. Best words to describe Ms. May would be, authentic, fun, energetic, and up for a challenge.

Other appearances included Wonder Woman, Family, Family Ties, Newhart, The Facts of Life, Beverly Hills 90210 and Gray’s Anatomy. Currently plays Dr.Chertoff in “Mistresses” TV Series.

One Episode of Little House ( First Television Role )
Be My Friend – 1978 - As Anna Miers

Later Years

Michael Mullins was born in Salem, Virginia in August of 1951. He had roles in 29 titles , beginning at nineteen years of age, in a twenty year career that ended in 1990 at 39 years of age. They included Quincy M.E., Barnaby Jones, Lou Grant, Hawaii Five-0, Emergency, Police Story, The Streets of San Francisco and Kojak to name a few.

He was in one episode of Little House
in the same year that he did Hawaii Five-0.
Be My Friend – 1978 – As Bobbie Harris

Publicity Shot - Hawaii Five-0 -1978

Donald  Moffat was born in Plymouth, Devon, England on December 26th, 1930. He was the only child of Kathleen Mary (née Smith) and Walter George Moffat, who was an insurance agent. His parents ran a boarding house in Totnes. Completing his studies at the local King Edward VI School and national service in the Army, Moffat trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

Moffat began his career as a stage actor in London and New York. His first work was at the Old Vic Theatre Company in London. He joined APA (The Association of Producing Artists), a repertory company on Broadway, and was nominated for a Tony for Best Actor in a Play in 1967 for his roles in revivals of Henrik Ibsen's The Wild Duck and Pirandello's Right You Are If You Think You Are. He was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in the revival of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh (1986) with Jason Robards. He won an Obie for Painting Churches.

His best known film role is probably the corrupt U.S. President in Clear and Present Danger, as well as Garry, the station commander in The Thing. He has appeared on television in Logan's Run, The West Wing, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and Tales of the City, in which his performance as dying executive Edgar Halcyon earned him many new fans. He has also appeared in many Broadway and Off-Broadway plays, including the world premieres of John Guare's A Few Stout Individuals (as Ulysses S. Grant), Painting Churches, The Heiress, The Cherry Orchard, Much Ado About Nothing, The School for Scandal, The Affair and Hamlet.

His career of almost fifty years included 118 title thru 2005. First role was in 1956 in the movie "Pursuit of The Graf Spee".

He died on December 20th, 2018 in Sleepy Hollow, New York at 87 years of age.

Appearances Included:
The Battle of the River Plate (U.S. title Pursuit of the Graf Spee) (1956) as Swanston, Lookout, HMS Ajax (uncredited)
Earthquake (1974) as Dr. Harvey Johnson
The Call of the Wild (1976) as Simpson
Logan's Run (TV series) (1977-1978) as Rem
Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years (1977) as Harry Hopkins
Tartuffe (1978) as Tartuffe
On the Nickel (1980) as Sam
Popeye (1980) as the Taxman
The Long Days of Summer (1980) as Josef Kaplan
The Chisholms CBS miniseries (1980) as Enos
The Thing (1982) as Garry, the Station Commander
The Right Stuff (1983) as U.S. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson
The Star as Dr Chandler, Science Officer of the Galactic Survey Ship "Magellan"
The Best of Times (1986) as the Colonel
The Bourne Identity (1988) as David Abbottin - in the 2002 film version the role is re-imagined as Deputy Director Ward Abbott (played by Brian Cox)
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) as Chief Surgeon
The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) as Mr. McCoy
Class Action (1991) as Quinn
Regarding Henry (1991) as Charlie Cameron
Housesitter (1992) as George Davis
Clear and Present Danger (1994) as the fictional President Bennett
Trapped in Paradise (1994) as Clifford Anderson
The Evening Star (1996) as Hector Scott
Cookie's Fortune (1999) as Jack Palmer
61* (2001) as Ford Frick

One Episode of Little House
Be My Friend - 1978 - As Nathaniel Mears

He was in one episode of Little House
in the same year that he did Hawaii Five-0.
Be My Friend – 1978 – As Bobbie Harris


Never did like this episode...

David Opatoshu was born in January of 1918 .He was an American film, stage and television actor. He was born as David Opatovsky in New York City, where he was reared and educated. His father was the Yiddish writer Joseph Opatoshu.

His career in television began in 1952 and lasted through the 1980s. In the fall of 1953, he played a theatrical agent representing Ezio Pinza's title character in the NBC situation comedy Bonino. Other costars were Mary Wickes, Chet Allen, and Van Dyke Parks. The series focused upon an Italian American opera singer trying to rear his six children after having been widowed.

He played Anan 7 in the original Star Trek series episode "A Taste of Armageddon", and also co-starred with James Doohan in an episode of The Twilight Zone, entitled "Valley of the Shadow". He guest-starred in the 1964 The Outer Limits episode "A Feasibility Study", also in the 1969 season 3 Ironside episode "L'Chayim", and in the 1981 Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episode "Time of the Hawk". On October 30, 1989, Mr. Opatashu guest-starred as the Tenctonese ex-slave 'Paul Revere', in the episode "Night of the Screams", of the television series Alien Nation. In 1991 he won an Emmy for his guest appearance in the episode "A Prayer for the Goldsteins" of the ABC series Gabriel's Fire.

His first film, The Light Ahead (1939), directed by Henry Felt and Edgar G. Ulmer, is notable for being entirely in Yiddish. Opatoshu gave memorable performances as the savvy homicide detective, Sgt. Ben Miller, in the film noir, The Naked City (1948) produced by Mark Hellinger. In 1958, he played a supporting character in The Brothers Karamazov with soon-to-be Star Trek co-star William Shatner. He returned to his heritage as the Irgun leader (and Ari Ben Canaan's estranged uncle) in Otto Preminger's 1960 film Exodus. He also portrayed Herr Jacobi,one of the people who help Paul Newman and Julie Andrews escape from East Germany in Alfred Hitchcock's 1966 film "Torn Curtain".

He appeared on Broadway in The Wall in 1960, and Bravo Giovanni in 1962, and others.
David Opatoshu also wrote the screenplay for the film Romance of a Horsethief (1971), based on a novel by his father, Joseph Opatoshu.

Father in law of Anne Spielberg, Steven Spielberg's sister.

He died in Los Angeles in April of 1996 at the age of 78.

One Little House Episode
I’ll Be Waving As You Drive Away – 1978 – Taylor Nash
He Ran The First Blind School Mary Was In

Star Trek

Hap Lawrence is a long-time star of the 30-second interruption and a sporadic presence in sitcoms, primetime dramas, and features for 40 years, but you may still recognize from your childhood the singing and dancing young M&M's Candy Man of the seventies who has been seen with Jack Lemon and George C. Scott in HBO's Inherit the Wind, with Robin Williams in The Best of Times, with Susan Sarandon in Loving Couples, to name a few. On stage, the new persona recently garnered critical acclaim as sweet, old, gullible Texan Pete Davenport in Horton Foote's Pulitzer Prize winning The Young Man from Atlanta, flying in the face of a strong reputation for musical Brits like Mr. Wemmick in Great Expectations, the Musical, and Fagin in Oliver!, to mention but two.

Hap’s self - profile on one of the actors internet boards.

Hi there! I'm an experienced actor in film, TV, stage, and commercials. I play Mr. Wemmick in a great new musical version of Dickens' "Great Expectations", and have played lots of other Brits, my favorite being Fagin in "Oliver!" I've shot better than 250 national and regional commercials and some film and TV, and am of course eager to do more of everything, because it's the process of acting that excites me the most, regardless of the medium. I've had experience in theatre as a director, designer, and technical director, and am always ready to excercise those creative muscles, as well.

He began his acting career on the screen in 1977 and has appeared in 55 titles since then. They include The Dukes of Hazzard, Hart to Hart, The Paper Chase, Emergency Room, Ellen, and more recently, MID: Murder Investigation Unit in 2011.

He worked with Michael Landon Both in Little House on the Prairie and two episodes of Highway To Heaven.

I contacted Hap and he was kind enough to respond with the following:

Hi Dave,

Working with Michael Landon was a real joy, and I recall those few days on his sets fondly. He was a sweet man who cared deeply about others. From the time of my first audition for him, in a suite at the Ritz Carlton, because that was that day's location, he made me feel as though we were old friends. His casting director, Susan McCray, and everybody else who worked for Michael seemed to have the same attitude, even toward newcomers and day-players like me. During down time on the set, he loved to tell jokes and funny stories, but he was so generous as to leave room for anybody else to join in, and he genuinely appreciated others' humor. I wish I could recall his jokes. I do remember a time when someone pointed out on the Little House set that there was some plywood in the shot. Michael suggested that Charles Ingalls probably invented plywood, so we could go ahead and shoot. It wasn't a laugh riot, and they probably removed the anachronistic offender, but that's the carefree attitude he exuded and encouraged. On Little House I think Michael liked my ability to play a complete idiot and represent those who would be shortsighted on the issue of prejudice, as it was my job to ridicule an overweight man. The Highway to Heaven experience was very quick, as I had very little to do - I seem to recall carrying toilet paper somewhere and hearing something through a door, but that's about it. I got the action right the first time, so I wasn't around him very long that day. I also attended a party at Michael's ranch. I can't remember the charity, but he opened his home and hired entertainers and attractions for kids, and it was a great afternoon for my little daughter and many other little daughters, sons, and parents. From my perspective? A great guy! One of the best! Hollywood misses him.

You may remember him as the irritating guy in “The Man Inside” (1978) on Little House as “Smitty”.
He told fat jokes to John Bevins, Amelia’s father, played by Cliff Emich.

And You Older Folks Will Definetly Remember Him As The M & M's Man In This Seventies Commercial!

Hap Lawrence Today

Hal Riddle was born in December of 1917 in Fulton, Kentucky.
Riddle decided he wanted to be an actor after he wrote to silent screen star Billie Dove and she responded with an autographed picture. In addition to becoming an actor, Riddle started a collection of movie memorabilia. It eventually grew to more than 1,700 items that he donated to his alma mater, Murray State University in Kentucky, in 2001. Riddle's first professional job was in summer stock in Allentown, PA. He roomed with Jack Lemmon, who became a lifelong friend. He also worked in four Elvis Presley movies. In all, Riddle appeared in some two dozen movies and over 400 television shows.

He Studied at Sanford Meisner's Neighborhood Playhouse
Some quotes about actors he worked with……………….
About James Dean: We worked as extras on 'Beat the Clock' (TV game show) in 1950, trying out the stunts before the audience did them. It paid $5 a day.
About Elvis Presley: He was such a sweetheart when I worked with him. He wasn't into drugs or alcohol then. He got every prayer he uttered answered, and he couldn't handle it.

Hal Riddle died in June of 2009 in Woodland Hills, California. He was 91 years old.

His career spanned from 1952 through 1992. A sampling of his appearances includes Dallas, Highway to Heaven, Green Acres, Bonanza, 3 episodes of The Waltons, and the movie “It Happened At The World’s Fair” with Elvis Presley.

One Little House Episode
Fagin – 1978 – As The Judge (left)

"For My Brother"(Couldn't Resist)

The Places Laura lived.............

Pepin, Wisconsin (site of Little House in the Big Woods)
Independence, Kansas (site of Little House on the Prairie)
Walnut Grove, Minnesota (site of On the Banks of Plum Creek)
South Troy, Minnesota (burial site of Laura's brother Freddy)
Burr Oak, Iowa (birthplace of Laura's sister Grace)
De Smet, South Dakota (site of the remaining 5 Laura books)
Vinton, Iowa (where Mary attended blind school)
Spring Valley, Minnesota (home of Almanzo, Laura, and Rose - 1890)
Westville, Florida (home of Almanzo, Laura, and Rose - 1891)
Mansfield, Missouri (final home of Laura and Almanzo -1894 until their deaths)
Malone, New York (site of Farmer Boy)

Nice catches!

Really nice catches!