Steph Deschamps / March 8, 2023
The cast of Little House on the Prairie seemed like a perfect family on screen. The historical drama, which aired on television from 1974 to 1983, featured Melissa Sue Anderson (Mary Ingalls), Melissa Gilbert (Laura Ingalls) and Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson) in prominent roles. However, it seems that there was some conflict behind the scenes. Things weren't always what they seemed on the hit TV series. Here is one of the feuds that took place on the set of the series.
If you were a fan of Little House on the Prairie, you may remember the epic fights between Laura Ingalls (played by Melissa Gilbert) and Nellie Oleson (played by Alison Arngrim). While the two actresses were enemies on screen, they were best friends behind the scenes.
Melissa Gilbert's real-life enemy at the time was actress Melissa Sue Anderson (who played Mary Ingalls). In her autobiography Prairie Tale, she talks about the tension between her and Anderson. Gilbert says Anderson was not friendly. When she joined the team, she thought she was "evil" and wanted to "kill" her.
This stormy relationship, Melissa Gilbert had talked about it in her memoirs, reports the site mskit.net. "From the beginning, for whatever reason, we never had a real relationship. She was a surprisingly pretty girl, and I wasn't, or at least I didn't think I was. »
According to her, Melissa Sue Anderson was "cold" and she never got to know her. "She was not easy to get along with," she writes. "I think her reserve showed on screen and was certainly apparent off screen. »
In her biography Confessions of a Prairie B*tch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated, Alison Arngrim, the interpreter of Nellie Oleson has indeed lifted the veil on the many tensions between the two main actresses. She confirms that those who interpreted Laura Ingalls and Mary Ingalls hated each other.
According to her, besides, Melissa Gilbert would have even gone to see the other actors to warn them: "And whatever you do, beware of this Melissa Sue Anderson. She is very dangerous. She is diabolical and I hate her ».