Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Little House Cast Recount Michael Landon Prank and On-Set Toss

The retrospective stories shared on a November reunion podcast highlight shifting views on set safety and child boundaries.

Overview

  • In a recent reunion episode of The Patrick LabyorSheaux, multiple Little House on the Prairie actors shared memories involving Michael Landon.
  • Patrick Labyorteaux and Jennifer Coleman-Donati described a staged baby swap that led Landon to pretend to drop an infant, which left the child's mother screaming.
  • Dean Butler recalled Landon picking him up and throwing him across a barn after he failed to “go limp” during a take, a moment Butler said was his fault and after which the next take succeeded.
  • Cast members said they can laugh about the incidents now but noted they were unsettling at the time, reflecting ambivalence about past on-set norms.
  • Melissa Gilbert’s Nov. 15 Instagram post about kissing an older actor at age 15 has amplified discussion of consent and child protection in the show’s production era.