Karen Grassle Speaks About Working With Michael Landon
“Little House on the Prairie” was the biggest thing on TV in the 1970s.
Karen Grassle played Ma on the show, and Michael Landon played Pa — the perfect parents — at least on TV.
But Grassle says it wasn’t as wholesome as it seemed. In her new book “Bright Lights, Prairie Dust,” she paints Landon as sexist and a bully on set, noting he was “a very complex guy.”
Grassle says it was a nightmare shooting the scenes of Ma and Pa in bed at the end of the show.
“He started to tell these filthy jokes about the female anatomy while we sat there. And it was surrounded by men laughing at these jokes. I mean, that was really over the line…We didn't have a word for sexual harassment in those days,” Grassle said.
Grassle says she knows people will slam her for going after the beloved actor, who announced in April of 1991 that he had inoperable pancreatic cancer. He died three months later.
“If people are upset, I’m sorry they are upset, but I had to tell my story,” Grassle said.
“In his mind, he didn’t do anything wrong,” she adds.
To read an expert from Grassle's new book, click here.
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