‘Little House on the Prairie’: Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Real-Life Daughter Played a Key Part in the Series
Laura Ingalls Wilder may not be the only family member responsible for writing the “Little House on the Prairie” books.
Certainly, the actors on “Little House on the Prairie” captured fans’ attention. Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, Melissa Gilbert, all significantly contributed to the success of the show. But without the real-life Ingalls, “Little House on the Prairie” never would have existed. So, let’s take a moment to celebrate the women behind the story.
Laura Ingalls Wilder is known around the world for her books that the show was based on. However, there’s also another woman who may have contributed even more to the books and the show – Laura Ingalls Wilder’s real-life daughter, Rose Wilder. According to IMDB, Rose is believed to have been the ghost writer or all of the Little House books. The two of them are said to have worked together since Rose was the established writer in the family and Laura had the incredible “Pioneer Girl” experiences.
Regardless of who wrote what, we’re thankful to the Ingalls Wilder women for gifting us with the “Little House on the Prairie” stories we all know and love today.
The “Little House On The Prairie” TV Show Almost Didn’t Exist
Everyone knows that Hollywood can be pretty cutthroat. One minute you’re walking down red carpets. And the next minute you’re a washed-up actor who fans barely remember. So, it’s not difficult to believe that some of the most iconic television shows almost weren’t successfully created. This was certainly the case for “Little House on the Prairie.” But not for Hollywood reasons. In fact, the show almost got the boot because of completely natural reasons. During an interview in 2017, legendary “Little House on the Prairie” producer Kent McCray talked about the nature-based difficulties he faced while filming the pilot episode.
“I looked out the window, and it was snowing and pretty good,” McCray said. “So, I got on the phone and called a gentleman, who was a teamster, [and] I knew had a four-wheel-drive pickup. A guy by the name of Jim.”
A Snow Storm Almost Ruined The Pilot Episode
The storm was so bad that the entire set was covered in snow. Luckily, in Hollywood everybody knows somebody. So, McCray’s friend Jim was able to call for backup.
“So, through Jim, he knew the people at the city plow department. He got four trucks to go up and start plowing out the roads,” McCray said. “We got most of the camera trucks in, a lot of the [other] trucks we did not get in because they didn’t have tome to plow it all out.”
McCray even got the entire crew involved in prepping the scenes for the “Little House on the Prairie” episode.
“There was a scene where they get in the wagon and go away. They came out of the cabin,” said McCray. “We all shoveled snow, and they plowed out where the boom could go forward or backward and the leads would go forward. It looked like the distance was greater than it actually was. That was our first day of shooting on ‘Little House on the Prairie.’”
