‘Little House on the Prairie’ Star Melissa Gilbert Talks Auditioning for Commercial as a Child
Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert began acting on the show at a young age. As you might guess, her role on the show was far from her only one as a child. A biography about her explored her acting career and in it, she reflected on auditioning for a certain commercial as a kid.
The Biography YouTube account frequently features people with interesting personalities and compelling life stories. Their latest biography is none other than Melissa Gilbert. In it, she talks about every aspect of her life, including her earliest acting roles. One of those happens to be a commercial and one she had to tell a small lie to land.
“It was a candy bar commercial and in the audition, they asked us if we knew how to ride a two-wheeler bike because it was about a father and daughter riding bikes in the park. And I said ‘yeah, of course,” Gilbert stated while scoffing. “I’d never been on a two-wheeler and I got it. And I got there and I didn’t know how to ride the bike.”
You may think this would have led to Gilbert getting fired, but apparently, they were so impressed they rewrote the commercial for her. “And they rewrote the commercial so it was about a father teaching his daughter how to ride a two-wheeler bike,” Melissa Gilbert disclosed with a chuckle.
Though you’re often told not to lie on your resume, it really seemed to pay off for her in this case.
Melissa Gilbert Emotionally Remembered her Father on the Anniversary of his Death
Though someone else played her father in numerous television shows and commercials, Melissa Gilbert was close with her real father. Earlier this month, she reflected on his death and spoke about suicide prevention.
For those who don’t know, her father Paul Gilbert was in agony for years before ending his own life. Gilbert wasn’t aware he did this at first but upon learning, became an advocate for suicide awareness. A few weeks ago, she took to Instagram on the 46th anniversary of his death to talk about it.
“46 years ago today, my father, Paul Gilbert took his own life,” the caption begins. “He was in excruciating unrelenting pain under the “care” of a dysfunctional VA health care system. He’d been threatening suicide for a long time and no one really listened. Most certainly no one helped him.”
Continuing, she said she wished he could have known the joy she does. “My life is , blessedly, in such a different place than his was. I wish, like me, he could have known the unbridled joy that grandchildren bring. I wish, like me, he could have the love of a true life partner. To feel cherished, safe and most of all, heard. So today, as I do every day of every year, I will choose to honor his decision and his choice. I choose to ‘hear’ him and cherish him and keep his memory safe.”
