‘Little House on the Prairie’: Michael Landon Could Stop Doing 1 Thing After New Romance, According to Melissa Sue Anderson
Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Sue Anderson starred on the show for seven seasons. Here’s what she said about Michael Landon and one thing the late star could stop doing after he started a new romance.
Michael Landon’s affair was a ‘blow’ for Melissa Sue Anderson
In her book The Way I See It, Anderson says “everyone” on the set of Little House on the Prairie was aware of Landon’s affair with the stand-in, Cindy Clerico (they later married, and she became Cindy Landon). According to her, the adults on the set just chalked the situation up to “a TV star’s midlife crisis.” However, Anderson says for the young kids on the show the situation was a “blow.” (Co-star Karen Grassle says Landon made inappropriate comments about the romance.)
The younger cast members, including Anderson, put Landon on a pedestal, so they were disappointed. She says it was hard to imagine how he could “inflict such pain” on his family. Anderson says she bought into the image of Landon as a good guy and a family man. She believed the squeaky-clean image so many people had of the Charles Ingalls actor. This made it tough for her to accept what was happening. She says in her book that Landon “let her down.”
The 1 thing Michael Landon could stop doing
Anderson says Cindy was a small woman, and she was just a little over 5 feet. According to her, Landon’s second wife, Lynn Noe, was very tall, so he would wear lifts in his shoes. Now that he was dating Cindy, he didn’t have to do this anymore. Anderson says she noticed Landon was wearing tennis shoes more often. It wasn’t necessary for him to try to appear taller because the new woman in his life wasn’t tall.
Anderson described Lynn as “statuesque” and “a good bit taller” than Landon. However, she says he hid this by wearing lifts “almost all the time.”
Melissa Sue Anderson tried not to let her personal feelings affect her work relationship
Anderson says she tried her best to remain professional. She was heartbroken over the demise of Landon’s marriage, but she didn’t want that to affect her work relationship with Landon. Anderson says she liked Lynn and it was difficult for her to see Landon’s wife in this position. She says she not only liked Lynn but also respected her.
Anderson says she had a hard time continuing in a “business as usual” fashion after she became aware of Landon’s affair. She says she was friendly with Cindy before the affair (Cindy was Anderson’s stand-in), but after she found out about the relationship, she began to distance herself.
Anderson says Cindy was “nice” and did her job, but she wanted to support Lynn. She avoided having her makeup done by Cindy to show “silent solidarity” with Lynn. Anderson says she and Cindy were civil, but she didn’t consider herself to be her friend anymore.
RELATED: The ‘Little House on the Prairie’ Pilot Episode Is More Action-Packed Than We Realized
Follow Sheiresa Ngo on Twitter.
