‘Little House on the Prairie’: Michael Landon Gave Matthew Labyorteaux This Special Memento From the Show
The cast of Little House on the Prairie had great affection for show creator and co-star Michael Landon (Charles Ingalls). The tight-knit ensemble maintained a close bond even after several exited the historical drama. Matthew Labyorteaux, who portrayed Charles’ adopted son Albert, recalled Landon personally giving him a significant keepsake from the series after it went off the air.
Michael Landon decided to ‘destroy all the sets’ on ‘Little House’
Rather than getting the news personally, Landon found out second-hand that Little House was being cancelled. The Bonanza alum considered being left in the dark as a slap in the face after all of his years at NBC.
“He was furious that he had never received an official phone call from NBC president Brandon Tartikoff or anyone else at the network, letting him know the fate of the show,” Little House star Melissa Gilbert (Laura Ingalls) wrote in her memoir, Prairie Tale. “He had been on the network since 1959. Perceiving disrespect, Mike’s temper red-lined.”
Landon made the bold call to end the series by blowing up all of the Little House sets in their final TV film, The Last Farewell, which aired in February 1984. He considered the act his way of sticking it to the network.
“He wanted to destroy all the sets—Walnut Grove, everything in Simi Valley,” Gilbert revealed. “He didn’t want to leave anything behind. TV and movie sets tend to get recycled over time, and none of us wanted to see Oleson’s Mercantile being used in some other production and have other people tromping through places where many of us had grown up.”
Matthew Labyorteaux owns a piece of the ‘Little House’ set
The storyline for Little House: The Last Farewell featured a greedy tycoon acquiring all the land in Hero Township. The townsfolk try to negotiate with the businessman but to no avail, thus deciding to blow up the entire area. Labyorteaux did not appear on the TV movie but recalled receiving a piece of the beloved set directly from Landon.
“The story I got, that Michael intimated, was that he didn’t want to see all the structures from Little House used on other shows,” Labyorteaux told Entertainment Weekly in 2014. “I couldn’t be there on that day, but when I saw Michael a few weeks later he said, ‘I have something for you.’ And he pulled out a big chunk of wood. He had saved a piece for me. I still have it.”
While some have differing opinions over Landon’s daring decision, Gilbert understood why he wanted to close the chapter on Little House in his own way.
“I was glad that they were doing it because it gave us closure, but it was sad,” she remarked. “Saying goodbye wasn’t easy. The cast and crew were family. I still weep whenever I watch it.”
Michael Landon respected child actors
Landon hired several child actors when he created Little House. Labyorteaux praised his former boss and co-star for respecting cast members regardless of age and working with them as professionals.
“He treated kids differently,” Labyorteaux said. “As long as you showed up on time, knew your lines, worked hard, and, you know, gave a s***, you were aces in his book. He’d treat you like another actor, not talk down to you. He had a strong personality. As an adult, now I can look back and have sympathy for anyone trying to go up against a force of nature like Michael Landon.”
