Melissa Gilbert Reflects on ‘Painful’ Last Encounter with ‘Little House’ Co-Star Michael Landon
Melissa Gilbert fondly remembers her late co-star from “Little House on the Prairie,” Michael Landon, as she pays tribute to him years after his passing.
Gilbert recounted her “very painful” visit to Landon just a week before he passed away, but even in that difficult time, he brought a lot of humor.
“There were always amusing moments with Michael,” Gilbert shared with Fox News Digital in an interview that was released on Sunday. “Despite his illness, he retained his incredible sense of humor.”
Landon was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in April 1991 and succumbed to it three months later, on July 1. He was only 54 years old. During “Little House on the Prairie,” he portrayed the father, Charles Ingalls, while Gilbert took on the role of his daughter, Laura Ingalls.
Gilbert, who runs her own lifestyle brand, has collaborated with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network to support research by launching a “lavender bloom” bonnet and accessory collection. She expressed the importance of supporting cancer research, stating that “helping one type of cancer research aids all the others.”
She recalled how Landon’s daughter, Leslie Landon Matthews, informed her about his diagnosis before it was made public.
“Her dad was planning a press conference, and she didn’t want me to find out from others. So she called me and broke the news. I was heartbroken,” she told the outlet.
Gilbert also shared that she had lost her father at a young age, when she was just 11.
“I had been avoiding the process of grieving for my entire life, trying to escape it. But it was essential for me to have that farewell time, which I missed with my father,” she explained. “This was my opportunity to give myself that goodbye and express everything I needed to say to him.”
Leslie Landon Matthews, who played Etta Plum on “Little House on the Prairie,” mentioned in a June interview with Fox News that her father was quite stubborn and often neglected to schedule necessary physicals throughout his life. However, when he started experiencing severe stomach pain while on vacation, she noted that he “couldn’t ignore it anymore” and had to return home for medical help.
“He was frequently in hospitals, treatment centers, or exploring holistic medicine. He even spoke of trying coffee enemas. He was on a relentless quest, experimenting and fighting,” she explained. “It wasn’t until right at the end that everyone grasped the severity of the situation, nothing seemed to work.”
