Why This ‘Little House on the Prairie’ Star Was the Most Pampered on Set
- - Why This ‘Little House on the Prairie’ Star Was the Most Pampered on Set
Nicole MooreDecember 29, 2025 at 1:51 AM
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Bud Gray/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images
The cast of the beloved historical drama, The Little House on the Prairie, opened up about having some difficulty filming the series in Simi Valley, California.
Actor Patrick Labyorteaux was joined by several of his former Little House on the Prairie castmates for a November 2025 episode of his podcast, The Patrick LabyorSheaux. While recording the podcast episode, Alison Arngrim, who played the villainous Nellie Oleson, revealed she would often faint while filming the series because of Simi Valley's heat. She also noted that her heavy 1800s-inspired costume and wig caused her to overheat easily. Arngrim said in order to help prevent her from passing out, she would put the astringent, Seabreeze, "directly on [her] wrists" and neck.
Pamela Roylance, who played Sarah Carter, also remembered using Seabreeze to prevent fainting. In addition, she said the late Michael Landon, who starred as Charles "Pa" Ingalls, allowed her to fix her costume to cool her off while filming the season 9 episode, "Sins of the Fathers." As fans of Little House on the Prairie are aware, Landon was also a producer, writer, and director on the series.
"I remember we were doing 'Sins of the Fathers.' And it was just miserable hot and I was supposed to be outside in the back hanging up clothing on the line," said Roylance in the November 2025 podcast interview. "And Michael let me unbutton the blouse and he let me roll up my sleeves which kind of just wasn't done, but it's in the shot. You know, you can see it in the episode and I was so grateful for that."
Jennifer Donati, who played Baby Rose Wilder, then shared that she was protected from the heat during the show's production. She explained she was "like three months, two months" old when she began filming for the series during the show's 8th season.
"I think I was the most pampered cast member there. They didn't let me get hot," said Donati.
Labyorteaux then noted that that was "kind of like a lifesaving thing for the baby."
"You can't let the baby get hot," said Labyorteaux, who played Little House on the Prairie character, Andy Garvey.
Little House on the Prairie had a nine-season run until 1983.
This story was originally published by Parade on Dec 29, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
