Little House On The Prairie: Every Actor In The Cast Who Has Died In Real Life (2024)

The Little House on the Prairie cast who have died in real life include some legendary and prolific actors whose filmographies comprise decades of work. The classic Western historical drama premiered on NBC in 1974 and lasted for nine seasons and three TV movie specials that premiered afterward, all following the Ingalls family who live on a farm in Minnesota in the 1870s-90s. Based on the novels by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie famously featured a large ensemble cast of recurring characters as well as a guest list of notable stars.

These guests were either already famous or often went on to become major successes. From the acting debut of Jason Bateman to an early role for The Office's Melora Hardin to an appearance by Breaking Bad's Jonathan Banks, Little House on the Prairie is filled with surprising guest and main cast appearances. As the decades have passed since the beloved show aired, the older members of the cast have, sadly, begun to pass away after long careers in the industry. They all leave impressive legacies, not least of which include memorable parts in the family Western.

Billy Barty As Owen & Lou Bates

Date Of Birth: October 25, 1924

• Active Since: 1927

Actor: Billy Barty was a prolific TV and film actor, primarily working in comedies where his short stature often saw him paired with someone much taller to humorous effect. Barty began his career as a toddler and later went on to appear in movies as Gwildor in Masters of the Universe, High Aldwin in Willow, and Screwball in Legend. His television career included the role of Hugo in Dr. Shrinker. Barty died of heart failure on December 23, 2000, at the age of 76.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character:Barty appeared in two episodes as two different characters in Little House on the Prairie. In season 6, episode 5, "Annabelle", Barty played Owen, and in season 9, episode 5, "Little Lou", he plays the titular Lou Bates, a circus performer who attempts to get a job at a bank to support his family but is discriminated against for his size.

Dabbs Greer As Rev. Robert Alden

Date Of Birth: April 2, 1917

• Active Since: 1939

Actor:Dabbs Greer appeared in over 100 film roles and over 600 TV episodes in his long career in television and film. He's best known for film performances in The Green Mile as the older version of Paul Edgecomb, Little Giants as Wilbur, and the 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers as Mac Lomax. His notable TV credits include Coach Ossie Weiss in Hank and Mr. Jonas in Gunsmoke. Greer died from heart failure and kidney disease on April 28, 2007, at 90.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character: Greer appears in 76 episodes of Little House on the Prairie as the Reverend Robert Alden, a real-life historical figure. Reverend Alden is the minister for Walnut Grove Township who turned to his faith after a tragedy befell his family.

Dub Taylor As Houston Lamb

Date Of Birth: February 26, 1907

• Active Since: 1938

Actor: Before Dub Taylor sadly passed from a heart attack on October 3, 1994, at age 87, he was a prolific TV and movie actor with roles primarily in Westerns and comedies. His TV credits include various roles on Gunsmoke and Bonanza and a one-episode appearance on The Cosby Show as Slim Claxton. In film, Taylor played Laughlin in The Getaway, Doc Shultz in Support Your Local Gunfighter, and he had a memorable cameo in Back to the Future III as one of the cowboys in the saloon.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character: Taylor plays Houston Lamb in four episodes of Little House on the Prairie across seasons 6 and 7. Houston runs a school for the blind in the town of Sleepy Eye and helps teach Mary Ingalls (Melissa Sue Anderson) and Adam Kendall (Linwood Boomer).

Ernest Borgnine As Jonathan

Date Of Birth: January 24, 1917

• Active Since: 1951

Actor: Ernest Borgnine was an award-winning actor, performer, and entertainer as well known for his talk show appearances as he was for his performances. Borgnine's best-known film roles include Marty Piletti in Marty, which earned him an Academy Award and Golden Globe win, and "Dutch" Engstrom in The Wild Bunch. His television career is equally as celebrated with Emmy nominations for his roles as Quinton McHale in McHale's Navy and Stanislaus "Kat" Katczinsky in All Quiet on the Western Front. He also voiced Mermaid Man in SpongeBob SquarePants. Borgnine died of renal failure on July 8, 2012, at 95.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character: Borgnine appears in Little House on the Prairie season 1, episodes 13 and 14, "The Lord is My Shepherd: Parts 1 & 2" as Jonathan. Jonathan is a mysterious mountain man who comforts Laura Ingalls (Melissa Gilbert) after she runs away from home, believing she caused her baby brother's death.

Hersha Parady As Alice Garvey

Date Of Birth: May 25, 1945

• Active Since: 1967

Actor: Hersha Parady passed away on August 23, 2023, at the age of 78 due to complications from a brain tumor. As an actor, Parady only had a handful of performances. On TV, she appeared in CBS Afternoon Playhouse as Laura Harker and Kenan & Kel as Principal Dimly. In film, Parady notably played Mrs. Lufkowitz in The Break.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character: Parady played the recurring character Alice Garvey on Little House on the Prairie. Alice was married to Jonathan Garvey (Merlin Olsen) and was a teacher at the Harriet Oleson School for the Blind when it caught fire. In one of the darkest episodes of Little House on the Prairie, Alice dies in the fire along with two children she was trying to save.

Karl Swenson As Lars Hanson

Date Of Birth: July 23, 1908

• Active Since: 1935

Actor: Lars Hanson was the last role of Karl Swenson's career before he passed away on October 8, 1978, at age 70 due to a heart attack. Before Little House on the Prairie, Swenson was known for his TV roles in Lassie and Gunsmoke, playing various characters in both. Swenson's film performances include Jensen in The Wild Country and a drunk doomsayer at a diner in Alfred Hitchco*ck's The Birds.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character: Lars Hanson is the original founder of Walnut Grove and a town elder whom all respect and come to with questions and for advice. Swenson's real-life death came shortly after his character passed away in Little House on the Prairie.

Katherine MacGregor As Harriet Oleson

Date Of Birth: January 12, 1925

• Active Since: 1951

Actor: Katherine MacGregor's role on Little House on the Prairie was by far her most significant, but she had notable television roles, including as Irma and Mrs. Pyle in two episodes of Ironside and Myrna Scudder in Emergency! Her film credits include Miss Boswell in The Student Nurses and Rose Beckwith in The Girls of Huntington House. MacGregor passed away on November 13, 2018, at the age of 93, with no cause given.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character:Harriet Oleson is married to Nels (Richard Bull) and is the town gossip who often talks about other characters in the show in a judgmental way. She is stubborn and can be rude and nearly divorces Nel at one point, though the pair end up staying together.

Kevin Hagen As Dr. Hiram Baker

Date Of Birth: April 3, 1928

• Active Since: 1957

Actor: Kevin Hagen, who died on July 9, 2005, at 77, after battling cancer, appeared in several other notable TV shows and films but his 113 episodes as Dr. Hiram Bake in Little House on the Prairie are what he's best known for. On TV, Hagen also played John Colton in Yancy Derringer, Insp. Dobbs Kobick in Land of the Giants, and multiple characters in Gunsmoke. His film roles include Frank Garrison in The Last Challenge and Major Johnson, aka "Blondebeard" in Rio Conchos.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character:Dr. Hiram Baker appeared in 113 episodes of Little House on the Prairie as a kindly doctor and veterinarian for Walnut Grove. When the town went bankrupt and people left, Dr. Baker stayed put to look after a sick Lars Hanson, and helped restore the town once people decided to return.

Merlin Olsen As Jonathan Garvey

Date Of Birth: September 15, 1940

• Active Since: 1969

Actor: Merlin Olsen was a defensive tackle for the NFL, an announcer, and finally, an actor, which is why his TV and film credits occurred later in his life. On television, Olsen played Buddy Landau on Fathers and Sons and Aaron Miller in Aaron's Way. In movies, Olsen appears as Little George in The Undefeated, Sgt. Fitzsimmons in Something Big, and Benton in Mitchell. Olsen passed away on March 11, 2010, at 69 due to mesothelioma​​​​.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character:Jonathan Garvey was Alice's husband in Little House on the Prairie and though they had their fights throughout the series, particularly when Alice revealed she was previously married, they always ended up back together. After Alice died in the school fire, Garvey fell into a drunken depression that he pulled out of with the help of his son Andrew (Patrick Labyorteaux).

Michael Landon As Charles Ingalls

Date Of Birth: October 31, 1936

• Active Since: 1955

Actor: Michael Landon is a celebrated and prolific TV and movie actor and his performance as patriarch Charles Ingalls earned him a Golden Globe nomination in 1979. He's had a number of other major roles on television, including starring performances as Joseph 'Little Joe' Cartwright in Bonanza and Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven. In film, Landon played Tony Rivers in I Was a Teenage Werewolf, Tom Dooley in The Legend of Tom Dooley, and John Everingham in Love is Forever. Landon passed away on July 1, 1991, at age 54, after a brief battle with cancer.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character:Charles Ingalls was the patriarch of the Ingalls family, and a generally soft-spoken and loving man who would only turn aggressive when protecting someone in his family. He was welcoming to strangers and often helped other characters on the show overcome whatever issues they were facing. Charles is regularly ranked high among the best dads in TV history.

Moses Gunn As Joe Kagan

Date Of Birth: October 2, 1929

• Active Since: 1964

Actor: Moses Gunn, who died on December 16, 1993, at age 64 due to complications resulting from asthma, appeared in dozens of movies and television shows in his too-short career. In film, Gunn appears as Bumby Jones in Shaft, Cletus in Rollerball, and Booker T. Washington in Ragtime. His television roles beyond Little House on the Prairie include Moses Gage in Father Murphy, Jebediah Nightlinger in The Cowboys, and Old Man in A Man Called Hawk.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character: Joe Kagan is a recurring character who appeared in five episodes of Little House on the Prairie, in seasons 4, 5, and 7. Kagan was one of the few African American residents of Walnut Grove and a former prizefighter. He came to Walnut Grove hoping for one final fight but ended up falling into a depression that Charles Ingalls helped bring him out of.

Richard Bull As Nels Oleson

Date Of Birth: June 26, 1924

• Active Since: 1953

Actor: Besides playing Nels Oleson, Richard Bull is best known for his television performance as Doc on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. In movies, Bull appears as Eric Cavanaugh in The Satan Bug, Thomas Fitch in Hour of the Gun, and Earl Higgins in Sugar. Bull passed away on February 3, 2014, from pneumonia. He was 89.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character:Nels Oleson is the co-owner of Oleson's Mercantile along with his wife Harriet, whom he has a love-hate relationship with. Nels and Harriet constantly bicker, both in and out of work, but despite their arguing, they always make up by the end of the episode.

Richard Jaeckel As Irv Hartwig & Murphy

Date Of Birth: October 10, 1926

• Active Since: 1943

Actor: Richard Jaeckel appeared in nearly 200 TV and movie productions before he passed away on June 14, 1997, as a result of cancer. Jaeckel was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role in Sometimes a Great Notion as Joe Ben Stamper. His other notable film roles include George Fox in Starman and Sergeant Clyde Bowren in The Dirty Dozen. On TV he played Ben Edwards in Baywatch and Lt. Martin Quick in Spenser: For Hire.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character:Jaeckel appeared in Little House on the Prairie twice, as different characters. In season 2, episode 18, he plays Murphy and in season 7, episodes 17 and 18, he plays Irv Hartwig. Irv is a local blacksmith who turns out to be a sexual predator and assaults Sylvia Webb (Olivia Barash) before he's killed by Sylvia's father, Hector Webb (Royal Dano).

Robert Loggia As Thomas Stark

Date Of Birth: January 3, 1930

• Active Since: 1951

Actor: Robert Loggia is a longtime film and TV actor and most modern audiences will know him as Feech La Manna in The Sopranos. His other notable TV roles include Nick Mancuso in Mancuso, F.B.I., a role which earned him an Emmy nomination, and Thomas Hewitt Edward Cat in T.H.E. Cat. Loggia earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Jagged Edge, where he plays Sam Ransom, and he also plays Mr. Freddie MacMillan in Big and Mr. Eddy/Dick Laurent in Lost Highway. He passed on December 4, 2015, at 85 due to complications with Alzheimer's disease.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character: Loggia plays Thomas Stark in season 4, episode 9, "Rage". In a very shocking episode, Thomas leads his destitute family from town to town looking for work, finally coming to Walnut Grove. When he's denied a bank loan, he reaches the end of his rope and attacks his daughter and wife, who escape. Thomas is eventually shot and killed after he takes Laura and Jenny (Shannen Doherty) hostage.

Royal Dano As Harold & Mr. Hector Webb

Date Of Birth: November 16, 1922

• Active Since: 1943

Actor: Royal Dano, who died on May 15, 1994, at age 71, appeared in close to 200 productions over his career. His notable television appearances include as various characters in Gunsmoke and Judge Clinton Sternwood in Twin Peaks. In movies, Dano played Farmer Gene Green in Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Elijah in Moby Dick, and Ten Spot in The Outlaw Josey Wales.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character: Dano plays Harold in season 6, episode 12, Alice's husband from a short-lived previous marriage before she met Jonathan. Dano then returns for season 7, episodes 17 and 18, as Mr. Hector Webb, Sylvia's father, who appears in a small but brutal arc to kill Albert, the man who sexually assaults his daughter.

Victor French As Isaiah Edwards

Date Of Birth: December 4, 1934

• Active Since: 1955

Actor: Victor French was a prolific television and film actor whose performances on TV include starring roles as Chief Roy Mobey in Carter County and Mark Gordon in Highway to Heaven alongside his Little House on the Prairie co-star, Michael Landon. In film, French plays Joe Pokrifki in An Officer and a Gentleman, Ketcham in Rio Lobo, and Dr. Andrew Cunningham in The House on Skull Mountain. The actor passed away on June 15, 1989, at 54, soon after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character: Isaiah Edwards is a recurring character in Little House on the Prairie. He's a gruff and solitary mountain man whom the Ingalls meet as they travel to Walnut Grove. Despite his rough exterior, Mr. Edwards, as he's often called, is a loving and loyal man who looks out for the Ingalls and helps them get accustomed to their new home.

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Little House on the Prairie (1974)

TV-PG

Western

Drama

Family

Little House on the Prairie is a historical drama television series based on the book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The show follows the life of the Ingalls family, particularly Laura, as they travel across the American frontier in the late 19th century, facing various challenges and experiences.

Cast

Melissa Gilbert , Dean Butler , Karen Grassle , Katherine MacGregor , Melissa Sue Anderson

Release Date

September 11, 1974

Seasons

9

Creator(s)

Ed Friendly , Laura Ingalls Wilder