Actress Karen Grassle just opened up about her difficult experience working with Michael Landon on Little House on the Prairie.
The pair played the beloved "Ingalls" parents "Caroline" and "Charles," but their off-screen relationship was far from a happy one, Grassle has revealed. The 79-year-old actress spoke out ahead of her new memoir which comes out on Nov. 16.
Karen Grassle and Michael Landon on Little House on the Prairie
Speaking with the New York Post, Grassle revealed that she at first got along with Landon, her screen husband, whom she called an "amazing" but "very highly strung" person.
The relationship took a hit, however, when Grassle began negotiating for "fair" pay after Little House season 1.
The actress "felt insulted" when Landon refused to give her a raise. He insisted that she receive the same salary as the child actors despite her lead role on the show. Landon also tried to mislead Grassle by telling her that viewers disliked her character.
The dispute made Landon reduce Grassle's role on the series and, the NY Post writes, "Landon would elicit cheap laughs from the crew by mocking [Grassle's] figure and facial expressions when they reviewed her footage."
Apparently, Landon would even escalate the insults during bedroom scenes, encouraged by the crew. Grassle added: "Mike would say 'c__' and make disgusting jokes about how a woman smelled after sex."
She said the cruel bullying made her want to "disappear," but she felt "frozen" and as if a woman could do nothing about such behaviour on a 1970s TV set.
"I kept up the professionalism," she added. "I'd be the good girl, play the part and hope." The wage negotiations went on for over a year before Grassle finally got her salary doubled.
She also said she was able to reconcile with Landon but only shortly before his death." I am very grateful that we mended our fences," she said of her former co-star, despite his past behaviour. Little House ended in 1983, and Landon passed away in 1991.
Grassle's comments came ahead of her new memoir Bright Lights, Prairie Dust: Reflections on Life, Loss, and Love from Little House's Ma.
The book comes out on Nov. 16, and it's expected to delve deeper into the star's troubled past and revelations such as her difficult experience with Landon on Little House.
Grassle had spoken about the wage dispute with Landon earlier this year, but the sexist bullying and toxic set allegations are new revelations.
Truly one of a kind...
It doesn't look too good!
