When I think of Little House on the Prairie, I think of Michael Landon. Particularly, it's his leadership as family patriarch and his sense of direction that really makes the show what it is. It's warm and humid, heartfelt but not overly cheesy. By grounding it just a little bit, the show was something people could truly connect with. One of the show's stars Dean Butler shares similar sentiments and he attributes it to one central figure: Michael Landon.
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Recently, Butler spoke on the Little House 50 podcast with Pamela Bob and Alison Arngrim. There, they reflect on what made the show worthwhile for so many fans. "I think the difference between Little House and other shows that I've seen that are family friendly, like, family value shows is that the other shows seem to have a sort of syrupy, saccharine, overproduced [feeling]," Pamela says of the Landon led show.
Little House on the Prairie Stars Reflect on What Made The Show and Michael Landon Great
"7th Heaven was supposed to be that, too. It was just like, ugh. There was something that just ... did not ring true. It didn't feel real, right?" she adds. "And in Little House, you have these very simple [storylines] but there's an authenticity to it. There's such heart to it and they're not sugarcoating the family values."
Dean Butler credits that sense of authenticity to Michael Landon. "Michael also has a way — he can turn that on a dime and find the humor in a moment, which immediately can yank you back away from the sentimentality into a good-natured laugh. And I think that that the balance that he was able to strike allowed the audience to be surprised by where the emotions turn," Butler says. "His dialogue is so simple. I mean, Michael doesn't write big long speeches... But he made everything so clearly understood."
It's these qualities that make Landon the cream of the crop according to Dean. Moreover, he believes that the industry didn't truly take note of what made him a special actor and creative. "I think people respected Michael, but I don't think that he had that industry respect that he deserved. He captured audiences in this profound way and continues to capture audiences," Butler adds. "In a changing world, he still is able to capture people because there's truth in what he's writing about."
