After Little House ended its run, Grassle said adios to Hollywood and moved to New Mexico where she opened Santa Fe’s Resource Theater Company. Despite her lack of credits, she auditioned to play Laura Ingalls' no-nonsense mom and won the part. She’d been in a few plays and had bit parts on two TV shows. When she took on the role of Ma, or Caroline Ingalls, Karen Grassle was an undiscovered newcomer. Sadly, Landon lost his cancer battle and died at the age of 54, less than three months after he was diagnosed. He continued to act, write, produce and direct until he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 1991. After Little House, Landon went on to star as a probationary angel in yet another hit show, Highway to Heaven. Not only did he play Pa, he wrote, directed and executive produced the show. The year Bonanza ended, Landon signed on to the Little House series. Before he became America’s favorite father figure, Michael Landon lit up the screen as Little Joe Cartwright on Bonanza. His daughters adored him and did pretty much anything to please him. The main man of the little house, Charles Ingalls, or Pa, was a hard-working, honest, salt-of-the-earth kind of guy. She married and divorced actors Bo Brinkman and Bruce Boxleitner, and tied the knot again with actor Timothy Busfield in 2013. In her personal life, Gilbert dated actor Rob Lowe on-and-off for six years. In 2012, she was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars and got eliminated 8 weeks in. That same year she played the role of Ma in the touring production of Little House on the Prairie, the Musical. Gilbert penned an autobiography, Prairie Tale: A Memoir in 2009. She was elected president of the Screen Actor’s Guild in 2001 and served two terms as SAG’s head honcho. After stealing the hearts of America as the young, spirited Laura Ingalls, Melissa Gilbert continued to act as an adult and starred in many TV movies.
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