Nellie Oleson Burns Down 'Little House On The Prairie'

By Ben Widdicombe Posted Jun 17th 2010 07:00AM

Alison Arngrim, familiar to a generation of TV viewers as the petulant Nellie Oleson of 'Little House On The Prairie,' is dishing the dirt on Walnut Grove. In her new book (released this week) and one-woman show, both called 'Confessions of a Prairie Bitch,' she tells tales and reveals who she liked (Melissa Gilbert) and who she didn't (Melissa Sue Anderson) on set.

"I tell all true stories," she told PopEater. "I talk about what it was like to be a bitch, and what it's like to be hated. What does it mean to be Nellie Oleson? It means somebody has called me a bitch to my face every day since I was 11 years old."

And were they right?

"Yes!" she said with a laugh. "Of course, I'm not really a bitch, I just played one on TV."

Alison's website doesn't make it easy to find tour dates, but the show will be in New York this Thursday through Saturday, and then moves to San Francisco and on to France, where (like Jerry Lewis) she is surprisingly popular.

"The French really love 'Little House on the Prairie,' and they love Nellie Oleson," she says. "I go to France at least twice a year for a month and perform my one-woman show in French. The show really resonated with the French for some reason, and [I learned the language because] I realized I could go back and cash in. They don't think Nellie's mean, they think she's French."

Arngrim was part of the first generation of TV actors to benefit from residual payments "in perpetuity," meaning she still gets checks from 'Little House.' "'The Waltons' don't get residuals," she says with an impish trace of Oleson smugness.

And she adds that almost without exception, the fans' favorite "Nellie moment" is the episode where she pretends to be crippled. The saintly Laura Ingalls finally breaks and pushes Nellie, in her wheelchair, into a pond. "It's the most beloved episode and it really vibrates with people," she says. "Nellie gets her come-uppance!"

But were there any real-life catfights on-set?

"One of the things that seems to shock people is that Melissa Gilbert and I are friends," she says, speaking at her book event at New York's Aspen Social Club. "We loved each other and we still love each other -- Melissa is very much like my sister. We had slumber parties. Yet, you had Melissa Sue Anderson, who played her sister, and they never went to each other's house. Melissa [Gilbert] has spoken in her book about how she did not have a very good relationship with Melissa Sue. I talk about how Melissa Sue was really the diva head cheerleader-type, the homecoming queen who we all were sort of in awe of. Melissa Sue admits in her book she did not become friends with the other girls. She said she was shy ... we think there's another word for it, and it's the one they call me."

Alison (whose tweets you can follow here) is also heavily involved with Protect.org, a child-protection advocacy group, in part because she was abused as a child. She even told Ann Curry, how she used her abuse as inspiration for Nellie. "When you live with abuse, you have a lot of rage and anger, and I had a place to actually take it and vent it as Nellie. "It's done me so much good, I can't even describe it."

Asked about her funniest fan interaction, she said she was at an autograph signing a few years ago at the LA County Fair, and a middle-aged women went red in the face when she saw her and finally blurted out "I forgive you!" before storming off.

"It was nice to be absolved after all these years," Arngrim says with a chuckle.

Tags: Alison Arngrim, little house on the prairie, melissa gilbert

Comments

(94)

Saturday 19 June

By Dal

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Joe, the correct spelling is you're not your. You don't have to be a wordsmith to know basic, elementary grammar and spelling.

Thursday 17 June

By disgusted

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I always loved Nellie and Laura's rivalry remember when Laura pushed Nellie in the creek? I think that Allison is great.

By devilwomanme

You are either jealous or what they call her, she is a wonderful actress and a great advocate for abuse. You, however, are pathetic!!!

By julie

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I GUESS YOU WOULD IDENTIFY WITH A TOADFACE,AND I GUESS WHEN YOU WERE BORN YOUR PARENTS TOOK ONE LOOK AT YOU AND THOUGHT, AHH SHE LOOKS JUST LIKE A LITTLE TASMANIAN DEVIL,BUT LETS CALL HER DEVILWOMAN FOR SHORT

Friday 18 June

By brian

She is also a tireless AIDS awareness activitist and has been for over 20 years. Allison Arngram has done alot of charity drives over the years to raise money for AIDS research.

By teri

C'mon, you guys. I would much rather read something positive regarding a former child star than about a drug-fueled, many married, alien-kidnapped, parent-hating, child-molested, blew-all-my-money, sell-my-soul-to-tabloids-for-cash crap I've been reading lately. Cut her some slack . . .

By NinasBFFEverett

Thank you!

By DIANE

amen to that teri, it's refreshing isn't it.

By Niki

I love her! I just love honesty in general. It is great when stars like Melissa Gilbert, Kathy Griffin, etc. get real and talk about what other stars (they came in contact with) are really like. With all the smoke and mirrors in Hollywood, it is refreshing when someone just tells it like it is or was. Of course it is one person's word against another, but if two people end up saying the same person isn't nice, then they probably aren't (Melissa Sue Anderson). But really your gut will tell you if someone could possibly be difficult. Usually when I hear about a star being "difficult", it is a star that either always seemed like they would be that way, or were so fake that you got the vibe that they wouldn't be nice. If you aren't nice, people should be told. We spend our hard earned money and time on these people, and we should know who they really are. If you are going to be ugly to people on-set, then you should accept that it is going to follow you. Maybe if more people spoke up about how people really are, some of that behavior would change. I would also love to see Allison or Melissa Gilbert on DWTS!!!! You go Allison! Thanks for being so honest in your book!

What's DWTS?

By Melanie

Are you kidding me? Of course you did not like Nellie. Alison played the role so well you had to hate her. I have seen interviews and she really is a smart, funny and sweet person. I do believe you just don't like her sense of humor or just don't get it.

By Everett

Another Thank you, and Amen! These sour pusses probably resemble "Nellie" in their very own lifestyles.

By librarynun2

Thinks she needs a bit of dental whitening done or can she not afford it?

Friday 19 April

By Eileen

Only one Nellie! Same actress throughout the series.

By Diana

She did a great job playing Nellie. She was a girl who everyone hated. Its called acting, very good acting for a child.
I hope her book sells very well.

By Julie

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her name was Nancy, the olsens adopted her, because she was a brat and reminded them of Nellie

By adrieneb628

she played nancy and she was just as mean as nellie

By anonymous

This woman is beating a dead horse. Every time I see an interview with her she is always talking about her acting days on "Little House on the Prairie." Plus, she's been doing that one woman show forever. She needs to let it go!

By TreeTopTall

IF! she's enjoying what she's doing and making some dollars from doing it, why would you say she should let it go? Now, IF! you don't like what she's doing, well don't watch her. Now isn't that simple. Bet you hadn't thought of it.

By Becky

OMg...LOVED LHOTP!!! My first best show...and Alison...you did such a good job....cause I was scared of you and hated you thru the tv.....hahaha!! SO glad to know that the REAL you is not like that! Always thought you were so pretty though......big blue eyes...Probably because of you ...is why I wanted a blonde haired blue eyed daughter when I grew up....and...I got her.......but she isn't allowed to be a Nelly!

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