The centerpiece of our massive two-week-in-July-2013 road trip was the Wilder Pageant in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, and the driving force at the Wilder Pageant that made it some desirable was having a decent number of Little House on the Prairie TV cast members present at the affair. This was made even more amazing by the seats that we were given on that Friday, July 25, 2014, performance of the play. Two of the celebrities present happened to play siblings on the show, that of Laura Ingalls’ husband Almanzo Wilder and his sister Eliza Jane, both fictionalized versions of real-life people.
Almanzo had been played by Dean Butler in what was by far his most famous role. During the cast interviews before the Wilder Pageant play, the crowed noticed that Mr. Butler was now referring to the character as Al-MAN-zo (rather the pronunciation actually used in the show of Al-MON-zo). It was interesting that this was just now coming to light, and that he was conscientious enough to adapt his pronunciation to suit the real Almanzo Wilder’s name rather than the character he played.
It would be tempting to say that Dean Butler was known for little other than Little House on the Prairie, but I had completely forgotten at the time that he also starred in several episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Buffy’s father Hank Summers. This meant that along with Kristine Sutherland, I had met both of Buffy’s parents just a few months apart without even realizing it.
But getting to meet Dean Butler wasn’t exactly a ‘given.’ It’s true that he sat just a half-dozen seats away from us during the Wilder Pageant, but the problem was that before the show, the area was swarmed with photo-takers and fans wanting autographs, of which the celebrities were asked not to do, as it would cause a lot of congestion and chaos during the show. Carolyn really wanted a picture with Dean Butler, probably more than anyone at the show, so I told her to make her way down the aisle and give it a try. When she did, he looked around at the crowds and said “ummmm…. maybe later.”
She got discouraged, but I simply held him to it. When the actors decided to leave during the play intermission, I grabbed him and reminded him that he had told Carolyn she could get a picture ‘later.’ And he did. Then I quickly pulled the switcheroo and had him pose with me as well. I usually and extremely irritated by photo-bombers – especially when I’m getting a photo with a celebrity – but this one was actually quite fun, considering it was Charlotte Stewart – aka Miss Beadle – who was pranking us.
Not knowing what kind of opportunities we might be getting the next day at the autograph sessions, I wanted to try and get as many photos as we possibly could before the actors were all herded onto their bus and took off for their motel.
We were actually only able to get one more photo that night (after being denied by Radames Pera), but it was a good one: Lucy Lee Flippin, who had portrayed Eliza Jane Wilder in 18 episodes of Little House. She actually seemed flattered that we asked and was more than happy to pose with both of us.
Incidentally I didn’t realize until later what a cool career Lucy Lee Flippin had actually had – appearing in some very notable or interesting shows: The Bob Newhart Show, Newhart, Alice, Moonlighting, The Golden Girls, The Hogan Family, ER, and Still Standing… just to name a handful.
I didn’t try for any autographs that night, but the next day (after some long delays and excruciating waits that you’ll hear about later), Carolyn and I did finally get a chance to get both Dean Butler and Lucy Lee Flippin to sign the photos that adorn this page. Both were very kind, but Dean Butler was the most talkative and really tried to engage Carolyn in conversation by asking her what she liked best about Nellie, who Carolyn had pictured on her shirt. He laughed when Carolyn told him that she was the only part of the show that she liked. Perhaps she was still irritated about being shot down at first.
In any case, I found both of these actors to be very nice and personable and it was a great opportunity to get to meet them both.
Celebrities of the 2014 Walnut Grove weekend will continue…
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