Karen Grassle Movies
Karen Grassle entered the University of California-Berkeley as an English major, but active participation in school plays led her to change her field of interest and to graduate with a BA in drama. Supporting herself with menial jobs, Grassle went on to study in a San Francisco acting workshop, then went to London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art on a Fulbright scholarship. After acting in regional repertory, Grassle received her first New York break in the 1968 play The Gingham Tree...which lasted all of five performances, but which led to steadier engagements with producer Joseph Papp and several Manhattan-based TV soap operas. Hoping to boost her career, Grassle briefly changed her professional name to Kay Dillinger, claiming to be the illegitimate offspring of the notorious 1930s bank robber (who died ten years before Karen was born!) When she came to LA in 1973 for a never-completed movie project, she was calling herself Gabriel Tree, and it was under this name that she beat out 47 other actresses for the role of Caroline Ingalls in the long-running TV drama Little House on the Prairie (co-star Michael Landon convinced her to revert to her given name). During the nine-year run of Little House, Karen Grassle frequently groused about the limitations of her role, but in recent years she has been seen on TV commercials, warmly endorsing a videotaped collection of the best Little House on the Prairie episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1980
Pete Ellerbee (William Traylor), Walnut Grove's legendary football hero, returns to town to coach the high school team. To Pete, winning isn't everything, it's the only thing -- and this attitude proves to be hard thing for the team members to live up to, especially his own son. Pete's win-at-all-costs methods result in a near tragedy when Albert Ingalls (Matthew Laborteaux) risks serious injury during a game. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1980
In the conclusion of Little House on the Prairie's two-part season-seven opener, the wedding of Laura Ingalls (Melissa Gilbert) and Almanzo Wilder (Dean Butler) is still on hold due to financial problems. When Almanzo's schoolteacher sister, Eliza Jane (Lucy Lee Flippin), has her heart broken by Harv Miller (James Cromwell), she decides to leave town. As it turns out, Eliza Jane's loss is Laura's gain when the latter is hired as the new schoolmarm -- thereby allowing the wedding to go forth as planned. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1980
Widowed farmer Jonathan Garvey (Merlin Oleson) and his son Andy (Patrick Laborteaux) move to the town of Sleepy Eye so that Jonathan can start a freight business. Unfortunately, he is repeatedly robbed of his meager belongings by a gang of local toughs. Deciding to end this crime wave on his own, Jonathan becomes the local deputy sheriff -- and his first arrest results in a brutal beating for Andy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1980
In the first episode of a two-part story, Almanzo (Dean Butler) asks Charles' permission to marry Laura (Melissa Gilbert), but Charles insists that she cannot wed until she is 18 -- two years from now. Upset that Laura concedes to her father's wishes, Almanzo leaves town. Meanwhile, Mrs. Oleson (Katherine MacGregor) hires a new restaurant worker named Percival Dalton (Steve Tracy) -- who promptly falls in love with Mrs. Oleson's daughter, Nellie (Alison Arngrim). And outside of Walnut Grove, Adam Kendall (Linwood Boomer), the husband of Laura's sister Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson), receives some discouraging news. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1980
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Laura (Melissa Gilbert) tries to get over the departure of her fiancé, Almanzo (Dean Butler), by helping her sister Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson) and brother-in-law Adam (Linwood Boomer) set up a new school for the blind in the town of Sleepy Eye. As fate would have it, this is the same town where Almanzo has relocated -- and when she sees her beloved in a compromising situation with a saloon gal, Laura angrily breaks off her engagement. Things change dramatically when Laura discovers a remarkable secret about Almanzo while nursing him through an illness. And Laura's father, Charles (Michael Landon), is prompted to reconsider his insistence that the girl wait until she is 18 to get married. But what of the still-blossoming romance between Nellie Oleson (Alison Arngrim) and Percival Dalton (Steve Tracy)? This was the final episode of Little House on the Prairie's sixth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1980
Tired of his wife's nagging and his children's prankishness, long-suffering Nels Oleson (Richard Bull) decides to sell his wares in another town. There he meets the much-younger Molly Reardon (Suzanne Rodgers), with whom he falls in love. Certain that everyone will "understand" his decision to start life over with another woman, Nels is astonished when his friend Charles (Michael Landon) harshly denounces him, pointing out that family responsibilities always take precedence over matters of the heart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1980
Newly certified as a schoolteacher, 16-year-old Laura (Melissa Gilbert) accepts a temporary teaching job in a nearby town. Almanzo (Dean Butler) offers to drive Laura to her new assignment -- a gesture made strictly out of friendship for the girl. But in the course of the journey, Almanzo suddenly realizes that he truly loves Laura. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1980
In this special two-hour episode, a fire at the blind school claims the lives of both Mary's baby and the wife of farmer Jonathan Garvey (Merlin Olsen). In the aftermath of the tragedy, Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson) goes into a state of shock and Jonathan angrily rails against God. The only person who can set things right is Mary's adoptive brother, Albert (Matthew Laborteaux) -- but he is also the person who accidentally started the fire. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1980
Charles Bloom guest stars as Perley, the younger brother of Almanzo Wilder (Dean Butler). Hoping that his daughter Laura (Melissa Gilbert) will get over her infatuation with the older Almanzo, Charles (Michael Landon) encourages a romance between Laura and Perley -- but things changes dramatically when the careless Perley injures one of Almanzo's horses. Meanwhile, Laura's adoptive brother, Albert (Matthew Laborteaux), and Andy Garvey (Patrick Laborteaux) vie for the affections of pretty Penelope Parker (Stacy Sipes). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1980
On a stormy night, Laura (Melissa Gilbert) and Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson) are held captive at the blind school by three escaped convicts. Since one of the men is wounded, Laura is permitted to go to town to get a doctor -- with the warning that Mary will suffer should she alert the authorities. Even so, Laura returns to the school with her father, Charles (Michael Landon) -- not a doctor, but just what the doctor ordered to resolve this terrifying situation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1980
Alban Branton, a deaf child, makes his acting debut in the role of hearing-impaired Daniel Page. Taking it upon herself to teach Daniel sign language, Laura (Melissa Gilbert) never dreams that the boy will fall in love with her -- but that is precisely what happens. This dramatic situation is tempered somewhat by a comic subplot involving the mischievous Willie Oleson (Jonathan Gilbert) and his efforts to construct an elaborate doghouse for his favorite pooch, Bandit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1980
The schoolchildren of Walnut Grove face a new nemesis in the form of an overgrown bully named Bart (Sandy Ward). To teach his tormentor a lesson, Albert (Matthew Laborteaux) contrives to throw a good scare into the boy. But when his "wolf-man" disguise comes a cropper, Albert decides to leave Bart's reformation in the hands of his clever classmates. This episode contains a sly reference to series star Michael Landon's first starring film I Was a Teenage Werewolf. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1980
Charles (Michael Landon) and Caroline (Karen Grassle) journey to faraway Milwaukee to attend two important events: a farmers' convention and their 25th high school reunion. At the convention, Charles exhorts his fellow small farmers to stand up to the "big boys," while at the reunion, Caroline is both impressed and a depressed by the "success" stories told by her former classmates. When all is said and done, both Charles and Caroline realize anew how wonderful their life has been together -- disappointments, setbacks, tragedies, and all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1979
Hoping to contribute to the Ingalls' family coffers, young Albert (Matthew Laborteaux) becomes an apprentice to old Isaac Singerman (John Bleifer), Walnut Grove's coffin maker. Before long, Albert is subjected to the taunts of his classmates, who maliciously label him a "Jew lover." As it turns out, even the most bigoted citizens of Walnut Grove could stand to learn a lesson from the positive example set by Isaac and his brethren. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
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Season six of Little House on the Prairie bids goodbye to Mary Ingalls (Melissa Sue Anderson) and her new husband, Adam Kendall (Linwood Boomer) -- at least on a regular weekly basis. With Mary and Adam having moved to the Dakotas, Laura Ingalls (Melissa Gilbert) is now the oldest daughter in her family, and she intends to prove her worth by following in Mary's footsteps as Walnut Grove's resident schoolteacher. She is also courted by a local farmer named Almanzo Wilder (Dean Butler), to whom she will become engaged. The principal characters must endure some heavy emotional baggage during the series' sixth season, when the town's schoolhouse burns down, killing Mary and Adam's baby as well as the wife of farmer Jonathan Garvey (Merlin Olsen). On a happier note, in the season's closing episode, "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not," Laura and Almanzo have drawn up plans to marry and to teach in a new school in the town of Sleepy Eye; and Walnut Grove gossip Mrs. Oleson (Katherine MacGregor), having established her own business, hires a young man named Percival Dalton (Steve Tracy), who will ultimately wed her daughter, Nellie (Alison Arngrim). ~ All Movie Guide
- 1979
Crisis in Mid-Air is essentially a "problem drama" concentrating on a single individual. George Peppard plays a veteran air traffic controller who holds himself responsible for a mid-air collision. With an FAA investigator breathing down his neck, Peppard gets a chance to prove his value when another flight, with 235 passengers on board, puts in a "Mayday" call. The TV Guide ads for this television movie were a little misleading, suggesting that Peppard was in the cockpit rather than the control tower. Crisis in Mid-Air debuted February 13, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
No sooner has Walnut Grove's first telephone been installed in the town's hotel than self-appointed operator Mrs. Oleson (Katherine MacGregor) begins eavesdropping on her neighbors. Overhearing a conversation between Alice Garvey (Hersha Parady) and her mother, Mrs. Oleson is shocked to discover that Alice was married before her union with her present husband, Jonathan (Merlin Oleson). This revelation causes a serious rift in the Garvey household -- at least until Jonathan finds out the real reason that Alice has never talked about her first husband. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1979
The victim of lifelong abuse at the hands of his drunken father, surly 17-year-old Tod Dortmunder (Timothy Wead) comes to live with his grandparents in Walnut Grove. Wasting no time getting into trouble, Tod soon faces a jail term for stealing Charles' watch. Rather than heap more punishment on the battered boy, Charles (Michael Landon) allows Tod to work out his sentence on the Ingalls farm -- where the teenager comes face to face with kindness and affection for the first time in his life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1979
James Olson guest stars as "Reverend" Edward Danforth, a bombastic faith healer who descends upon Walnut Grove. So persuasive is Danforth's rhetoric and his laying-on-of-hands technique that soon both Rev. Alden (Dabbs Greer) and Doc Baker (Kevin Hagen) are shunned by the community as being hopelessly old-fashioned. But Danforth is exposed as a fraud when tragedy strikes in the home of a boy suffering from a ruptured appendix. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1979
After the death of Caroline's mother, her heartbroken father, Frederick Holbrook (Barry Sullivan), moves into the Ingalls' sod house. Little Albert (Matthew Laborteaux) quickly gravitates to Frederick, who has a gift for weaving fascinating stories out of his lifetime experiences. As a means of pulling Frederick out of his loneliness, Charles (Michael Landon) persuades the old man to gather together his reminiscences in book form -- and even offers to raise enough money to get the book published. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1979
Victor French returns to Little House on the Prairie in the role of Isaiah Edwards, now a successful logger. When he is crippled by a falling tree, Edwards loses his will to live. Though he appears to shake himself out of his doldrums when he renews his friendship with the Ingalls family, Edwards nonetheless continues to exhibit suicidal tendencies -- never more dramatically than during a hunting trip with Charles (Michael Landon). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1979
Suffering from an extremely overactive imagination -- fueled by the Halloween season and his addiction to dime novels -- Albert (Matthew Laborteaux) dreams that he and Laura (Melissa Gilbert) are kidnapped by Indians. The plot thickens when Albert is mistaken for the chief's son and, as such, is expected to lead his tribe in an attack against Walnut Grove. And back in the "real" world, little Carrie (a role shared by twins Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush) is given a good scare by her even littler sister Gracie (likewise played by twins, Wendi and Brenda Turnbaugh). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1979
Telecast on Sunday evening rather than the series' customary Monday-night slot, "The Little House Years" is a three-hour compilation of highlights from the series' five previous seasons. Gathered together for Thanksgiving, the Ingalls family recalls the most memorable events of their lives, with special emphasis on the growing pains endured by daughter Laura (Melissa Gilbert). Among the episodes excerpted are 1974's "The Lord is My Shepherd," featuring Ernest Borgnine as a hermit named Jonathan; the 1976 installments "Bunny" and "The Race," emphasizing the ongoing rivalry between Laura and the impossible Nellie Oleson (Alison Arngrim); and another 1976 entry, the two-part "Journey in the Spring," guest-starring Arthur Hill as Lansford Ingalls, father of Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon). For syndication purposes, "The Little House Years" has been re-edited as three separate hour-long episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1979
A slick sports promoter (Ray Walston) convinces Jonathan Garvey (Merlin Olsen) that he has genuine talent as a wrestler. It is all part of a scheme to bilk the citizens of Walnut Grove by staging a rigged wrestling match. Things get really sticky when, consumed by gambling fever, Mrs. Oleson (Katherine MacGregor) bets the church funds on the outcome of the match. It is up to the crooked promoter's henchman (played by B-movie favorite Leo Gordon) to unexpectedly save the day. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1979
Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson) accompanies her husband, Adam (Linwood Boomer), on a stagecoach trip to an awards ceremony where Adam will be honored. En route, the coach is involved in an accident in a remote area. As the only passenger who is unhurt, Mary must save the lives of Adam, a pregnant woman (played by Michael Landon's daughter Leslie Landon), and the woman's unborn child. Meanwhile, back in Walnut Grove, a seriocomic subplot involving Laura (Melissa Gilbert), Albert (Matthew Laborteaux), Mrs. Oleson (Katherine MacGregor) and a Christmas fund plays itself out. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
