Karen Grassle
Born (1942-02-25) February 25, 1942
Alma materUniversity of California, Berkeley (BA)
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Occupations
  • Actress
  • Author
Years active1966–present
Known forLittle House on the Prairie
Cymbeline
Harry's War
Wyatt Earp
Not to Forget

Karen Grassle (/ɡræsl/ GRASS-LEE; born February 25, 1942) is an American actress, known for her role as Caroline Ingalls in the NBC television drama series Little House on the Prairie.[1]

Early life

Karen Grassle was born in northern California and moved to Ventura with her family when she was 5 years old. As a child, she studied at a dance academy and acted in school plays. She graduated from Ventura High School in 1959.[2] She attended H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College (Tulane University, 1959–60) and then transferred to the University of California, Berkeley.[1] She graduated with BA degrees in 1965 in English and in Dramatic Art. She received a Fulbright Fellowship to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in London.[1]

Career

After summers at the Stanford Contemporary Workshop playing leads and two summers at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival playing classical roles, her first professional engagement was a season at the Front Street Theatre, Memphis, Tennessee. upon return from London. While living in New York City, she worked at resident and stock theatres throughout the country, also appearing on PBS in original works and on networks in three soap operas. She made her Broadway debut in the short-lived 1968 play The Gingham Dog. Grassle played in Butterflies Are Free on Broadway (as stand-by with Gloria Swanson, Rosemary Murphy, etc.) as well as at the Elitch Theatre in Denver, Colorado, in June 1972, along with Maureen O'Sullivan and Brandon deWilde, who was killed before leaving town after the performances ended.[3] Grassle starred in the Shakespeare in the Park production of Cymbeline with Christopher Walken, Sam Waterston, and William Devane.

Grassle auditioned for the role of the mother, Caroline Ingalls, in the Little House on the Prairie TV series and won the part. The series ran for nine seasons, from 1974 to 1983. After making the pilot for Little House on the Prairie, Grassle appeared in one episode of Gunsmoke titled "The Wiving" as Fran, one of several saloon girls kidnapped. Subsequently, she acted in the features Harry's War, a 1981 American film where she played Kathy, the wife of Edward Herrmann's title character, and Wyatt Earp, a 1994 film starring Kevin Costner. On television, she starred in and co-wrote the NBC-TV film Battered. Other TV movies include Cocaine: One Man's Seduction, Crisis in MidAir, and Between the Darkness and the Dawn. In episodic TV, she starred in Hotel, Love Boat, and Murder She Wrote (twice). She also appeared on Hollywood Squares and numerous talk shows such as Dinah, Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas, and John Davidson. During this period, she lobbied for federal funding for shelters for battered women and appeared in many events to support the Equal Rights Amendment.[4] (Performance of the Year award.)

After the series ended, she moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico and became co-founder and artistic director of Santa Fe's Resource Theater Company. Later she moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where she performed with the company of actors at Actors Theatre of Louisville.[5]

Settling in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2006, Grassle appeared in plays at San Francisco Playhouse, "The Ride Down Mt. Morgan;" "Cabaret." (Outstanding Achievement Award, 2008;) TheatreWorks; Aurora Theatre and out of town in 5 productions of "Driving Miss Daisy" at Manitoba Theatre Center, etc. Independent films "Lasso." 2017, "Not to Forget," 2019 s Grassle continues to perform in productions in San Francisco, Berkeley, and Palo Alto as well as tours and productions such as Driving Miss Daisy in the starring role of Miss Daisy at the Manitoba Theatre Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in a co-production with Rubicon Theatre and at the Riverside Center for the Performing Arts in Fredericksburg, Virginia. In 2008, she was awarded a prize for her performance in Cabaret at the San Francisco Playhouse. Over the years, she has appeared in commercials such as the promotional face for Premier Bathrooms, a supplier of bathing products for the elderly and infirm.

In 2021 Grassle starred in the film Not to Forget (2021) together with Academy Award winners Cloris Leachman, Louis Gossett Jr., Tatum O'Neal, George Chakiris, and Olympia Dukakis. The film, directed by Valerio Zanoli, aimed to raise awareness and funds for the fight against Alzheimer's disease.

Personal life

Grassle's memoir, Bright Lights, Prairie Dust: Reflections on Life, Loss, and Love by House's Ma was published November 16, 2021, by She Writes Press. At the date of publication, Grassle resided in the San Francisco Bay Area with her son Zach Radford.[6]

The book detailed her struggles with alcoholism, as well as the troubled relationship she had with her former co-star, Michael Landon. Grassle accused Landon of making derogatory remarks about her while on the set of Little House, often with other members of the cast and crew present, laughing at the comments. Grassle also claimed that her relationship with Landon became strained after she sought a raise, which he refused to give her.[7]

Grassle subsequently "mended fences" with Landon prior to his death in 1991 from pancreatic cancer.[7][8]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1974–1982 Little House on the Prairie Caroline Ingalls 182 episodes
1974 Gunsmoke Fran Episode: "The Wiving"
1977 Emily, Emily Terry TV movie
1978 The President's Mistress Donna Morton
Battered Susannah Hawks Also writer
1979 Crisis in Mid-air Betsy Culver TV movie
The Little House Years Caroline Ingalls
1981 Harry's War Kathy Feature film
The Love Boat Paula Episode: "Maid for Each Other/Lost and Found/Then There Were Two"
1983 Cocaine: One Man's Seduction Barbara Gant TV movie
Hotel Susan Walker Episode: "Christmas"
1984 Little House: The Last Farewell Caroline Ingalls TV movie
1985 Between the Darkness and the Dawn Ellen Foster Holland
1987 Murder, She Wrote Christine Stoneham Episode: "Murder in a Minor Key"
1988 Murder, She Wrote Fay Hewitt Episode: "Harbinger of Death"
1994 Wyatt Earp Mrs. Sutherland Feature film
2012 Tales of Everyday Magic Aunt Dorothy
My Greatest Teacher
2017 Lasso Lillian
Where's Roman? Mysterious Woman Short film
2021 Not to Forget Melody Feature film

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
1975 Western Heritage Awards Fictional Television Drama Little House on the Prairie Won
1976 TP de Oro, Spain Best Foreign Actress (Mejor Actriz Extranjera) Nominated
1977 Won
2022 Long Key International Film Awards Best Actress Not to Forget

References

  1. 1 2 3 Karen Grassle Biography, Biography Channel
  2. Salgado, Cytlalli (November 20, 2021). "'Little House on the Prairie' star Karen Grassle returns to Ventura for book signing". Ventura County Star. Archived from the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  3. Remembering Brandon.net/A Word on the Elitch Theatre While contracted by Butterflies Are Free, she continued to do experimental work with artists such as JoAnne Akalaitis and at the Public Theatre. Archived January 16, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Allen, Kathleen (January 12, 2001). "A fearless and funny 'Wit'". Arizona Daily Star.
  5. Austen, Greg (April 20, 1990). "Karen Grassle Bucks the Odds For A Successful Acting Career". The New Mexican.
  6. Grassle, Karen. "Bright Lights, Prairie Dust: Reflections on Life, Loss, and Love by House's Ma". shewritespress.com. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  7. 1 2 Nolasco, Stephanie (December 8, 2021). "'Little House on the Prairie' star Karen Grassle: 8 surprising revelations from her tell-all book". Fox News. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  8. VanHoose, Benjamin. "Karen Grassle 'Grateful' She 'Mended Fences' with 'Little House' Costar Michael Landon Before His Death". people.com. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
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