‘Little House on the Prairie’ alum Jack Lilley dead at 91
Hollywood has lost one of its own.
Jack Lilley died at the age of 91 on Thursday, according to his granddaughter Savanah Dawn Lilley.
A day later, his “Little House on the Prairie” co-star, Melissa Gilbert, 60, penned a touching tribute to Lilley via Instagram.
“The little house family has lost one of our own. Jack Lilley has passed away. He was 91 years old,” Gilbert penned. “He also happened to be one of my favorite people on the planet.”
The “Safe Harbour” alum reminisced on her childhood memories with Lilley, writing, “He taught me how to ride a horse when I was just a wee little thing. He was so patient with me. He never said no when I would bound up to him squealing, ‘Can we go ride? Please, please, please?’”
Throughout Lilley’s time on the Western, which ran from 1974 to 1983, the late star played multiple characters.
“Aside from being Victor French’s photo double, he was featured prominently in many different roles on ‘Little House.’ You can also see his absolute brilliance in the film ‘Blazing Saddles,’” Gilbert continued.
“In 2002 (ish) I had the great pleasure of acting in a western pilot for ABC, produced by Chris Brancato and Bert Salke, starring my pal, Sean Patrick Flanery, called ‘Then Came Jones.’ (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, in her very first role, played my daughter).
Although it didn’t get picked up, Gilbert remembers the pilot being “a joy to shoot.”
“It was all very synchronistic. Our first read though was at Paramount Studios, where we had shot ‘Little House’ the first four years,” she shared. “It was also on Halloween, which is Michael Landon’s birthday. That day, I also found out we would be shooting at Big Sky Ranch, where we had shot little house.”
Landon, who died in 1991 at the age of 54, played Little Joe Cartwright in “Bonanza” and Charles Ingalls in “Little House on the Prairie,” among a slew of other iconic roles.
Detailing her first “surreal” day filming, Gilbert recalled stepping onto set and hearing “a familiar voice holler, ‘Hey Halfpint, you old rat-ass!!!’ It was Jack. He was our wrangler for that pilot and by his side was Denny Allen, who had been our wrangler on Little House.”
As she put it, “In that instant, I knew I was home.”
“Jack always felt like home to me,” Gilbert added. “He lived quite a life. I am so lucky that he was my friend. Oh Jack….sweet prince…may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. Love always, Your Halfpint.”
His granddaughter, Savanah Dawn Lilley, took to Instagram to share the news after his death with a heartfelt message.
“The man who started it all. Figuratively and literally. The card shark, the horse trader, the wrangler, the man with a story for everything, he always knew someone who could help if he couldn’t, known to many as friend, storyteller, joker, and a heck of a horseman, and his favorite, PAPA,” she penned on Thursday.
“Jack went to be with his bride, Irene, tonight. He just couldn’t bear another second without her. You left one heck of a mark on this world, Papa. Your laugh and spark in your eyes when you saw the ones you loved will stay with us forever.”
She concluded: “Thank you to all of our family and friends for reaching out. We will let you know about a service to celebrate the life of Jack Lilley.”
