Melissa Gilbert Reveals the Sweet Nickname Michael Landon Gave Her — and the One He Rejected — onLittle House on the PrairieSet

Mar. 15, 2025

Melissa Gilbert and Michael Landon.Photo:Frank Carroll/NBCU Photo Bank

Frank Carroll/NBCU Photo Bank

Melissa Gilberthad a memorable nickname during her days on the set ofLittle House on the Prairie —and it was all thanks to one costar.

The actress, 60, appeared onThe Viewon Tuesday, Feb. 11, where she reminisced about her time on the beloved western series. Beginning from the time she was 10, Gilbert said she has a lot of memories from the set that shaped her childhood.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently because it’s just sort of in the atmosphere and the one thing that keeps popping in my head was the first day of filming on the pilot whenMichael Landoncame up to me and he said, ‘Do you have a nickname because there’s two Melissas now,’” she recalled, referencing Melissa Sue Anderson. “And I said, ‘I don’t.’ And he said, ‘Well, what nickname do you want?’”

“‘I said, ‘Actually, I would like to be called ‘Moishe,’” she continued, referring to the Hebrew name typically given to men. “And he said, ‘What? Why Moishe?’ And I said, ‘I heard it at home, it’s a cool name right?’ He said, ‘No. You are not Moishe. You are not an old Jewish man. We are going to call you Half Pint.’ And I’ve been Half Pint ever since!”

Melissa Gilbert and Michael Landon.Everett

Everett

Gilbert also reacted to the recent news thatNetflix has aLittle House on the Prairierebootin the works, saying, “I support the project.”

“I loved being part of [the original], and I do think there’s room in theLittle Houseuniverse for other interpretations,” she added.

In Kelly’spost on X, she shared a link to a story fromThe Hollywood Reporterabout the Netflix reboot and seemingly addressed the streamer: “If you wokeifyLittle House on the PrairieI will make it my singular mission to absolutely ruin your project.”

“Were woke then!” cohostSunny Hostinchimed in.

“Yeah! We were a reflection of what was happening in America in 1974 through the lens of 1874, and in a lot of ways we’re still there,” Gilbert noted.

Melissa Gilbert.Pascal Le Segretain/Getty

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty

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“We tackled: racism, addiction, nativism, antisemitism, misogyny, rape, spousal abuse and every other ‘woke’ topic you can think of. Thank you very much,” Gilbert added.

In the caption of the post, she encouraged Kelly, 54, to “watch any episode on any streaming platform anywhere in the world” of the original series, which ran from 1974 to 1983.

source: people.com