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Little house in the meadow was Melissa Gilbert’s first chance at a lead role. The former child star played Laura Ingalls throughout the show’s nine seasons. At the start of the series, Laura’s father, Charles “Pa” Ingalls (Michael Landon), called her “half pint.”
Gilbert recently explained how Landon came up with the name “half pint”. She also shared if she preferred the moniker decades later.
Melissa Gilbert felt ‘instantly safe’ with Michael Landon
When she auditioned to play Laura on Little house in the meadow, Gilbert was 9 years old. The role would be one of the central characters of the series. The real Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote the children’s books that inspired the show.
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Although his parents worked in the entertainment industry, Gilbert was an inspiring actor before booking Little house in the meadow. In an interview with Closer Weekly, Gilbert shared what it was like to meet Landon for the first time. Before Little house in the meadow, Landon played the role of Little Joe Cartwright in Windfall.
“I never saw WindfallGilbert admitted. “But I walked into the hearing room and he smiled at me. I thought, “Oh, he’s a star.” I could palpably feel that this man was different. I instantly felt safe and comfortable.
Michael Landon gave Melissa Gilbert the nickname ‘Half-Pint’
When production is running Little house in the meadow started, Landon became close to his television family. During their first day of filming, Gilbert said Landon told him she needed a nickname. At the time, Landon had already given Gilbert’s on-screen sister Melissa Sue Anderson a company name of her own. Gilbert shared that she already had a name in mind.
“‘So what’s your nickname? What would you like us to call you? Gilbert said, quoting Landon. “And I said, ‘Well, what about Moesha?’ He looked at me and laughed, and he said, “Moesha? Where did you hear that name? I said, “I don’t know.”
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Gilbert said Landon suggested he try another nickname on set. the Highway to paradise star explained that the word meant something different in Jewish culture.
“’Honey, Moesha is the name of an old Jewish man,” Landon said. “We’re just going to call you ‘Half-Pint.’ ‘
Melissa Gilbert loves when fans call her ‘Half-Pint’
Landon’s nickname for Gilbert resonated with Little house in the meadowviewers. On the show, Pa Ingalls gave Laura the name “half pint” because the 9-year-old was her “little half-pint of half-drunk cider,” in reference to her height.
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As the series continued, fans called Gilbert “half pint” as much as they called her Laura. Gilbert said she never gets tired of hearing her famous nickname when people recognize her. She also shared that the former cast and crew members of Little house in the meadow always use the alias.
“There’s a whole bunch of people I worked with so many years ago who won’t call me anything But Half-Pint, ”Gilbert said. “And that suits me perfectly.”
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