Little House on the Prairie Actors Share Poignant Michael Landon Dialogue That Came Full Circle at His Funeral

Published: May 29, 2025

The stars of Little House on the Prairie are remembering late star Michael Landon through their Little House 50 podcast. On the latest episode, they noted how a line written by Landon in a poignant episode was later uttered in his eulogy, given by costar Melissa Gilbert. The actors continue to be moved by their costar's work and the episode itself.

The episode, titled "Remember Me," centered on a widow diagnosed with incurable cancer who must determine what will happen to her three young children. The episode was written and directed by Landon, who also played patriarch Charles Ingalls on the show, and it was an emotional re-watch for the show's former stars.

A Line That Became a Signature in Michael's Life

One of Landon's most quoted lines of dialogue, "Remember me with smiles and laughter for that is how I will remember you," was spoken by the beautiful actress Patricia Neal in the episode. Interestingly, Melissa Gilbert quoted the line at Michael's funeral service in July of 1991, as part of her remarks, which were some of the most beautiful remarks I'd ever heard.

Dean Butler, 69, added that the full-circle moment of the line of dialogue being used in Landon's memorial meant that the words "became a signature in Michael's life."

Alison Arngrim, 63, said that she still can't watch the episode without growing emotional. "I can't even hear those words without kind of choking up because it was so Michael," she said on the podcast, adding, "It's heart-wrenching in this episode, but then when it became literally Michael's epitaph ... it was like, just plunge a knife at the chest."

Arngrim added that the episode itself offered almost a foretelling of Landon's life would be like. "It's an incredible thing, that he wrote that and that was so much who he was [and] the idea that this would mirror his life in such a way," she said.

While the episode revolves around a woman grappling with how to tell her children she's dying, Landon himself had to do the same later in life. "By the time he found out he had pancreatic cancer, he did not have very long to live," Arngrim said, noting that Landon was diagnosed in April, spoke about his diagnosis on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in May, and died in July.