Karen Grassle

Karen Grassle ( ; 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. She attended H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College (Tulane University, 1959–60) and then transferred to the University of California, Berkeley. 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. 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. (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.

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 five productions of "Driving Miss Daisy" at Manitoba Theatre Center, etc. Independent films "Lasso" (2017), "Not to Forget" (2019). 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 from Little 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.

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 and 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.

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

Filmography +Film and television roles Year Title Role Notes 1974–82 Little House on the Prairie Caroline Ingalls 182 episodes 1974 Gunsmoke Fran Episode: "The Wiving" 1977 Emily, Emily Terry TV film 1978 The President's Mistress Donna Morton TV film Battered Susannah Hawks Also writer 1979 Crisis in Mid-air Betsy Culver TV film The Little House Years Caroline Ingalls TV special of Little House on the Prairie 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 film Hotel Susan Walker Episode: "Christmas" 1984 Little House: The Last Farewell Caroline Ingalls TV film 1985 Between the Darkness and the Dawn Ellen Foster Holland TV film 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 Feature film My Greatest Teacher Aunt Dorothy Feature film 2017 Lasso Lillian Feature film Where's Roman? Mysterious Woman Short film 2021 Not to Forget Melody Feature film

Awards and nominations

Book