Patty Maloney, 'Little House on the Prairie' actress, dies at 89

USA Today

03-04-2025

Patty Maloney, 'Little House on the Prairie' actress, dies at 89
Former "Little House on the Prairie" star Patricia "Patty" Maloney has died. She was 89.
A fixture on Variety shows like "Donny and Marie" and "Bay City Rollers" in the 1970s and '80s, Maloney died Monday, her rep Jeffrey Loseff confirmed in a statement Wednesday to USA TODAY.
Her brother, Dave Myrabo, told The Hollywood Reporter that Maloney died in hospice care in Winter Park, Florida, after experiencing "several" strokes over the years.
"Patty was the ultimate performer, a triple threat performing on Broadway" and with "her own one-woman show," Loseff said in the statement.
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At 3 feet 11 inches, Maloney's size was at once signature to her performance art and a mere portion of a much bigger persona.
Along with playing Alice Bates on "Little House," she was best known for her roles as Chewbacca's son Lumpy in 1978's "The Star Wars Holiday Special" and Honk in 1975 on the TV series "Far Out Space Nuts."
With additional features in big-name productions like "Swing Shift," "Under the Rainbow" and "The Addams Family," Maloney proved herself humorous, dynamic and charming. Maloney also performed in Las Vegas with Totie Fields, the trailblazing female comic who died in 1978.
That signature showmanship was minted early on in her career, with a stint as a circus performer through the famed Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey productions.
"There wasn't a person she met or place she's worked where she was not loved by everyone," the statement read.