'Little House' Casting Director On Casting The Iconic Show

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It's hard to believe it's been over 50 years since audiences fell in love with Little House on the Prairie.
I grew up watching Little House reruns, and the world of Walnut Grove always felt so lifelike. Watching the adventures of Laura, Pa, Mrs. Oleson, Nellie, and so many others was like watching old friends on your television screen.Little House would not be the show it became without the contributions of Susan [casting director] and Kent McCray [producer]. To celebrate over 50 years of Little House, I sat down with Susan to hear her memories of casting the beloved characters, and her and Kent's close friendship with Michael Landon.
Susan's father worked on music for Bonanza, and she first met Michael Landon and Kent McCray working as a receptionist for the casting office.
Susan McCray: My first impression of Michael Landon was that he was very funny. I met Michael when he walked into the reception office, and he said, "Hi there." He knew my dad, because my father had been recording music for Bonanza that year. He said, "I gotta go to the store." And I asked, "What are you going to the store for?" He replied, "Well, I have to go buy 13 toilet seat covers. I bought this new house in Beverly Hills, and it has 13 bathrooms, and they all need new toilet seat covers!" That was my first impression of Michael Landon. As you know, and everyone knows, his laugh was fantastic. That giggle of his was fantastic, and that's what I heard as he left to go get his toilet seat covers. My first impression of Kent was when my father introduced me while I interviewed for my job. I thought, "Wow, what a great-looking man!" And my father said to me, "If you can find a man like this someday to marry, I'd be very happy."Susan and Kent later got married in 1984, with Michael Landon as their best man!
Michael told Susan he thought the show was going to be "something special," and he was right.
Susan: It's a period piece, and it's based on fact. I mean, some of the stories were embellished and brought forward by Michael, who was an incredible writer. But I remember thinking to myself, "This is really a beautiful family show." It just seemed to be the right thing, especially with the politics at the time, and the networks were looking for something that would be family-oriented. I do remember Michael saying to me, "Susan, I think this is going to be something special." If you read the Little House books, the books don't embellish some of the things that could be brought to life a little bit more vividly, and Mike was able to do that. He said, "I think I can make people feel," and he did. I told him I had to buy Kleenex stock, because whenever I looked at an episode, or I read actors for a part, I would cry every single time. It was not because of the words; it was because of the feeling I would get when I would see the show. It just felt so good to me.
When casting for Little House, Susan never received descriptions of the character from Michael.
Susan: When I worked on casting for other shows, I always got a description of a part. Mike Landon didn't write any descriptions; I would only get a script. It really gave me the opportunity to use a creative sense, like when you read a book and you envision what that character is going to look like. I was really grateful for it, because it gave me a chance to hire and find actors who didn't already have a lot of experience. I went to a lot of theaters and showcases, and I was able to give many actors an opportunity that the networks wouldn't usually give.The networks loved Michael. He was their star, and so he got whatever he wanted. I was so lucky, because he would say, "If Susan wants them, that's the way it's going to be." I was very fortunate. I would bring in about five different people, and they would read. Then I would bring back the ones that I thought were right for the director, which, in most cases, was Michael.I always tell people that I had two ways of casting. When I saw a part, I could do what they call 'on the nose casting,' which is exactly what you envision, or 'offbeat,' which is completely different from what you originally expected, but when you see it, you say, "Wow, I never thought of it that way."In the photo above, Susan's arm is around a young Shannen Doherty, who portrayed Jenny Wilder in season nine!
Kent, Susan, and Michael would carpool together to the Little House set.
Susan: Michael directed practically every episode. He wrote practically every episode. He starred in almost every episode, and so I didn't have a lot of time with him in my office. I would either have to go out to the set, or I would bring pictures of actors in the car, because Kent and I used to drive him to work. We lived near each other, and he would always sit in the backseat. He would joke and say, "Mommy and daddy have to sit in the front!" We called him Sonny, and as a matter of fact, I have an autographed picture of Mike saying Sonny at the bottom. So, 'Sonny' would sit in the backseat. I would show him pictures of a few actors that I thought were right for a part. And he'd say, "Well, you like that one? Okay, there you go!"
Some of Susan's favorite guest stars include Ernest Borgnine, Patricia Neal, and Johnny Cash.
Susan: There are many actors that I felt very lucky to get. There were guest stars that were just incredible. Ernest Borgnine was an exceptional man, and that episode, "The Lord is my Shepherd," happens to be my favorite. When I interviewed Ernest for my radio show, he said Little House was his proudest work out of all the shows that he ever did. Patricia Neal was exceptional, and so was Johnny Cash. Really wonderful guest stars. I'm so proud of the actors. I'm very proud of Jason Bateman [who portrayed James Cooper] and Melissa Gilbert [Laura Ingalls]. I'm very proud of Linwood Boomer [Adam Kendall], who became a successful producer with Malcolm in the Middle.
Susan's memories of the iconic Katherine MacGregor [Mrs. Oleson]:
Susan: Up to the day she passed, Katherine always was the same. She was a lot of fun, and I think the most challenging role for any actor or actress is somebody nasty. When she auditioned for Mrs. Oleson, Katherine was not quite sure of what Michael wanted, and actually, I wasn't either. But somehow, when she walked in, it was one of those things where you think, "Oh my gosh, that's got to be her!" With the added costumes, the hats, and the way she carried herself, it was just so good. I don't think I know anybody who liked Mrs. Oleson, and that's exactly what you want for the part! Katherine really was a very good actress.
The actors on set trusted Michael Landon to get the job done well.
Susan: Mike was just the best to work with. He was really funny, and he was also honest. He was real, he knew what he wanted, and he made actors feel good, especially if someone was nervous. I remember Stan Ivar [who portrayed John Carter in season 9] was extremely nervous his first day, because Little House was his first major television role. There he was, standing with Michael Landon, and Melissa Gilbert, and all these people around him, and he was making mistakes, and his lines weren't coming out. Michael said to him, "What's the matter?" Stan said, "I'm just so nervous, Mike." Michael said, "Let me tell you something. No matter what, just know I will never make you look bad. Never." From then on, Stan was okay because he knew it was going to be okay.Stan is on Michael's right, at the top of the above picture.
Michael Landon and Kent McCray thought of each other as brothers.
Susan: Michael adored Kent, and the feeling was mutual. Mike used to say to him, "You're the brother I never had." Mike loved him dearly, and he trusted him. Kent would tell him exactly how he thought, and if Mike was wrong, he would tell him. Mike would accept it from Kent — that was the closeness. We were with Mike every day, day to night, and we were with him when he passed away. Kent missed him to the day that he passed, and we couldn't really talk about Michael without crying, because we were exceptionally close. Nobody knew Mike like we did. We saw the emotion, we saw the disappointment, and we saw the happy times. Michael had an incredible sense of humor. When Mike would start a funny story, Kent was able to finish it. Mike would say, "Darn it, stop finishing my joke!" They were wonderful people.
During auditions, Michael would sometimes sit under Susan's desk to help the actors feel less nervous.
Susan: A lot of times, people felt intimidated by Mike, not only because he was so bright and so talented, but he was such a good-looking guy.I would have to tell actors that Mike wouldn't want to make them nervous, and so he used to sit on the floor next to me, under my desk! I would tell the actors, "He's not sitting there because he doesn't like you. He's sitting there because he doesn't want you to feel intimidated!"I once told Michael that I said that to the actors, and he asked, "Well, why do you tell them that?" (Susan laughs) I was like, "They don't understand! You're sitting under my desk for goodness' sake!"
Susan is currently directing the play Love Letters, starring Little House co-stars Pamela Roylance [who portrayed Sarah Carter] and Stan Ivar [who portrayed John Carter].
Susan: The play is real. The play has dialogue that people have said through the years in their lifetime. It's about a relationship between two very close friends who really love each other, but never had a life together. They wrote letters to each other. There's funny dialogue, and there's sensitive dialogue. It's wonderful, and working with Pamela and Stan is exceptional, because they were great on Little House, and they're great in this. It's like working with my family all over again. I really enjoy it, and I hope that people, especially fans, will come to see it. I think they'll get from it what they got from Little House. I have really enjoyed directing the show with Pamela and Stan. They're really terrific people.
Thank you, Susan, for sharing your incredible memories of bringing the world of Little House to life! Get tickets to Love Letters here, running at the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks, CA, between August 21-31.