‘Little House’ star Karen Grassle says Michael Landon was sexist bully on set

When histrion Karen Grassle was asked by the stewardess successful the first-class compartment if she’d similar immoderate vino earlier takeoff, she nonchalantly replied: “Oh, conscionable a small please.”

The TV star, who played doting woman and parent Caroline “Ma” Ingalls successful the smash-hit amusement “Little House connected The Prairie,” gave nary hint that the solid of achromatic was supplementing the copious amounts of intoxicant she’d already consumed astatine the airport.

Still, it wasn’t agelong earlier she was making retired with the feline sitting adjacent to her and successful a boozy haze, agreed to spell location with him erstwhile they landed.

“I was a mess,” Grassle told The Post successful an exclusive interview. “My beingness was spinning retired of control.”

Now, astir 5 decades aft her reckless behaviour aboard the plane, she has opened up astir her wild, emotionally-damaging past successful the precocious ’60s and ’70s.

Her on-screen persona successful the G-rated bid astir the wholesome Ingalls household was the polar other of her existent quality — a self-hating addict who tottered connected the brink of despair.

Grassle’s caller memoir, “Bright Lights, Prairie Dust: Reflections connected Life, Loss, and Love from Little House’s Ma” (She Writes Press), retired Nov. 16, charts the highs and lows of her backstage beingness and showbiz career.

Grassle said Michael Landon (left) underpaid her, utilizing the excuse that her net should correspond with those of the kid actors.NBCUniversal via Getty Images

The candid publication recounts experiences including her drawstring of failed romances, 2 unwanted pregnancies, her vulnerability to a sexually-transmitted illness and her rocky narration with actor, manager and shaper Michael Landon, the driving unit down “Little House.”

As the mother-of-one explained: “It took maine a agelong clip to truly excavation successful and afloat uncover the layers of my story.

“I had to defy my earthy propensity for privateness to get to the truth.”

Grassle, present 79, was calved and raised successful Berkeley, Calif., wherever she inactive lives today.

Grassle was calved successful Berkley, Calif., wherever she inactive lives today. Her dada was an alcoholic and she followed successful his addictive footsteps aft she started college.

Her father, Eugene, an autarkic realtor, was a suicidal alcoholic, portion her long-suffering mother, Frae, was a “tough, determined” schoolteacher who overcame hardship during the Great Depression.

“It was fantastic to person that beardown pistillate relation exemplary arsenic inspiration for Caroline,” the histrion said, adding: “Especially arsenic my beingness was truthful different.”

She landed the coveted portion of Ma successful January 1973 aft moving from New York to Los Angeles. When she was based successful Manhattan, the London-trained thespian worked mostly successful theater, appearing connected Broadway and successful a Shakespeare successful the Park accumulation of “Cymbeline” alongside Christopher Walken and Sam Waterston.

It was a peculiarly challenging play since she was unhappily joined to histrion Leon Russom (the archetypal of her 3 erstwhile husbands), whom she divorced successful 1970. Meanwhile, the wealth she earned from the signifier was a pittance.

Karen and her ma backstage connected Broadway aboriginal successful her acting career.

Sadly, she followed her dad’s illustration by hitting the vessel — a destructive wont that began erstwhile she was studying astatine the University of California, Berkeley, a hippy enclave wherever she was prone to anxiousness and occasionally self-harmed.

But, arsenic Grassle pointed out, her “limited budget” successful New York helped incorporate her drinking astatine the time. “My flat was connected First Avenue connected a artifact with a methadone clinic,” Grassle recalled of the determination adjacent the East River, noting that junkies would walk retired successful the vestibule of her building. She perpetually disquieted astir making the rent and the outgo of repairs to her battered aged car.

It was a large triumph when, arsenic a implicit unknown, she won the relation of Ma successful “Little House,” the “vision” of “Bonanza” heartthrob Landon, who took the portion of Charles “Pa” Ingalls himself. Her TV spouse saw the imaginable of a small-screen adaptation of the memoirs of settler Laura Ingalls Wilder and enactment his estimation connected the enactment to helm the show.

“I was told to deterioration a formal and nary make-up,” Grassle wrote astir her instructions earlier her nerve-wracking audition astatine Paramount Studios.

“In the 70s, it was communal for actresses successful Hollywood to deterioration choky jeans and small tops that revealed their midriffs, mendacious eyelashes and plentifulness of eyeliner,” she described. “That look was ‘in,’ but the look, [my] cause said, was not helping Michael Landon formed Caroline Ingalls, Pioneer Mom.”

She invested $40 — a ample magnitude of currency astatine the clip — successful a humble woolen formal with a turtle cervix and flared skirt. She sneakily ignored the bid to travel bare-faced by dabbing connected a interaction of brownish eyeshadow.

The strategy worked. Within minutes of finishing a proceedings scene, Landon “sprung up from the level similar a jack-in-the-box and exclaimed: “Send her to wardrobe!”

Grassle looks backmost with fondness connected the filming of the archetypal play of “Little House” successful agrarian Sonora, Calif. She forged a peculiar enslaved with Melissa Gilbert, her on-screen daughter, who played Laura Ingalls, aka “Half Pint,” the pome of Pa’s eye.

She said she besides “spent a batch of vigor processing relationships” with Melissa Sue Anderson and identical twins, Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush, (respectively formed arsenic Laura’s sisters Mary and Carrie) “so they felt comfy doing scenes with maine arsenic their mother.”

As for Landon, Grassle initially recovered him a demanding brag who was besides an “amazing, multi-talented person.”

“He was precise highly strung, but helium was carrying the value of the amusement connected his shoulders.”

Despite being told to travel without constitution for her audition, Grassle dabbed connected eyeshadow and landed the relation of Caroline Ingalls.NBC via Getty Images

At the tallness of her fame, Grassle was paid betwixt $2,000 and $4,000 a week — capable to predominant fancy cocktail lounges and restaurants. Meanwhile, arsenic accomplished arsenic she was, the thirtysomething histrion began to question her abilities and obsess astir her show during the punishing “Little House” filming schedule. It didn’t assistance that determination was a barroom connected set.

“I spent my drinking vocation trying to get a grip connected it,” Grassle told The Post astir her high-functioning alcoholism. “I wanted to portion the mode different radical drank – conscionable to person amusive astatine the party.

“But it started to get bad. I’d get horribly drunk and would sob, outcry and transportation on. I’d consciousness similar everything successful my beingness was wrong.”

The concern lone got worse erstwhile her dealings with Landon soured during an ongoing quality implicit her salary. Tensions mounted up of the show’s 2nd play erstwhile helium refused her petition for a raise. Much to Grassle’s indignation, helium utilized the excuse that her net should correspond with those of the kid actors.

“I felt insulted arsenic his co-star connected a deed series,” said Grassle, a mainstay of the “Little House” ensemble betwixt 1973 and 1982. “I didn’t privation to gouge anybody, but I expected a just wage.” It was peculiarly infuriating erstwhile Landon claimed that audiences didn’t find her arsenic fashionable arsenic she thought.

Before long, “Ma” was fixed the acold shoulder. She was near retired of storylines and her scenes were cut. Landon would elicit inexpensive laughs from the unit by mocking her fig and facial expressions erstwhile they reviewed her footage.

Most shocking was Landon’s progressively foul connection and rude conduct, Grassle said. These traits often surfaced during sequences changeable successful the Ingalls’ rudimentary chamber erstwhile the on-set antheral workers egged him on.

Grassle aboriginal reconciled with Landon, who died of pancreatic crab successful 1991 astatine the property of 54. “I americium precise grateful that we mended our fences,” she said.NBCUniversal via Getty Images

 “Mike would accidental ‘c__” and marque disgusting jokes astir however a pistillate smelled aft sex,” recalled Grassle. She said Landon’s outrageous comments made her privation “to disappear.”

“It was astir similar I was frozen,” she said. “But, arsenic a pistillate successful the 1970s movie industry, I was truthful accustomed to these putdowns, it ne'er occurred to maine to sharply rebuke him.”

She continued: “I kept up the professionalism. I’d beryllium the bully girl, play the portion and hope.”

By now, her drinking — and the inevitable hangovers — wreaked havoc connected her assemblage and psyche. The incidental with the alien connected the level was emblematic of the risks she took with her information and well-being.

“I don’t cognize what the nationalist would person thought of Caroline Ingalls behaving similar that,” she said. “Maybe they would person turned against me.”

Some of her much meaningful relationships were jeopardized due to the fact that she couldn’t defy “unsuitable” types. “I was ne'er a bully justice of who would marque a bully partner,” she confessed, describing her younger aforesaid arsenic somewhat “loose”.

“I was hopeless and didn’t person a clue,” added Grassle. “I hatred to accidental it, but the men [I dated] were with a mess.”

In the mid-’70s, she cheated connected her then-fiancé with Gil Gerard, a dashing histrion who made a impermanent quality connected “Little House.” Gerard, who took the pb successful the sci-fi TV bid “Buck Rogers successful the 25^th Century,” aboriginal contacted Grassle with the upsetting quality that she whitethorn person contracted gonorrhea.

Speaking frankly astir her intoxicant dependence, Grassle explains successful her publication however she’d get connected acceptable aft a dense nighttime of drinking feeling exhausted and nauseous. Red-eyed and puffy, the histrion would trust connected the hairsbreadth and make-up artists to disguise the broadside effects.

“I got a java and trudged to the make-up trailer,” she recalled of 1 achy aboriginal start. “Larry and Whitey [the squad who handled her appearance] enactment maine backmost together, and I emerged from the caring cocoon with the caput of Ma.”

It was lone aft she got sober that she recognized her subconscious yearning to bushed her addiction and transmission the grace and endurance of her alter-ego successful “Little House.”

“I didn’t fishy that my existent tendency was for stability, a hubby who wanted a family, and children of my own,” Grassle wrote successful her memoir. “I didn’t person a hint that I wanted what Caroline Ingalls really had.”

Happily, with the assistance of a determined person and chap alcoholic, Grassle recovered the courageousness to situation her demons successful 1977. Buoyed by a definitive triumph successful her years-long wage negotiations with Landon and NBC — she managed to treble her wage — the histrion ditched her aged habits and embraced a steadfast lifestyle.

The melodramatic turnaround contributed to her consequent reconciliation with Landon, who died of pancreatic crab successful 1991 astatine the property of 54. “I americium precise grateful that we mended our fences,” she said.

Meanwhile, aft branching retired from “Little House” to constitute and prima successful the 1978 task “Battered,” astir home unit against women, Grassle became a high-profile advocator of adjacent rights.

These days her activism is focused connected the ongoing run for reproductive freedom. The origin is peculiarly adjacent to her bosom since she underwent 2 terminations successful her precocious twenties and aboriginal thirties earlier going connected to person her son, Zach Radford, successful 1985.

In her memoir, the Californian described the trauma of secretly traveling to Mexico for the archetypal process earlier termination was formally legalized successful 1973.

“Society [still] needs to enactment women successful their decisions,” Grassle said. “Whether it’s for a wellness crushed — oregon immoderate different idiosyncratic crushed — they should ne'er beryllium treated similar criminals.”

As for Ma, Grassle is fiercely arrogant of the 182 episodes of “Little House” erstwhile she stole American hearts arsenic the nation’s favourite mom.

“Caroline was an incredibly beardown pistillate with a quality afloat of texture,” the histrion concluded. “Her tone is 1 to unrecorded by.”