Posted 29 minutes agoSubscribe to Screen Time NewsletterCaret Down"Little House" Star Lucy Lee Flippin Reflects On Eliza Jane, Accidentally Mispronouncing 'Almanzo,' And Those Super Thick GlassesThe actress behind Walnut Grove's iconic teacher opens up about her audition, first day nerves, and what it was like wearing those extraordinarily thick glasses.by Andrew FirrioloBuzzFeed StaffFacebookPinterestLink Little House on the Prairie had many teachers throughout its nine-season run. NBC / NBCUniversal / Via Everett Collection Seasons 1-4 introduced us to Ms. Beadle, Season 5, Alice Garvey, and Season 6 brought Eliza Jane Wilder to Walnut Grove. She and her brother, Almanzo, were an essential part of the sixth season with fan-favorite episodes like "Back to School" and "Sweet Sixteen."Continuing to celebrate over five decades of Little House, I reached out to Lucy Lee Flippin to hear her memories of playing the prim and proper Eliza Jane.
Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. When Lucy first auditioned, she was surprised by how comfortable she felt with the script. NBC / NBCUniversal / Via Getty Images Lucy: I got a call from my agent to go to MGM and meet with the casting director, Susan Sukman. I went in and she had me read a scene, and then she said, "I want you to come back. I want you to pull your hair back as severely as you can. No makeup, as plain as can be." She said, "I want you to meet Michael [Michael Landon]."I was struck by how comfortable I felt with the material. Usually, I spend a lot of time preparing, but I said to myself, "Don't overdo it. You'll lose the connection you're having."I came back; I was all slicked down, no frills, no excess, and I read the scene. Michael was sitting in the corner with his boots on and his blue jeans - he was very good looking! It was rather distracting although he sort of had his hands folded, trying to take attention away from himself. I did the scene for him, and there was silence. Then he said, "I want you to do it again, but be more strict." I did it again, and then I left. I didn't hear anything for at least two weeks, so I thought, "Well, that's the end of that." Apparently, they were trying to finish casting for Almanzo, so they had to get that nailed down before they offered me anything. So it turned out well! Lucy auditioned without watching Little House or reading the books. HarperCollins / Via amazon.com Lucy: Well, the problem for me is I didn't watch the show. When I was a little girl, I didn't read the books. It was unknown to me. I thought it was a children's show, you know what I mean? I definitely started watching it before my filming started! There was only one book I could find at the bookstore about Laura Ingalls Wilder. There was no Google, no internet - so little information, so all I had were the actual books. Farmer Boy was very helpful.
Throughout the filming, I was very impressed with how well-organized everything was. Especially with the children, they could only work with them for four hours a day, because they had school. The parents were there, and everybody seemed to get along so well and be well-behaved. On her first day of filming, there was a mix-up in the pronunciation of Almanzo, which stuck throughout the whole show! NBC / NBCUniversal / Via Getty Images Lucy: On the first day, Dean [Dean Butler portrayed Almanzo] and I were both a little nervous. We were in the buckboard, and Dean had to handle the horses, which I don't think he was used to doing. I mean we were sort of like two brand new puppies, you know, very wide-eyed! I remember we were in the town square, and the first scene we shot was when I introduced Almanzo to Laura. I introduced him as Almonzo [an 'o' sound], but apparently it was supposed to be pronounced Almanzo [like 'man']! No one corrected me - the script supervisor didn't, Michael Landon didn't, and Dean Butler never said a word!(Lucy laughs) So I feel unfairly blamed for that. I thought my way sounded nicer! Eliza Jane's costume was tough to wear, especially those glasses! NBC / NBCUniversal / Via Little House on the Prairie: "Back to School: Part 1" Lucy: I wish playing Eliza Jane was more comfortable! The glasses were really tough. They were very thick, and they were somebody's actual prescription glasses. They kind of made me a little dizzy!Then, with my hair, they used an iron and sometimes they would burn my hair to get the little curls. In the summertime, it was just so overwhelmingly hot. The clothing was hot, and I didn't like that plaid dress she wore with a white collar. It was tough, but it made you walk and behave in the period in which you were portraying. The costumes did their job! Lucy had a tough time doing scenes with Michael Landon because he was such a practical jokester. NBC / NBCUniversal / Via Little House on the Prairie: "The Werewolf of Walnut Grove" Lucy: Michael never really gave me much direction. He kind of left me alone and he called me sugar, which is