Prairie Man: My Little House Life & Beyond by Dean Butler

 

Title: Prairie Man:  My Little House Life & Beyond

Author:  Dean Butler

Narrated by:  Dean Butler

Publisher: HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 7 minutes

Source: Thank you @netgalley for the audiobook review copy.

Dean Butler was a young twenty-three-year-old man when he was cast in his iconic role as Almanzo Wilder on Little House on the Prairie.  On the 50^th anniversary of the debut of the show, Butler has written a memoir on his life, experiences as an actor, and details on starring in Little House. 

My thoughts on this book:

·       A little girl asked Dean Butler, “Do you have any regrets?”  That question as well as it being the 50^th anniversary of the debut of Little House on the Prairie were the two inspirations for Dean Butler to put together this memoir. 

·       Like Tom Selleck’s memoir, Butler’s memoir is honest, but good natured.  He doesn’t dish dirt on fellow actors or his first wife.

·       There were great intros from Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson) and Melissa Gilbert (Laura Ingalls Wilder) on how just a nice man Dean Butler was when he joined the Little House cast and how awkward it was for 5-year-old Melissa Gilbert to kiss a grown man in front of her mother.

·       This memoir includes information on the real history of Almanzo Wilder.

·       I felt at one with Butler’s pale complexion that burns and does not tan.  There is a funny story in the memoir about how make-up had to be used to make Butler appear tanned for another show.

·       I am a Little House super fan and I’ve also read the memoirs of Melissa Gilbert and Alison Angrim.  I saw Butler from afar at an appearance in Green Bay a decade ago or so.

·       I learned I have been saying Almanzo wrong my entire life.  I have always been saying it the way they said it on the show.

·       Dean Butler seemed like a good-hearted person I would like to know.

·       I liked the funny star-stricken moments Butler had with Madonna and his childhood hero, William Shatner.

·       Butler described a lot of movies and TV series that sounded interesting.  I want to watch them, especially Forever, but they are not available due to music licensing issues.

·       It’s hard to think about Butler being unable to find work for a period until he was cast as Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s father.  He also started to work behind the scenes.

·       Butler has starred on Broadway as Rapunzel’s Prince in Into the Wild and Tory in West Side Story.

·       Butler was engaged to Mary Hart, which I did not know.  His heart was broken when they broke up.   He didn’t discuss his first marriage, except to state that it was a disaster.  He did discuss finding new love with his current wife Katherine.

·       The history of how the show was made was also discussed.

·       Butler is at one with his TV legacy of being Almanzo Wilder.  He has leaned into it and produced documentaries on Laura Ingalls Wilder and Almanzo Wilder.

·       Dean Butler narrated the audiobook himself and it was excellent.

Overall, Prairie Man by Dean Butler is a wonderful memoir, perfect for any fan of Little House on the Prairie.  The audiobook narrated by Dean Butler, himself, was very engaging and interesting.