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Sunday, September 29, 2024

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 50th 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 50th 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.

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