Before Little House On The Prairie, Melissa Gilbert Got Her TV Acting Start On Gunsmoke
Playing Laura Ingalls Wilder made Melissa Gilbert a household name, but two years before Little House On The Prairie, she was getting into Dodge on Gunsmoke.
Melissa Gilbert, who would later star as Laura Ingalls Wilder in the beloved TV series Little House on the Prairie, began her career with a role on the iconic Western drama Gunsmoke. The show, a 20-season, 635-episode masterpiece, centered around Marshal Matt Dillon, played by James Arness, as he maintained law and order in 1870s Dodge City, Kansas.
In Season 18's episode "The Judgement," Gilbert portrayed the young daughter of Ira Spratt, a character played by William Windom. Gilbert's character had to cry alongside her mother, played by Mariette Hartley, as Marshal Dillon arrived to arrest her father. The role provided Gilbert with her first significant TV acting experience and proved to be a crucial learning opportunity.
Written by urgent.news from TVLine's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
