Melissa Gilbert shared a touching tribute after the death of her Little House on the Prairie costar Jack Lilley at age 91.
“The little house family has lost one of our own. Jack Lilley has passed away . He was 91 years old,” she wrote in a lengthy post on Instagram on Friday, March 21. “He also happened to be one of my favorite people on the planet. He taught me how to ride a horse when I was just a wee little thing. He was so patient with me. He never said no when I would bound up to him squealing, ‘Can we go ride? Please, please, please?’”
“Aside from being Victor French’s photo double, he was featured prominently in many different roles on Little House,” she added. “You can also see his absolute brilliance in the film Blazing Saddles. In 2002 (ish) I had the great pleasure of acting in a western pilot for ABC, produced by Chris Brancato and Bert Salke, starring my pal, Sean Patrick Flanery, called Then Came Jones. (Mary Elizabeth Winstead , in her very first role, played my daughter) It was a joy to shoot and I was so bummed when it didn’t get picked up.”
Melissa, 60, played Laura Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie throughout the show’s entire run. Jack had several roles on the show over the years, including a stage driver, a wagon driver and a townsman.
“It was all very synchronistic. Our first read though was at Paramount Studios, where we had shot Little House the first four years,” Melissa recalled in her caption. “It was also on Halloween, which is Michael Landon’s birthday. That day, I also found out we would be shooting at Big Sky Ranch, where we had shot little house.”
Melissa Gilbert on Little House on the Prairie’s Jack Lilley’s Death
“My first day on set was surreal , getting my hair and makeup done, getting dressed, laced into my corset, boots etc. Such a strange deja vu,” she continued. “Then I walked to the set itself and before I could even focus I heard a familiar voice holler, ‘Hey Halfpint, you old rat-ass!!!’ It was Jack. He was our wrangler for that pilot and by his side was Denny Allen, who had been our wrangler on Little House. In that instant, I knew I was home.”
The California native went on to say “Jack always felt like home to me. He lived quite a life. I am so lucky that he was my friend. All my love and prayers go out to his family and especially Clint (Burkey) Lilley. @stuntbagdrag Oh Jack….sweet prince…may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. Love always, Your Halfpint. @cbrancato86 #rip #littlehouseontheprairie #blazingsaddles #cowboy #western #realcowboy #stuntman #actor #friend.”
In addition to his work on Little House on the Prairie, Jack made appearances in Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Dallas, The Virginian, Rawhide, Maverick and more. He earned 87 acting credits throughout his career, with his most recent being 2022’s No Name and Dynamite Davenport. He also earned 49 additional credits as a crew member and 30 credits for his stunt work over the years.
