I seriously thought about asking her if I could stunt double for her. Arngrim described her feelings for the actor in her memoir, claiming, “I, on the other hand, was crazy about Radames and could not believe Melissa didn’t like kissing him. She said she would have gladly taken Anderson’s place by dating him on the show. The logical consequences of one’s actions or spiritual karma? You decide.” Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson) had a massive crush on Radames Pera (John Jr)Īccording to Arngrim, she was head over heels for Mary Ingalls’ man. So, of course, that meant Michael had to go back to the old plotline and make her blind. Unfortunately, Melissa Sue hated his guts, refused to kiss him, and eventually, he left the show. “Michael had decided to postpone the whole plotline about her blindness indefinitely and let her become a romantic lead,” Arngrim writes in her memoir, Confessions of a Prairie B*tch.
Pera, who was meant to stick around on the show as her love interest, was forced to be removed from the series because of Anderson’s refusal to work with him. Yet Arngrim wasn’t the only victim of Anderson’s unfair ways. Not only was she cold and standoffish, but she also physically threatened to hurt Arngrim. RELATED: ‘Little House on the Prairie’: Laura Ingalls Actor Melissa Gilbert Begged for Her Kissing Scenes To Be Removed With Almanzo Wilder Actor Dean ButlerĪccording to Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson), Anderson was tough to work with on the Prairie set. Mary Ingalls actor (Melissa Sue Anderson) refused to kiss John Junior actor (Radames Pera) Radames Pera as John Sanderson Edwards, Melissa Sue Anderson as Mary Ingalls Kendall | Ted Shepherd/NBCU Photo Bank As a result, they break up, and Mary finds a new love interest. has been unfaithful during their long distance romance. His character moves to Chicago to write for a newspaper, yet they maintain a long-distance relationship throughout.Įverything blows up in flames, though, when Mary discovers that John Jr. could pursue his dreams of becoming a writer.
They came up with a flimsy excuse for their relationship to end, with the two splitting up so John Jr. Melissa Sue Anderson as Mary Ingalls Kendall, Rademas Pera as John Sanderson | Edwards Frank Carroll/Getty Images Because of these complications going on off-screen, the writers had to develop a whole new plotline for the characters. Yet behind the scenes, Anderson detested Pera and refused to kiss him. The two seem like the perfect pair on-screen. In the series, Mary falls in love with the sensitive and poetic John Jr. Michael Landon as Charles Philip Ingalls, Melissa Sue Anderson as Mary Ingalls Kendall, Radames Pera as John Sanderson Edwards | Ted Shepherd/NBCU Photo Bank What happened with Mary Ingalls and John Jr.