24/11/2025
Ahead of the holiday cast reunion in Simi Valley, December 12—14 (https://littlehouseontheprairiecastreunions.com/ ), Andrew Firriolo of Buzz Feed, chatted with Rachel about growing up on set, the iconic opening title sequence, and working with Michael Landon.
*** When Carrie falls down in the opening title sequence, her shoes were on the wrong feet! ***
Rachel: It's my sister, Sidney, who fell running down the hill. Across from that hill is actually the Ingalls home, so if you were to turn the camera around, you could film Pa coming home. We were sitting underneath the oak trees by the Plum Creek, waiting for our turn to be on camera for shooting the opening scene. Richalene Kelsay, who did the woman's wardrobe, didn't like us to get our clothes dirty, but we were three years old and we had nothing to do. My mom would take our dresses off so that we wouldn't get them dirty, and then when they needed us on set, she would throw them back on. We were sitting underneath the trees, and they started calling for my sister to be on set. My mom got in this huge rush because now we're tying up production, which you don't want to do. She threw Sidney's shoes on, she threw her dress on, and ran her up the hill. What my mom didn't know was that she had put my sister's shoes on the opposite feet, and the leather on the bottom side gets very slippery. So when Sidney was running down the hill, she just got way too much momentum and toppled over! Her little legs just couldn't keep up.
Link: https://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewfirriolo/rachel-greenbush-little-house-on-the-prairie-interview
Rachel Greenbush breaks down the story behind the iconic opening sequence, early episodes, and the family atmosphere on set.
