Reading Time: 3 minutes
We have sad news from the world of television today, as a beloved star from one of the medium’s most beloved shows has passed away.
Over the course of nine seasons and three reunion specials, Jack Lilley portrayed the charismatic stagecoach driver on Little House on the Prairie.
On Friday, fans of the still-beloved series were heartbroken to learn that Lilley had passed away at the age of 91.
While Lilley’s cause of death remains undisclosed, at least one longtime friend has eagerly shared a beautiful reminiscence about his life.
Yes, news of Lilley’s death comes to us courtesy of his former costar Melissa Gilbert.
Gilbert was just ten years old when she was cast as Laura Ingalls Wilder on the hit NBC series. And she says Lilley was an important figure throughout her childhood.
“The Little House family has lost one of our own,” Gilbert wrote on Instagram today, adding that Lilley was “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?’” the actress wrote.
She also recalled Lilley’s “absolute brilliance in the film Blazing Saddles.”
Interestingly, Lilley and Gilbert were reunited years after Prairie came to an end, when they were both cast in the pilot for a series titled Then Came Jones.
Melissa recalls that she was “so bummed when it didn’t get picked up,” but still grateful for the experience.
“It was all very synchronistic. Our first read through was at Paramount Studios, where we had shot Little House the first four years. It was also on Halloween, which is Michael Landon’s birthday,” she wrote, referring to the late actor who played her father on Little House.
“That day, I also found out we would be shooting at Big Sky Ranch, where we had shot Little House,” she recalled.
Gilbert recalls that she had no idea that Lilley would also be on set.
“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. Then I walked to the set itself and before I could even focus I heard a familiar voice holler, ‘Hey Halfpint, you old rat-a–!!’ It was Jack,” she writes.
“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.”
Gilbert concluded by explaining that Lilley “always felt like home to me” and offering “love and prayers” to his family.
“He lived quite a life. I am so lucky that he was my friend,” she added.
Jack Lilley racked up 87 acting credits over the course of his career, most of them in Westerns.
And clearly, he touched quite a few lives along the way.