NBC’s Little House On The Prairie star Jack Lilley — known for his work in film and television as an actor, stuntman, and animal wrangler — has died at the age of 91.
“The little house family has lost one of our own. Jack Lilley has passed away. He was 91 years old,” Little House On The Prairie star Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura Ingalls Wilder, announced in a Friday Instagram post.
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“He also happened to be one of my favorite people on the planet,” Gilbert continued. “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?'”
Notably, Lilley played a stagecoach driver on the show because he was good with horses, but also played “many different roles” on Little House On The Prairie, the actress added. He was also Victor French’s photo double, she said.
Lilley — born on August 15, 1933 in Santa Clarita, California — is also known for his appearances in the 2001 film, Planet of the Apes, the 2005 film, The Legend of Zorro, the 1988 film, Young Guns, and being a stuntman on the 1983 film, Sudden Impact.
The actor got his start in the entertainment industry in 1956, when he played a cowhand in the film, Gun For A Coward. Lilley’s last role was Jack in 2022 film, No Name And Dynamite Davenport, according to his IMDb page.
“You can also see his absolute brilliance in the film Blazing Saddles,” Gilbert added in her Instagram post.
While Little House On The Prairie aired from 1974 until 1983, the actress went on to reminisce about a time she ran into Lilley again, decades after the series had ended:
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.
It was all very synchronistic. Our first read though 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. That day, I also found out we would be shooting at Big Sky Ranch, where we had shot little house.
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-ass!!!’ It was Jack,” Gilbert recalled. “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. Jack always felt like home to me,” the actress said. “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.”
“Oh Jack… sweet prince… may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest,” Gilbert concluded in her tribute to Lilley.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
