What Happened to Albert on 'Little House on the Prairie'? It's... Confusing

Publish date: 2024-05-27

What happened to Albert on 'Little House on the Prairie'? The persona's destiny changed between the ultimate season and the made-for-TV movie.

Allison Cacich - Author

During the global health disaster, reruns of previous shows had been making a comeback as the global looks for new ways to keep entertained. Our latest obsession occurs to be the ‘70s classic Little House on the Prairie.

With over 200 episodes and 3 TV motion pictures, the western provides up the easiest distraction during these troubling occasions, although the plot features a number of inconsistencies. One of the historical drama’s biggest mysteries issues the character of Albert Ingalls, who first seemed on the series in Season 5.

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What happened to Albert on 'Little House on the Prairie'?

The original story arc of Charles and Caroline Ingalls’ adopted son is contradicted in the display’s first post-finale particular, Little House: Look Back to Yesterday.

In the 1983 made-for-TV film, Albert is recognized with leukemia after suffering from serious nosebleeds and exhaustion. He makes a decision to spend the last few months of his existence in Walnut Grove, the place he probably dies off digital camera — going in opposition to the events of Season 9.

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Laura Ingalls Wilder prior to now revealed in the sequence’ final season that Albert returned to Walnut Grove 20 years later as the the town’s physician, a element that fits with the first part of the movie (Albert makes plans to attend clinical faculty), however is negated as soon as he turns into seriously unwell with most cancers. 

While viewers proceed to disagree over whether or no longer Albert in reality gave up the ghost at the finish of Look Back to Yesterday, actor Matthew Labyorteaux has his thoughts made up about the fate of his character.

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"He never officially died in the episode and I think maybe it’s kind of left up in the air to debate… but it was sort of an unspoken thing that we knew he was going to die," the former child famous person explained in an interview. 

Despite Matthew’s take on the subject, some dedicated fanatics nonetheless have a troublesome time accepting that Albert died at one of these young age. "I’m the first one to admit that I really want to believe that Albert did survive and became a doctor! And I really wish that the movie Look Back to Yesterday was never produced!" one commenter wrote in a Little House on the Prairie forum

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Another user added that regardless of all the evidence pointing to Albert’s loss of life, he’s chosen to believe Laura’s statement in the episode "Home Again" that her followed brother comes back as Walnut Grove’s doctor: "The show took its fair share of dramatic license, so I will take some of my own."

The persona of Albert was Michael Landon's thought.

The Bonanza alum, who starred as Charles Ingalls and served as an govt producer on the series, brought Albert into the fold for Season 5. "I think Mike wanted a boy to be part of it, so it gave the show a roundness that it wasn’t always Pa and the daughter," manufacturer Kent McCray said.

Casting director Susan Sukman McCray famous that hiring Matthew for the position in 1978 was a no-brainer. "[He] is the kind of talent that you’re either born with or you’re not," she said. "It’s a God-given talent and it was given to this little boy with a sweet face that you want to love."

Melissa Gilbert, who performed Laura, felt a right away kinship with the then 11-year-old. "Matt was a welcome part of the group from the get-go and instantly was my brother as far as I was concerned," she shared. No wonder this display is so excellent.

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