WASHINGTON, Nov 15 — Katherine MacGregor, who played the nasty busybody Harriet Oleson on the TV series Little House on the Prairie, has died at the age of 93.
MacGregor died on Tuesday at the Motion Picture and Television Fund retirement community in Los Angeles, news reports said, quoting her representative, Tony Sears.
On the popular 1970s show, Oleson and her also mean-spirited daughter Nellie, played by Alison Arngrim, were the nemesis of the wholesome Ingalls family including Pa (Michael Landon) and Laura (Melissa Gilbert).
Born in California, MacGregor started off as a dancer in New York before switching to acting. She landed minor film parts and some work on TV before taking on the role that would define her career.
The show was based on a book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder about her childhood.
“She was outspoken and hilariously funny,” Gilbert said of MacGregor.
“A truly gifted actress as she was able to play a despicable character but with so much heart,” she wrote on Instagram yesterday. “Her Harriet Oleson was the woman our fans loved to hate. A perfect antagonist.” — AFP
