R.I.P. Jack Lilley: ‘Little House On The Prairie’ Actor Dead At 91

What to Watch

Little House on the Prairie alum Jack Lilley died this week. He was 91.

Per the New York Post, the news was shared on Instagram by his granddaughter, Savannah Dawn Lilley, on Thursday, who wrote that he “went to be with his bride, Irene, tonight.”

“You left one heck of a mark on this world, Papa,” she penned, in part. “Your laugh and spark in your eyes when you saw the ones you loved will stay.”

Lilley, who portrayed several parts on the Western drama, was also mourned by his former co-star Melissa Gilbert on Friday, who took to Instagram to express that “the Little House family has lost one of our own.”

Gilbert, who played Laura Ingalls Wilder in the 1970s series and who recently clapped back at Megyn Kelly for her comments about the upcoming Netflix reboot, said Lilley was “one of [her] favorite people on the planet” in her lengthy tribute, recalling how he was the one to teach her how to ride a horse.

“Jack always felt like home to me. He lived quite a life. I am so lucky that he was my friend,” a portion of her post read.

Lilley also appeared in the Little House TV movie spinoffs Little House: Look Back to Yesterday (1983) , Little House: The Last Farewell and Little House: Bless All the Dear Children (1984).

In his TV work, Lilley appeared on a slew of series including Wagon Train, Zorro, Death Valley Days, Rawhide, The Virginian, The Big Valley, Bonanza, and Gunsmoke.

As an actor and stuntman, he also worked on films such as Blazing Saddles (1974), Young Guns (1988), Planet of the Apes (2001), and The Legend of Zorro (2005), per IMDb.