‘Little House on the Prairie’ child star says set was like ‘Mad Men’
Alison Arngrim, who played Nellie Oleson in the Michael Landon-led series, is celebrating the show's 50th anniversary in Simi Valley, California.
Before Charlotte Stewart became the wholesome Miss Beadle on "Little House on the Prairie," she was a free-spirited hippie who shared wild days and sleepless nights with Jim Morrison — the "Lizard King."
The actress, who brought the squeaky-clean schoolteacher to life in Michael Landon’s beloved series, is reuniting with her castmates for a three-day celebration Dec. 12-14 at Strathearn Historical Park in Simi Valley, California.
Stewart, 84, still savors the memories of her past — especially the years before fame, spent in the company of The Doors singer. The pair first crossed paths when she owned a clothing boutique called Liquid Butterfly, where she made cowboy shirts and peasant dresses across the street from Elektra Records.
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Before Charlotte Stewart found fame as Miss Beadle on "Little House on the Prairie," she was pals with Jim Morrison of The Doors. Stewart will be at the "Little House" holiday reunion from Dec. 12–14 at Simi Valley. (NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images; CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)
After spotting Morrison peering through her storefront window, the two quickly became friends.
"We would go out for drinks," she told Fox News Digital. "He was quite a drinker, and often he needed to be driven home. So I would take him to my house because he trusted me."
Jim Morrison was charged with a single felony count and three misdemeanors for his stage antics at a Miami concert, History.com reported. (Jack Rosen/Getty Images)
"I didn’t want him to be my boyfriend," she insisted. "I didn’t want to marry him. All I wanted was to be his friend. He drank like I drank at that time. So we became trusted friends. He could count on me."
WATCH: ‘LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE’ CHILD STAR SAYS SET WAS LIKE ‘MAD MEN’
In 1969, the Dade County Sheriff’s Office issued an arrest warrant for Morrison. He was charged with one felony count and three misdemeanors — for lewd behavior, indecent exposure, profanity and drunkenness — stemming from a Miami concert, according to History.com. Morrison initially thought it was a practical joke, but it soon became serious after authorities added another charge.
When Morrison returned to California, he turned to Stewart for help.
Charlotte Stewart described herself as a hippie who ran the Liquid Butterfly boutique before she joined the cast of "Little House on the Prairie." (NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images)
"You have to remember, this was a very serious offense in Florida," said Stewart. "He was facing trial. So he came up to me and said, ‘I gotta get out of town. You want to go?’ I said, ‘Sure.’"
Jim Morrison's mugshot dated Sept. 20, 1970, in Dade County, Florida. (Bureau of Prisons/Getty Images)
"We jumped in the car, and he didn’t know where he wanted to go, so I directed him up Highway 1, which follows the Pacific Ocean all the way to Washington and Oregon. We just drove — stopping at bars along the way and staying overnight at motels."
Stewart said they spent four days on the road.
"He trusted me at the worst time in his life," said Stewart. "He was facing jail for a long time. He trusted me to just be with him and be a friend."
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Charlotte Stewart captured her four-day journey with Jim Morrison on a Super 8. (Courtesy of Charlotte Stewart)
"I shot our entire trip with my Super 8," she chuckled. "Most of it was just him driving, which wasn’t very interesting. I was in the passenger seat. Outside the car was the Pacific Ocean, practically the whole time.
"I took him to Hearst Castle. There are pictures of me eating a hot dog there. We stayed with a lot of friends I had up there. They didn’t even know who he was because, at the time, he had a full beard and really didn’t take care of it. He looked like a bum. But I introduced him to my friends, and they didn’t have a clue it was Jim Morrison."
"Eventually, we had to go back to Los Angeles," she continued. "He dropped me off at my store, and we said goodbye. I never saw him again."
Jim Morrison during a 1969 photo shoot at the Hollywood Hills. (Edmund Teske/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
The trial began in 1970. Morrison turned down a plea bargain arrangement where the band would play a free concert in Miami, History.com reported. He was convicted and sentenced to six months in prison and a $500 fine.
Morrison didn’t live long enough to serve the sentence. He died in 1971 in Paris. He was 27 years old. While no autopsy was ever performed, Morrison’s official cause of death was deemed heart failure by French officials.
Morrison received a posthumous pardon in 2010.
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American rock band The Doors pose for their first album cover in 1967. They are vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger. (Mark and Colleen Hayward/Getty Images)
"The fact that he trusted me at the worst time in his life when he was facing jail time — I will always cherish that," said Stewart. "He knew he was going to have to fly back to Florida and face trial. And then he was gone."
"I was heartbroken," she said. "A bunch of us were at a recording studio with Johnny Rivers. He was doing an album, and he wanted all of us to be singing in the background. We didn’t have cellphones in those days, so we didn’t know what was going on in the outside world. And suddenly, word got passed around the room. ‘Did you hear? He’s dead.’ I wasn’t going to share my personal relationship with these people. I left the room, sat on the staircase and just cried."
"It made sense that he would be stupid enough to drink himself to death," she continued. "But he was only 27 years old. I was 33 at the time."
Charlotte Stewart said she was heartbroken to hear the news of Jim Morrison's sudden death. (Michael Montfort/Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images)
Stewart stressed that her relationship with Morrison "was not a romance."
"That had nothing to do with it," she explained. "... He trusted me because I didn’t want anything from him. I was just being a friend — happened to be a friend with benefits. That’s what we did."
It was in 1973 when Stewart auditioned for what she thought was a Western series. She arrived at Paramount Studios in jeans and a tie-dyed T-shirt.
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Charlotte Stewart as Eva Beadle, circa 1977. (NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images)
"I walked into the waiting room, and it was all these actresses wearing old Western dresses," she said. "I’m looking like a hippie. My first thought was, ‘Oh my gosh, I have really messed up this time.’"
Stewart read in front of 12 men in folding chairs surrounding her. One of them was Landon. She turned to a producer and asked if she could take his place behind the desk. The men exchanged puzzled glances as she stepped forward. Stewart slammed her hand on the wood and barked, "Quiet!"
"I think that’s what got me the part," she chuckled. "They shut up right away. They figured if I could handle a room full of men, I could handle a room full of 10-year-old kids."
Michael Landon is seen here directing Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls Wilder, Melissa Sue Anderson as Mary Ingalls Kendall and Charlotte Stewart as Eva Beadle on the set of "Little House on the Prairie." (NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images)
And quickly, Stewart realized she was part of something special.
"I realized that this was a big opportunity, and I’d better be good," she said about starring in "Little House."
"And I was very impressed with how Michael dealt with the children. He had quite a few children himself at the time. And even though he went through some problems — his divorce, and then he remarried someone who was with our show [a makeup artist] — [the cast] stayed as a family. He spent every single day with us."
Actress Charlotte Stewart attends the screening of "Human Highway" (Director's Cut) during the 2015 SXSW Music, Film + Interactive Festival at The Paramount Theater in Austin. (Michael Buckner/Getty Images for SXSW)
"I just admired him so much for what he contributed to the show," she said. "Not only directing, but he would be sitting at the side of the set and writing the next episode on a yellow legal pad. That’s how involved he was. He didn’t just have a bunch of writers handing him a script. He was writing on a daily basis. I respected him so much. And the children were so wonderful. They came on time, knew their lines and did the work."
"Little House on the Prairie" aired from 1974 to 1983. (NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images)
"I was very lucky," she beamed. "I got to work with the best."
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