Katherine MacGregor (original) (raw)

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American actress (1925–2018)

Katherine MacGregor
Born	Dorlee Deane McGregor(1925-01-12)January 12, 1925Glendale, California, U.S.
Died	November 13, 2018(2018-11-13) (aged 93)Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other names	Scottie MacGregor
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1951–1983
Spouses	Bert Remsen ​ ​(m. 1949; div. 1950)​ Edward G. Kaye-Martin ​ ​(m. 1969; div. 1970)​

Katherine MacGregor (born Dorlee Deane McGregor; January 12, 1925 – November 13, 2018) was an American actress, best known for her role as Harriet Oleson in Little House on the Prairie.[1] She started her career on stage in New York City, in theatres off and on Broadway, credited as Scottie MacGregor.

Katherine MacGregor was born Dorlee Deane McGregor on January 12, 1925, in Glendale, California, to Ralph S. McGregor and Beatrice E. Willard.[2] When Katherine was a child, her mother Beatrice moved the family to Fort Collins, Colorado, where they lived most of Katherine's early life. She graduated from Northwestern University with a major in drama and moved to New York City in 1949.[3] She was hired by the Arthur Murray Dance Studios as a dance instructor. She studied acting under N. Richard Nash, Sanford Meisner, and Stella Adler.[3][4] She did summer stock in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, as Dorlee Deane McGregor but switched to using the stage name Scottie MacGregor as her acting career advanced.[5][6][7][8][9][10]

Beginning in the 1950s, as Scottie MacGregor, she worked in theatre on and off Broadway in New York City and other locations in plays such as The Seven Year Itch and Handful of Fire,[3][4] and won such uncredited parts as "a longshoreman's mother" (On the Waterfront); "Alice Thorn" (The Traveling Executioner), and "Miss Boswell" (The Student Nurses). She appeared in numerous episodes of various television series: Love of Life (1956), The Secret Storm, The Nurses,[11] The Play of the Week (1959), East Side/West Side (1963), Mannix (1970–71), Emergency! (1972), Ironside (1972, 1974), and All in the Family (1973), as well as the two 1981 "Heroes vs. Villains" episodes of Family Feud hosted by Richard Dawson. She had roles in the TV movies, The Death of Me Yet (1971), The Girls of Huntington House (1973), and Tell Me Where It Hurts (1974).

When she adopted the use of Katherine as her given name is unclear, but she switched from using ‘Scottie’ as she matured in age on the advice of her manager,[12] and was still credited for her film and television roles as Scottie MacGregor until an early 1974 two-hour episode of Ironside (which served as pilot for the short-lived Amy Prentiss).

Her first screen credit as Katherine MacGregor, and her best-known role, was from 1974 to 1983 in NBC's Little House on the Prairie as Harriet Oleson, the general store owner's wife and a comedic part.[13] MacGregor's favorite description of her character in Little House came in a fan letter from Minnesota in the 1970s, in which Mrs. Oleson was described as "the touch of pepper in the sweetness of the show". In 1979, due to the popularity of Little House in Spain, MacGregor was invited to Madrid, and appeared on RTVE's 625 Lineas and Ding Dong La Cocina programs.

After Little House on the Prairie, she withdrew from screen productions in favor of local theater. She dedicated herself to the Hindu religion, and to teaching acting to children at the Wee Hollywood Vedanta Players, before finally retiring in the early 2000s.[14] In 2014, she did an in-depth interview about her life and career for the book Prairie Memories by Patrick Loubatiere.[15]

Personal life and death

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She was married to actor Bert Remsen from 1949 to 1950 and to actor, director, and teacher Edward G. Kaye-Martin, 14 years her junior,[16] from August 1969 to October 1970. She had no children.

While recovering from alcoholism, MacGregor converted to Hinduism.[17] She was unable to appear in the series finale of Little House on the Prairie, because she was on a pilgrimage to India at the time of the episodes' filming.[5]

MacGregor died in November 2018 at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles at the age of 93.[17][18] No cause was given.[19]

1. ^ "Katherine MacGregor profile". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2013. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
2. ^ "California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994". www.familysearch.org. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
3. ^ a b c "Miss MacGregor To Portray Mrs. FDR at Casino". Springfield Sunday Republican. May 22, 1960. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
4. ^ a b Buck, Jerry (June 11, 1981). "Katherine MacGregor Plots Her Own Downfall". Greenville Daily Advocate. Associated Press. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
5. ^ a b "'Little House on the Prairie' star Katherine MacGregor dies at 93". TODAY.com. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
6. ^ "Large Crowd At Gretna Playhouse As Season Opens". Lebanon Daily News. June 10, 1949.
7. ^ "Mystery Comedy Play Opens at Gretna Playhouse". Lebanon Daily News. June 17, 1949.
8. ^ "Comedy Gets Many Laughs On Stage of Gretna Playhouse". Lebanon Daily News. July 1, 1949.
9. ^ "Delightful Farce Opens on Stage of Gretna Playhouse". Lebanon Daily News. July 15, 1949.
10. ^ "'Life With Father' Scores Hit At Gretna Playhouse". Lebanon Daily News. August 19, 1949.
11. ^ Peet, Creighton (December 22, 1963). "Scottie has 7 roles in 1 play". Virginian-Pilot. Archived from the original on November 14, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
12. ^ Craig, Berry (November 7, 1980). "MacGregor: Ill feelings prove she's doing a good job". The Paducah Sun.
13. ^ Luchina Fisher (August 26, 2011). "Melissa Gilbert Files for Divorce from Bruce Boxleitner". ABC News.
14. ^ "TV Times Today: Information Please". The Vancouver Sun. January 26, 2013.
15. ^ Memories, Prairie. "Home". Prairie Memories.
16. ^ "Actor, Director, Teacher Edward Kaye-martin, 50". Chicago Tribune. August 18, 1989.
17. ^ a b Schudel, Matt (November 14, 2018). "Katherine MacGregor, the scheming Mrs. Oleson of 'Little House,' dies at 93". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
18. ^ "Katherine MacGregor, the Meddlesome Harriet Oleson on 'Little House on the Prairie,' Dies at 93". The Hollywood Reporter. November 14, 2018.
19. ^ Schwartz, Ryan (November 14, 2018). "Little House on the Prairie Actress Katherine MacGregor Dead at 93".