Michael Landon got sexy on "Little House on the Prairie" in response to Burt Reynolds

Burt Reynolds smiling on couch
Burt Reynolds smiling on couch Photo credit USA TODAY via Imagn Content Services, LLC

In the '70s, there was one celebrity who was the apple of every woman's eye and often topped the list of the most "desirable men" in Hollywood, and that was Burt Reynolds.

And that angered no man more than actor and producer, and star of Little House on the Prairie, Michael Landon. Actress Karen Grassle, who played Caroline “Ma” Ingalls, on Little House, told The New York Post that "Mike was resentful and wanted to take his place.”

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After Reynolds posed for his infamous Cosmopolitan cover, Landon grew so incensed, that he used every opportunity he could to "sex" up his appearance on Little House on the Prairie.

Specifically, Grassle wrote in her upcoming memoir, Bright Lights, Prairie Dust: Reflections on Life, Loss and Love from Little House’s Ma, of a first-season episode where Landon wrote a scene where his character got down and dirty with some hard labor, which allowed him the opportunity to remove his shirt. Grassle admitted, "He looked wonderful with his bare torso sweating while he worked."

Grassle also said that it was "no coincidence" that whenever his character suffered an injury, it was usually something like a broken rib which gave him another opportunity to "display his ripped physique."

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Featured Image Photo Credit: USA TODAY via Imagn Content Services, LLC