The Little House On The Prairie Star Who Said Working With Johnny Cash Was A Top Career Highlight

The late Johnny Cash may have made his living in country music, but the Man in Black was a true rockstar through and through. From the "Ring of Fire" hitmaker's numerous arrests to the fact that he started smoking cigarettes before he was even old enough to drive a car (don't do that, by the way), to the time he was literally sued by the United States government over a freak accident, Cash had an undeniable anti-establishment ethos about him. However, he had a family-friendly side to him as well, as evidenced by the singer's various television appearances. Over the years, Cash appeared in a number of popular TV shows that just about anyone could enjoy, from "The Partridge Family" in 1970 to "The Simpsons" in 1997. However, it was his 1976 guest appearance on "Little House on the Prairie" that left quite the impression on the show's cast, in particular — with one specific actor describing the experience as an all-time career highlight.

Cash appeared in the Season 3 premiere of "Little House on the Prairie," titled "The Collection," as Caleb Hodgekiss — an ex-convict looking to carry out a new devious scheme before ultimately having a change of heart and turning over a new leaf by the time all is said and done. Cash's real-life wife, June Carter Cash, also guest-starred in the episode as Caleb's wife, Mattie. Decades later, during a 2020 interview with Closer Weekly, "Little House" lead Karen Grassle — who starred as Ma Ingalls — fondly reminisced about getting to work with the Cashes, naming it as the "top showbiz moment" of her long career. "I had been listening to his music since I was a kid!" she said. What's more, Grassle certainly wasn't alone in finding the experience to be an overwhelmingly positive one.

Much like her on-screen mother Karen Grassle, Melissa Sue Anderson — who portrayed Mary Ingalls on "Little House on the Praire" — also spoke highly of working with Johnny Cash and his wife on the show's Season 3 premiere back in 1976. More specifically, in her 2010 memoir, "The Way I See It," Anderson recalled being pleasantly surprised by Cash's on-set demeanor — noting that that if the outlaw-country icon and his family did have a rockstar attitude about them, they definitely checked it at the door. "As with other recording artists I've met over the years, the Cash family (their young son, John Carter, was an extra in this episode) was down to earth and nice to everyone they came in contact with," she wrote (via Showbiz Cheatsheet). This feels like especially high praise, given that Anderson herself allegedly wasn't usually one for socializing on the "Little House" set.

Speaking of Cash's son, the aforementioned John Carter Cash later confessed that he didn't necessarily agree with his father often being cast as a bad guy when he appeared on TV shows back in the day. Nevertheless, he's happy that people appreciate his late father's acting chops, and hopes they will continue to do so. When asked about his father's villainous role on a 1974 episode of "Columbo" during a 2014 Reddit AMA, John wrote, "I love it also! My father also portrayed a villain on 'Little House on the Prairie.' I may question the typecasting a bit. However if you want to see my father's very best performance, find the film 'A Gunfight' with Kirk Douglas."