When I first met Alison I had no idea who she was or that she was a certified cult figure. I just thought she was a strikingly beautiful and very wacky, funny woman. Had I know at the time that she was the Evil Wicked Prairie Bitch Nellie Oleson I don't know how I would have reacted. I always found Oblivion a good place to hang out in.
But lets go back to the beginning.
Picture it. Hollywood. 1984. 2 months previous I had been awaken at 4 in the morning with a phone call from one Jamie Masada - something about a comedy magazine that needs an art director and can I come and meet him in New York in a couple days at Warner Brothers Publishing, yada yada yada...whatever.
So always being game for something new I said "yes" and found myself in Hollywood in Jamie's club, The World Famous Laugh Factory, trying to produce a comedy magazine with a naked designer and a one armed paste-up artist, and a publisher who had a mere passing acquaintance with the English language - but that's another story.
Every night I ended up hanging out at the club and since Alison was regular performer we met and started talking and have been friends ever since.
Enter Sharon
Back in Boston I was talking about the great times I was having in Hollywood with my friend Sharon Phalon and she was thinking of moving there anyway so, inspired by my tales and bored with life in Boston, off she went. I introduced her to Jamie who gave her a job in the club and naturally she and Alison met, became fast friends, roommates and the 3 of us ended up hanging out together on my trips to LaLa Land and a decade plus later her we are. I'm still Boston, Alison is still in Hollywood and Sharon, husband Stan and kidlets are in the only place in America weirder than Hollywood - Las Vegas.
So what about Alison
Well first of all she's a very warm, real, funny and lovely woman. If you are expecting anything even resembling Nellie, forget it. Maybe because of Nellie or in spite of Nellie, Alison is one of the nicest, friendliest folks I ever met and in Hollywood that's really something. In a city full of land sharks it a blessing to meet somebody who's a human. Alison is from one of the wackiest LA showbiz families you can imagine. Mom, Norma, is an actress and voice-over talent who you all know as Gumby and Casper the friendly ghost. Dad, Thor, is an agent and producer and brother, Steffan is an actor who was on Land of the Giants as a kid and now shows up featured on the X-Files.
She loves to talk - and she's very good at it. Blessed (cursed?) with a near photographic memory she can go on for hours about some obscure Little House story and remember every detail including what she was wearing, where it came from, what Melissa said, what Michael said, what temperature it was etc etc. etc. and be entertaining and funny and a weave a great story. This woman ought to have her own talk show! Just her! Any guests would just slow it down.
Since she has such a tremendous capacity for such trivia and knowledge it drives her nuts to see so much misinformation about the Little House show and crew on the web and in the media. Part of the reason for this website was so that Alison can answer fans and address all the thousands of you Little House nuts out the who just have to know whatever it is that you have to know. You Little Housers are almost as fanatical as Trekkies.
When my friend Alison mentioned the web to me I jumped at the chance to help her build this site. We both hope you enjoy it and spread the word. Nellie Oleson, I mean Alison Arngrim, is online and ready to rock!
- Howie Green - Summer '97
