American actress Katherine “Scottie” MacGregor, best remembered for her role as the mean-spirited Harriet Oleson in Little House on the Prairie, passed away on November 13, 2018. She was 93 years old.
Born on January 12, 1925, MacGregor spent much of her young life in Fort Collins, Colorado. She went on to major in drama at Northwestern University before moving to New York City in 1949. Upon arriving in New York, MacGregor was hired by the Arthur Murray Dance Studios as a dance instructor. She later studied acting under N. Richard Nash, Sanford Meisner and Stella Adler. By the 1950s, MacGregor worked in theater on and off Broadway starring in such productions as The Seven Year Itch, Handful of Fire, On the Waterfront, The Traveling Executioner, and The Student Nurses.
Before landing her role on Little House on the Prairie, MacGregor appeared in Love of Life, The Secret Storm, The Nurses, Play of the Week, East Side/West Side, Mannix, Emergency!, Ironside, All in the Family, The Death of Me Yet and The Girls of Huntington House. In 1974, MacGregor was cast as Harriet Oleson, a wealthy, haughty general store owner’s wife, in NBC’s Little House on the Prairie. MacGregor once commented that her favorite description of her character came in a fan letter, in which Oleson was described as “the touch of pepper in the sweetness of the show.”
Little House on the Prairie ran for a total of nine seasons, earning several Emmy Awards throughout that time. Following the season finale in 1983, MacGregor withdrew from screen productions and returned to working in local theater. During this time she dedicated herself to the Hindu religion, and began teaching acting to children at the Wee Hollywood Vedanta Players. By the early 2000s, MacGregor had officially retired from acting. She recounted much of her life and career through an in-depth interview for Patrick Loubatiere’s book Prairie Memories.
Several of MacGregor’s Little House on the Prairie costars have paid tribute to the late actress, including Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura Ingalls Wilder on the series. She commented: “She was outspoken and hilariously funny. A truly gifted actress as she was able to play a despicable character but with so much heart. Her Harriet Oleson was the woman our fans loved to hate. A perfect antagonist. The thing people outside of our prairie family didn’t know, was how loving and nurturing she was with the younger cast. I really loved her and I find great comfort knowing that she is at peace and, per her beliefs, her soul has moved on to its next incarnation.”
