Jonathan Gilbert
| Jonathan Gilbert | |
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Jonathan J. Gilbert July 10, 1967 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
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Jonathan J. Gilbert (born July 10, 1967) is an American former film and television actor. He is now a stockbroker.[1]
Early life
Gilbert was born on July 10, 1967.[2] He is the adopted son of actors Barbara Crane (née Barbara Cowan) and Paul Gilbert and the adopted brother of Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura Ingalls Wilder.[3]
Career
Gilbert is best known for his performance as Willie Oleson on the NBC TV series, Little House on the Prairie, from 1974 to 1983. He is also one of only six actors on Little House on the Prairie to appear throughout the entire series, along with Melissa Gilbert, Katherine MacGregor, Richard Bull, Kevin Hagen, and Dabbs Greer. In 1979, Gilbert was in the made-for-TV-movie The Little House Years also as Willie Oleson. Also in 1979, he was in the made-for-TV-Movie The Miracle Worker as Jimmy.[4] He was in 2 out of 3 made-for-TV-movies based on "Little House on the Prairie" series of books (Little House: Look Back to Yesterday and Little House: The Last Farewell).
Personal life
Barbara divorced Paul Gilbert, who died in 1976. In Melissa Gilbert's autobiography Prairie Tale, it is revealed that due to his suffering from constant pain, he took his own life.[5] Barbara then married Harold Abeles, and together they had Sara Abeles, who changed her name to Sara Gilbert, even though she has no blood relation to Melissa and Jonathan's adopted father, who died one year and two weeks after she was born. In Gilbert's autobiography, she writes that when Jonathan was in his early 20s, he moved away from California and she has had no relationship with him since then, for reasons supposedly unknown to her. She writes that he's a stockbroker living in New York City.[1]
Filmography
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974-83 | Little House on the Prairie | Willie Oleson | Recurring |
| 1979 | The Little House Years | Made-for-TV-Movie and archive footage three-hour special looking back at the past 6 years. | |
| The Miracle Worker | Jimmy | Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Paul Aaron.[4] | |
| 1983 | Little House: Look Back to Yesterday | Willie Oleson |
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| 1984 | Little House: The Last Farewell |
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References
- 1 2 Gilbert 2010.
- ↑ "California Birth Index, 1905-1995". Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Los Angeles County, California: Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
- ↑ Davis 2009, p. 20.
- 1 2 "The Miracle Worker". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved August 19, 2016.
- ↑ Gilbert 2010, p. 114.
- ↑ Democrat and Chronicle Staff 1996, p. 44.
Sources
- Gilbert, Melissa (2010). Prairie Tale: A Memoir (1st ed.). New York City: Gallery Books. p. 114. ISBN 978-1416599173.
- Davis, Patti (2009). The Lives Our Mothers Leave Us: Prominent Women Discuss the Complex, Humorous, and Ultimately Loving Relationships They Have with Their Mothers. Carlsbad, California: Hay House. p. 20. ISBN 978-1401921620.
- Democrat and Chronicle Staff (June 30, 1996). "TCM Little House: The Last Farewell". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York: Gannett Company. p. 44. Retrieved September 10, 2016. (subscription required)