- - Dean Butler Reveals the Moment He Felt “Little House on the Prairie” 'Jumped the Shark': 'Where Does This Come From?'

Virginia ChamleeJanuary 3, 2026 at 2:23 AM

0

NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty; Bobby Bank/Getty

Dean Butler -

Dean Butler is recalling his least favorite episode of Little House on the Prairie

Speaking on a recent podcast, Butler said one season 9 episode "jumped the shark"

The episode involves a dying traveler with a child in need of care — but the child turns out to be an orangutan

While Dean Butler says the beloved series Little House on the Prairie had plenty of hits — he acknowledges that there were some misses, including one episode featuring an orangutan.

Speaking on a December episode of The Patrick LabyorSheaux, hosted by fellow Little House alum Patrick Labyorteaux, Butler said one season 9 episode "jumped the shark."

Butler, 69, played Almanzo Wilder on the show, which ran from 1974 to 1983.

Speaking on the podcast, Butler said Season 9, Episode 20, titled, “For the Love of Blanche" was his least favorite episode of the show.

— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

In it, Isaiah Edwards (played by Victor French) promises a dying traveler that he would care for his baby — but the "baby" in question turns out to be an orangutan named Blanche.

Of the episode, Butler said, “We jumped this huge shark with this orangutan. It’s like, ‘Where does this come from?' And of course, Mr. Edwards adopts the orangutan."

"And we never see the orangutan again," Butler added. "This was a ... you go through this whole moment and you never see it again.”

NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Victor French as Isaiah Edwards with Strawberry the Monkey as Blanche

Speaking to PEOPLE in December, Butler said the show continues to resonate all these years later with fans who approach him to say he was their first crush.

“A woman would come up to the table with her husband, with her children, with significant others, and tell me, ‘You are my first crush in the world.' That is one of the sweetest things," he said. "It's totally benign the way they say it. It's this beautiful thing.”

He added: “You get laughter from that. You get tears that come off of that. People talk about the things that were going on in their lives as they're watching the program. People get different things from different characters."

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”