At age 7, my favorite book series was the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Every week I’d also tune in to the television series, Little House on the Prairie, based on the books.

I was one of the many Little House viewers that grew up with the Prairie girls. I watched and learned with Laura, Mary and Carrie Ingalls, always hoping that Nellie Oleson would learn a thing or two more. Nellie was the girl that everyone loved to hate. Well, hate’s a harsh word and I don’t think Pa Ingalls would like me using it.

Alison Arngrim played the role of Nellie Oleson. She played the role so well it became somewhat of a cultural icon with her devilish smirk, her colossal tantrums, her piercing stare and her annoying scream, “Mother!”

I wanted to find out what Alison is up to these days. Here’s my interview with Alison Arngrim:

HIH: What are a few of your thoughts about growing up on television portraying Nellie Oleson?

Alison: Too many to count! Being the most hated child on television did radically change my life – hence my one woman show: “Confessions of A Prairie Bitch” where I explain it all. I am proud to have been Nellie -but I am really glad people have stopped throwing things at me!

HIH: Like most kids watching Little House on the Prairie, I thought Pa Ingalls was right up there with The Fonz on the coolness meter. What was it like working with Michael Landon?

Alison: Good comparison! He was much less like Pa Ingalls and really more the Fonz! Very, very cool and ever so slightly delinquent! One of the funniest people I ever met. Absolutely brilliant – director, writer, producer – you name it! Charming, kind, smart, crazy, flawed, handsome – mad, bad and dangerous to know!

HIH: Do you still keep in contact with any of your co-stars from Little House on the Prairie?

Alison: Nearly everybody! Between E-mail, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and our almost annual cast reunion parties, we keep up pretty well. Right before I wrote this I was e-mailing Melissa Gilbert. Baby Carrie (Rachel Greenbush) came by the house last week, etc. We are a large extended family.

HIH: How much candy did you actually get to eat from Oleson’s Mercantile?

Alison: Ha! Quite a bit – I was very fond of the peppermint sticks and the prop men let me have them if I asked nicely. But we couldn’t eat the stuff at random – the candy that was out on display was often treated with bug spray to control the enormous rat, mouse, ant and roach problem common on sound stages. Ewww.

HIH: Any favorite moments from the set of Little House on the Prairie that you’d like to share with us?

Alison: About a zillion – some of which I really must save up for my book, (also called “Confessions of A Prairie Bitch”) which will be coming out next spring. My deep friendship with Melissa, while we were playing mortal enemies was particularly fun!

HIH: As Nellie got older she also became nicer. Did you miss the younger Nellie when you read your more pleasant dialogue and scenes each day?

Alison: Yes! I loved Percival, (Steve Tracy) but I kept hoping Nellie would have some sort of psychological break down and “relapse”!

HIH: After Little House you were on The Love Boat and Fantasy Island. What shows did you like watching in the 70’s?

Alison: When I was 12, on Friday nights, I would watch The Brady Bunch which I thought was silly, but amusing, The Odd Couple which I thought was GREAT, and being in a progressive household, I was allowed to stay up for Love American Style. I like all the MTM shows – Mary Tyler Moore, Phyllis, Rhoda, etc. and the Norman Lear stuff – Maude, Jefferson’s, etc. I never did like Happy Days or Joanie Loves Chachi. My mom was mad for Columbo so I got into that too.

HIH: “Confessions of a Prairie Bitch” is the name of your stand- up comedy act. I read your one woman show is in French and English. When did you learn French and was the series Little House as popular in France as it was in the United States?

Alison: I found out the first time I went to France in 2002. I now know that Little House is insanely popular everywhere from France to Bangladesh, from Argentina to Israel, from Iraq to Borneo! I am amazed every single day by the people I hear from all over the world. Due to the enormous popularity of Nellie Olsen in France, (but of course, they’d like her, right?), I went back to school and learned to speak reasonably passing French with a slightly less than annoying American accent. (Still working on it!)

HIH: Your husband plays guitar in a band called Catahoula. Do you sing or play any instruments?

Alison: I wish! I do own a saxophone and take lessons very intermittently. (I’m not very good. But I like the sound.) I’m so glad I get to be a groupie for my husband!

HIH: Working with charities such as PROTECT, seems to be a prominent part of your life. What ways can we take action and help out?

Alison: Oh please do visit our site at www.protect.org ! We have changed laws in several states and gotten bills passed in Washington D.C. I would ask people to ask more questions about what the laws really are in their state regarding child predators, child pornography, child abuse, sentencing, statute of limitations, etc. Most people assume that their children are well protected under the law. They’re not really. People think that if someone is caught sexually assaulting a child, that they simply go to jail. They usually don’t. We’re changing that.

To get the latest about Alison and her adventures, check out her website at:

www.hgd.com/alison

And to learn more about Bob Schoonover and his music, see:

www.hgd.com/catahoula