Jonathan J. Gilbert (born April 28, 1967) is an American former television and film actor known for his role as Willie Oleson on the TV series ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books comprise a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adulthood in the Midwestern United States, Americ ...

''.

Personal life

Gilbert was born on April 28, 1967. He is the adopted son of actors Barbara Cowen (née Barbara Crane) and

Paul Gilbert Paul Brandon Gilbert (born November 6, 1966) is an American hard rock and heavy metal music, heavy metal guitarist. He is the co-founder of the band Mr. Big (American band), Mr. Big, and was also a member of Racer X (band), Racer X, with whom he ...

and adopted brother of actresses

Melissa Gilbert Melissa Ellen Gilbert (born May 8, 1964) is an American actress. Gilbert began her career as a child actress in the late 1960s, appearing in numerous commercials and guest-starring roles on television. From 1974 to 1983, she starred as Laura Ing ...

and

Sara Gilbert Sara Gilbert (born Sara Rebecca Abeles; January 29, 1975) is an American actress best known for her role as Darlene Conner on ''Roseanne'' (1988–97; 2018), for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and its sequel, ''The Co ...

. In Melissa Gilbert's autobiography, she wrote that when Jonathan was 18, he moved away from California and she had no relationship with him since then, for reasons supposedly unknown to her. Her autobiography states that he is a

stockbroker A stockbroker is an individual or company that buys and sells stocks and other investments for a financial market participant in return for a commission, markup, or fee. In most countries they are regulated as a broker or broker-dealer and ...

living in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He reunited with his sister, Melissa, and the cast of ''Little House'' for the 50th anniversary reunion of the show in

Simi Valley Simi Valley (; Chumash: ''Shimiyi'') is a city in the valley of the same name in southeastern Ventura County, California, United States. It is from Downtown Los Angeles, making it part of the Greater Los Angeles Area. Simi Valley borders Th ...

on March 22, 2024.

Acting career

Gilbert is best known for his performance as Willie Oleson on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

TV series, ''

'', 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

, Katherine MacGregor, Richard Bull, Kevin Hagen and

Dabbs Greer Robert William "Dabbs" Greer (April 2, 1917 – April 28, 2007) was an American character actor in film and television for over 60 years. Greer appeared in nearly 100 film roles and in nearly 600 television episodes of various series. He pl ...

. 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 ''The Miracle Worker'' refers to a broadcast, a play and various other adaptations of Helen Keller's 1903 autobiography '' The Story of My Life''. The first of these works was a 1957 ''Playhouse 90'' broadcast written by William Gibson and sta ...

'' as Jimmy. He was in two out of the three made-for-TV movies based on the ''Little House on the Prairie'' TV series ('' Little House: Look Back to Yesterday'' and '' Little House: The Last Farewell'').

Filmography

Television

References

Sources

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External links

* 1967 births Living people American adoptees American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Los Angeles {{US-screen-actor-1960s-stub