Katherine MacGregor
Katherine McGregor (disambiguation)Katherine McGregor
Also recorded as Dorlee Deane McGregor · Scottie MacGregor
Katherine MacGregor
- Name
- Katherine MacGregor
- Birth Name
- Dorlee Deane McGregor
- Born
- 12 January 1925
- Birthplace
- Glendale, California, U.S.
- Died
- 13 November 2018
- Place of death
- Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- Actress
- Full name
- Dorlee Deane MacGregor.
- Nationality
- United States.
- Education
- Northwestern University.
- Known for
- Little House on the Prairie.
- Languages
- English.
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Authority files
wikidata · Q435455 · wikipedia · Katherine MacGregor
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Katherine MacGregor • Birth Name — Dorlee Deane McGregor • Born — 12 January 1925 • Birthplace — Glendale, California, U.S. • Died — 13 November 2018 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Other Names — Scottie MacGregor • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1951–1983 Katherine MacGregor (born Dorlee Deane McGregor; January 12, 1925 – November 13, 2018) was an American actress who portrayed Harriet Oleson in Little House on the Prairie. She started her career on stage in New York City, in theatres off and on Broadway, credited as Scottie MacGregor.
Biography
Biography
Katherine MacGregor was born Dorlee Deane McGregor on January 12, 1925, in Glendale, California, to Ralph S. McGregor and Beatrice E. Willard. When Katherine was a child, her mother Beatrice moved the family to Fort Collins, Colorado, where they lived most of Katherine's early life. She graduated from Northwestern University with a major in drama and moved to New York City in 1949. She was hired by the Arthur Murray Dance Studios as a dance instructor. She studied acting under N. Richard Nash, Sanford Meisner, and Stella Adler. She did summer stock in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, as Dorlee Deane McGregor but switched to using the stage name Scottie MacGregor as her acting career advanced. Beginning in the 1950s, as Scottie MacGregor, she worked in theatre on and off Broadway in New York City and other locations in plays such as The Seven Year Itch and Handful of Fire, and won such uncredited parts as "a longshoreman's mother" (On the Waterfront); "Alice Thorn" (The Traveling Executioner), and "Miss Boswell" (The Student Nurses). She appeared in numerous episodes of various television series: Love of Life (1956), The Secret Storm, The Nurses, The Play of the Week (1959), East Side/West Side (1963), Mannix (1970–71), Emergency! (1972), Ironside (1972, 1974), and All in the Family (1973), as well as the two 1981 "Heroes vs. Villains" episodes of Family Feud hosted by Richard Dawson. She had roles in the TV movies, The Death of Me Yet (1971), The Girls of Huntington House (1973), and Tell Me Where It Hurts (1974). When she adopted the use of Katherine as her given name is unclear, but she switched from using ‘Scottie’ as she matured in age on the advice of her manager, and was still credited for her film and television roles as Scottie MacGregor until an early 1974 two-hour episode of Ironside (which served as pilot for the short-lived Amy Prentiss). Her first screen credit as Katherine MacGregor, and her best-known role, was from 1974 to 1983 in NBC's Little House on the Prairie as Harriet Oleson, the general store owner's wife and a comedic part. MacGregor's favorite description of her character in Little House came in a fan letter from Minnesota in the 1970s, in which Mrs. Oleson was described as "the touch of pepper in the sweetness of the show". In 1979, due to the popularity of Little House in Spain, MacGregor was invited to Madrid, and appeared on RTVE's 625 Lineas and Ding Dong La Cocina programs. After Little House on the Prairie, she withdrew from screen productions in favor of local theater. She dedicated herself to the Hindu religion, and to teaching acting to children at the Wee Hollywood Vedanta Players, before finally retiring in the early 2000s. In 2014, she did an in-depth interview about her life and career for the book Prairie Memories by Patrick Loubatiere.
Personal life and death
Personal life and death
She was married to actor Bert Remsen from 1949 to 1950 and to actor, director, and teacher Edward G. Kaye-Martin, 14 years her junior, from August 1969 to October 1970. While recovering from alcoholism, MacGregor converted to Hinduism. She was unable to appear in the series finale of Little House on the Prairie, because she was on a pilgrimage to India at the time of the episodes' filming. MacGregor died on November 13, 2018 at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles at the age of 93.
Filmography
Filmography
• Year — Film — Role — Notes • 1954 — On the Waterfront — Longshoreman's Mother — Uncredited • 1956 — Love of Life — Tammy Forrest #1 — Unknown episodes • 1959 — Play of the Week — Maria — Episode - "The Power and the Glory" • 1963 — East Side/West Side — Grace Morrison — Episode - "Go Fight City Hall" • 1970 — The Traveling Executioner — Alice Thorn — Uncredited • Mannix — Nurse Evans — Episode - "The World Between" • The Student Nurses — Miss Boswell • 1971 — The Young Lawyers — Mrs. Brady — Episode - "The Bradbury War" • The Death of Me Yet — Nora Queen — TV movie • Mannix — Nurse — Episode - "Run Till Dark" • 1972 — Ironside — Mrs. Pyle — Episode - "Programmed for Panic" • Emergency! — Myrna Scudder — Episode - "Musical Mania" • 1973 — The Girls of Huntington House — Rose Beckwith — TV movie • All in the Family — Nurse — Episode - "Edith's Christmas Story" • 1974 — Tell Me Where It Hurts — Marge — TV movie • Ironside — Irma — Episode - "Amy Prentiss" (Parts 1 & 2) • 1974–1983 — Little House on the Prairie — Harriet Oleson — 153 episodes
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
She also worked under the names Katherine MacGregor and Scottie MacGregor. The authorities additionally record the headings Dorlee Deane McGregor and Scottie MacGregor. Her recorded language was English. Her recorded confession was Hinduism. She married Bert Remsen.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1925
Katherine MacGregor born at Glendale.
2018
Katherine MacGregor died at Woodland Hills.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Glendale.
Birth place
Woodland Hills.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q435455: Katherine MacGregor
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
- “Katherine MacGregor”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority file
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Katherine MacGregor profile. The New York Times. 2013.
- 2.www.familysearch.org. California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994.
- 3.Springfield Sunday Republican. Miss MacGregor To Portray Mrs. FDR at Casino. May 22, 1960.
- 4.Buck, Jerry. Katherine MacGregor Plots Her Own Downfall. Greenville Daily Advocate. June 11, 1981.
- 5.'Little House on the Prairie' star Katherine MacGregor dies at 93. TODAY.com.
- 6.Large Crowd At Gretna Playhouse As Season Opens. Lebanon Daily News. 10 June 1949.
- 7.Mystery Comedy Play Opens at Gretna Playhouse. Lebanon Daily News. 17 June 1949.
- 8.Comedy Gets Many Laughs On Stage of Gretna Playhouse. Lebanon Daily News. 1 July 1949.
- 9.Delightful Farce Opens on Stage of Gretna Playhouse. Lebanon Daily News. 15 July 1949.
- 10.'Life With Father' Scores Hit At Gretna Playhouse. Lebanon Daily News. 19 August 1949.
- 11.Peet, Creighton. Scottie has 7 roles in 1 play. Virginian-Pilot. December 22, 1963.
- 12.Craig, Berry. MacGregor: Ill feelings prove she's doing a good job. The Paducah Sun. 7 November 1980.
- 13.Luchina Fisher. Melissa Gilbert Files for Divorce from Bruce Boxleitner. ABC News. August 26, 2011.
- 14.TV Times Today: Information Please. The Vancouver Sun. 26 January 2013.
- 15.Memories, Prairie. Home. Prairie Memories.
- 16.Actor, Director, Teacher Edward Kaye-martin, 50. Chicago Tribune. 1989-08-18.
- 17.Schudel, Matt. Katherine MacGregor, the scheming Mrs. Oleson of 'Little House,' dies at 93. The Washington Post. 2018-11-14.
- 18.Katherine MacGregor, the Meddlesome Harriet Oleson on 'Little House on the Prairie,' Dies at 93. The Hollywood Reporter. November 14, 2018.
References
Citations
References
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authority file
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Further particulars
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Katherine MacGregor is recorded at birth as Dorlee Deane MacGregor. Recorded as actress and dancer.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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