‘Little House on the Prairie’ Star Charlotte Stewart Talks Elvis and Flings with Bill Murray & Jim Morrison
Little House on the Prairie star Charlotte Stewart has been reflecting on her life and career as the hit show celebrates its 50th anniversary this coming September.
Stewart, who played beloved teacher Miss Beadle in the iconic western-historical drama, joined her former cast and crew members at Simi Valley, California, this past weekend for a special three-day festival honoring the milestone event.
Speaking to The Sun, the veteran actress recalled her audition for Little House, where she showed up in a tie-dye T-shirt and jeans.
“I walked in, and there was Michael Landon [the producer], and I thought to myself, ‘Oh my God, this is really big,'” she shared, “So they said, ‘Are you ready to read?’ And I looked at the producer who was sitting behind this big desk with all these executives around him, and I said, ‘May I sit behind your desk?'”
“So he got up and moved, and I went around and sat in his chair and all the men were kind of [talking], and I went, ‘Quiet!'” she continued. “I don’t think you do that to studio executives. I don’t know why I did that; it just came out of me. And I got the part.”
Stewart starred in Little House for the first four seasons and went on to have a wide and varied career in Hollywood. Perhaps most notably, she frequently worked with director David Lynch, playing Betty Briggs in the original Twin Peaks and its 2017 revival and Mary X in 1977’s Eraserhead.
Charlotte Stewart in Eraserhead; Everett Collection
She also starred alongside Elvis Presley in the 1963 movie Speedway, playing a waitress who serves the legendary singer.
“When I did Speedway with Elvis, I was married at the time to Tim Considine. Elvis had just gotten married to Priscilla,” Stewart told The Sun. “And me, silly me, thinking, ‘Oh, we’re both newlyweds. I think I’m just going to invite them over for supper. Then the second thought was, ‘What are you thinking? This is Elvis.’ So, no, [but] he was very sweet.”
She remembered one moment on set when Presley “held her hand” and talked to her about his mother, Gladys, and “what it was like when he was in the Army and [how] they wouldn’t let him go see her when she was ill.”
“I was in high school in the 60s when Elvis was big. I never imagined that I would be on the set with him, holding my hand and telling me about his mother,” she stated.
Stewart also opened up about her love life. The Young and the Restless alum has been married three times, but also had some memorable flings during her single years.
“Oh my God. Bill Murray, that was a fling,” she said. “I was single, you know… you can ask me about Jim Morrison. I had a really good, romantic, lovely life.”
Remembering her relationship with The Doors frontman, Stewart shared, “We were friends. We were drinking buddies back in the 70s. So he called me up one day, and he said, ‘I got to get out of town.’ And I said, ‘OK.'”
“He picked me up, and he didn’t even know where he wanted to go. So we just drove up Highway One,” she continued. “I took him to San Simeon, the Hearst Castle. We went to Cambria. We spent four days on the road and came back to Los Angeles. He dropped me off, and I never saw him again. Within six months, he was dead.”
She added, “We were best friends with benefits. He was a good friend, and I miss him terribly. And I’m sorry he had such a really hard ending.”
Morrison died of heart failure in July 1971 at just 27 years old.
These days, Stewart is enjoying her retirement. “I’ve never been healthier or happier in my whole life,” she said. “I love meeting fans because 50 years ago, most of them were just little tiny children, and [Little House] created such an impression.”
“I have never had children, by choice,” she revealed. “I just didn’t think I would be a good mother. I chose my career first, and I’m not sorry about that. My sister had seven children, so that was enough… I’m very good with them. It just wasn’t my calling.”
Stewart now resides in Napa, California, where she spends her time working in her studio. “I continue to make my tote bags with pictures from Little House on the Prairie,” she shared.
“I walk every day, even though it’s just around the neighborhood, but I make sure I get out and walk. I eat healthy. My husband cooks everything. I don’t cook at all,” she added. “I’ve been married for 11 years now, and we’re very much in love. We have so much fun together.”
