Talk:Melissa Gilbert

Text problem

How can someone be an adopted sister AND a half-sister? I'm modifying the article text because, well, that just seems silly. Manticore 18:20, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

She was not adopted by Sara's father. She was adopted by their mother's previous husband. Half-sister is the closest approximation. Dennis M. Myers (talk) 20:33, 7 December 2022 (UTC)

Walk of the stars

I've heard Melissa was youngest person on WoF. Can anybody confirm & include it? Trekphiler 00:08, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

Ethnicity

There seems to be some confusion about the ethnicity (not the religon) of Melissa Gilbert in the original statement that she is of "Jewish descent". Adam Sandler's famous hit The Chanukah Song states "Melissa Gilbert and Michael Landon never mix meat with dairy. Maybe they shoulda called that show Little Kosher House on the Prairie?"

But she was adopted into a show-biz family. Her adoptive father's birthname was Paul MacMahon [1]. (Why did he change his last name to Gilbert? Does anybody know? Was it for the same reason that Michael Keaton's real last name is Michael Douglas [2] -- see the first paragraph under "Trivia"?) Melissa Gilbert's grandfather is apparently Harry Crane [3]. Melissa's adoptive mother's name is merely listed as "Barbara Gilbert" [4]. Assume that the information is correct -- that Harry Crane is the grandfather, then one might conclude that Barbara's maiden name was Crane. There is a Barbara Crane [5] at the IMDB, but she is not listed as the adoptive mother of Melissa Gilbert, nor is she listed as the daughter of Harry Crane. Let us assume that Barbara Gilbert was ethnically Jewish. From what I understand of Jewish tradition (which is not much), if your mother is Jewish, then you are considered Jewish. Sara Gilbert, her "adoptive" sister, is said to be Jewish. This doesn't make Melissa necessarily of "Jewish descent". Does anybody have info on Melissa Gilbert's biological parents? Other than IMDB and nndb (which both are volunteer web sites like the Wikipedia), can anybody get their hands on definitive sources (see Wikipedia: Verifiability)? 4.228.216.41 19:00, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

It gets more complicated as I read more. Melissa Gilbert's sister, Sara Gilbert, is a famous actress in her own right, having starred on the sitcome Roseanne. Sara Gilbert's real name is actually Sara Abeles; she later changed her surname to "Gilbert "to match her adopted half-sister. Sara's biological mother had divorced Paul Gilbert (nee MacMahon) and married Harold Abeles. So is Harold Abeles Jewish, and this is why Sara Gilbert is considered Jewish? And then by association, everybody assumed that Melissa is Jewish as well? And Barbara Crane is not necessarily Jewish either? 4.228.216.41 20:14, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

No, Melissa says she's Jewish on her official site. [6]

• "I see that you celebrate Christmas, what religion do you practice?

My family is Jewish, but I carry a knowledge and respect for all religions. I don't practice one specifically. " Vulturell 22:50, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

But I have to admit that this is another of those interesting showbiz mysteries. Let's see what we have so far:

• Sara Gilbert
  • biological father: Harry Abeles
  • biological mother: Barbara Crane?

I think both Abeles and Crane are Jewish, so Sara Gilbert is "fully Jewish",

• Melissa Gilbert
  • biological father: Unknown? I'm assuming it's not Paul Gilbert/MacMahon.
  • biological mother: Are we sure that it's not Barbara Crane?

Vulturell 23:42, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

• IMDB says that Melissa is Sara's "half sister". Which leads me to believe that Barbara Crane is indeed both Melissa's and Sara's biological mother. Barbara Crane and Paul Gilbert divorced in 1972 - not clear when they were married, but I guess it could have been after Melissa's 1964 birth? So her biological father is someone else - quite possibly someone that Barbara Crane never married? As for Barbara Crane being Jewish, it seems likely. Harry Crane seems like a typical early 20th century NY-born Jewish comedian and I would venture that his wife, Lilian, (Barbara's mother) was probably Jewish, too. So Melissa's statement that "her family is Jewish" makes sense. I think the biggest question is what happened to Melissa's biological father? Vulturell 23:49, 8 February 2006 (UTC)
  • NNDB also says Crane was Gilbert's "mother", while listing Gilbert as her "adoptive father". I really think it's likely Crane is her natural mother. Vulturell 23:53, 8 February 2006 (UTC)
    • Barbara Crane Cowan is Melissa's "adoptive" mother. Apparently, she has been married at least three times (to Paul Gilbert, Harry Abeles, and currently Warren Cowan) and she's listed at imdb.com under her current name, Barbara Cowan [7]. Sara Gilbert is the biological daughter of Barbara and Harry Abeles. She is not biologically related to Melissa, but they were raised by the same mother, so I guess that is what the "half-sister" is referring to. Yahoo has a fairly comprehensive bio on Melissa [8]. 64.0.112.66 09:52, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

Photo

Can't we get a better pic of her? Snoopy9 23:31, 23 May 2007 (UTC) snoopy9

Walk like a star?

How old was she when she made it to the Walk of Fame? Is she still youngest, or have the Olsen Twits replaced her? Trekphiler 04:15, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

Redeye fix? Anyone?

I'm sure it wouldn't infringe on anyone's proprietary rights to fix the red eye in her photo. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Landroo (talk • contribs) 15:06, 5 July 2008 (UTC)

Relationship with Michael Landon

This from Michael Landon...

After the series ended, Gilbert stayed connected with Michael Sr. for the next 8 years, until his death. After Landon's passing, she named her son, Michael Garrett Boxleitner (1995), after him.

...contradicts what is in this article:

Melissa didn't have any contact with Landon after "Little House" ended during the 1983/1984 season. Seven years later, on May 9, 1991, when she saw a gaunt-looking Landon on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson discussing his pancreatic cancer, she was compelled to finally telephone him. She had had no contact with Landon since his divorce scandal and he had never met her son, Dakota Brinkman, born May 1, 1989. Together they went to his Malibu home where he was, by then, bed-ridden. They spent the afternoon together. It was her opportunity to say "goodbye," something she did not get to do when Paul Gilbert suddenly passed away when she was 11. Exactly one week later, on July 1, 1991, Landon died. When Melissa gave birth to her second son (with second husband Bruce Boxleitner) on October 6, 1995, she named him Michael in honor of him.

So, which is it? --Elliskev 18:12, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

Sara Gilbert

"Meanwhile, Sara, jealous of all the gifts and money Melissa was receiving starring on Little House and in television movies, also wanted to be an actress."

I find this sentence judgemental and inappropriate for this encyclopaedia. In Sara Gilbert's pages in Wiki it is only mentioned that she wanted to be an actress like her sister, and in IMDB they say that Sara was inspired by Melissa's career to become an actress herself. Both ways are far more neutral and appropriate and I suggest either one replaces this one. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Amj1967 (talk • contribs) 10:21, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Natural redhead?

Having just read Melissa's biography (Prairie Tale, 2009), I didn't see anything to indicate that Melissa is a "natural redhead". Every "natural" redhead that I know of was a redhead as a child (that goes for natural blondes also - one does not go from being a brunette child to a blond adult without assistance). Melissa wasn't a redhead until she was an adult, and she's had plastic surgery and other enhancements, so she probably would also color her hair. I think the "natural redhead" line should be removed, unless it can be documented by something Melissa herself has said. She was a brunette as a child, and her bio doesn't mention hair color being changed for the Little House on the Prairie series. The character she played was a brunette. Radiomo (talk) 17:19, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Photo

Please Leave the Photo of Melissa at Starlight on the profile instead of at the Emmy Awards, The Photo of her on stage is more current. And that photo of her at the Emmys is just ugly. --DefyingGravityForGood (talk) 18:58, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

I understand that - because you created the photo - you take a special liking in it, but it's a very vague, unsharp and unclear photo that does not gave a clear image of what Melissa Gilbert looks like, the way the Emmy photo does. Detailled photos are more important than recent photos. Moviefan (talk) 13:55, 26 July 2010 (UTC)

Link not working

Inline citation [26] reference link does NOT go yo the referenced/resourced article.

It goes to a news station's website.

Please check on this and correct if necessary. 68.231.71.119 (talk) 04:10, 21 May 2017 (UTC)

External links modified

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Gilbert for women's issues.

Partner with Michelle Thielen to work on sex trafficking issues in Austin, Texas? Deborah David (talk) 01:04, 9 May 2020 (UTC)

Little House on the prairie..

I just wanted you to know we just watched little house on the prairie from 1-1 till the end... And we believe you did a fantastic job with that series...and just wanted to thank you for a job well done.... 192.183.163.56 (talk) 19:33, 1 June 2022 (UTC)

Year of birth

Gilbert's year of birth was 1964. Not 1963. 86.130.217.201 (talk) 20:20, 19 January 2023 (UTC)

You need to cite a valid reliable source. See WP:BLPRS. BilCat (talk) 20:29, 20 January 2023 (UTC)

I've checked this source, an interview with the Archive of American Television, which is cited in the article. In it, Gilbert clearly states that she was born on May 8, 1964. This was changed to 1963 without comment by an IP user in 2022. In her book, which is also cited, she states that her birth father claimed she was born in 1963, so this may be where the confusion comes from. Since she was adopted when she was 24 hours old, it's unlikely her adopted parents got the year wrong. That's why we use reliable sources, and cite them so they can be verified, as sometimes it does get changed. BilCat (talk) 21:07, 20 January 2023 (UTC)

Actually, this has been changed on several occasions in 2022 by User:Nyoerg68, who has a history of BLP.sneaky vandalism. BilCat (talk) 21:27, 20 January 2023 (UTC)

References