As youngsters, Alison Arngrim played the annoying Nellie Oleson on “Little House on the Prairie.” Steve Tracy played Percival Dalton, the man who would go on to marry Nellie.
As adults, the actors shared a mutual love and respect for one another. It was a respect that ran very deep. And, it led Arngrim to refer to Tracy as “such a brave person.” She talked about her relationship with Tracy during an interview with FoxNews.com last year.
Because she appeared in so many scenes of “Little House on the Prairie” with Tracy, Arngrim was asked what memories she had of the late Steve Tracy. And, unsurprisingly, the memories she has are very positive, even if the later ones are sad.
“Oh, I have so many (memories),” Arngrim told FoxNews.com. “What an incredible person. We just had so much chemistry on set. The moment he arrived we just hit it off immediately. We were always laughing together. It just came naturally to us. It was just perfect chemistry. And he was such a brave person.”
According to IMDb.com, Tracy died on Nov. 27, 1986, in Tampa, Florida. He was only 34 years old at the time of his death. He was born on Oct. 3, 1952, in Canton, Ohio.
Why Alison Arngrim Viewed ‘Little House on the Prairie’ Costar Steve Tracy as ‘Brave’
So, what made the “Little House on the Prairie” actress view Tracy as “brave”? According to the report by FoxNews.com, it was how he handled his diagnosis with AIDS. And, the fact that he was willing to share his story with others. Alison Arngrim also admired Tracy’s willingness to battle the scary disease.
“When he was diagnosed with AIDS, he went public. People didn’t do that,” Arngrim said of Tracy. “They wouldn’t go on TV and say, ‘I have AIDS.’ And yet he did it. I remember he was taking experimental treatments at the time. I asked, ‘Does it hurt?’ And he went ‘Oh yeah. Several people dropped out of the drug trial because the injection is just too painful. But I can take it.'”
Alison Arngrim asked several other questions about her “Little House on the Prairie” costar’s medical condition, according to the FoxNews.com report.
“I then asked, ‘Is it working?’ He looked at me like I was crazy and said, ‘Oh, no, it’s not going to work on me. It’s too late for me. They can’t save me. But it might save someone else after I’m dead.’ Here was this man taking an experimental drug that was so painful people refused to do it,” Arngrim recounted. “And he knew it would do nothing for him. And yet he did it anyway so that someday, long after we’re gone, it can help save someone’s life. I remember he just looked at me and said, ‘Why wouldn’t I do this?’ That’s just the kind of guy he was.”
