LITTLE House on the Prairie star Jack Lilley opened up about his surprising brush with cult killer Charles Manson years before his death.
Lilley, who played several roles in the hit TV drama, died peacefully in his sleep at 91 years old on Wednesday, his family announced.
In 2017, Lilley gave one of his last on-camera interviews and opened up about how his work as a teenager led him to Manson.
He said that he would help “haul horses” for Spahn Ranch in Los Angeles, California, which would later be the headquarters for Manson’s murderous cult.
“I didn’t know what of a jerk he was back then,” Lilley told local public TV channel SCV.
The ranch was owned by George Spahn, who was Lilley’s stepmother’s dad.
While working for Spahn, Lilley remembers meeting some of the so-called Manson girls after ranchhand Donald Shea had disappeared.
Shea was working for Spahn to try and drive the Manson Family off the ranch when he vanished in August 1969 – just two weeks after the cult murdered five people, including pregnant actress Sharon Tate.
Though Lilley didn’t know it at the time, Manson and two of his cronies had also killed Shea and dumped his body on a hillside, where it would evade detectives for eight years.
When Lilley walked up to one of the women, she brazenly brought up Shea’s disappearance and said, “Yeah, they killed him.”
At the time, the actor thought they were just “hippies,” and didn’t take the comment seriously.
“I said, ‘You’re full of crap,'” the TV star told the interviewers.
Later, when Lilley learned the truth behind Manson’s sick plots, he described his interactions with the cult as “unbelievable.”
‘ONE OF A KIND’
Lilley’s co-star Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura Ingalls Wilder on the NBC show, mourned him in a heartwrenching Instagram post.
Gilbert said, “The little house family has lost one of our own. Jack Lilly has passed away.
“He was 91 years old. He also happened to be one of my favorite people on the planet.
“He taught me how to ride a horse when I was just a wee little thing. He was so patient with me.”
Lilley was most known for his horse-handling skills on Little House on the Prairie, but he also made a name for himself as an actor and stuntman.
Throughout his career, he starred in films like Planet of the Apes, Sudden Impact, and The Legend of Zorro.
The star’s heartbroken son reflected on growing up in the industry alongside his father, and described his dad as “one of a kind.”
“He’s seen so much change in the industry and we were kind of raised around it as little kids,” he told Fox News.
“We got to see when it was done back in the day, compared to now.”
Clint described his dad as a horse handler who taught his kids to never take life for granted.
“He taught us, we had to work for it and nothing was going to be handed to you, you have to go get it,” the son said.
“He made sure [of] that […] I’m thankful for that, because he wanted to make sure that we were grounded.”
Jack Lilley’s son’s full statement
“He was one of a kind,” Clint Lilley told Fox News Digital of his father, legendary actor Jack Lilley, after his death at age 91.
“We got a glimpse of the old Hollywood because he came out of that and saw the transition. He’s seen so much change in the industry and we were kind of raised around it as little kids. We got to see when it was done back in the day compared to now.
“He taught us we had to work for it and nothing was going to be handed to you. You have to go get it. He made sure [of] that. I’m thankful for that, because he wanted to make sure that we were grounded.
“He wanted to make sure that [we know] it’s a privilege, it’s a blessing to be in the industry. I’m forever grateful for that.
“He’s one of those guys who never forgot where he came from. He came from dirt poor – they moved in 1933. He was born in Texas, grew up in North Hollywood.
“He helped a lot of people in this industry. He could make things happen. He was that guy, and he was always willing to help. Always willing to help out and come up with a solution, make it work, make it happen. That’s a gift.
“He’s a really good father, no doubt about it.”
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