|
Alison Arngrim, best known to viewers world-wide for her portrayal of the
incredibly nasty "Nellie Oleson" on the much loved, long running hit television
series "Little House On The Prairie," continues to amuse audiences through her
many film, television and stage appearances. She can currently be seen in the
independent films "For the Love of May" with Ru Paul and Patricia Neal, and "The
Last Place On Earth" with Billy Dee Williams and Phyllis Diller.
In addition to her seven years on "Little House," Alison guested on such cult
classics as: "The Love Boat," "Fantasy Island" and the NBC movie of the week, "I
Married Wyatt Earp," starring Marie Osmond. She mocked her own status as an
"ex-child star" on Jay Lenošs Tonight Show, during their month long parody,
"Hollywood Survivor" and continues to be a frequent interview subject on
everything from "A&E", "E! Entertainment", and "VH-1", to CNN and the Travel
Channel.
Alisonšs stage work includes, "Sirena: Queen of the Tango", "Butterflies Are
Free," "Hidden In The Laughter", "Dear Brutus," "The Wool Gatherer," "Cry Of
Players", the French bedroom farce, "In One Bed And Out The Other," and Michael
Kearnsš "AIDS/US II."
As a stand-up comedian, Alison has headlined at nightclubs such as the Laugh
Factory, the Comedy Store and the Improv in Los Angeles; numerous comedy clubs
all across the United States and Canada, and recently launched her
one-woman-show "Confessions of a Prairie Bitch" at Club Fez in New York.
In the 1986 when her friend and "Little House husband" co-star, Steve Tracy,
passed away due to complications of HIV/AIDS, Alison immediately began
volunteering at AIDS Project Los Angeles. Her duties have ranged from working on
the Southern California AIDS Hotline and the APLA food bank, (APLA's Necessities
of Life Program) to chairing the steering committee of the volunteer speakers
bureau and developing "Safer Sex" workshops. She has provided AIDS education to
doctors, nurses, prison inmates, service clubs, churches, department stores and
schools, and spent seven years hosting the APLA educational cable television
show, "AIDS Vision". In 1992, Joel Wachs presented Alison with a resolution by
the Los Angeles City Council commending her on her work on behalf of people
living with HIV and AIDS. She continues to serve on the Ambassador Council of
AIDS Project Los Angeles.
From 1989 through 1993 she served as Program Manager at Tuesday's Child, an
organization assisting children and families affected by HIV and AIDS. Since
1989 she has served as both hostess and producer for the comedy stage at the
AIDS Project Los Angeles Annual Summer Party, (on the backlot of Universal
Studios), where through an evening of raucous entertainment, featuring name
comedians, she helps to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for people living
with HIV.
She is currently serves as Vice Chair of the Screen Actors Guild Young
Performers Committee, addressing the needs of children working in the
entertainment industry, and on the National Advisory Board of PROTECT, fighting
to give children a legal and political voice in the war against child abuse.
Alison currently lives in the wilds of Tujunga with her husband of ten years,
musician Bob Schoonover, (from the rock and roll band "Catahoula") and their two
cats, Hannibal and Clarice. She takes pride in the fact that so many people
enjoyed hating her as a girl and is more than happy to give them the opportunity
to do so in the future.
Source: hgd.com
|
