By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-04-02 00:41:31 | Updated at 2025-04-03 02:45:16
1 day ago
Little House on the Prairie actress Patty Maloney has died at the age of 89.
Her death was confirmed by her brother, Dave Myrabo, who told The Hollywood Reporter she passed on Monday, March 31.
The the 3-foot-11 actress was in hospice care in Winter Park, Florida. She had suffered 'several' strokes in the years prior.
'For a little person growing up in a big world, she did everything she wanted to do,' Myrabo stated.
Beyond her appearances on Little House on the Prairie, Maloney is also known for playing Chewbacca's son Lumpy in the Star Wars Holiday Special and Honk in the Sid & Marty Krofft series Far Out Space Nuts.
Maloney's health issues began in 2010 with an age-related macular degeneration (AMD) diagnosis, according to Men's Journal.
Little House on the Prairie actress Patty Maloney has died at the age of 89 on Monday, March 31; seen in a publicity photo from her one-woman show, I’m Right Tonight, in 2005
The the 3-foot-11 actress was in hospice care in Winter Park, Florida. She had suffered 'several' strokes in the years prior; pictured in a still from Little House on the Prairie (1974)
AMD is an eye condition that can cause blurred or reduced central vision, and is a common cause of vision loss among older adults.
She also appeared in the Wizard of Oz feature Under the Rainbow in 1981, as well as on episodes of Little House on the Prairie, Charlie’s Angels, Trapper John, M.D., The Love Boat and more.
Born Patricia Anne Maloney in 1936, Patty was a native of Perkinsville, New York.
However she was raised in Winter Park, Florida, by her mother and stepfather.
During her youth, she performed in carnivals and circuses.
She married Joseph Vitek in 1961, and during their marriage, worked as a keypunch operator at Clipper Carloading in Chicago.
Following Vitek's death from melanoma in 1968, her friends suggested she return to performing as a means of coping with her grief.
