Richard Bull

Richard Bull is one of those character actors whose face you know instantly even if the name takes a second. As Nels Oleson, the long-suffering shopkeeper married to the impossible Harriet on Little House on the Prairie, he had this gentle, deadpan exasperation that quietly anchored every Oleson scene. He never chewed scenery; he reacted, and his reactions were perfect. That kind of steady supporting work rarely gets awards, but it's the glue that makes an ensemble feel like a real town. I find his career a nice reminder that a beloved show is built as much by its dependable second bananas as its stars.

Richard Bull (1924-2014) was an American actor born in Zion, Illinois. He is best remembered for playing storekeeper Nels Oleson on the long-running NBC television series Little House on the Prairie, a role he portrayed throughout the show's run. Over a career spanning film, television and stage, he became a familiar character actor to American audiences.

Name (English)

Richard Bull

Name (Japanese)

リチャード・ブル

Reading

りちゃーど・ぶる

Born

June 26, 1924 – February 3, 2014

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Cancer / Rat

Origin

Zion, Illinois, United States

Occupation

Actor / Stage actor / Television actor / Film actor

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%AA%E3%83%81%E3%83%A3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89%E3%83%BB%E3%83%96%E3%83%AB

Tags

• From Illinois
• Actor
• Stage actor
• Television actor

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.