Howell's celebrity population soon falls from two to zero.
Melissa Gilbert, star of the 1974-83 TV series "Little House on the Prairie," broke the news on Twitter:
It's official. We are moving. In a couple of weeks. Into our own Little House in the Big Woods. I'm serious. It's a log house in the woods!
— Melissa Gilbert (@MelissaEGilbert) June 4, 2015
"We" includes fellow actor Timothy Busfield ("West Wing," "Thirtysomething") and two sons. Gilbert, who turned 51 last month, confirms in later tweets that they're staying in Livingston County.
Part of Southeast Michigan's appeal, Busfield told Jenn McKee of MLive seven months ago, is its sense of community and proportion compared to the area where his wife was born and where they worked for decades -- Los Angeles.
For starters: Livingston has about 181,000 people, while LA exceeds 10 million. But it goes beyond that, the East Lansing-born actor -- whose 58th birthday is next Friday -- says in the 2014 interview:
"People normally want to come to L.A. for the lifestyle, but our life here is more real, and less filled with the angst that drives places like New York and L.A. . . .
“So much of the problem where we come from is, every day of your life when you’re living in L.A., you don’t look right, or you don’t drive the right car. So all those kinds of expectations can end up being your downfall. . . .
"I’ve always loved Michigan, but I’ve never loved it more than I have while sharing it with my wife.”
And despite being a South California native, Gilbert even liked her first Michigan winter in 2013-14. "Winter last year was just so beautiful and wondrous," she told the MLive writer. "Once I got stuck, and a guy helped me push the car out of the snow -- which is the kind of thing that wouldn’t happen in other places I’ve lived."
The couple, who married in Santa Barbara, celebrated their second anniversary six weeks ago. They still perform occasionally, including guest roles in late April on “The Night Shift,” a NBC series. Busfield also directed that episode.
Local fans of the actors and of Michigan applaud their decision to stay.
"That is awesome!" Deadline Detroit reader Michelle Davis of Howell says on Twitter, where a WDIV anchor shares this reaction:
@MelissaEGilbert congrats on the move ! #puremichigan
— Karen Drew (@KarenDrewTV) June 4, 2015
In their hometown paper, The Livingston Post, founder-editor Maria Stuart posts Friday:
We want them to know how much we’ve loved having them live here amongst us. It’s been fun watching from the sidelines how happy her new life with her new husband in this quirky Michigan town has made Melissa Gilbert. . . .
Every single person who has ever run into her while she’s been out and about has been impressed with how approachable, charming and friendly she is. The same goes for Busfield.
Gilbert, who has 164,000 followers, responds:
So sweet! Thank you! We are moving but we are not leaving.We will be around. We love Howell. We love Livingston Co. https://t.co/RqisEK1Fwi
— Melissa Gilbert (@MelissaEGilbert) June 5, 2015