Michael Landon

Michael Landon (October 31, 1936 - July 1, 1991), was an American actor, producer and director who starred in three popular NBC TV series that spanned three decades such as, "Little Joe" Cartwright in Bonanza (1959-1973), as Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie (1974-1982), and as Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven (1984-1989). He even hosted the annual long-running coverage of the "Tournament of Roses Parade" with Kelly Lange, also on NBC. Landon's father, Eli Maurice Orowitz, was a Jewish American and his mother, Peggy O’Neill, was an Irish American Catholic.

Early life

Landon was born Eugene Maurice Orowitz in the Queens New York. His father was Eli Orowitz, and his mother was Peggy O'Neill. It is interesting to note that his father was an actor, and his mother was a popular comedienne during the 1940's. Michael had an older sister by the name of Eveyln. Michael changed his name from Eugene Orowitz to Michael Landon after he decided to launch his acting career, as he did not feel that his given name was appropriate for an actor. It is believed that he chose the stage name by picking it out of a Los Angeles phone book.

In high school, Orowitz excelled at track]. He had a special talent for javelin. He held the national record for the longest throw by any high school athlete at the time. This earned him an athletic to [[University of Southern California|USC. Unfortunately, he later tore a ligament in his arm, which made it difficult if not impossible for him to participate in further javelin throwing competitions.

Rebellious young actor

After changing his last name, Landon became one of the more popular and enduring young character actors of the late 1950s, after making his first appearance during The Mystery of Casper Hauser. This part led to other roles, often as a moody, rebellious youth. He guest-starred in such as, Crossroads, The Rifleman, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Wire Service, Telephone Time, General Electric Theater, The Court of Last Resort, The Tales of Wells Fargo, among many others. He even starred in a pilot of a TV show that never aired, named Johnny Risk.

Film career

Landon first big role was that of teenager Tony Rivers in the feature film I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957). Landon also gained exposure as Tom Dooley in the western The Legend of Tom Dooley (1959).

Bonanza

In 1959, at age 22, Landon had his first starring TV role as Little Joe Cartwright on Bonanza, NBC's answer to Gunsmoke, which was also the first TV series to be in color. Also starring on the show were the late Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker and Pernell Roberts, who is the only surviving cast member of the show. Landon's character was the cocky, mischievous, youngest brother of the Cartwright Family. He was also cast as a ladies' man and became a TV symbol, often appearing shirtless on the show. During Bonanza's first season, it was a smash hit, and by its third season, the show became a powerhouse in the Nielsen Ratings, clobbering almost every other television series.

On Bonanza, Landon often performed his own stunts. In 1968, he was also permitted to write and direct episodes. In 1972, after the season finale, his co-star and best friend (Dan Blocker) died from a lung clot. Landon had originally written the 14th season's two hour premiere episode based on the marriage of Blocker's character Hoss. Landon, much too grieved to do a memorial episode to honor his friend, instead cast himself in the groom's role of his already finished script. During its final season in 1973, Bonanza declined in the ratings and was cancelled that same year.

Landon appeared in all 14 seasons of Bonanza.

Little House on the Prairie

The year after Bonanza was cancelled, Landon went on to star in the pilot of yet another successful western television series called Little House on the Prairie, again for NBC. The show was taken from a 1935 book that was published by Laura Ingalls Wilder, who was played by a then unknown actress Melissa Gilbert. In addition to Gilbert, Melissa Sue Anderson played Mary Ingalls, the oldest daughter in the Ingalls family, and Karen Grassle also starred as Charles's wife, Caroline Ingalls.

Landon served as executive producer, writer, and director of the show, making him one of the series' driving forces. The show, a success in its first season, emphasized family values and relationships. Little House became Landon's second longest running series.

He was also a father both on-screen and off. He even created his own playful stunts and games with the three young co-stars, behind the scenes which aimed at the audience for some mischievous acts, plus outtakes that he even added, made the entire audience even funnier. He even teamed up with Oscar-winner Paul Newman, and First Lady Nancy Reagan, for a drug abuse foundation called, Just Say No, as a public service message.

The entire cast shared a close bond with Landon, particularly Gilbert, who spent most of the weekends visiting Landon's real-life family. Landon's real-life daughter appeared as a plague victim in one episode and later as a recurring character.

Though Little House was tremendously popular with viewers, the show was never nominated for any Emmys or Golden Globes. After eight seasons, Little House was cancelled by NBC in 1982. That same year, Landon produced and directed A New Beginning, for syndication, and the series lasted one year.

Highway to Heaven

After producing both the Father Murphy TV series and a movie, Sam's Son, he then went on to star in another successful television series. On Highway to Heaven, he played Jonathan Smith, a guardian angel whose job consisted of saving various people while he earned his angel wings. His co-star on the show was Victor French (who previously co-starred on Landon's Little House on the Prairie). He played the ex-cop, Mark Gordon. NBC didn't feel the show had a prayer, but it too proved to be another hit for Landon. This was also the first religious fantasy drama series and aired long before Touched by an Angel. On Highway, Landon also served as: executive producer, writer and director of the show. Though Landon felt that he liked writing the best, and acting the least, he continued to act because actors get more money than writers. He realized that he was taking control, and in the industry, there were also rumors swirling around him that he was cavalier and harsh, but he wasn't. On one episode, Ed Asner (of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Lou Grant fame) guest-starred, as well as Dick Van Dyke (of The Dick Van Dyke Show and Murder fame).

By 1985, prior to hiring his son Michael Landon Jr. as the director, he also brought real-life cancer patients to the set as well as with disabled people. His decision of working with disabled people led him to hire a couple of adults with disabilities to write episodes for Highway. He also revamped the classic 1957 film, I Was a Teenage Werewolf. By its fifth season, Highway took a nose dive in the ratings and at the same time, co-star Victor French died due to lung cancer that June. Before the series cancellation in 1989, he even invited his youngest daughter Jennifer Landon for the final episode.

Final days

Landon had produced all three of his series for NBC, but after ending Highway, he was let go. He then went to CBS and in 1991 starred in a two hour pilot called Us. This was meant to be another series for Landon, but on April 5, he was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, an inoperable pancreatic cancer that had spread to his liver and lymph nodes. Doctors believe Landon's heavy alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking - four packs a day - contributed to this cancer.

On May 9, 1991, he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson to speak of his illness, promising to fight the cancer and asking fans to pray for him. However, just a few short weeks later, on July 1, 1991, Landon died in Malibu, California, aged 54, with his family, children, and colleagues by his side.

He was interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California. Cindy and Michael's family were joined by 500 other mourners including former President Ronald Reagan, with whom Michael had once chopped wood, and his wife Nancy. Merlin Olsen, Ernest Borgnine, Brian Keith and many of Michael's costars, such as Melissa Gilbert and Melissa Sue Anderson, were present. Although Michael's first wife, Dodie, accompanied by her two sons were present, his second wife, Lynn, was noticeably absent.

After his death, Landon was again on the covers of weekly tabloids when it was revealed that he had done some last-minute changing to his will. Rather than giving his nine children an equal inheritance, he chose to give a larger portion to his and Cindy's two children.

For his contribution to the television industry, Michael Landon has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1500 N. Vine Street. In 1998, he was inducted posthumously into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.

Family

Landon was married three times. His first wife was Dodie Levy-Fraser, a legal secretary who was six years his senior. They married in December 1956. He adopted her son, Mark, and together they adopted another boy, Josh in 1960. However, by the time of this adoption, Landon was already in the midst of a love affair with 26-year-old divorcee and mother (Marjorie) Lynn Noe. When Lynn discovered she was pregnant with Landon's child, she pushed for Landon to leave his wife. With Lynn's prodding, Landon finally got the courage to tell Dodie of the affair and ask for a divorce. Landon's timing couldn't have been worse as he and Dodie were in the midst of adopting their third child. The boy, named Jason, was returned to the adoption agency.

Lynn gave birth to their daughter, Leslie Ann, on October 10, 1962. Dodie and Michael's divorce was finalized that December. Now divorced, Michael and Lynn flew to Juarez, Mexico and were married on January 12, 1963. They stayed married 19 years and had three more children (Michael Jr., Shawna and Christopher). Michael Landon, Jr. has directed telefilms, most notably based on Jeanette Oke novels. Landon at one point attempted to adopt Lynn's daughter (Cheryl Pontrelli) from her first marriage, but the girl's birth father wouldn't allow it.

In 1980, Lynn who'd been "the other woman" when Michael was married and cheating on Dodie, found out that Michael now was cheating on her. He'd been having an affair with Cindy Clerico, a makeup artist and stand-in on Little House who also happened to be 21 years his junior. Livid, she filed for divorce. In an interview with The National Enquirer she said, "Michael has made his choice and I think at this point it would be best for me and the children if he made his affair legal and married his girlfriend."

What followed was a very bitter and public divorce in 1982 which cost Landon more than States dollar|$" target="_blank" >^*26 million dollars. Many fans felt betrayed by Landon, who had always played moral upstanding characters on television. Defending himself in interviews Landon replied, "Nobody's perfect. Not Charles Ingalls. Not Michael Landon."

After his divorce with Lynn was finalized in December 1982, he was free to marry again. He married Clerico, who was two months pregnant with their child, in February 1983. Daughter Jennifer was born in 1983 and son Sean was born in 1986. Jennifer has starred as Gwen Norbeck on the soap opera As the World Turns since 2005.

In 1956, Landon lost his father, Eli Orowitz, to a massive heart attack, while working as a theater manager. In 1973, his eldest daughter, Cheryl was involved in a serious car accident. She was hospitalized in a coma. Three years later in 1976, Cheryl had suffered bouts of depression which led to an addiction to painkillers. In 1981, just two years, before Landon married Cindy, his mother, Peggy O' Neill, died, though Landon wasn't close to her. Like one of his daughters, Peggy had suffered bouts of depression.

His co-star on Little House, Melissa Gilbert, named her son, Michael Garrett Boxleitner (1995), after Landon.

On April 28, 2006, Jennifer Landon won her first Emmy at the Daytime Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Gwen on As the World Turns.

External links

Michael Landon at Find A Grave

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