Michael Landon

Michael Landon
Landon at the 1990 Emmy Awards.
Born	Eugene Maurice Orowitz
Other names	Michael Landon
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)

Michael Landon (October 31, 1936 – July 1, 1991) was an American actor, singer, producer, and director, who starred in three popular NBC TV series that spanned three decades. He is widely known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza (1959-1973), Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie (1974-1982), and Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven (1984-1989). His twenty eight years of television acting (he was not on-camera for most of "Little House on the Prairie's" final season) surpasses even Lucille Ball. Although his Bonanza co-star David Canary and youngest daughter Jennifer Landon have both won Emmys, Landon was never given the honor. Nonetheless, few actors have been so prolific. Landon also produced, wrote, and directed many of his series' episodes, including his only short-lived series, "Father Murphy" which starred his friend and "Little House" co-star Merlin Olson.. He also hosted the annual long-running coverage of the "Tournament of Roses Parade" with Kelly Lange, also on NBC.

Biography

Early life

Landon was born Eugene Maurice Orowitz in the New York City borough in the Queens neighborhood of Forest Hills, New York. Landon's father, Eli Maurice Orowitz, was a Jewish American actor and movie theater manager, and his mother, Kathleen Ignatius O’Neill, was an Irish American Catholic dancer and comedienne. Eugene was the Orowitz' second child; his sister, Evelyn, was born three years earlier. In 1941, when Orowitz was 4 years old, he and his family moved to Collingswood, New Jersey, where he later attended Collingswood High School..

Early career

After changing his name, Landon became one of the more popular and enduring young actors of the late 1950s, making his first appearance in The Mystery of Casper Hauser. This part led to other roles, often as a moody, rebellious youth such as: I Was a Teenage Werewolf, 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, Johnny Risk, among many others.

Bonanza

In 1959, at age 22, Landon had his first starring TV role as Little Joe Cartwright on Bonanza, one of the first TV series to be in color. Also starring on the show were Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, and Dan Blocker. Landon's character was the cocky, mischievous youngest brother of the Cartwright Family. The character evolved to be a "ladies' man" . During Bonanza's sixth season (1964-1965), the show topped the Nielsen Ratings and remained number one for three years.

Landon often performed his own stunts. In 1962 he wrote his first script and in 1968 he directed his first episode. In May 1972, his co-star and friend Dan Blocker died. Landon had originally written the 14th season's two hour premiere episode based on the marriage of Blocker's character Hoss. Landon re-wrote the episode to make Little Joe the groom and to acknowledge the death of Hoss (Blocker) in a brief but heartfelt manner. 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. Landon was loyal to a lot of his "Bonanza" associates like David Rose (soundtrack scorer) who remained with him through all three series.

In 1962 Landon released a Bonanza related single, Gimme A Little Kiss/Be Patient With Me, on Colombia Records.

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, whose character in the show was played by a then-unknown actress, Melissa Gilbert. In addition to Gilbert, two unfamiliar actresses who also starred on the show such as, 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. Above all, the entire cast shared a close bond with Landon, especially Gilbert.

Fatherhood on screen and off led him to team up with Oscar-winner Paul Newman, and First Lady Nancy Reagan, for a drug abuse foundation called, Just Say No. Landon's real-life son, Michael, appeared as Jim in the episode The Election and his real-life daughter, Leslie, also appeared in that episode along with several others including playing the part of a plague victim in an episode from the show's first season and later was cast as school teacher Etta Plum, a recurring character, in Little House, A New Beginning.

Tremendously popular with viewers, the show was nominated for several Emmys and Golden Globes. After eight seasons, Little House was retooled by NBC in 1982. That same year, Landon produced and directed Little House: A New Beginning, which focused on the Wilder family and the Walnut Grove community. The series lasted one year.

Gilbert said of her mentor that Landon became a "second father" to her when she lost her own father, at age 11. When not working on the Little House set, Gilbert spent most of the weekends visiting Landon's real-life family. Five years later in 1981, when Gilbert was 17, she briefly dated Michael Landon Jr. and he took her to her prom. After the series ended, Gilbert stayed connected with Landon for the next 8 years, until Landon's own death. After Landon's death, she named her son, Michael Garrett Boxleitner (1995), after Landon.

Highway to Heaven

After producing both the Father Murphy TV series and a movie, Sam's Son, Landon went on to star in another successful television series. On Highway to Heaven, he played Jonathan Smith, a probationary guardian angel whose job was to help people to earn 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 an ex-cop, Mark Gordon. NBC didn't feel the show would last very long, but it too proved to be another hit for Landon. This was also the first religious fantasy drama series, starting a specialized subgenre which included later shows such as Touched by an Angel. On Highway, Landon served as executive producer, writer and director of the show. Though Landon felt that he liked directing and writing more than acting, he continued to act because actors got paid a lot more than television directors and writers .

By 1985, prior to hiring his son Michael Landon Jr. as a member of his camera crew, he also brought real-life cancer patients and disabled people to the set. His decision to work 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 in June 1989, co-star Victor French died of lung cancer. French's death contributed to the show's subsequent cancellation. Landon invited his youngest daughter Jennifer Landon to take part in the final episode.

Personal life

Landon was married three times.

• Dodie Levy-Fraser (married in March 1956. Landon filed for divorce in March 1962 and the divorce became final in December 1962)
  • Mark Fraser Landon, born October 1, 1948 (adopted)
  • Josh Fraser Landon, born February 11, 1960 (adopted)
  • Jason Samuel (Landon) Smith, born May 13, 1961 (adopted)
• Marjorie Lynn Noe (born Marjorie Lynn Noe, married on January 12, 1963/divorced 1980)
  • Leslie Ann Landon, born October 11, 1962
  • Michael Landon Jr., born June 20, 1964
  • Shawna Leigh Landon, born December 4, 1971
  • Christopher Beau Landon, born February 27, 1975 (Christopher is openly gay and the screenwriter of the box office smash film Disturbia)

    (Landon at one point attempted to adopt Lynn's daughter, Cheryl Ann Pontrelli, from her first marriage, but the girl's birth father wouldn't allow it.)

• Cindy Clerico (married in February 14, 1983)
  • Jennifer Rachel Landon, born August 29, 1983. (Jennifer is now an Emmy-winning actress starring as Gwen Norbeck Munson on the soap opera As the World Turns.)
  • Sean Matthew Landon, born August 5, 1986

His second marriage ended in a very bitter and public divorce in 1980, but the final divorce decree did not address the division of assets. A separate battle over the division of the couple's community property took two years to settle and ended up costing Landon more than US$26 million in 1982. His wife helped form a vocal Hollywood ex-wives association that included the former wives of Andy Griffith, Ken Berry (Jackie Joseph), and Robert Goulet (Carol Lawrence). Many fans felt betrayed by Landon, who had always played morally upstanding characters on television. Defending himself in interviews, Landon replied, "Nobody's perfect. Not Charles Ingalls. Not Michael Landon."

In February 1959, Landon lost his father to a massive heart attack. In 1973, his step-daughter, Cheryl was involved in a serious car accident. She was hospitalized in a coma. Three years later in 1976, Cheryl suffered bouts of depression which led to an addiction to painkillers. In March 1981, Landon's mother, Peggy O' Neill, died.

Landon's shows were all on NBC, but after ending Highway, he moved 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 cigarette smoking - four packs a day - contributed to this cancer. On April 8, 1991, he appeared at a press conference to speak of his illness promising to do the best that he could to fight the cancer.

On May 9, 1991, he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson to speak of his illness and to publicly condemn the tabloid press for their use of sensational headlines and stories based on inaccurate information and, in some case, complete fabrications like one story that claimed he and his wife were trying to have another child. Less than 2 months later, on July 1, 1991, Landon died in Malibu, California, at the age of 54.

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 co-stars, 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 absent.

After his death, Landon was again on the covers of weekly tabloids when his step-daughter, Cheryl, alleged that he had made some last-minute changes to his will that gave a larger portion of his estate to his wife, Cindy, and their 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.

Remembrances

Following Landon's death his son Michael Jr. produced a memorial special, "Michael Landon: Memories with Laughter and Love", featuring the actor's friends and co-stars. Bonanza co-star David Canary said that one word that described Landon was "fearless" in his dealings with network brass. TV daughter Melissa Gilbert said that the actor made her feel, "incredibly safe" and was "paternal". One of Landon's trademarks was his signature "cascading chuckle", as the actor loved practical jokes. Often cited was his bizarre sense of humor, which included having toads leap from his mouth and dressing as a superhero to visit a pizza parlour. On a 1988 "Tonite Show", Johnny Carson related how the actor took him to a restaurant after he accidentally ran over a cat. Landon had a fake menu made that had the word cat woven into many of the courses.

Quotes

Michael about his times with his father: "I felt my father's presence with me, enlightening my memories, helping me to commit to paper the feelings I had. . . I really heard my father speaking to me from the other dimension, filling my mind with just the right words. The story came so fast and was so right. In three days, the script was complete."

Michael: "I was grown before I realized that other mothers didn't put their heads in the oven."

Michael: "Whatever you want to do, do it now. There are only so many tomorrows."

Michael encouraging others to watch clean TV: "I want people to laugh and cry, not just sit and stare at the TV. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I think viewers are hungry for shows in which people say something meaningful."

Michael's mother, Peggy O'Neill, talked about his irresponsible behavior: "I don't know where he lives. I never bother him because he doesn't like me asking questions. He's quite secretive. He keeps me at a distance. I don't even have his phone number. Why should I? I'm not very important. I'm just his mother."

External links

• Template:Nndb name
• Template:Find A Grave
• Michael Landon Remembrance Project Site
• Template:Tvtome person