Biography for
Michael Landon

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Date of Birth

31 October 1936, Forest Hills, Queens, New York, USA

Date of Death

1 July 1991, Malibu, California, USA (pancreatic cancer)

Birth Name

Eugene Maurice Orowitz

Nickname

Mike
Emo

Height

5' 9" (1.75 m)

Mini Biography

Michael Landon was born Eugene Maurice Orowitz, on October 31, 1936, in Forest Hills, Queens, New York. In 1941, he and his family moved to Collingswood, New Jersey.

When Eugene was in high school, he participated -- and did very well -- in track and field, especially javelin throwing, and his athletic skills earned him a scholarship to UCLA. However, an accident injured his arm, ending his athletic career -- and his term at UCLA -- and he worked a number of odd jobs and small roles to make ends meet and decided that acting was for him. However, he thought that his real name was not a suitable one for an aspiring actor, and so "Michael Landon" was born.

Two of his first big roles were as Tony Rivers in I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) and as Tom Dooley in the western The Legend of Tom Dooley (1959). That same year he was approached by producer David Dortort to star in a pilot called "The Restless Gun" (1957), which was renamed when the series was picked up to "Bonanza" (1959). Landon played Little Joe Cartwright, the youngest of the three Cartwright brothers, a cocky and somewhat rebellious youth nevertheless had a way with the ladies. For 14 years, Landon became the heart and soul of the show, endearing himself to both younger and older viewers, and he became a household name during the 1960s and 1970s.

In 1968, after almost ten years of playing Little Joe, he wanted an opportunity to direct and write some episodes of the show. After the season finale in 1972, Dan Blocker, who played his older brother Hoss and was also a close friend, died from a blood clot in his lung, after gall bladder surgery, but Michael decided to go back to work, revisiting his own character in a two-part episode called "Forever."

"Bonanza" (1959) was finally canceled in early 1973, after 14 years and 461 episodes. Michael didn't have to wait long until he landed another successful role that most TV audiences of the 1970s would thoroughly enjoy, his second TV western, for NBC, "Little House on the Prairie" (1974). That show was based on a popular book written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and he played enduring patriarch and farmer Charles Ingalls. Unlike "Bonanza" (1959), where he was mostly just a "hired gun," on this show he served as the producer, writer, director, and executive producer. By the end of its eighth season in 1982, Landon decided to step down from his role on "Little House" as he saw his TV children grown up and moved out of their father's house, and a year later, the show was canceled. After 14 years on "Bonanza" (1959) and 8 years on "Little House on the Prairie" (1974), it was about time to focus on something else, and once again, he didn't have to wait too long before "Highway to Heaven" (1984) came along. Unlike the western shows that he did for 23 years, this NBC fantasy/drama show focused on Jonathan Smith, an angel whose job was to save peoples' lives and work for God, his boss. Victor French played ex-cop Mark Gordon, who turned down a fortune but had redeemed himself by meeting Jonathan.

By the end of the fifth season in 1989, French was diagnosed with lung cancer and died in June of that same year. Landon was devastated by the loss and pulled the plug on "Highway to Heaven" (1984). In early 1991, after 35 years of working on NBC, he was axed by the network, so he moved to CBS to star in the pilot of a two-hour movie, Us (1991) (TV), in which he played prisoner Jeff Hayes, who tried his best to kill a wealthy man's wife and was sentenced to prison. This was going to be another one of Landon's shows but, in April 1991, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He later appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962) to talk about his battle with the disease, and many people in the audience were affected by the courage and energy he showed. Unfortunately, he was already terminally ill by that time, and on July 1, 1991, after a three-month battle, he finally succumbed to the disease. His family, his colleagues, and his children were all by his side.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Richard Collins II

Spouse

Cindy Landon	(14 February 1983 - 1 July 1991) (his death) 2 children
Lynn Noe	(12 January 1963 - 1982) (divorced) 4 children
Dodie Frasier	(11 March 1956 - December 1962) (divorced) 3 children

Trade Mark

Played friendly roles that depend upon family values.

Trivia

Children: Mark Fraser Landon (adopted at age 7 in 1956; aka Mark Landon), Josh Fraser Landon (adopted as newborn in 1960), Leslie Ann Landon (b 11 October 1963; aka Leslie Landon), Michael Graham Landon (b. 20 June 1965; aka Michael Landon Jr.), Shawna Leigh Landon (b. 1971; aka Shawna Landon), Christopher Beau Landon (b. 27 February 1975; Christopher B. Landon), Jennifer Rachel Landon (b. 29 August 1983; aka Jennifer Landon), Sean Matthew Landon (b. 6/1986) and step-daughter Cheryl Ann Pontrelli.

Interred at Hillside Memorial Park, Culver City, California, USA.

Actress Melissa Gilbert's son Michael (b. 1995) was named after him.

His birthplace, Forest Hills, is a neighborhood area in Queens, New York.

U.S. President Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy Davis Reagan, attended Landon's memorial service the day after his death.

Inducted (as a cast member of "Little House on the Prairie") into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1998.

Always claimed to have chosen his professional name by picking the name Michael Landon out of the Los Angeles telephone directory.

His mother Peggy died on March 15, 1981.

His parents were Jewish and Irish Catholic.

Never legally adopted his stepdaughter, Cheryl, because of her birth father's objections.

Started having grey hair at age 20.

The youngest of two children.

Won the freshman javelin toss at the University of Southern California-Los Angeles.

Comedian and ex-talk show host, Johnny Carson was a longtime friend of his and had (in private) always confided in Landon and shared his own issues with him.

Before his death, he appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962) to talk about his brave battle against cancer and his life and it was the highest-rated show of all time.

Had to drop out of the University of California-Los Angeles because he tore his shoulder ligaments, which would prevent him from throwing the javelin again, and he was attending UCLA on an athletic scholarship.

His last wife was former make-up artist Cindy Clerico, whom he met near the end of the "Little House" run in 1981, and married two years later.

Grew up in the southern New Jersey town of Collingswood and graduated Collingswood High School in 1954.

Charles Ingalls, Landon's character on _"Little House on the Prairie" (1974)_, was ranked #4 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [20 June 2004 issue].

Studied karate under Chuck Norris, as did the children of his "Bonanza" co-star Dan Blocker.

Before he became a successful actor, he worked in a warehouse and at a gas station.

Starred with Victor French in two of his successful TV series.

His second wife, Marjorie Lynn Noe, was one of the few people who refused to attend his funeral, because she told her children that the divorce had already been like a death to her.

When he filed for divorce from Lynn, it cost him $26 million. Though he gave her his $3.5-million, 35-room Beverly Hills mansion, this bitter divorce was a devastating blow for Lynn, who stated on TV that her ex-husband had become her angel. (16 April 1981)

In 1954, he was the national high school record holder in the javelin throw.

Wrote and directed two movies that were semi-autobiographical: The Loneliest Runner (1976) (TV) and Sam's Son (1984).

By most accounts he was exactly like the kind, gentle, heroic characters he portrayed onscreen and in fact few, if any, people complained about working with him, something rare in Hollywood.

12 years after his death, his eldest sister, Evelyn, died on New Years' Day, 2003.

He smoked 4 packs of unfiltered Menthol cigarettes a day during his lifetime, which probably contributed to the pancreatic cancer that killed him.

His stepdaughter, Cheryl, recalled in his biography "I Promised My Dad" that once Landon was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he realized that all the years of smoking, drinking and eating an unhealthy diet had taken their toll. Later, despite going on a regimen that included a naturalistic approach to the cancer (coffee enemas and a healthy diet), Landon was devastated to learn that the cancer had tripled in size.

He was left-handed, and his awkward handwriting (he often hand-wrote scripts) sometimes made it difficult for his secretary to read what he'd written).

Despite being given a less than three per cent chance of survival, Landon announced he was going to beat his pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately by the time of the diagnosis it had already spread to his liver and stomach.

Wore lifts in "Bonanza" (1959) so he would not be dwarfed by considerably taller co-stars Dan Blocker and Lorne Greene.

Like his "Bonanza" (1959) co-star Lorne Greene, Landon was a staunch supporter of the Republican Party.

Had an IQ of 159.

Graduated third from the bottom of his class academically in 1954.

Is buried at the same cemetery as his TV father, Lorne Greene (Hillside Memorial Park, Culver City, California).

Best remembered by the public for his role as Little Joe on "Bonanza" (1959) and for his starring role as Charles Ingalls on "Little House on the Prairie" (1974).

Brian Keith and Ernest Borgnine attended his funeral.

His father died of a heart attack in February 1959.

Was very good friends with Johnny Carson, Ernest Borgnine, Merlin Olsen and Victor French.

Personal Quotes

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.

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

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

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.

Discussing his illness: "Well the news shocked the hell out of me. Nothing was further from my mind, since I'm only 54 and, with rare exceptions, I'd been healthy my whole life. Not that I don't deserve to have a cancer. I'm a good athlete and I work out hard - before this happened I could bench press 300, 350 pounds, no sweat - but I've abused my body over the years. I don't want people to think that everybody is a likely candidate for cancer of this type. I think I have it because for most of my life, though I was never a drunk, I drank too much. I also smoked too many cigarettes and ate a lot of wrong things. And if you do that, even if you think you're too strong to get anything, somehow you're going to pay."

Nobody's perfect. Not Charles Ingalls. Not Michael Landon. (1982)

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