JULY 1

Michael Landon

Born October 31, 1936 in Queens, New York
Died July 1, 1991 in Malibu, California
Actor, Director, Writer, Producer


Michael Landon

Original Name - Eugene Maurice Orowitz
Landon,was born Eugene Maurice Orowitz to Eli Maurice Orowitz, a Jewish American actor and movie theater manager, and Kathleen Ignatius O’Neill, an Irish American Roman 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.

After changing his name to Landon (selected from a phone book) he soon 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 such as: I Was A Teenage Werewolf, Crossroads, The Rifleman, Fight For The Title, The Adventures of Jim Bowie, Wire Service, Telephone Time, General Electric Theater, The Court of Last Resort, The Tales of Wells Fargo, Johnny Risk, and The Legend of Tom Dooley, among many others.

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 broadcast in color.

The year after Bonanza was canceled, Landon went on to star in the pilot of what would become another successful television series, 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 then-unknown actress, Melissa Gilbert. In addition to Gilbert, two other unknown actresses also starred on the show: Melissa Sue Anderson who appeared as Mary Ingalls, the oldest daughter in the Ingalls family, and Karen Grassle, as Charles's wife, Caroline Ingalls. Landon served as executive producer, writer, and director of Little House, making him a driving force in Hollywood. 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.

As Little House on the Prairie executive producer, Landon hired three sets of real-life siblings to appear on the show: Melissa and Jonathan Gilbert; Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush; and Matthew and Patrick Laborteaux. Patrick appeared on Little House from 1977 to 1981 as Jonathan Garvey's son, Andy. Years later, he appeared as Bud Roberts in the hit series JAG, which ran for 10 years.

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 as well as playing a plague victim in The Plague, an episode from the show's premiere season. Leslie would later appear as a dishwasher who befriends Laura in the season eight episode A Wiser Heart, and was cast as school teacher Etta Plum during the show's final season.

Tremendously popular with viewers, the show was nominated for several Emmy and Golden Globe awards. After eight seasons, Little House was retooled by NBC in 1982 as Little House: A New Beginning, which focused on the Wilder family and the Walnut Grove community. Though Landon remained the shows executive producer, director and writer, A New Beginning did not feature Charles and Caroline Ingalls. The New Beginning was actually the final chapter of Little House, as the series ended the show's run in 1983. The following year, three made-for-television movies followed, which served as the unofficial tenth season of Little House.

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 angel whose job was to help people in order to earn his angel wings.

Landon was married three times. He married Dodie Levy-Fraser in March 1956. Landon filed for divorce in March 1962 and the divorce became final in December 1962. They adopted two children, Mark Fraser Landon, and Josh Fraser Landon.

Landon married second wife, Marjorie Lynn Noe, on January 12, 1963, with whom he had four childred, Leslie Ann Landon, Michael Landon Jr., Shawna Leigh Landon, and Christopher Beau Landon. Landon at one point attempted to adopt Lynn's daughter, Cheryl Ann Pontrelli, from her first marriage, but the child's birth father wouldn't allow it. They divorced in 1982.

Cindy Clerico was Landon's third wife. The couple married on February 14, 1983 and had one daughter, Jennifer Rachel Landon (Jennifer is now an Emmy-winning actress starring as Gwen Norbeck Munson on the soap opera, As the World Turns.), and one son Sean Matthew Landon.

His second marriage, to Marjorie Lynn Noe, ended in a bitter and public divorce in 1982. Landon had left Noe in 1980 when he met and became involved with Cindy Clerico. The final divorce decree did not address the division of assets, and so there was a separate battle over the division of the couple's community property that took two years to settle and ended up costing Landon more than $26 million in 1982.

Many fans felt betrayed by Landon, who had always played morally upstanding characters on television. Kodak Film suddenly dropped him as their official spokesperson without fanfare.

In February 1959, Landon's father died of a heart attack. In 1973, his stepdaughter, Cheryl was involved in a serious car accident. She was hospitalized in a coma. Three years later in 1976, Cheryl suffered bouts of depression and became addicted to painkillers. In March 1981, Landon's mother, Peggy O'Neill, died.

In the 1983, Landon co-produced an NBC "true story" television movie, Love Is Forever, starring himself and Laura Gemser, which tells of Australian photojournalist John Everingham's successful attempt to scuba dive under the Mekong to rescue his lover from communist ruled Laos in 1977.

After the cancellation of Highway to Heaven and before his eventual move to CBS Landon wrote the teleplay and directed Where Pigeons Go to Die. Based on a novel of the same name, the film starred Art Carney and was nominated for two Emmy awards.

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 broadcast in color. Also starring on the show were Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, and Dan Blocker. Landon's character was the green, cocky youngest Cartwright brother. The character evolved into a "ladies' man".

During Bonanza's sixth season (1964-1965), the show topped the Nielsen Ratings and remained number one for three years. Landon, a southpaw, often performed his own stunts. Receiving more fan mail than any other cast member, the young actor successfully coaxed the powers-that-be to allow him to write and direct some episodes. It was a smart move, as he spent the next twenty plus years as one of television's most successful talents. In 1962, he wrote his first script. In 1968, he directed his first episode. In 1993, TV Guide listed Little Joe's September 1972 wedding episode, as one of TV's most memorable specials. Landon's script fondly recalled brother Hoss, who was initially the story's groom, before Dan Blocker's untimely death. During its final season, Bonanza declined in the ratings and NBC cancelled it in October 1972. Its last episode aired on January 16, 1973.

The year after Bonanza was canceled, Landon went on to star in the pilot of what would become another successful television series, 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 then-unknown actress, Melissa Gilbert. In addition to Gilbert, two other unknown actresses also starred on the show: Melissa Sue Anderson who appeared as Mary Ingalls, the oldest daughter in the Ingalls family, and Karen Grassle, as Charles's wife, Caroline Ingalls. Landon served as executive producer, writer, and director of Little House, making him a driving force in Hollywood. 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.

Gilbert said that her mentor Landon became a second father to her when she lost her own dad at age 11. When not working on the Little House set, Gilbert spent many weekends at Landon's home. In 1981, when Gilbert was 17, she briefly dated Michael Landon Jr., who took her to her prom. After the series ended, Gilbert stayed connected with Michael Sr. for the next 8 years, until his death. After Landon's passing, she named her son, Michael Garrett Boxleitner (1995), after him.

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 angel whose job was to help people in order 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) as ex-cop, Mark Gordon. NBC didn't feel the show would last very long, but it too proved to be another hit for Landon. Highway to Heaven was the only show throughout his long career in television that he owned outright.

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 to Heaven.

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 shows subsequent cancellation. Landon invited his youngest daughter Jennifer Landon to take part in the final episode.

Landon teamed up with Oscar-winner Paul Newman, and First Lady Nancy Reagan, for a drug abuse foundation called, Just Say No.

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 pancreatic cancer. 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 sensational headlines and inaccurate stories, including the claim that he and his wife were trying to have another child. In June 1991, Landon made the cover of Life Magazine, after giving the magazine an exclusive rare private interview in May about his life, his family, and his struggle to live. Less than 2 months later, on July 1, 1991, Landon died in Malibu, California, at the age of 54.