'''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. 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). He also 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 New York City borough in the Queens suburb of Forest Hills, New York. His father was Eli Orowitz, an actor, and his mother was Peggy O'Neill, a popular comedienne during the 1940s. Michael had an older sister named Evelyn. In 1941, when Orowitz was 4 years old, he and his family moved to Collingswood, New Jersey. He was not a good student in high school, but by the time Orowitz was a senior in high school, he was elected class president. His IQ was 159, yet he was the third-to-last student in his graduating class at Collingswood High [1954]. He took on a couple of odd jobs working as a gas station attendant and at a warehouse.

He 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, he excelled at track and 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 scholarship to 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 actors of the late 1950s, having made 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 ''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 and Dan Blocker. Pernell Roberts 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. Landon had originally written the 14th season's two hour premiere episode based on the marriage of Blocker's character Hoss. Landon, 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, whose character in the show 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 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 ''Little House: 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. 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 ''Diagnosis: Murder'' fame).

By 1985, prior to hiring his son Michael Landon Jr. as the director, 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 and in June, co-star Victor French died of lung cancer. 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, almost 2 months 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 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 US$26 million. 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."''

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 is now an Emmy-winning actress starring as Gwen Norbeck Munson on the soap opera ''As the World Turns''.

In 1956, Landon lost his father, Eli Orowitz, to a massive heart attack, who was 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 suffered bouts of depression which led to an addiction to painkillers. In 1981, Landon's mother, Peggy O' Neill, died.

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

For more information about Michael Landon, please visit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Landon

Biography courtesy of the brilliant Wikipedia!