Michael Landon

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Michael Landon at the 42nd Emmy Awards, 1990

Michael Landon ; actually Eugene Maurice Orowitz (born October 31, 1936 in Forest Hills , Queens , New York , †  July 1, 1991 in Malibu , California ) was an American actor , screenwriter , television director and producer . He became world famous for his roles in television series - in the 1960s as 'Little Joe Cartwright' in Bonanza and in the 1970s / 1980s as ' Charles Ingalls ' in Our Little Farm .

Life

Michael was born as Eugene Maurice Orowitz to Eli Maurice Orowitz and Peggy O'Neal Orowitz in Forest Hills in Queens , a borough of New York . When he was four years old, his family moved to Collingswood , New Jersey . His childhood was characterized by a difficult relationship between his parents. He did well in athletics in high school , earning a scholarship to the University of Southern California . When he could not continue with the sport after an arm injury, he initially took on minor roles on US television. Finding his name unsuitable for an actor, he changed it to Michael Landon - a name he found in the Los Angeles phone book .

Career

Landon had his first major role in 1957 as 'Tony Rivers' in the horror film Death Has Black Talons . From the summer of 1959 he played the role of 'Little Joe' in 428 episodes of the television series Bonanza for 14 years . After the sudden death of his friend and fellow actor Dan Blocker ('Hoss Cartwright') in May 1972, Bonanza was discontinued in January 1973. Landon wrote some scripts in the later seasons of the series. He also directed some episodes.

From autumn 1974 he played the leading role as the family man ' Charles Ingalls ' in the television series Our Little Farm, which was based very freely on the autobiographical book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder . As an actor, producer, screenwriter and director, Landon was the driving force behind the series from beginning to end in the fall of 1983.

From the summer of 1984 he played in the television series An Angel on Earth until his friend and second leading actor Victor French died of lung cancer in June 1989 . French and Landon had performed together in Bonanza and Our Little Farm . The idea for An Angel on Earth came about when one of Landon's children became seriously ill. As a believer, Landon made a vow that if he were healed, he would make a series that would show what God is capable of.

Landon worked with NBC on these series he developed . After the end of An Angel on Earth , he moved to CBS after almost 35 years , where he finished the pilot for the planned series Us , in which he also participated as an actor again. The series was not realized afterwards, the pilot film was his last work.

Private life

Michael Landon was married three times. He had two adopted sons with his first wife, Dodie Levy-Fraser, whom he married in 1956. In December 1962 the marriage ended in divorce. On January 12, 1963, he married Marjorie Lynn Noe, who brought a daughter into the marriage. Of the four children they have together, three now work - Michael Landon jr. , Christopher B. Landon and Leslie Landon  - like their father also in the film industry . Landon's second marriage ended in divorce in December 1982.

In February 1983 he married Cindy Clerico, whom he met while filming Our Little Farm . Clerico is the mother of his two other children.

In April 1991, Landon was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. When he last appeared on TV on May 9, 1991 on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show , he was confident that he would be able to conquer the disease, but the cancer had already spread to his liver.

Michael Landon died on July 1, 1991 at the age of 54. He was buried in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City .

Others

Filmography (selection)

  • 1956: The Heart of a Millionaire (These Wilder Years)
  • 1956: Mystery of Caspar Hauser
  • 1957: Death Has Black Claws (I Was a Teenage Werewolf)
  • 1958: Wild for Gold (Gods Little Acre)
  • 1958: Flames over Maracaibo (Maracaibo)
  • 1958: At seventeen on the precipice (High School Confidential!)
  • 1958–1959: Josh ( Wanted: Dead Or Alive , TV series, 2 episodes)
  • 1958; 1959: West of Santa Fé ( The Rifleman , TV series, 2 episodes)
  • 1959: No Mercy for Tom Dooley (The Legend of Tom Dooley)
  • 1959–1973: Bonanza (TV series, 428 episodes)
  • 1974–1983: Our Little Farm ( Little House on the Prairie , TV series, 187 episodes)
  • 1976: The victory of his life ( The Loneliest Runner ) (TV movie)
  • 1983: Operation Comeback ( Love Is Forever , TV movie)
  • 1984–1989: An Angel on Earth ( Highway to Heaven , TV series, 111 episodes)
  • 1990: The Last Flight of the Dove ( Where Pigeons Go to Die , Movie made for TV)
  • 1991: Long Journey ( Us , TV movie)

Awards

Michael Landon has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1500 N. Vine Street.

Web links

Commons : Michael Landon  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Landon . Find a Grave , accessed July 1, 2016.
  2. ↑ a b Our little farm . The official DVD collection, issue No. 1, p. 4, 14, chapter: Main characters: Michael Landon on the fly: “Unhappy childhood. His Jewish father and Catholic mother hardly spoke to each other. ” Published 2010 by GE Fabbri Limited, The Communications Building, London. Universal Studios London, journal articles by Patrick Loubatière.
  3. ↑ Michael Landon in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  4. ↑ Michael Landon on the Johnny Carson Show 5-9-91 Part 1 , Part 2. YouTube , 7:24 minutes, accessed July 1, 2016.
  5. ↑ knerger.de: Michael Landon origin. Eugene Maurice Orowitz . Klaus Nerger's website, accessed July 1, 2016.
  6. ↑ biography . Reent Reins website, accessed July 1, 2016.
personal data
SURNAME Landon, Michael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Orowitz, Eugene Maurice (real name); Landon, Mike
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actor, screenwriter, television producer, and television director
DATE OF BIRTH October 31, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Forest Hills , Queens , New York City , New York , United States
DATE OF DEATH July 1, 1991
Place of death Malibu , California , United States