Michael Landon

Michael Landon was born Eugene Maurice Orowitz on Oct. 31, 1936. Eli Orowitz, a Jew and Peggy O'Neill, an Irish Catholic made life miserable for each other and their children. In a 1987 Redbook interview with Toni Reinhold, Michael said of his father, "I loved my father because I learned a lot from him. He never disciplined me, and he only hit me once. He didn't even want to hit me then, but my mother goaded him into it. 

The problem was that he couldn't get anybody at the studios to talk to him. He couldn't even get on the lot."  This is where a young Eugene felt that his father had lost control and that he Michael would be in charge of his own destiny. After tearing a ligament in his arm, while throwing the javelin, Eugene's days at UCLA were numbered, UCLA's loss was Hollywood's gain.  After an assortment of odd jobs and the acting bug bit, Eugene Orowitiz became Michael Landon.

Westerns were at the height of their popularity in the 50's at the time that Bonanza appeared and Michael Landon had been in a string of shows,mostly westerns, before appearing on Bonanza in 1959. I first saw him on a 1/2 hour show with verteran movie actor, Robert Ryan. Ryan played the part of a rough and tough 'platoon sergeant' and Michael was the young soldier who had been labeled a 'coward' by his peers. Michael
was out to prove them all wrong and prove them wrong he did! Proving himself would be the main theme throughout his career and began with his portrayal of 'Little Joe Cartwright'. 

Bonanza, one of the longest-running shows of television history, would become the proving ground where Michael Landon would not only gain a vast amount of experience as an actor but would also cut his teeth in apprenticeship as a writer and director. 

For a time, after his initial fame on Bonanza, Michael had been out of control, taking tranquilizers, and drinking heavily. He conquered these addictions, and would go on to mature from, the hot-tempered, youngest Cartwright to the father-figure of Charles
Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie. 

Michael not only was principal actor, writer and director, but executive producer. He was in complete control and called all of the shots. He knew the type of format he wanted for the show and didn't have to cower before studio excutives to ask for it. Because Michael
was in full control, Little House dealt with more contemporary issues, such as racial, religious Intolerance and drug abuse, something Michael had first-hand knowledge of and wanted to get across to the public. 

After 14 years of being known as Little Joe Cartwright and 8 years as Charles Ingalls, Michael Landon moved into an area that was totally foreign to his fans. 

Both Bonanza and Little House were somewhat familiar. They were both westerns, set in the 1800's and they were both family oriented. But in this new series, 'Highway to Heaven', not only would Jonathan Smith be single, but he would also be an angel. 

Michael Landon died on July 1, 1991 of pancreatic cancer. May his memory be for a blessing.