Michael Landon: Difference between revisions

Landon was married three times and was a father to 9nine children (3three of whom were adopted):

In February&nbsp; 1959, Landon's father died from a heart attack. In 1973, his eldest daughter, Cheryl, and three others were involved in a serious car collision just outside [[Tucson, Arizona]], while a student at the [[University of Arizona]]. She was the sole survivor. She was hospitalized with serious injuries and remained in a coma for days. Landon's mother, Peggy, died in March&nbsp; 1981.<ref name=People2011>{{cite web |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20115519,00.html |title=Goodbye, Little Joe |work=People |access-date=November 3, 2014}}</ref>

Landon said in a 1991 interview with The Associated Press, ″I"I believe in God, I believe in family, I believe in truth between people, I believe in the power of love, I believe that we really are created in God’s image, that there is God in all of us."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Michael Landon Talks About Life and Death |url=https://apnews.com/article/9705654d3e4b422c224660df2c845730 |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}</ref>

On April 2, 1991, Landon began to suffer from a severe headache while he was on a skiing vacation in [[Utah]].<ref name="autopsy">"Autopsy: The Last Hours of Michael Landon". ''Autopsy: The Last Hours of...''. Nar. Eric Meyers. Exec. Prod. Suzy Davis and Michael Kelpie. Reelz, 7 Apr. 2019. Television.</ref> Three days later, he was diagnosed with a particularly aggressive form of [[pancreatic cancer]] known as exocrine adenocarcinoma, which had begun to impact the tissues and blood vessels around his pancreas.<ref name="autopsy"/> The cancer was inoperable and [[Terminal illness|terminal]].<ref name="autopsy"/>

On May 9, he appeared on ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'' to speak about the cancer and condemn the tabloid press for its sensational headlines and inaccurate stories, including the claim that he and his wife were trying to conceive another child. During his appearance, Landon pledged to fight the disease and asked his fans to pray for him. Twelve days after his appearance on the show, he underwent successful surgery for a near-fatal [[Thrombus|blood clot]] in his left leg.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ponderosascenery.homestead.com/files/joe2.html |title=Bonanza Cast Biographies: Michael Landon |publisher=Ponderosascenery.homestead.com |access-date=August 2, 2012}}</ref> In June, he appeared on the cover of ''Life'' magazine after granting the periodical an exclusive private interview about his life, his family, and his struggle to live.

On July 1, at age 54, Landon died in [[Malibu, California]] at 1:20 Pp.m.M, with his last wife at his bedside.<ref name="latimesobit" /><ref name="NYTObit">{{cite news |first= Peter B.|last= Flint|title=Michael Landon, 54, Little Joe On 'Bonanza' for 14 Years, Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/02/obituaries/michael-landon-54-little-joe-on-bonanza-for-14-years-dies.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 2, 1991 |access-date=October 25, 2020}}</ref> Landon was interred in a private family mausoleum at [[Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery]], in [[Culver City, California]]. Landon's headstone reads, "He seized life with joy. He gave to life generously. He leaves a legacy of love and laughter." His son, Mark, who died in May 2009, is also interred there.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ellenberger |first=Allan R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZraJCgAAQBAJ&q=%22He+seized+life+with+joy.+He+gave+to+life+generously.+He+leaves+a+legacy+of+love+and+laughter.%22&pg=PA108 |title=Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory |date=May 1, 2001 |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=0786409835 |pages=108 |access-date=April 2, 2016}}</ref>

A made-for-TV movie, ''[[Michael Landon, the Father I Knew]]'', co-written and directed by his son Michael Jr., aired on [[CBS]] in May 1999. [[John Schneider (screen actor)|John Schneider]] starred in the title role as Michael Landon, with [[Cheryl Ladd]] as Lynn Noe and [[Joel Berti]] as Michael Landon Jr. The biopic detailed, from Michael Jr.'s point of view, the personal emotional trauma he endured during his parents' divorce and his father's premature death. The movie spanned a timeline from the 1960s through the early 1990s.

A plaque and small playground referred to as the "Little Treehouse on the Prairie" was erected in Knight Park, a central park in Landon's hometown of Collingswood. In 2011, the plaque was removed from the park by the borough and was later given to a local newspaper by an unnamed person. According to the Collingswood, NJ, website, the plaque was removed during a fall cleanup with plans to return it to a safer location. The plaque was reinstated next to a bench in a safer location the following summer.<ref>{{cite web|first= Kevin |last= Riordan |url= http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/kevin_riordan/20120104_Kevin_Riordan__Landon_plaque_sidelined__accounts_vary.html |title=Kevin Riordan: Landon plaque sidelined; accounts vary |publisher=Philly.com |date=January 4, 2012 |access-date=August 2, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collingswood.com/node/8182 |title=Michael Landon plaque and commemorative playground pickets reinstalled at Knight Park &#124; Collingswood, New Jersey |publisher=Collingswood.com |access-date=February 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018022747/http://www.collingswood.com/node/8182 |archive-date=October 18, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>