Michael Landon (born Eugene Maurice Orowitz; October 31, 1936 â€" July
1, 1991) was an American actor, writer, director, singer and producer.
He is known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza
(1959â€"1973), Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie
(1974â€"1983), and Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven (1984â€"1989).
Landon appeared on the cover of TV Guide 22 times, second only to
Lucille Ball.Landon was born Eugene Maurice Orowitz on October 31,
1936 in Forest Hills, a neighborhood of Queens, New York. His parents
were Peggy (née O'Neill; a dancer and comedian) and Eli Maurice
Orowitz. His father was Jewish, and his mother was Roman Catholic.
Eugene was the Orowitz family's second child; their daughter, Evelyn,
was born three years earlier, in 1933. In 1941, when Landon was four
years old, he and his family moved to the Philadelphia suburb of
Collingswood, New Jersey. He attended and celebrated his Bar Mitzvah
at Temple Beth Shalom. His family recalls that Landon "went through a
lot of hassle studying for the big event, which included bicycling to
a nearby town every day in order to learn how to read Hebrew and
recite prayers."During his childhood, Landon was constantly worrying
about his mother attempting suicide. On a family beach vacation his
mother tried to drown herself, but Michael rescued her. Shortly after
the attempt, his mother acted as if nothing happened and a few minutes
later, Michael vomited. He said that it was the worst experience of
his life. Stress overload from the suicide attempts of his mother
caused Landon to battle the childhood problem of bedwetting, which was
documented in the unauthorized biography Michael Landon: His Triumph
and Tragedy. His mother put his wet sheets on display outside his
window for all to see. He ran home every day and tried to remove them
before his classmates could see.
1, 1991) was an American actor, writer, director, singer and producer.
He is known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza
(1959â€"1973), Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie
(1974â€"1983), and Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven (1984â€"1989).
Landon appeared on the cover of TV Guide 22 times, second only to
Lucille Ball.Landon was born Eugene Maurice Orowitz on October 31,
1936 in Forest Hills, a neighborhood of Queens, New York. His parents
were Peggy (née O'Neill; a dancer and comedian) and Eli Maurice
Orowitz. His father was Jewish, and his mother was Roman Catholic.
Eugene was the Orowitz family's second child; their daughter, Evelyn,
was born three years earlier, in 1933. In 1941, when Landon was four
years old, he and his family moved to the Philadelphia suburb of
Collingswood, New Jersey. He attended and celebrated his Bar Mitzvah
at Temple Beth Shalom. His family recalls that Landon "went through a
lot of hassle studying for the big event, which included bicycling to
a nearby town every day in order to learn how to read Hebrew and
recite prayers."During his childhood, Landon was constantly worrying
about his mother attempting suicide. On a family beach vacation his
mother tried to drown herself, but Michael rescued her. Shortly after
the attempt, his mother acted as if nothing happened and a few minutes
later, Michael vomited. He said that it was the worst experience of
his life. Stress overload from the suicide attempts of his mother
caused Landon to battle the childhood problem of bedwetting, which was
documented in the unauthorized biography Michael Landon: His Triumph
and Tragedy. His mother put his wet sheets on display outside his
window for all to see. He ran home every day and tried to remove them
before his classmates could see.
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