Michael Landon

Michael Landon was an American actor and producer who gave noteworthy appearances in television shows such as ‘Little House on the Prairie’, ‘Bonanza’ and ‘Highway to Heaven’.

Personal life

Michael Landon was born on 31st October 1936 in Queens, New York to parents Eli Maurice Orowitz and Peggy. Michael’s mother Peggy used to be a comedian and a dancer. Michael had an elder sister named Evelyn Orowitz. The entire Orowitz family moved to Collingswood, New Jersey when Michael was only four years old. He studied at the Collingswood High School. Michael exhibited acting talent ever since a young age. Besides that, he was quite athletic as well. He excelled at javelin throwing which earned him a scholarship to study at the University of Southern California.

Michael Landon passed away on 1st July 1991 aged fifty-four. He married three times and filed a divorce with two women. His first wife was Dodie Levy-Fraser with whom he had two kids. His second wife was Marjorie Lynn Noe with whom he had five kids. Lastly, he wedded Cindy Clerico and was blessed with two kids from her. Michael Landon succumbed to pancreatic cancer when he died. During his lifetime, Michael had seen many tough days such as his mother’s depression and his father’s heart attack. Nevertheless, Michael never gave up and always hoped for a better future and eventually succeeded at acting.

Career

Michael Landon’s acting career kick-started when he appeared on a television series called ‘Telephone Times’. His role was so impressive in his debut series itself that he started getting Hollywood movie contracts in no time. Soon he enacted in ‘I Was a Teenage Werewolf’, ‘the notorious God’s Little Acre’, ‘High School Confidential’, ‘The Legend of Tom Dooley’ and ‘Maracaibo’. This was coupled by several television roles namely ‘Crossroads’, ‘U.S. Marshal’, ‘The Restless Gun’, ‘Crusader’, ‘The Rifleman’, ‘Sheriff of Cochise’, ‘Frontier Doctor’, ‘Wire Service’ and many more.

This is simply a glimpse of the plethora of movies and television shows that Michael was associated with. For these successful acting credits, he was acknowledged with the ‘Bambi Award’, ‘Bronze Wrangler Award’ and the ‘Spur Award’. Even after his death, Michael was honored with many awards.

Prior to establishing himself as a great actor, Michael had to strain every nerve in order to make ends meet. He was broken many times both financially and psychologically. After he dropped out of college to pursue his dream career, he switched between many odd jobs such as selling blankets, unloading freight cars and working as a stock boy. His big break finally came one day when his friend asked him for help in an acting audition.

Quite surprisingly, it was Michael who landed the job instead of his friend. This was how he was cast in his debut television show ‘Telephone Time’. Although Michael Landon passed away in 1991, his estimated net worth at that time was $40 million. This is enough to suggest how successful an actor Michael Landon used to be.

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