Michael Landon died nearly 30 years ago, but his legacy lives on via his appearances in iconic TV shows such as ‘Bonanza’, ‘Little House on the Prairie’, and ‘Highway to Heaven’.
While many of us will remember him as a recognizable face on our TVs, he was also a devoted husband and father whose ultimate objective was to ensure he bonded with his children.
Perhaps Landon’s ambition to be the best dad to his children arose from his traumatic upbringing, in which his mother suffered much with her mental health. Landon even saved her life after she tried suicide many times.
While Landon was a talented athlete, an accident during his college years prevented him from continuing his pursuits. So the teenager came to Los Angeles to try his luck in show business. Throughout his extended television career, he has been on the cover of TV Guide 22 times, a milestone he shares with Lucile Ball.
Landon married three times and was the father of nine children. He has two boys, Mark and John, by adoption with his first wife, Dodie Levy-Fraser. With his second wife, Lynn Noe, Landon had four children: Leslie, Michael Jr., Christopher, and Shawna. He also adopted Noe’s daughter, Cheryl, who was born out of a prior relationship.
After his second marriage ended, he married Cindy Clerico for the third and last time. This generated considerable controversy at the time because she was 20 years his junior, and many people accused Landon of being unfaithful to his second wife while dating Clerico.
Landon vehemently refuted this, telling People in 1985, “You don’t end a relationship to sleep with someone 20 years younger.” Significant differences and a genuine desire to end a relationship after spending as many years as I did in marriage are necessary.
Landon, who was already a father of seven, gained two more children, Jennifer and Matthew, from his third marriage. While he had numerous children to keep up with, his daughter Jennifer told Closer Weekly in 2019 that dad was “a fantastic father who was curious about everything and loved to teach the children.”
Unfortunately, less than three months after receiving a pancreatic cancer diagnosis, Landon passed away in 1991 at the age of 54. However, in his final moments, his children gathered around him, demonstrating their adoration for him until the end.
The next year, his son, filmmaker Christopher Landon, informed people about his father’s last days. He lamented how his father had become like a “son” to him, while Christopher had become “the father.”
In recent years, the filmmaker of ‘Happy Death Day’ has frequently sent condolences to his late father on social media.
In 2021, Christopher disclosed his kidney cancer diagnosis to his admirers on social media. In an Instagram post, he captioned a photo of himself in a hospital bed: “Whelp… where to start.” I received a kidney cancer diagnosis about a week ago. I underwent emergency surgery to remove a portion of my kidney.
Fortunately, his sickness was in its early stages, so physicians were able to undertake emergency surgery to remove sections of his kidneys.
Christopher, however, urged everyone to seek medical attention and take charge of their health before it was too late.
It’s wonderful to see Michael Landon’s family carrying on his legacy. It is heartwarming to watch!
