Best known for his roles of Little Jose Cartwright on the iconic western television show Bonanza and that of Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie, late Michael Landon is still considered one of the best actors Hollywood has ever seen.
His impact on the film industry was profound and he helped many young actors and actresses skyrocket their careers and reach remarkable success.
Throughout his lengthy career in TV, Landon graced the cover of TV Guide a whopping 22 times. He shared this impressive feat with extraordinary with Lucile Ball.
Landon played plenty of roles in famous movies, including Highway to Heaven, and got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1984.
Throughout his life, he had been married three times. However, besides his first two marriages, it was his third wife Cindy Landon whom he called the love of his life. The two remained together until Landon’s tragic death in 1991 at the age of 54. Landon was a father of nine children and all of them agree he was the dad everyone would ask for, caring and loving, a true interpretation of Charles Ingalls.
Although he always tended to keep his private life out of the spotlight and rarely spoke of his children publicly, Michael Landon was known as a very loving and devoted father.
He had two sons, Mark and John, through adoption with his first wife Dodie Levy-Fraser. Landon and his second wife, Lynn Noe, welcomed four children together – Leslie, Michael Jr., Christopher, and Shawna, and he also adopted Noe’s daughter, Cheryl, whom she had from a previous relationship.
With Cindy Clerico, who was 20 years his junior, Landon had children Jennifer and Matthew.
In 2019, Jennifer spoke about her late father and told Closer Weekly that he was “a fantastic father who was curious about everything and loved to teach the children.”
Following Landon’s passing, his children were devastated. His son Christopher Landon, who works as a director, opened up about his dad’s last days and explained that his father became like a “son,” while Christopher took on a role as “the father.”
In recent years, Christopher shared plenty of photos as a tribute to his late father.
Landon died of pancreatic cancer, and unfortunately, his son Christopher was also diagnosed with cancer in 2021.
In a post he shared on his social media, Christopher told his fans that he was diagnosed with kidney cancer.
“Whelp….where to start. About a week ago I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. I was rushed into emergency surgery to have part of my kidney removed…”
Luckily, his cancer was caught early and doctors were able to perform a surgery and remove a part of his kidney, which was a success.
Christopher urged his social media followers to take care of their health and to get tested before it’s too late.