My wife and I met Michael on the set of Little house years ago. He was very cordial and welcomed us. We did notice that he had a gaggle of writers following him around grasping at his every word. He was using an immense amount of obscenities while speaking, but not with us. We also met Richard Bull (Mr. Olsen), and he and I talked for a long time. He said he admired my career as an Engineer, and I was very flattered, he was a very nice fellow to talk with. Katherine McGregor (Mrs. Olsen) had little interest in speaking to us and was in our view rude. Interestong visit to the set indeed!
I remember that tv movie about Michael Landon. It was good. It didn’t portray Landon like the saint the public thought he was. The movie showed the divorce and how he really treated his kids. I watched on Amazon, but it has a different title now for some reason.
Well it’s easy too say he didn’t treat someone right after he passed but he can’t defend himself every one his kids except Michael Jr hasn’t said anything negative about Michael Landon Sr just JR has and had a reason money
Michael landon has been gone for 30 years let him rest in peace he always said he wasn't like his tv characters. I still watch lhotp and highway to heaven those were characters he played as far as those who worked with him should have said something while he was still alive and could defend himself. Let him rest in peace
Please don’t shred it all…..it’s history you have accumulated and saved…it’s fascinating historical news for future generations! You explained all of that very well…..it’s sad he died like that . I noticed the actress who played his wife in LHOTP died recently….sad, as she seemed lovely. Thankyou for your time and for sharing with us.
I went to high school with Armando Torres, one of the security guards killed by Landon's stalker. He was only 18 yrs old and had just graduated high school. I remember reading back then that it was supposedly his first day on the job. So tragic....
He was filming at a library in South Pasadena when I was a kid at continuation school across the street. I was blessed to meet him on a day I was suicidal. He shared his sandwich with me and gave me four Highway to Heaven shirts and hats. I had previously lived with an abusive estranged father and always wished he was my Dad. Yeah..,not a happy kid, but he touched my heart and life and he will always be in my heart. I may be here today because of him.
Landon was generally disliked by the most of the adult cast of Little House due to being a tightwad. He not only refused to give Karen Grassle a raise when the show became popular, he diminished her role out of spite for her even asking. The child actors had fonder memories of Landon, but even they soured on him when he had an affair with a makeup artist in the series. Melissa Gilbert refused to talk with Landon for several years because of it, though they later reconciled.
Yes, you're right. Victor French also died of cancer, at age 54 (albeit lung cancer). It's still a pretty young age though, to die from lung cancer. Yeah, actor Kevin Hagen really resented Michael because of the whole money issue.
I imagine that a lot of actors and their management probably tried to put the squeeze on Michael Landon. I heard that he was very generous, but did deny certain actors' requests for raises. Business is business though. If you think about it from a business standpoint, I personally,, don't let it affect my opinion of him and his brilliance.
@@pxpunklv lets be honest......Michael Landon was a Jew......nothing he did for money against people should be surprising..........he tried to hide who and what he really was but they can't hide and control their greed............
What folks should realize is a tv character is just that. The actor's job is to portray the character . Andy Griffith and Lucille Ball had that same image.
Great examples of that are "All in the Family" with Archie Bunker and Edith Bunker. Neither actor was remotely like their characters there! Carroll O'Connor showed more of himself in "Heat of the Night" while Jean Stapleton was an accomplished actor on stage and film and nothing like the Edith character. They both did absolutely amazing jobs of portraying characters so unlike themselves in real life.
I read Karen Grassle's book and she wasn't a big fan of him either. As far as I remember partly because of money - I think she had asked for more and in revenge he cut her role down. But he was a father figure to Melissa Gilbert, they were very close, though they fell out when he married Cindy, but reconciled before he died.
I went to Vermont in 2003 as an exchange student and the mayor´s wife of that little town worked on the set of Bonanza and when she talked so bad about Michael Landon, I could not believe her. I was even angry at her, as he was always portrayed so positively on German TV like the best husband, father and friend. Years later I found out that she was right. What she told me was the Landon was the complete opposite of Dan Blocker, the sweetest man she ever met.
Far as Michael goes, guess that's why they call it 'acting' ! But even in real life in his case, apparently, as many of these comments show. Like the old song states "Ain't it hard to discover that he ain't really where it's at ! " ? I guess he let it all go to his head, and became controlling, instead of just being damn glad of his success, and treating others around him better !
Sad how quick pancreatic cancer can be. He was diagnosed on April 2nd and died July 1st. I'm sure he had symptoms for some time before the diagnosis. That is what happened to my cousin who was about that same age when he died. After experiencing abdominal pain for a couple of months and losing weight he finally went to the doctor and was diagnosed. There was nothing they could do and about 3 months after diagnosis he passed.
Il paraît que Michael aurait refuser la chimio...quoi s'il en soit il est parti trop jeune. Il aurait apportait encore tellement de belles séries..pour faire réfléchir les gens et mettrent les les valeurs de Dieu au centre de son travail . QUE Dieu lui ouvre les portes du vrai paradis..lui et Victor french.😢❤❤❤🇨🇵🇨🇵🌹🌹🌹🙏🙏✝️🙏🙏
I definitely believe he had it for a lot longer but only went to the doctor when it got serious. In general, men don't go to the doctor for anything until it is very bad. And by the time they finally surrender to the doctor, most of the time, it is too late to do much.
I used to like watching his camera commercials with his family at Christmas time. I was a young boy in foster care and it made me feel a part of their family.
Back in the days in the 80s I was going to write a booklet on celebrity graves...yes, way before Findagrave came out. I went to Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City. One of the maintenance men showed me where Landon's mother was buried. He said Landon refused to put a marker for her, it just had the round metal piece with the number ID. Not been back there to check but even in death he loathed his mother. Just a tid bit for you!
I don't blame him for that, she was an abusive pos who hurt him as a child and humilated him, I would not do it either. I have no plans on getting my father his grave either when its his time, the VA will do that for him. I wont.
@@jszoradi8650Yes, I remember when young reading about it then saw the movie which was devastating. I don't blame him at all as I believe she was truly an awful mother and person.
I borrowed a Melissa Sue Anderson's book from a co worker and she was really full of herself. Something about actors having a larger role to play as parents than regular people. Allison Anagram's book was really a fun and good read, but she had a lot going on at home as well which was shocking.
Crazy stuff, i probably read 80% of those tabloid papers as a young teenager growing up. My late grandmother used to love those tabloid papers. Wow what a blast looking back at the way we would consume our news back then. Thanks Scott for the trip down memory lane. I loved little Joe Cartwright character on bonanza re-runs
I used to read them all the time when people like Dolly Parton & Tammy Wynette were in them. Back in the days when celebrities were actually interesting (even if you couldn't believe half of what was written about them) LOL 🙃
I've read that Michael Landon was TOTALLY against Guy Williams joining the cast of Bonanza after Pernell Roberts ( who played Adam Cartwright) left the series. Even though the Adam character was supposed to get married, the push back from the fans was SO hard that they had the Guy Williams character ( cousin Will Cartwright) leave with Adam's fiancé instead. Michael Landon had a lot to do with that, too, apparently ! I guess he didn't want yet another 'handsome man' in the cast to compete against him for fan letters ! Pernell Roberts was ALWAYS my personal favorite on the show, and once he left ? I left too.
I always liked the Adam Cartwright character. He just came across as the best actor they had on that series. It's no wonder why he left after the 5th yr . Pernell was much more talented and much less egotistical too. He played so many tv & movie roles. My Favorite was Trapper John MD.
@@dmzabo3914 I agree. I heard that when he got the Trapper John part he actually got permission to do some hospital rounds with a real doctor to get familiar with what a good bedside manner looks/feels like. Now that to me is really doing your homework, and getting into your part !
Just to state the obvious - this is all salacious and slandering gossip. ML is not here to defend himself and many of his co-stars spoke highly of him, in fact he took many of them with him on Highway to Heaven when LH ended. I like how the few people who went to the media to run him down still benefited financially from him.... for those who aren't aware, ML was abused by his own mother as a child and he was very much a loner. I believe he saw through people and cut through the bullshit. Like anyone, he was a flawed individual. Regarding the affair he had with Cindy, he said himself he wasn't proud of himself for what he did but his marriage to Lynn was already dead. The man was incredibly talented. Plastic surgey... he had his ears pinned back when he was a teenager - these trashy headlines are all the same. Don't believe everything you read folks. Michael Landon would have been 87 if he were alive today and I wish he was still here.
The Loneliest Runner was the movie about bedwetting. I remember hearing Michael doing an interview about the movie and he said it was semi autobiographical. It really was a good movie.
Her ending on the show was an example of Michael Landon’s spite. When she asked to leave the show to pursue other roles, Landon had her character killed off in a fire so she could never return.
WOW - neither did I....Due to the size of his crypt, I assumed he was in a casket. He has one of those 'room size' crypts with room for several more caskets in the wall, loads of pictures of him, mementos, etc.) No ego there.
Thank you 🙏🏽 for sharing! I ❤love Michael Landon!! I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s and my mom and I loved Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven! I still will watch both even now from time to time! I’ve seen both of those Tv movies 🎥!! Rest in Heavenly Peace Michael Landon!
There is a cancer cluster at the Santa Susana area including Chatsworth and Simi Valley (close to where the filming of the show occurred). There was a nuclear meltdown in 1959, and there is a lot of information about it online. I grew up and went to school in the area and I personally know 4 that have died of rare cancers and have a good childhood friend with stage 4 rare cancer.
I have never heard of the meltdown, that's absolutely frightening. I used to live close to the Handford Nuclear Site for approximately 20 years, up in Washington State. That kind of thing was always in the back of my mind!
@@karenleemallonee684 Not only was there a meltdown but Rocketdyne (now Boeing) used to do considerable testing in the area. "In the Dark of the Valley" is one documentary about it. The area is still contaminated and there is ongoing controversy about clean-up. Weird fact-where I went to school was property very close to Spahn ranch and we used to do crafts in a building we were told was used by The Family at one point.
Lamdon was an ass.. If he gave doc baker just 5 minutes more screen time per episode.. or even an episode that was centered around the doc.. the actor would have qualified for company insurance.. he was dying at the time.. and landon refused to do it because the actor wasnt part of theor drinking club. Turns out that landon and even sometimes the kids drank all day during shoots.
There were episodes focused on the Doc Baker character. There was the one when he got engaged and another where he lost confidence in his medical abilities. He also featured heavily in a couple of episodes with pandemics and illnesses. As a secondary character, he had some good appearances… but wasn’t rewarded for it. He also wasn’t dying when Landon was still alive, as he lived 14 years past Landon’s death.
I always loved Michael Landon on Little House on the Prairie and on the Highway to Heaven series after. He was a talented actor. He is very much missed to this day.❤😢
I saw an interview with Karen Grassley, she too had to fight Michael Landon for her salary. She said the first year she wasn't being paid. Only when Karen went to a lawyer and he submitted a formal letter that legal action would be forth coming if she didn't receive her salary did she get paid. I wish Kevin Hagen had done the same. I also found out that ML was an alcoholic, he wasn't nice when he was drunk. He was quite different from his television persona.
I'm sorry that Michael Landon died and I hope he went to Heaven or some other wonderful place. Michael was Not the sweet wholesome father,actor, and director that so many of us had thought. I will try and keep it civil but Michael had addiction issues with alcohol and pills but I don't know how much he took. Michael also was cruel to his crew of actor's and behind the scenes worker's. I don't know why Michael was a jerk to those around him and maybe that information will come out someday. Karen Grassle and Melissa Gilbert forgave him and I think that's very admirable of them. Yes, Michael had his faults but he wasn't evil.
I bought all of the little house series. Even after hearing about all the stores about how evil he was, I still watch the reruns. He was so handsome, and I loved his grin even when I was a kid in the 70s
He’s not alive to defend himself. He was human and flawed, probably rubbed lots of people the wrong way over the years. All I know is the he was dedicated to making the Littie House books come alive for generations. It’s one of the only shows I 💯 trust my daughters watching!! And they love it!! RIP, Michael Landon. Thank you.
I always dislike how they talk about actors and actresses after they’re gone, a lot of it I’m never sure about cause as you said: He’s not here to defend himself! He did a great job with little house too!
Totally agree🙏🏻 My siblings and I (7 of us) grew up watching Little House on the Prairie and we grew up in Simi Valley where they filmed LH. My parents were very strict (mostly my wonderful dad) as he was a narcotics agent for the LAPD. and LH was one of the best shows on TV @ that time for a family to watch together 🤗 It always had such amazing story’s with respect and morals. I still watch it all the time on Pluto TV 🤗 it brings back wonderful memories of growing up and having all my siblings and parents gathered around in our certain spots in the living room every week to watch LH 🥰 and my dad would make a big pot of popcorn before it came on, he could make the best popcorn ever! And my sweet little Italian mama would give us our baths and we’d all be in our pjs and we’d hurry so we could get in our certain favorite spots in the living room before another sibling would steal it😄 It happened all the time! lol We had an amazing childhood that all my siblings say the same as myself.., If we could go back to our childhood, we would❤️
My father almost mirrored Landon's illness and death. My father thought he had a bleeding ulcer until April 8th, 1991, his 56th birthday, when they opened my father up for surgery on a bleeding ulcer. However, when they got in, they closed him up. He had pancreatic cancer and was very advanced. After one treatment, my dad said he wanted quality time left, not quantity. We joked with my coffee-drinking truck driver father about the coffee enema treatment. I asked if he wanted cream or sugar with it. My dad lasted a little longer and passed on September 12t2, 1991.
Pancreatic cancer that is a bad one. I went to see a friends dad who had it he ended up dying of it. My uncle's doctor thought he had an ulcer by the time they figured it out, it was cancer and it spread to other organs he died of pancreatic cancer also. I was young and I felt very helpless and pained.
Micheal Landon did an interview for LIFE magazine in May 1991 about his diagnosis. He admitted he smoked many packs of cigarettes a day for most of his adult life. He said he smoked so deeply that "smoke would come out from his shoes". He also admitted he drank too much and didn't have a very healthy diet. Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption are among the biggest risk factors for metastatic pancreatic cancer.
My great uncle Floyd worked for the studios and was close to a few actors. When he got killed in an accident with the equipment truck, Michael Landon stopped by his house and gave my great aunt Faye $500 to help with the funeral. Also the guy who played "Hoss" on bonanza sent a big flower arrangement in the shape of a guitar.
Whether he was a jerk or not, I don’t know, he’s not alive to defend himself, so I’m not going to comment one way or another. Every actor goes through hell before they make it I do know that much. He was a good actor, I do know that much.
Thank you Scott for making this mini documentary on Michael Landon. It brought back a lot of memories for me when I worked on a TV movie called Love Is Forever in 1983. Michael Landon was the Executive Producer and starred in the movie with, Jürgen Prochnow, Edward Woodward and Priscilla Presley. I was hired by Hall Bartlett (Director, Producer and Writer). Hall and Michael Landon were in a huge disagreement on the making of the film and by the time we were in Post-Production things started to get very intense. I was in the presence of Michael Landon quite a few times, in the screening room and in the editing room. He was mostly silent, so there wasn't any friendly moments. It was the only film I had worked on that the Executive Producer wasn't introduced to his editing staff and there were no, "Good mornings, thank you, or goodnights." Michael Landon was (in my opinion) not a nice guy. I've seen fist fights in cutting rooms and the people involved would still say, "Thank you, see you tomorrow." I'm sure it had to do with the deep lines forming, we were clearly on Hall's side and that is what made him not want to be friendly toward us. But, there was something beyond that, something not quite right about him. I didn't know all the negative stories about him until I watched this video, now it makes sense to me why he seemed to be unfriendly. Our cutting rooms were at Goldwyn Studios (aka Warner-Hollywood, The Lot) and Hall Bartlett in fear of Michael Landon stealing the film footage, had us pack up the film and editing equipment in the middle of the night and move it across the street on Santa Monica Blvd to a building who rented KEM editing machines. We were told that we couldn't leave our homes and drive directly to work, that we would have to make sure we weren't being followed. One day, I felt I was being followed and I pulled over and they pulled over too. I waited, and then I went back home, which I believed I was still being followed. Within a few days, Lawyers got involved. We kept working under Hall Bartlett to finish the film. Michael Landon was not able to take the film and he wasn't able to make his changes. Because Hall Bartlett was the Director and a Producer on the Film and Michael Landon being the Executive Producer (and Star) didn't legally have the advantage over Hall. The Director's Guild has very strict rules on who is at the helm of a film. I did feel sorry for Michael Landon because the film was very badly made and I always wondered if Michael Landon was able to make it the way he wanted it produced, that it might have been a good movie.
Michael seemed to really know his stuff. Maybe that's why he was so pissy.. He could've at least said hello and whatnot though. But I guess being silent is better than being a complete a-hole.
ML cut Karen out a lot towards the end but brought her back for the finale. Katherine MacGregor/Harriet Oleson had enough and would not come back, not even for the finale. He really did hurt a lot of the cast by not sharing the wealth.. So sad.
He’s in the documentary The Gerson Miracle. He was healing his cancer doing the coffee enemas but as soon as he mentioned it on the tonight show, doctors swooped in and convinced him to take traditional cancer treatments which killed him.
Another great share, thanks, Scott. Wow. Despite being both a true crime fan and a Michael Landon fan, I'd never heard of that shooting incident at Universal and had to look it up. Nathan Trupp is circa 75, still alive and presumably still in prison.
Well I think the dead should be left alone, all those clippings is just garbage old stuff, I was a fan of bonanza growing up we loved the show my mother liked landon as a lot of people did back then, I'am 66 yrs old now still watch bonanza is a great family show. I realy loved his highway to heaven show, no matter what he did or didn't do to other people i have to give him credit for his acting performance in HTH, and little house. i did not know him personally but his acting was superb. RIP micheal.
Thank You for sharing Michael Landon’s death … I remember knowing he died from Pancreatic Cancer but never any details like you shared and didn’t realize he only lived 3 months after diagnosis. My Uncle died of it but didn’t realize he had it … he lost 30 pounds in one month … and died quickly after he entered hospital! My Aunt said he was in terrible agonizing pain! I did see his guest appearance on Johnny Carson Show … thank you again! 🌈🙏🏻🙏🏻❤️❤️🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Watched Highway To Heaven when I was a kid, Michael Landon and Victor French had great chemistry. I believe French died right after the series concluded.
Did i hear you say, your going to get rid of these files? Why don't you scan them all and keep stored on hard drive, maybe copy onto 2 extras in case one dies? Once gone that original stuff is gone and that would be a shame now that you started a collection.
Scott, Im curious as to the backstory about Melissa Sue Anderson when you said "she's a piece of work". I read her autobiography, which was about as scintillating as listening to two nuns discuss how they spent their weekend. She mentioned reconciling with Mike and Cindy and inviting them to her wedding. Alison and Melissa Gilbert wrote about the Michael they knew as kids. So, to hear their remarks after his passing was intriguing. Did their opinion change in time for their books? Or was it suggested by the editor? Apparently, Merlin Oleson and Victor French were the only two who got along with him. And MSA starred in two of his projects and helped produce his last TV movie.
Victor and Michael had a falling out also. Victor didn’t have a contract and was always listed As a guest star . He got a staring role on Carter’s Country and Michael got mad that he took the role. When the series was canceled Victor was brought back to Little House .
@GlennaVan How was Victor French bigger than Michael 🤔 Bonanza was way before Gunsmoke, wasn't it. I thought Landon was already a well-known heartthrob and famous actor on Bonanza before joining LHOTP
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I have no idea what kind of person Micheal Landon was really like but I do remember that tabloids like The National Enquirer and The Star were the worst of the worst for purely making up stories. They were called "Rag Sheets". They would write articles like: A UFO dropped off Bigfoot and he impregnated a woman in England and things of that nature. It became ridiculous... so bad that they finally had to go somewhat legitimate. How they never got sued for defamation of character I`ll never know...perhaps they did, anyway they`re not as bad now as they were back then. I wouldn`t know, I haven`t read one in over 30 years. P.S Don`t you find it ridiculous at around @22:37 they keep talking about how physically well he was while on his death bed in his last throws of life? They trashed his reputation really bad man even during his funeral. SCUM Paparazzi!
My dad collects Studebakers. On our honeymoon 25 years ago in Cancun. The amazing thing was a restaurant, called the same. It was owned by thw Kelley's the last family who was the last to own the rights to the name. Apparently they kept them when they closed it. Anyway I ramble 😂, they let me take load of photos for dad, showed me around, they had the last Avant, which was Micheal Landons. It was parked in their garage in the house they owned there. I still have pictures. If you would like a copy, I will go to his house and dig them up. Most in Turning Wheels know him by Mother Tucker. (Dad)
As good as little house was, I remember having a fifth grade teacher who was obsessed with Laura. I know “pa” Had “whiskers like steel wool”. Why he didn’t follow this is beyond me. Made it hard to take him seriously as pa ingalls.
Michael drank on set. We saw him and a cute young blonde at my Unions day at Disneyland, it was closed to the public. Turns out he was cheating on his wife! We saw MJ that day too. He was alone.
As cold as it sounds, his death didn't effect me all that much - I never watched any of his shows. Not out of spite or anything, I just didn't. But the very next day after his death, my favorite actress of all time died. And that was Lee Remick. She was only 55, and I was very heartbroken - but also very relieved for her that it was over. So yes, her death overshadowed Landon's big time for me.
Organize it, auction it, donate to cancer society eBay Also great video you made, Scott It’s pretty amazing he remained handsome throughout his career He was young starting out and managed successful series through his life That is quite an accomplishment
I love love your voice. I live in Rhode Island and I first saw you is when I watched Jorden the lion he is the cutest..lol and I beleive he was in your van you did a tour with a few other guys from utube. I heard your tour and I followed you ever since. Maybe one day I will get to meet you but I am greatful for ytube where we can talk to our favorite people to me you are a star/ and I am greatful for all that you do. I didn't realize how much you did and I want to send hugs and love from the littlest state in the USA..most Rhode islanders have big hearts and small pockets..lol❤
I sincerely hope that, before you discard those articles and files, you scan them, put them in labeled computer files, and put copies of them on thumb drives kept in two or three different places. Is there no Historical Society in Hollywood that would help you out with storafe or display space?
, I was trying to answer somebody on here who is an engineer In television. I love I love engineering people And I have worked with them a lot. I work with them and love them more than stars but I have not been able to Put Comment on here. I don't know who it was and I am sorry if part of what I was trying to say came . I don't know who it was and I am sorry if part of what I was what I was trying to say came through And Did not sound sensical Kindle and I am using, I don't know how you say it in English but trying to speak through the microphone. I have worked with many people Through documentary because of my Profession I'm too lazy to put them up on I am you know what factor. If I if . If I put that actual name on here A bunch of stuff with come up. Anyway I don't care what movies Documentaies And movies I do, I just love the people I work with And so Please excuse all of the bad English on here because Is my 1st language
Mankama I really Man, I really hate this thing but Because I am a bit Unwell these days is the only way I can communicate. I hope I hope you can . I hope I hope you can understand me
HE WAS BORN SAME YR OF MY DAD, ALWAYS LOVED MICHAEL LANDON , AND YES I SAW THE MOVIE AND IRONICALLY LANCE KERWIN PLAYED MICHAEL LANDON GREAT MOVIE RIP LANCE KERWIN 😢🥀💔🙏
Michael's cancer could also have been from his bad habit of smoking alot of cigarettes everyday. It's not only lung cancer it can spread everywhere from those things.
