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Michael Landon (born Eugene Maurice Orowitz; October 31, 1936 – July 1, 1991) was an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in ''Bonanza'' (1959–73), Charles Ingalls in ''Little House on the Prairie'' (1974–83), and Jonathan Smith in ''Highway to Heaven'' (1984–89). Landon appeared on the cover of ''TV Guide'' 22 times, second only to Lucille Ball.〔''TV Guide'', "Michael Landon's Final Days" (July 20, 1991, p. 3)〕 Landon produced, wrote, and directed many of his series' episodes, including his shortest-lived production, ''Father Murphy,'' which starred his friend and "Little House" co-star Merlin Olsen. In 1981, Landon won recognition for his screenwriting with a Spur Award from the Western Writers of America. Although his youngest daughter Jennifer Landon and ''Bonanza'' co-star David Canary have both won multiple Emmys, Michael Landon was never nominated for an Emmy. In 1976, Landon wrote and directed an auto-biographical movie, ''The Loneliest Runner'', which was nominated for two Emmys. ==Early life== Landon was born Eugene Maurice Orowitz, on October 31, 1936, in Forest Hills, a neighborhood of Queens, New York.〔 Landon's father, Eli Maurice Orowitz, was an actor and movie theater manager, and his mother, Peggy (O'Neill), was a dancer and comedian. Eugene was the Orowitz family's second child; his sister, Evelyn, was born three years earlier. His father was Jewish, and his mother was from an Irish Catholic family. 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 Sholom,〔 Rabbi Albert L. Lewis, his Hebrew School teacher and rabbi, would later be memorialized as the central character in Mitch Albom's non fiction work, ''Have a Little Faith''.Albom, Mitch,'' Have a Little Faith'', Hyperion Books, 2009. Albom, as well as Steven Spielberg, also attended Hebrew School at this synagogue, and celebrated their Bar Mitzvah ceremonies there.〕 a Conservative synagogue, then located in Haddon Heights, an area that did not allow Jews until after World War II, now in Cherry Hill. 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 to learn how to read Hebrew and do the chanting." He attended Collingswood High School.〔 During his childhood, Landon was constantly worried about his mother's suicide attempts. Once the family went on a vacation on a beach, and his mother tried to drown herself, but Michael rescued her. Soon after the attempt his mother acted as if nothing had happened. After a few minutes, Michael threw up. It was the worst experience of his life.〔(His Early Days Were Fun ), ''Philadelphia Daily News'', July 2, 1991. ''"In a 1985 interview, Landon claimed he ate lunch alone at Collingswood High School, that he never had a date as a teen-ager because no Christian father in the town would allow his daughter to go out with a Jew."''〕 Stress overload from the suicide attempts of his mother caused Landon to battle the childhood problem of bedwetting, that 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. These events later inspired Landon to write and direct the 1976 made-for-television movie ''The Loneliest Runner''. In high school, Landon was an excellent javelin thrower, his 193’ 4” toss in 1954 being the longest throw by a high schooler in the United States that year.〔''Track and Field News'' (December 1953)〕 This earned him an athletic scholarship to the University of Southern California, but he subsequently tore his shoulder ligaments, ending his javelin throwing career and his participation on the USC track team. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Michael Landon」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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