Michael Landon

American actor, writer, director and producer, best known for his roles in TV's long-running "Bonanza," "Little House on the Prairie" and "Highway to Heaven"

and for being a dominant figure and shaper of prime-time television family fare for over three decades.

Landon grew up with a sister in Collingswood, NJ. His father, Eli, was a movie theatre manager and film publicist, and his mother, Penny, a minor actress. His childhood was unhappy, marred with extensive parental quarrels, personal humiliation from his mother, and anti-Semitic taunts from other children. He was a top-flight javelin thrower in high school and set the national record in his senior year with a record toss of 211 ft, 7 in. This won him a track scholarship to the University of Southern California. He was mocked considerably for his curly, shoulder-length hair, and one time his team-mates pinned him down and cut off his hair. A furious Landon threw his arm out on a toss, lost his scholarship, and quit school, failing his 10th grade.

A film executive spotted him while he was working as a gas station attendant across from the Warner Brothers studios, and suggested he enroll in Warner Bros. acting school. Soon he was performing in prestige television such as Studio One and G.E. Theatre. He made his movie debut in 1957 in the cult classic, "I was a Teenage Werewolf," which premiered in 1959.

His fame arrived in the role of Little Joe in "Bonanza," which enjoyed a 14-year run from 1959-1973, and was the most popular show on television from 1964 to 1967. He began writing and directing occasional episodes of the program before developing "Little House on the Prairie," the TV series that ran from 1974 to 1983. Landon demanded creative control of the show. In 1976, he wrote, directed and acted in "The Loneliest Runner," a television movie about a teen-age athlete that was somewhat autobiographical.