Michael Landon achieved on-screen legend status as a result of his roles as Cartwright in Bonanza and Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie.
Over 500 people attended his burial after he passed away from cancer in 1991, including a former US president.
To the evident astonishment of many, Landon’s second wife, Lynn Noe, decided not to attend the burial.
Why then did she decide to remain at home?
Few performers have ever achieved the kind of fame that Michael Landon did. He was born on October 31st, 1936, and when he was a teenager, he moved to Hollywood to pursue an acting career. As fate would have it, he would never be the same after a fortunate encounter at the gas station where he worked.
One of the most renowned performances in American television history is Michael Landon’s depiction of Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie. The series, which was based on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s children’s books, was a big hit. Like his persona, Michael gained enormous popularity among Americans.
Landon received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1984. Additionally, he received the Western Heritage Award, also known as the Bronze Wrangler Award, which recognizes achievements in the arts in the fields of literature, music, cinema, and television.
Landon had three marriages and fathered nine kids in total. He has two children with his first wife, Dodie Levy Fraser, whom he married in 1956. Then, in 1963, he married Lynn Noe, his second wife, and they had four more kids: Leslie Ann, Michael, Jr., Shawna Leigh, and Christopher Beau.
However, their 19-year marriage came to an unhappy end. Landon had an affair with Cindy Clerico while they were still married; she would eventually become his third wife. She was 20 years Michael’s junior.
Many of Landon’s Little House co-stars saw the dissolution of his marriage to Lynn Noe to be a tragic event. It was difficult, particularly for the young performers like Mellisa Sue Anderson.
“As children, it was a terrible blow for us,” recalled Melissa, who portrayed Mary Ingalls. “Even though we were aware of his shortcomings and occasional problems, we never imagined he was capable of causing his true family such suffering. I had set a higher bar for him in terms of morality. He had truly disappointed me.”
The subsequent marriage of Cindy and Michael became a hot topic.
“I would have done anything to make that relationship continue, but I could not. It’s not just difficult for the wife. It is painful for the husband too. But it is far better than letting it stay the way it was.”
Two kids would eventually be born to Michael and Cindy. In 1983, she gave birth to Jennifer Rachel Landon; Matthew arrived three years later.
Michael Landon, sadly, received a pancreatic cancer diagnosis in 1991. Three months later, at the age of 54, he passed away.
His relatives recounted his final moments. When Michael Landon discovered he had cancer, his wife Cindy explained how devastated everyone was.
In addition to starting an organic lifestyle that included acupuncture and a vegetarian diet, Landon underwent chemotherapy.
The tumor in his pancreas, however, had doubled in size in only one month. Soon after, he was informed by doctors that the cancer had spread to his liver.
Michael and his wife Cindy had to begin preparing their children for what was next in his final month on Earth.
They began reading the book Butterflies, and Michael explained that his body would be like a cocoon, with his spirit transforming into a butterfly that would gaze down on them.
Michael was not religious, in the traditional sense of the word,’” she added. “He spoke of Michael’s response when the doctors told him that the chemo treatments would destroy his beautiful mane of hair. He said, ‘I’m rich, I’ll buy a hat.’”
Approximately 500 people attended Landon’s funeral, as was previously said. However, one person in particular—his second wife Lynn Noe—was not one of them. Noe reportedly informed her kids that she skipped Landon’s burial since her split with the actor “had already been like a death to her,” according to IMDB.
Michael Landon enjoyed a long and fruitful acting career that lasted more than three decades. Even though his death in 1991 was tragic for his family, Cindy was dedicated to make sure his memory survives.
Cindy is currently in charge of the Michael and Cindy Landon Foundation. She has also participated in fundraising activities for Doctors Without Borders, Free Arts for Abused Children, and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
Michael Landon was a devoted husband and father who frequently assisted others and donated to charitable causes. Cindy posted a picture of the two with their kids, Jennifer and Sean, in February of last year, taking a trip down memory lane.
Fans, friends, and family all continue to adore, remember, and miss Michael Landon for the kind of person he was even now, decades after his passing.
Hollywood will always remember Michael Landon as a great legend. He may not be physically here with us longer, but his spirit and legacy live on. I always like watching Bonanza, Little House, or any of his other fantastic works.
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