article on Michael' death (interview with Cindy Landon)

I"ve read quite a few but this one was the most detailed. It may be too much but probably was cathartic for her.
http://www.oocities.org/little_jenny2001au/foreverremembered/foreverremembered.htm
The interview with Brad was the most extensive.

It's almost 21 years....I wonder about all the good TV that might have happened if he didn't die, but who knows...people long for this stuff but the culture is so "reality shows" etc. I hardly watch anything. It is really pathetic now...I love the channels that will bring back the "better" TV at least in my eyes.

I admit as a side note, I always felt Cindy told too much about their "courtship" while he was married and seemed to want to deflect blame etc. The "grown apart" was only known by one party, his children said Lynn was devastated, but that's common in many divorce cases. It wasn't a nice thing what either did but the children seem to have made amends (at least I hope so) and their 2 children were always kept out of the fray of bad feelings which was good.

Thanks for the link...21 years almost gone after this awful day!...It seems it was ysterday when Michael Landon lost his battle toward cancer...

We all miss him terribily...
And yes, I feel the same about Cindy than you.

Vanesa.

Agreed Vanessa!

Everyone has dark periods and that divorce and then illness was the worst of course. I remember Kodak dropping him and the scandal because Michael and Charles were thought of as one. The only thing he said I ever took offense too was that Charles would have cheated on Caroline if the houses were closer. I knew that just stemmed from the stinging press after the opposite for so long.

I really think I would have liked US after seeing the pilot...do you remember it?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103181/

Thank you for sharing the link. Hard to believe he has been gone as long as he has. Seems like only yesterday that he passed away. On July 1, I will be watching Memories With Laughter&Love. I always cry at the end of the tribute when they show clips from Bonanza, LHOTP and Highway To Heaven and Leslie saying the "Remember Me" poem.

Is that only on VHS..I don't think I ever saw a DVD version. Are you seeing it on TV?

I'm watching it on DVD. The DVD version came with season 1 of Highway To Heaven.

oh,okay, I'm sure I can see parts on you tube but it's nice to have it on DVD.

sweetkrissy2011 wrote:

i really can't picture Charles cheating on Caroline!!!!

Ditto! For me, that ruined the image I always had of him. Cindy was the same age as my daughter, and I simply can't fathom her with a man older than her father and I are.


LIZ

Who knows if Cindy wasn't pregnant if it just would have blown over after a year or so...but it didn't and 2 children were born and loved.
Even Melissa didn't talk to him for a while...many were dispointed, but when a guy gets like that, you really can't reason with them and you hope the mess left behind isn't too great. If I were his daughter,(Jennifer) I would be scared Dad would leave my Mom when he got used to everything, but tragically, he died which was a worse scenario and much too young.
He never had the may/december romances on Little House work out though.

i guess it was hard for him to live up to his character on little house.or ppl expected him to be like pa

Nobody knows both sides of the story about Michael and nobody ever will.
Temper your condemnation of him knowing that. His oldest son became a devout Christian because of the condemnation. We should all learn a lesson from that.

I remember one son not speaking to him for a while, I hope that was the one that learned to forgive, he was very broken up about it.
I didn't mean to beat up on him, just mentioning what was in articles by him or Cindy, not the rag papers etc. I honestly thought she did more harm than good.
It does show that you need to separate people from their characters. In many ways, Michael was a good man but he wasn't the Charles Ingall's he portrayed. I was shocked to learn that although fine actors, Fred McMurray (my 3 sons) and even Andy Griffith weren't the men they portrayed on TV and as one 60's mom who was idolized retorted..."Think, I play a great Mom, in reality I work long hours away from my children to do so".

You sometimes have to realize the grass isn't always greener and cherish what you do have.

This article shares a little of his faith:
http://www.christianity.com/Christian%20Living/Features/11622634/

Well said!

The movie The Father I knew that Michael Landon, Jr made after his dad's death was terrible. He made his dad sound and look like a terrible person. The family was upset with him for making the movie.

I will always idolize Michael. He will always be my favorite actor. He even admitted he was no saint.

I didn't see the movie but did read interviews by other family members that weren't always happy with Dad either. Maybe he needed to do that, he lived his reality, we lived a TV version. I can't judge him, but I love Michael for his wonderful shows, him off the set, unless he was really awful, was between him and his family and friends. Being famous though, you can't live in a bubble and your actions can't really be private.
I read one daughter counsels children who deal with loss, got her PhD, I thought that was a great thing, whether it come out of her own loss or not.

I felt bad when Michael left his family, not just because it was a shock, but later when I read about how he flaunted it on the set, kissing, hugging, etc., going out with Cindy. He said in an interview he finally had to come out with it. That was disrespectful not only to Lynn, but his children and even his future children. As a star, he knew they would hear about it also.
I guess that is a lesson on separating characters from reality.

People can't delay satisfaction sometimes, but I am glad he knew what people would be hungry for, what they yearned for, even if he couldn't be perfect. I loved all his shows.

Everybody wants Michael to be Charles. He wasn't. And Melissa Gilbert was certainly no Half Pint. I only know one thing.....they ALL made one of the best shows that ever graced television.

Michael Landon Jr. has forgiven his dad, and in the process has become a wonderful individual that has produced a lot of projects that Michael Landon would be proud of. Leslie Landon has done some marvelous things with kids.

So through it all, I think we have to look at the good things that came out of a tragic situation.

Yes, he left a lot of good film to watch when the "reality shows" are on. (hate those things)

A priest told me once, 'You can't make happiness on someone else's misery" I don't know if that is always true, but I know many smiles hide pain. Mr. Landon, I'm sure, suffered a great deal from the hurt he put on his family and the embarrassment of hearing things from newspapers, etc., people trying to interview them and their mother.
He stuck to what he did best though and time took care of most of it. I will always be grateful my children and I had the joy of watching this show.

littlehouselover wrote:

Yes, he left a lot of good film to watch when the "reality shows" are on. (hate those things)

A priest told me once, 'You can't make happiness on someone else's misery" I don't know if that is always true, but I know many smiles hide pain. Mr. Landon, I'm sure, suffered a great deal from the hurt he put on his family and the embarrassment of hearing things from newspapers, etc., people trying to interview them and their mother.
He stuck to what he did best though and time took care of most of it. I will always be grateful my children and I had the joy of watching this show.

Well said!

Vanesa.

I did see "The Father I Knew" last night and it wasn't done very well at all, almost painful to watch, but it seemed like therapy for his son. He showed what he saw, what he knew and that pain at the time was great for him. I know some said he bashed his Dad but if you really watch it, he spoke often how wonderful he was "before", except for his long hours, he is entitled to say what he wants about the "after". We didn't live it, he did.

I'm glad he found peace with his mom in his church and is doing well with his family and work.
Unfortunately, as humans, we spend many years dealing with being human and all the pain and good things that come with that.