Michael Landon Net Worth – 2023

How much is Michael Landon Net worth?

Michael Landon was an American actor, writer, producer, and director. At the time of his death in 1991, he was worth about $40 million in today’s money. Landon was best known for his roles in some of the best TV shows of all time. From 1959 to 1973, he played Joseph “Little Joe” Cartwright on the TV show “Bonanza.” From 1974 to 1983, he played Charles Ingalls on “Little House on the Prairie,” and from 1984 to 1989, he played Jonathan Smith on “Highway to Heaven.”

Michael was on the cover of TV Guide 22 times, which is the most of anyone except for Lucille Ball. For his role in Little House on the Prairie, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1979 for Best Actor in a Dramatic Television Series. In 1984, he also got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He had nine children from his three marriages. Michael Landon died of pancreatic cancer on July 1, 1991, when he was 54 years old. If Michael were still alive today, he would be 81 years old and could be worth well over $100 million.

Early Years

Eugene Maurice Orowitz was born in Queens, New York, on October 31, 1936, to a Roman Catholic mother named Peggy and a Jewish father named Eugene. Evelyn, Orowitz’s older sister, was born in 1933. When Landon was four years old, his family moved to Collingswood, New Jersey. He went to elementary school at Temple Beth Shalom in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Landon went to Collingswood High School and did well in sports there. In 1954, he threw the javelin farther than anyone else in high school. Michael went to the University of Southern California on an athletic scholarship because of how good he was. After he tore the ligaments in his shoulder, he lost his scholarship and dropped out of college.

Landon wanted to work in show business, so he got a job at a gas station across the street from the Warner Bros. studios. Local talent agent Bob Raison saw him there and hired him.

Start of a Job

Landon changed his name from Eugene Orowitz to Michael Landon after Bob Raison found him. He found this name by looking through a phone book.

He was in a few TV shows in small roles that didn’t get him credit. In 1956, Michael got his first lead role on the TV show “Telephone Time.” He played the title character in the episode “The Mystery of Casper Hauser.” Other early roles that stood out were in the movies “I Was a Teenage Werewolf” (1957), “Maracaibo” (1958), “High School Confidential” (1958), “God’s Little Acre” (1958), and “The Legend of Tom Dooley” (1959). He also had many roles on TV, including “Crossroads,” “The Restless Gun” (pilot episode aired on “Schlitz Playhouse of Stars”), “Sheriff Landon also showed up in a few episodes of “Zane Grey Theater,” which was made by Dick Powell.

Michael also tried to make a living by singing. In 1957, he put out a record called “Gimme a Little Kiss (Will “Ya” Huh)”/”Be Patient with Me.” Landon’s second single, “Linda is Lonesome”/” Without You,” came out in 1964.

Bonanza

In 1959, Landon became Little Joe Cartwright on the TV show “Bonanza.” The show was one of the first national shows to be shown in color. The show was a huge hit. For three years in a row, Nielsen ratings put it as the number one show. Landon was the breakout star of the show, and he got a lot more fan mail than anyone else. As Michael’s fame grew, he was given the chance to write and direct a few Bonanza episodes.

Michael also directed “Forever,” a two-hour wedding episode that was one of the show’s most memorable episodes.

Landon was in all fourteen seasons of the show, just like Lorne Greene and Victor Sen Yung. Michael was in 428 of the 431 episodes of the show.

Bonanza’s ratings went down over time, and in November 1972, the show was canceled. On January 16, 1973, the last episode aired.

The show Little House on the Prairie

Landon was cast as Charles Ingalls in the pilot of NBC’s “Little House on the Prairie” in 1973, a year after “Bonanza” was canceled. After eight seasons, in 1982, the show was renamed “Little House: A New Beginning.” Landon remained the show’s executive producer, director, and writer, but his character was not in the show. “Little House: A New Beginning” was the last chapter of “Little House

Michael was in 187 of the 204 episodes of the show.

Work After “Highway to Heaven”

From 1984 to 1989, Michael Landon also played Jonathan Smith on the TV show “Highway to Heaven.” He created the show, was its executive producer, writer, and director. It was the only show in Landon’s career that he owned outright, and he was in all 111 episodes.

In 1984, Landon released “Sam’s Son,” a coming-of-age movie that was loosely based on Michael’s childhood and that he wrote and directed.

Landon also took part in the first week of Match Game on CBS as a celebrity panelist.

Personal Life

Landon got married three times and had a total of nine kids.

Michael was married to Dodie Levy-Fraser from 1956 to 1962. They had two children: Mark Fraser Landon, who was adopted and was Dodie’s biological son, and Josh Fraser Landon, who was born in 1960. (also adopted as an infant).

Landon was married to Marjorie Lynn Noe from 1963 to 1982. They had five children: Cheryl Lynn Landon, who was born Cheryl Ann Pontrelli and was Lynn’s daughter from her first marriage, Leslie Ann Landon, who was born in 1962, Michael Landon Jr., who was born in 1964, Shawna Leigh Landon, who was born in 1971, and Christopher Beau Landon, who was born in 1975.

Landon was married to Cindy Clerico from 1983 until he died in 1991. They had two children, Jennifer Rachel Landon, born in 1983, and Sean Matthew Landon, born in 1986.

Landon admitted to himself that he smoked a lot and drank a lot.

In 1991, Landon went to the doctor because he had a bad headache. The doctor told him he had an aggressive form of pancreatic cancer that could not be treated and would kill him. On July 1, 1991, at the age of 54, Landon died in his Malibu home.

Landon was buried at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California, in a family mausoleum.

Real Estate

Michael Landon owned a seven-bedroom mansion in Malibu with 70 feet of ocean frontage. He sold that house in 1989 for $6 million, which is about $11 million today. In 2014, an updated version of that home sold for $40 million.

In 2015, Michael’s widow Cindy Landon spent $7.5 million on a mansion above Malibu’s Broad Beach and completely remodeled it. In 2018, Cindy tried to sell the home for $18 million but couldn’t find a buyer. She then rented the home for $100,000 per month until television mogul Seth MacFarlane bought it for $15.7 million in 2019.