Dedicated by Mark Freser Landon to
Michael &
Cindy Landon
This page is complied by Mark Freser Landon
I was born in 1948 and pased away in 2009.
The following
are extracts from articles on Michael and Cindy..
By Tony Brenna
and Donna Rosenthal (July 1980)
Cindy
Clerico first met Landon three years ago. "I was a stand-in for Melissa
Sue Anderson (who plays Mary) and that’s how we met.” But it wasn’t until
recently that romance blossomed. "Michael’s deeply involved with her and
has been for about six months,” said a source. “Their relationship has grown to
a point where they are obsessed with each other. Michael is with Cindy all the
time now. They are very close and loving at the moment. Cindy and Michael have
been very private about their relationship. It was nothing they flaunted. It
was nothing they wanted the world to know about. I know that many evenings they
would drive out of town, stroll for hours along secluded beaches on the Pacific
coast. Sometimes they would eat in little-known restaurants. They kept away
from the glitter and glamour of Hollywood.”
By
Tony Brenna, Ken Potter and Donna Rosenthal (May 1981)
Observers say that the couple are inseparable
during the week, often taking long strolls along the water, sometimes kissing
tenderly as the ocean waves roll around their feet. “She has given his ego a
passionate boost,” said a source close to Landon. “Michael has told me he feels
like a young man again.” And a friend of Cindy revealed, “Cindy’s absolutely in
heaven now that she’s living with Michael.”
By
Tony Brenna & Donna Rosenthal (May 1981)
Ever since Landon walked out last spring to
pursue his romance with young makeup artist Cindy Clerico, Lynn said, she hoped
desperately that her wayward husband would return to her. She and Landon even
spoke occasionally throughout the separation, keeping Lynn’s hopes for a
reconciliation alive. “I love him and I just couldn’t shut the door. I honestly
hoped and prayed that it was some form of temporary middle-aged love affair.
And I hoped if I was patient my husband would come to his senses and return to
the family that loves and needs him. Then the months dragged on, and Michael
didn’t return. I was on Easter vacation in Acapulco, Mexico; with our children
when I got the news from my brother Bob that Michael had filed the divorce
papers. I flew back to Los Angeles in shock, hoping to see Michael, but he was
boarding a plane for London with his girlfriend just as I arrived. I know that
Hollywood is littered with wrecked marriages, but I sincerely believed ours was
different. Now it’s another statistic. But life goes on, and the children and I
will, too. I loved him very much. I’ve lost a lot. The children have lost out
on having a father in the house. And I think Michael has lost a lot, too.”
Insiders, though, say Landon isn’t counting his losses yet. Instead, he’s
making the most of his newfound freedom, vacationing in London with Cindy – and
possibly considering another marriage. It would be his third. “Michael hasn’t
taken this step lightly, and he is obviously thinking of getting married to Cindy,”
said a close friend of the actor. “Michael’s destruction of his marriage and
family life for the sake of his new love has been anguishing for him. But he
and Cindy have established a foundation of love. The divorce will cost him a
fortune – but he’s willing to pay the price.”
Michael Landon has lashed out at charges that
he was an abusive prima donna on the set of the new movie that he has just
filmed with Priscilla Presley. And the 47-year-old star, who is going through a
bitter divorce battle, also admitted for the first time that he and girlfriend
Cindy Clerico will probably tie the knot early next year. Landon says his love
for Cindy has helped him through the turmoil surrounding the movie and the
heartbreak of his divorce. “She’s a great lady,” he says. “We’re having a wonderful
time together and we’re very much in love. We don’t like being apart and I
think in the New Year we’ll think seriously about making out relationship more
permanent. I couldn’t be happier in my life right now."
(January 1983)
The way that Michael Landon’s young girlfriend
took his real-life Little House on the Prairie family into her heart proved the
clincher in his decision to make her his Valentine bride. The 45-year-old
Landon, who ties the knot February 12 at a star-studded wedding at his posh
Malibu beach house, was captivated by the way gorgeous 26-year-old Cindy
Clerico brought happiness into his home and made him the model father he
portrayed in the popular TV series. Bursting to tell the wedding news, Landon
had only one word to describe his beautiful bride: “Fantastic. She’s absolutely
fantastic,” he told a close friend. “I’ve never been with anyone like her
before. I’m the happiest man in the world. I’ve never been more contented in my
life. The kids think the world of her. She’s a great cook, a wonderful mother
to them and a good person to talk to and fun to be with.” Hollywood thought
Landon’s 19-year marriage to Lynn would never end. But in a shocking surprise,
Landon divorced her in July 1981 and moved out of their Beverly Hills house to
a roomy beach house in Malibu. Michael and Cindy can’t stand to be apart, their
friends say. “He took the whole family with him to Nassau where they were
filming his new movie, Comeback. And when they were shooting it in Thailand
locations, he took Cindy and Michael Jr. with him,” a friend said. “She’s
always waiting for him on the set, taking him in her arms after the shooting,
just like a loving housewife welcomes home her husband from the office. This
marriage comes as no surprise to their close friends. Everyone knew they would
do it. They had kept it a secret until now, and they were just bursting to tell
the news.”
Michael Landon’s popped the question to
live-in love Cindy Clerico – and they’ll wed in late February or early March.
Insiders say Landon made the decision over the Christmas holidays, after a
little gentle nudging from Cindy. A close friend revealed that Cindy was
chatting quietly to Landon about their future, when he said to her: “It’s time
we got married!” A long-time friend of Landon confirmed: "Michael told me
that they’re planning to marry in late February or March, right after his
shooting schedule on ‘Little House: A New Beginning’ is wrapped up. They’ve
tried to keep the marriage plans a secret. But Michael plans to marry Cindy in
a quiet ceremony, with only a few close friends and relatives.” For a long
time, Landon had hesitated about making his three-year love affair official – fearing
that his four children by his ex-wife Lynn would not accept Cindy. “But now the
children have accepted her – as a real member of their family,” said a close
friend of the couple. “Over the Christmas holidays, Michael and Cindy told the
youngsters they’d decided to get married. They were all very happy, running
over to Cindy and giving her big hugs. The real turning point with the four
children came when Michael’s oldest – his 19-year-old daughter, Leslie – came
to accept Cindy as a friend. Cindy had always tried to be there whenever the
kids needed her, and to offer help without being pushy.
As Leslie got older,
Cindy became more of a friend – helping her to choose makeup, styling her hair
and picking out clothes. It was almost an older sister relationship, and it
broke down any resistance Leslie may have had.” And that helped Landon’s other
children – Michael Jr., 18, Shawna, 11, and Christopher, 7 – accept Cindy. Said
one of her close friends: “Just before Christmas, Cindy talked to Michael about
marriage. She told him she thought the problems with the children were solved –
that they now saw her as someone who genuinely cared about them and made their
father happy. She also told him she’d stood by him through all his problems in
the past couple of years and stayed pretty much in the background – never
making demands on his time. But now she wanted some of the spotlight as Mrs.
Michael Landon. More importantly, she said, she wanted the respectability of
marriage and the chance to have his child. Cindy said she was both surprised
and relieved at Michael’s reaction. He told her, ‘You’re right. It’s time that
we got married.’ Then they got together with the children, and Michael told
them he wanted to marry Cindy. The children all approved.” Another close friend
of Cindy revealed: As a combination Christmas/engagement present, Michael gave
Cindy an emerald and diamond ring. He also gave her a new Mercedes car, a
diamond watch and thousands of dollars worth of jewellery. And he presented her
with membership in a high-priced Malibu exercise club.” Landon – who’s been
married twice before – is looking forward to having children just as much as
Cindy, said one of his close friends. “Michael has mentioned several times that
he’d like to have more children because he enjoys being a father.” Said a
source close to Landon’s family: “Michael’s madly in love with Cindy. He told
me, ‘Before Cindy, I didn’t know what love was. She’s opened up my heart like
no one ever did before. I want her with me forever.”
Michael Landon has an astonishing wedding
secret – his love Cindy Clerico is more than two months pregnant! The handsome
46-year-old actor, who already has seven children, was delighted when Cindy,
24, broke the news to him shortly before Christmas – and just a few weeks later
he told the world he planned to marry her. “It was great news – just what I
wanted to hear!” the star of “Little House on the Prairie” told a source. “We
had pretty much made up our minds to get married in a couple of months, but
this news locked it up for us.” A friend continued, “Cindy is definitely
pregnant, and both she and Michael are thrilled. But despite what some friends
think, the pregnancy didn’t force then into marriage. They had tentatively
planned to marry in the spring. Then came the pregnancy. Cindy discovered it
about the middle of December. That was when everything became definite. The
caterer was booked, and everything was set for a wedding at Michael’s Malibu
home in mid-February.” An acquaintance very close to Landon revealed, “The
whole thing doesn’t surprise people who know Landon best, because they are all
aware he has a thing about having children. Michael recently told his other
children about Cindy being pregnant. Even though he may paint a rosy picture
about how happy his children are with Cindy, they’re a little bewildered about
this. Some of them weren’t thrilled at the prospect of their father starting
another family. They’re coming around but it has taken more conversations with
them than Michael had anticipated.” Incredibly, when Landon publicly announced
he was marrying Cindy, he jokingly implied his fiancée was pregnant. Landon
went on “The Tonight Show” January 11 when he told host Johnny Carson, “I’m
going to be married in about a month. You know, I had to.” The audience roared,
and Carson laughed off the remark. But the few people in the studio who knew
Cindy really was pregnant gasped, thinking Michael was about to spill the beans
on TV,” a Little House insider said. A pal who ran into Landon recently
recalled, “Michael floored us when he said, proud and laughing, ‘I’ve got seven
children, my oldest is 32, and I’ve got a baby on the way!’ He certainly wasn’t
trying to hide the fact that Cindy is expecting a baby.”
Febraury 14. 1983 Valentine's Day
Valentine’s Day will always have special
meaning in the Michael Landon household. That is the day he made gal pal Cindy
Clerico the third Mrs. Landon. And it was a most romantic ceremony. Just 30
guests were invited to participate in the wedding itself which took place at
Michael’s Malibu Beach home. Among the witnesses were his four children from
his marriage to Lynn. After the ceremony, they all drove off to the Malibu La Scala
for the reception that included several hundred friends and co-workers.
(September
1983)
Michael Landon’s devotion to his young bride
calmly pulled her through the agonizing 17-hour ordeal of her first birth – and
now she is learning from his experience as a dad how to care for the baby. “I
don’t think I could have made it without Michael,” says his 26-year-old wife,
Cindy. Landon, now the father of eight, couldn’t be dragged away from Cindy
during her gruelling labour and the birth of their new daughter, Jennifer
Rachel. Landon, 45, has seven children from two previous marriages, but this was
the first time he had watched any of them being born. But his experience as a
father came shining through. “He was showing his wife how to change diapers and
things like that,” said a hospital insider. He comforted and encouraged her
through the birth, then curled up on a couch in her hospital room for three
days before the couple finally went home with their new daughter, Jennifer
Rachel. “His encouragement throughout the entire day was something else,” says
Cindy.
Landon slept on a pullout couch
in Cindy’s hospital room until she was ready to go home three days later.
The
baby also spent the whole time there with her parents. “It’s unusual for a
couple to keep a new baby in the room with them but that’s the way they wanted
it,” says a source at the hospital. "The mother looked very tired after
the birth, of course, but she wouldn’t let go of the baby. She just adored her.
It was obvious that Mr. Landon was the experienced parent,” adds the hospital
insider. “His wife kept joking: ‘I’ve got the expert with me.’” Another insider
reveals that the Landons kept the baby in their room the entire time for
security reasons and that all phone calls were screened. Landons first call
after the birth was to his other two youngest children, Christopher, 8, and
Shawna, 11. They were the only visitors the couple allowed into the hospital
room following the birth. The children live in Beverly Hills with their mother,
Lynn, to whom Landon was married for 19 years. He collects them each Friday on
his way home from work and spends weekends and vacations with them. Some of
Landon’s older children were out of town during the birth, but the whole family
were united over the Labour Day weekend to celebrate.
(December
1984)
Michael Landon surprised wife Cindy with a new
$157,500 Rolls Royce Corniche convertible. Cindy was flabbergasted – but two
days straight she showed up on the set and asked Landon if she could borrow her
old car, which he’d driven to work. Reason: Her Rolls wouldn’t start.
By
Barbara Sternig (December 1986)
“Now that I’ve got enough kids for a baseball
team, I may stop,” quips Michael Landon, who is ecstatic over the birth of his
ninth child. “Seeing your own child being born brings a feeling that cannot be
compared to anything else in life – it’s just awe-inspiring,” said the handsome
50-year-old star of “Highway to Heaven.” Sean is the second child he’s had with
his wife Cindy. “Just as I did for the birth of our daughter Jennifer three
years ago, I videotaped the whole proceeding. Even though I work with cameras
every day, I had all I could do to hold the camera still as I taped Cindy in
labour. I was actually kind of upset that I had to put the camera down because
suddenly the baby was popping out, and it was my job to catch him! I cut the
umbilical cord, welcoming the little guy into the world with my own hands. As
we gazed at our new baby, we were just filled with feelings of love for each
other, and for our expanding family. Cindy cradled Sean in her arms, and we
just sat there cooing at him and enjoying the precious moment."
Michael Landon is planning his first
“vacation” away from TV in 30 years so he can play his favourite real-life role
– family man. But he isn’t hurrying Highway to Heaven off the air. The
producer/director/writer/star of the series will happily stay with it as long
as NBC wants it. Then he’ll take a yearlong break. Landon is already keeping
his schedule clear by accepting no projects other than Highway. He has “doubled
up” with TV movies in the past, but insists he won’t “kill” himself like that
again. “I don’t know what kind of life these people have who work all the time
and never see their families,” he says. “This business isn’t that important. No
way. When we’re in production, I always have all my people home for dinner,
myself included. And I don’t believe in taking work home unless it is something
I can handle early in the morning before everybody is up. Home should be a
place for family, not business.” There is one decision about Landon’s life that
he didn’t make for himself. His family made it for him. He may be the master of
his home, but he is not allowed to smoke there. “My wife actually started it,
and now Jennifer won’t even let me light up,” he says. “She’s very tough about
it. I have to go outside if I want a cigarette. That’s why I have a cold,” he
says sheepishly. “Running outside naked on these cold nights will do that to
you.”
(December
1989)
Michael Landon and his family have just
settled into their new rambling ranch house in the Malibu Mountains. It’s big
he says, but clarifies: “It’s a ranch not a resort.” The veteran TV star and
his wife Cindy, sold their Malibu Beach home not only because it wasn’t large
enough “for all the kids” but because “it’s not much fun to have to wipe off
windows from people pressing their noses against the glass. Summers on the
beach were really looky-loo time. I’m about as easygoing as you can get with
fans, but when they start using your Jacuzzi and walking in the door….” Then
it’s time to go.
By
Harry Hurt (July 1990)
Michael Landon is one Hollywood exurban cowboy
who always had a make-believe home on the range – and secretly longed for a
real dream ranch house. The eternally youthful actor-writer-director-producer
grew up on the mythical Ponderosa Ranch, where he played the role of Little Joe
Cartwright on the long-running television series Bonanza, and later matured
into fatherhood in Little House on the Prairie. Off-screen, Landon and his
wife, Cindy, and nine children from present and previous marriages used to live
in a contemporary Malibu beach house. But after ten years of oceanfront living,
the couple agreed that the area was just too crowded. “We had no privacy,”
Michael Landon says, “because all the houses are right next to each other. The
woman who lived next door to us used to tape-record the sounds of our dogs
barking. And there weren’t many kids for our children to play with.” On
weekends, the Landon’s and up to thirty members of their extended family headed
for “the ranch,” an undeveloped ten-acre spread north of Malibu. Nestled within
a semi-suburbanised patch of rolling canyon country, the ranch overlooks a
fifty-thousand-acre state park full of waterfalls, horse trails and bobcats.
“At first, the ranch wasn’t going to be a place to live in,” Michael Landon
says. “We’d sleep in Malibu and just use the ranch for family sporting events,
such as horse riding, tennis, touch football, croquet and kickball. Then we
moved a camper onto the property and slept in the camper on weekends.
After
awhile we built a modular house with three bedrooms, and lived there on
weekends for about a year. But the more time we spent at the ranch, the less we
liked going back to Malibu.” The Landons kept looking for potential getaway
houses farther up the coast in Santa Barbara and Montecito. But according to
Cindy, they decided those otherwise enticing locales were simply “too far away
from Michael’s work.” Finally the couple realized that their weekend recreation
ranch would also make an ideal site for a year-round residence, and they
commissioned Los Angeles architect Robert L. Earl, a trusted friend, to design
a permanent principal dwelling. Before preparing a formal plan, Earl spent
several weekends observing the Landons’ active life at the ranch and at the
beach. The architect then translated his firsthand research directly to the
drawing board, and says that Michael Landon often modified or revised certain
details. “I tried to provide facilities for all I had observed,” he says. “I
noticed, for instance, that family members enjoyed riding three-wheel vehicles
on the ranch, and that they’d need a lot of terrain for that. Toward the end of
the day, Michael would always prepare to cook for a large group, and I realized
they’d need large indoor and outdoor cooking facilities similar to those in
commercial restaurants."
(April
10 1991)
Television star Michael Landon said yesterday
he was determined to beat cancer of the pancreas and liver. “I want my agent to know that this shoots to
hell any chances of doing a health-food commercial,” Landon said. He said he
started doing push-ups when he first learned of the possibility he had cancer.
“I wanted to make sure I was just as strong as I was the day before, and I was,
so I figured I can beat it,” he said. Landon, who endeared himself to
television audiences with starring roles in such series as Bonanza, Little
House of the Prairie and Highway to Heaven, explained he had taken the unusual
step of holding a press conference in the hope that he and his family would not
be hounded by the media.
By
David Grogan (April 22 1991)
As Bonanza’s Little Joe, Little House on the
Prairie’s kindly homesteader Charles Ingalls or Highway to Heaven’s angelic
drifter, Jonathan Smith, Michael Landon always specialized in happy endings.
Now he needs one himself. On April 5 the 54-year-old actor was diagnosed with
cancer of the pancreas, which had spread to the liver: according to the
American Cancer Society, only 1 percent of patients with this dire combination
survive as long as five years. At a press conference at his Malibu home, Landon
was brave and touchingly honest. “We each have our own miracles,” he said. “I’m
still hoping to beat it.”
By
Barry Levine, Beverly Williston, Stephen Viens, Dana Blanchard, Jennifer
Pearson, Alan Grimes (April 23 1991)
"Michael lives for his children, they’re
his pride and joy,” long-time confident Harry Flynn told Star. The actor
bravely hid stabbing stomach pains from his wife and kids to take them on an
Easter ski trip to Park City, Utah. After a day with his kids on the bunny
slope April 2, Landon finally doubled up with severe pains. Flynn told Star
that Landon “hid the pains” from his family for six weeks, lest he upset them.
On April 3, Landon was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre.
He was taken to
room 8215, a private suite with a bay window that offered a view of the famous
“Hollywood” sign. Dr. Leonard Makowka, director of surgery and transplantation
services was alerted to Landon’s condition within 24 hours. “A liver biopsy was
ordered,” says a source. “Landon’s stomach was on fire – and he knew something
was terribly wrong.” The biopsy was rushed through as quickly as possible. “His
doctor was shocked that Michael waited so long to come in,” says the source.
Flynn told Star Landon didn’t want to hear the diagnosis in the hospital. He
insisted on being released to go home. “Two days later, Michael was given the
news. The doctor was very blunt. He told Michael, ‘It’s inoperable
cancer.’" According to the source, Landon’s cancer began in his pancreas
and spread to his colon, where cancerous nodes formed “out of control.” The
biopsy showed that cancer had spread throughout his entire liver. A cancer
expert said that only three percent of those diagnosed like Landon can live for
five years; most will die within the year. Star learned that Landon first
called an 83-year-old aunt to break the news. His wife and children were next.
Flynn said, “After spending Friday night talking with wife Cindy, Michael had
all his children assemble at his house the following day. That’s when he broke
the news to them. Michael was very straightforward with his kids. He asked them
to be positive and give him their prayers. Michael is very spiritual – he told
everyone, ‘I’m going to beat this.’” Landon said after receiving the
devastating news from his doctor: “At first you don’t believe it, especially if
you’re a physical kind of guy. I think what I did right after that was to start
doing pushups. I think it was to prove to myself that I was as strong as the
day before, which I was.”
By
Barbara Sternig, Lydia Encinas, Eric Munoz (April 23 1991)
Dr. Gerald Murphy, the American Cancer
Society’s chief medical officer, told the Enquirer: “Pancreatic cancer is a
tough one. We have difficulty diagnosing it early and because of that treatment
is sometimes limited. Cancer of the pancreas typically is a silent disease that
occurs without symptoms until it is in its advanced stages.” In a case such as Landon’s, Dr. Murphy said
six months to live “might be optimistic.” Landon’s symptoms – painful stomach
cramps – didn’t strike him until about six weeks ago, sources say. Once a
robust 163 pounds, the star dropped down to a gaunt 150, but he refused to see
a doctor. Finally, when the cramps became almost unbearable, Landon’s wife
Cindy convinced him to make an appointment with his doctor, said an insider
close to Landon. On April 3 Landon met with his personal physician, Dr. Allan
Metzger, who immediately referred him to a pancreatic specialist, the insider
said. That same afternoon Landon checked into Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los
Angeles. The next day the specialist put Landon through an exhaustive battery
of tests. Landon left the hospital later that day.” On Friday, April 5, the
doctor called Michael and said he wanted to see him and Cindy as soon as
possible,” said the insider. “Michael never expected a death sentence. He
thought at most that he had stomach flu or an infection.”
Michael Landon has been told by his doctor
that he has less than four weeks to live – and he’s given up seeking treatment
for the cancer that’s ravaging his body. The news came as a terrible shock for
the beloved 54-year-old star, who had been told he had six months to live when
he was diagnosed with pancreatic and liver cancer April 5. He had vowed to use
that time to find a cure for his deadly disease. He visited several doctors,
underwent chemotherapy and was preparing for experimental surgery. Then on
April 24 came the devastating word the cancer had spread to his colon…and the
end was near. Now Michael’s resigned to his fate and has decided to spend his
last days with his wife and nine children. “I don’t want any further treatment
– I’ve made the decision to let death take its course,” Landon told a close
friend. The close friend revealed: “Michael had been consulting with doctor’s,
hoping to find the miracle treatment that would buy him more time. He was
making preparations to travel to Washington, D.C., to see a cancer specialist
who’d had promising results with a new, experimental type of cancer treatment
involving surgery in which a human gene is inserted into the diseased pancreas.
To give the doctor an up-to-date medical record, Michael made an appointment
for a cat scan – an intense x ray. Full of hope, he went to the lab on April 24
for the cat scan. When the radiologist told him he’d have the results the next
day, Michael insisted he get the results that very day. He told the
radiologist, ‘I’ll sit right here and wait.’ In a short time the radiologist
came out to the waiting room, shook his head and gave Michael the news: ‘The
cancer has spread and begun to invade the colon.’ At Cindy’s urging, Landon
contacted a Los Angeles doctor he’s been seeing and told him what the
radiologist had revealed. Michael asked bluntly: “How long do I have?” And the
doctor was just as blunt: “Three to four weeks maximum.” “Michael dropped the
phone,” the friend said. “Cindy rushed to him and put her arms around him. They
wept as they clung together. “He told her, ‘I’m changing my plans. I’m not
going to have any more medical treatments. Now I want to spend whatever time I
have left with you and the children’” In the weeks since Landon learned he has
cancer, he’s been unable to eat anything but fruit and carrot juice and has
lost 15 pounds. He’s become so thin that his gaunt appearance upset his
youngest son Sean, 4, an insider disclosed. “One day Sean was sitting on the
sofa crying softly.
Cindy came over and said, ‘What is it, Sean?’ Sean told his
mom, ‘I’m being sad.’ Cindy asked why and Sean replied: ‘I don’t want Daddy to
be sick. I want Daddy to be all better again.’ When Cindy told Michael about
this, he got tears in his eyes. The guy won’t cry or show emotion over his own
approaching death – but seeing his little son sad like that grabbed him by the
heart.” Landon is determined to spend the precious time he has left sharing
happy moments with his children. “He’s in the car when his wife Cindy drives
the kids to school,” the friend revealed. “After he’s dropped the kids off, he
works with lawyers on settling his estate.” Landon goes out later with his wife
to pick up his son and daughter. After dinner, he plays video games with his
children. “One evening Michael went to a ballet class for his daughter
Jennifer,” confided the friend. “It was the first time he had seen her dance in
the class. He cried almost the whole time. He also went to a PeeWee League
baseball game at his son’s nursery school. Sean wanted his daddy to see him
play and Michael, although weak and easily tired, wouldn’t miss it for the
world. His kid hit a home run and Michael stood up and cheered. Then he burst
into tears and said, ‘This will be the last time I’ll ever see my son hit a
homer!’” But as his strength dwindles Landon is trying to prepare his children
for a life without him. “In the evenings, Michael talks with the kids,” said
the friend. “He tells them what it was like to grow up in poverty. Michael confided
to me, ‘I told the kids that money isn’t everything; it’s only a tool. You’ll
have money all your lives and mustn’t let it run your life.’” Surprisingly,
Landon’s even been spending time with Cindy planning their summer vacation.
“He’s told her, ‘You’ll need this vacation like you never needed a vacation in
your life,’” the close friend disclosed.
By
Barbara Sternig (May 28 1991)
Michael Landon’s two youngest children have
convinced him to make a last-ditch attempt to beat his terminal cancer – by
trying a highly experimental cancer vaccine he prays will be a miracle cure. In
addition to the vaccine, doctors are using specially treated anticancer drugs
that directly target the tumors in Landon’s body – instead of attacking his entire
system. The star had given up conventional medical treatment in late April
after doctors told him that his pancreatic and liver cancer had spread and he
had less than four weeks to live. But he changed his mind – deciding he had to
fight the killer disease to buy more time with his children Sean, 4, and
Jennifer, 7. That’s why he’s undergoing the experimental treatments, even
though they leave him exhausted. “If I could have a few more months with my
kids, I’d be happy. But my real dream is to get two more years,” Landon told a
pal. “With two years, I could teach and guide them. Buying that much more time
would let me rest easy.” Landon is the first pancreatic cancer patient to
receive the new treatment. Doctors have warned the 54-year-old actor there’s no
guarantee of success, but he’s keeping his hopes high, say insiders. “I’ve got
nothing to lose – and there’s always the outside chance of a miracle,” he told
a close friend.
After getting the news that his cancer had spread, Landon
resigned himself to his fate and vowed to spend his last days with his wife
Cindy and his nine children instead of wasting precious time on treatments he
felt were useless. But just days later, he changed his mind – after a
heart-wrenching remark by his 4-year-old son Sean inspired him to fight,” say
insiders. “Sean came down with a cold – and then something wonderful happened,”
confided Landon’s friend. “Michael told me: ‘my boy was taking his cold
medicine, and he asked Cindy why Daddy wasn’t taking his medicine when he was sick
too. Sean said, “Is Daddy better?” With tears in her eyes, Cindy told him that
Daddy wasn’t better. Then Sean began to sob and said he wanted to give Daddy
some of his medicine. When Cindy told me about that incident, she said with a
smile, “You know he has a point. If he has to take his medicine, so should
you.” I was deeply moved. And I thought, “Hell, why just lie down and die? Why
not fight this thing to the end?” I’ve never been a quitter.” On May 2, he had
his first chemotherapy treatment. It was a rough day – the treatment was
tiring. In the chemotherapy procedure, doctors fill synthetic fat cells –
called liposomes – with various cancer-fighting agents, and then inject the
cells into Landon’s body.
These fat cells zero in on tumors and attach themselves
to the cancer cells – delivering high dosages of drugs without harming the
body’s normal cells, say researchers. Preparations also are under way to treat
Landon with a cancer vaccine. To create the vaccine, doctors used a needle to
extract tumor cells from Landon’s body. They plan to expose the cells to
radiation before reinjecting them in the hope of stimulating his immune system
to destroy malignant cells. Both treatments are highly experimental and have
not yet been proven effective, said Dr. Gerald Murphy, chief medical officer
for the American Cancer Society.
By
Michael Landon told to Brad Darrach (June 1991)
We have a little bedtime ritual in our family.
Every night Jennifer and Sean are allowed to ask a question. Last night it was
Sean’s turn to go first. He’s four, and he always asks the same question: What
was the worst thing you did when you were a little boy? It’s getting hard to
think of things, but last night I told him about the time we held a cigarette lighter
behind a boy who had more gas in his body than any other kid in school. Well,
the results were spectacular, and Sean thought that was a great story. Then it
was Jennifer’s turn. And Jennifer, who is seven, looked me straight in the eye
and asked: are you going to die? There it was, right out in the open. I took a
deep breath, looked back at her and told her the truth. I said, “I don’t know.
But I’m going to do the very best I can not to die.” I told them some of the
things I was doing that could help me get well, and I explained that the kind
of cancer I have could not be handed down to them.
Then I said that even if I
were to die, they would be all right. They would miss me terribly, and I would
miss them terribly. But nothing would change. They would live in the same
place, and their friends would be the same. They have a big, wonderful family
of older brothers and sisters, and they would all be there. Their mother would
be there, and she is very young and super-healthy. So they would be absolutely
safe. They lay there looking up at me with wide eyes. I could see Sean get a
little tight, but then the big kiss and the big hug, and he was off to sleep.
In the morning he was just great, a real prince. He wants to dress himself
right in front of Dad, to show Dad. He does it all himself, needs no help with
anything. Good stuff. But I knew that Jennifer’s fears couldn’t be put to rest
so easily, and sure enough while her mother was driving her to school, she
began freaking out about her daddy. So I spoke to her, and she said she wanted
to spend more time here at home. I told her that was a good idea – she and Sean
could have a three-day weekend from now on. She felt better. But she still has
a long way to go. Whatever happens, all this won’t be easy for her. It hasn’t
been easy for any of us. There was no real warning, you know.
It’s true I
hadn’t been feeling quite right for a couple of months. I have a huge appetite,
and it had dwindled a bit and I was having an uncomfortable feeling of fullness
I’m not used to. But the symptoms were mild, and I didn’t think a hell of a lot
about them. Then about four weeks ago, right before I took Cindy and the kids
skiing in Utah, I started having stomach pains. I wondered if maybe I had a
blockage in my colon or possibly an ulcer. So before I left I had an upper G.I.
done. Nothing showed up except a lot of stomach acid, so they gave me some
antacid pills. I figured the symptoms might be stress-related, but I never feel
stress, at least not in my work. I like what I do. Any way, in Utah it really
got bad, so I flew back to L.A. a day early and had a CAT scan. I knew
something was up because the doctor said he would check the results and call me
about 10:30 that night. Doctors tend not to work till 10:30 unless something is
cocky-doo-doo. So he called me at 10:30 and said, “You better get Cindy back
here,” I said, “What have I got?”
He told me there was a large tumor in my
abdomen. The next step was to take a biopsy. It was cancer, about as bad as it
gets. Adenocarcinoma. I don’t know why they give the longest names to the
diseases that give you the shortest time to live. In plain English, I’ve got
inoperable cancer of the pancreas that has spread to my liver. The scan showed
two spots on the liver, one about an inch across, the other about a half-inch.
Since then the cancer has spread to an area near the kidneys. So far it’s had
no major effect on the functioning of my liver, but the tumor on the pancreas
is the size of a softball, and it’s pressing against my stomach. So I can’t
pretend I’ve got a hangnail. Pancreatic cancer is almost always fatal, and when
you go you usually go-fast. Well, the news shocked the hell out of me. Nothing
was further from my mind, since I’m only 54 and, with rare exceptions, I’d been
healthy my whole life. Not that I don’t deserve to have a cancer.
I’m a good
athlete, and I work out hard – before this happened I could bench press 300,
350 pounds, no sweat -
but I’ve abused
my body over the years. I don’t want people to think that everybody is a candidate
for cancer of this type. I think I have it because for most of my life, though
I was never a drunk, I drank too much. I also smoked too may cigarettes and ate
a lot of wrong things. And if you do that, even if you think you’re too strong
to get anything, somehow you’re going to pay. I never did the standing on the
hilltop and screaming kind of thing. There was so much to do, so many people I
had to break the bad news to, it never really occurred to me to rail against my
fate. Besides, I had to get ready to fight. There’s a kind of person who, when
he gets a jolt like this, says, “Well I’m gonna die, and that’s the end of it.”
They just put on the pyjamas and waste away. But that’s not fair. Not fair to
yourself, not fair to your family, not fair to people you don’t even know.
Because if you fight and win, it pays off for thousands of people. It gives
them hope, and hope can work miracles. Anyway, I’m not the kind of person who
gives up without a fight. If I’m gonna die, Death’s gonna have to do a lot of
fighting to get me. I’m not just gonna lie down and let it happen. I’ve got too
much I don’t want to leave. Mainly my family. I’m in the fight of my life, but
I don’t know if I’d be fighting if I didn’t have my family. The doctors would
say, We can’t really do anything for you, you’re going to die. And I would say,
O.K., I’ve had a good life. Enough happiness, enough success. Now I won’t have
to worry about the new series making it or not. And that would be that, if it
was just me. But it isn’t just me. I want to see my kids grow up. I want to
play baseball with Sean. I want to know if Jennifer turns out to be as good an
actress as I think she will be. I want to watch Chris, my 16-year-old, become a
man. I love my wife, Cindy, very much, and I don’t want to leave her.
I love my
work too. I’ve had three successful series, and I want to find out if I can
make a fourth. And I’m close to doing it. The pilot for US is ready to air, and
it’s a good pilot. Yesterday I called Jeff Sagansky, the entertainment chief at
CBS, and I told him, “Jeff, this is the worst goddamn deal you’ve made since
you bought baseball.” And he was great. I told him I had to stop work on the
series until I got better, and he said he wouldn’t air the pilot till I had the
next 12 episodes ready. Gives me one more thing to shoot for. And I’m shooting.
I’m going to beat this cancer or die trying. And how the hell do I know I
can’t? Yes, the odds are bad, but I’ve fought bad odds before. In the first
year of Little House I got encephalitis and my temperature shot up to 105, 106,
and they told me that even if I lived they didn’t know how much of my brain
would be alive. They said at very best I couldn’t work for six months because I
would be too weak. Well, a week later I was back on the job. I come back fast,
always have, and my machine works long hours without getting tired. All I need
is four hours sleep a night. But now the machine is way out of whack.
I believe in God, I believe in family, I
believe in truth between people, I believe in the power of love. I believe that
we really are created in God’s image, that there is God in all of us. So I deal
with the God I really know, and that’s you. When I need to ask forgiveness, I
don’t ask a God up in the sky. That’s too easy. I ask you. All along, and
especially recently, my beliefs have deeply disturbed some of my children, who
have been terribly afraid that I will not have a place in God’s house because I
do not believe that Jesus Christ was the son of God. But we’ve come to an
understanding now. They understand that I have my own way, and that I can’t
just change to make them feel better. God doesn’t want a hypocrite. Besides, I
don’t believe that the God I know will judge me on that basis. So I don’t see
why I should fear death – and I don’t. I don’t want to die, and I’m going to
fight like hell no to, but I’m not afraid to die. In fact, I’d hate to be kept
alive if I were a horrible burden to my family, a bedridden object they had to
visit. A hospital isn’t my favourite place to draw a crowd. No, I don’t want to
be kept going by machines. It’s my life, and I think I’m the best judge of when
it should be over. But while life lasts, it’s good to remember that death is
coming, and it’s good that we don’t know when. It keeps us alert, reminds us to
live while we have the chance.
Somebody should tell us, right at the start of
our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every
minute of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now! There
are only so many tomorrows. I’m going to survive if I can. If I can’t, I’ll
know I fought the good fight. Look, there are only two things that can happen.
I can win or I can lose. And I can handle both. Is there some sort of life to
come? I don’t know. I do know that the people I love on this earth, I will be
with them always. I’ve tried to be a good, strong figure for my kids, as
fathers should be, and I will always give them strength. And if my wife
remarries – and I certainly hope she does – I know there will always be, maybe
somewhere in the left ventricle, a place for me in her heart. We’re closer than
ever now. The other night we were in bed, holding each other. And Cindy said,
“Let’s just stay like this.” So we did. Her eyes were closed, and she was
stroking me very gently, stroking my stomach. And I was stroking her forehead.
We lay like that, holding each other, for a long while. It was a very loving
time. Then she sighed a little and lay back. And I said, “Well, did you make it
go away?” And she looked at me in surprise. “How did you know that’s what I was
doing?” And I said, “Come on. Two people who love each other as much as we do
know everything.”
Michael Landon was fighting for his life after
suffering a major setback in his battle against inoperable cancer of the
pancreas and liver. Less than six weeks after first being diagnosed, and only
days after publicly declaring, “I’m not just gonna lie down and let it happen,”
the 54-year-old star found himself in the exact place he had vowed to avoid –
the hospital. Star learned that Michael, doubled over from excruciating pain
and with a severely bloated abdomen, was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre
in Los Angeles shortly after 6.15p.m. on May 20. “He apparently collapsed onto
his bathroom floor,” a source told Star. “His wife, Cindy, put him into her car
and sped from their home in Malibu – a 30-mile drive that she made at rush hour
in less than 40 minutes.” Landon was admitted to a private room. According to
the source, he was instantly given a “morphine drip” – an intravenous
painkiller. A cot was taken into his room for Cindy, who looked shaken.
By
Larry Haley (June 4 1991)
Cancer-stricken Michael Landon revealed his
dying wish – that his wife Cindy remarry so their two young children will have
a daddy after he’s gone. In a heart-wrenching talk, the beloved 54-year-old
actor begged Cindy to look for another husband – a responsible man who can be a
father figure to 7-year-old Jennifer and Sean, 4. Stunned, Cindy threw her arms
around Landon’s neck and cried: “But I never want to marry again! There isn’t a
man on earth who can take your place with me or the children!” But Landon
convinced his precious 34-year-old wife that marrying again was the right thing
to do. But it took every bit of Landon’s failing spirit to confront his dear
wife with his dying wish. “Both Cindy and I were in tears when we discussed
it,” he confessed to a close pal. “We’d kissed the kids good night and gone
into my study for a quiet chat. We sat down and I told Cindy, ‘When I’ve gone,
girl, you’ve got to marry again. You’ve got to get a new father for Jennifer
and Sean. I don’t want them to grow up without a father’s hand to guide them.”
Soon after his heart-to-heart talk with Cindy, Landon gathered his entire clan
at his Malibu home in mid May. The actor bared his soul to his nine children,
including three adopted, from three different marriages. “Michael told them
all, ‘Children, you know how much I love each of you,’" said a family
insider. “Now I’m going to tell you something you may not want to hear.. But
it’s for the good of you all.
After I’m gone, I’ve told Cindy I want her to
remarry and keep this family together. And I want all of you to rally around
her and accept whomever she chooses. It’s my special wish. I want you all to
stay close and keep this family intact. I don’t want you to split up or forget
each other or stop seeing each other. Cindy will become the beacon for you all
– and I want you all to gather where Cindy and the little ones are, just as if
I were still there.’ The kids were stunned at first. Then some began crying
softly. They embraced each other, then their dad. Then they all embraced Cindy
who had tears streaming down her face. The kids all promised their dad to do as
he asked.” Landon arranged for Cindy to head his production empire with one of
his business associates, sources say. The actor also set up trust funds for
each of his nine children and other loved ones. With his business affairs in
order, Landon was able to face death calmly, said the family insider. The brave
actor began undergoing last-ditch experimental treatments for the disease and vowed
to give his all to try and whip it. But sadly, on May 20 he was rushed to Los
Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre suffering from internal bleeding and blood
clots in his body. Cindy stayed by his side as doctors gave him clot-dissolving
drugs. They then performed surgery to insert a clot-filtering device in his
groin, say insiders. Yet even in the midst of his own difficult battle, the
devoted family man’s top concern was the continued happiness of his wife and
children. Landon told them that if he didn’t pull through: “Remember me by
living according to the values I taught you all – love, family, togetherness
and fun.”
Dismayed by tabloid headlines, which predicted
that he had “only four weeks to live" - and outraged that the lies were
making his children cry – he called his Malibu neighbour Johnny Carson and
asked to appear on The Tonight Show. During his appearance there last month, he
gave a pep talk to others in his situation: “For any of those families out
there who have a relative who has cancer, they know how tough the fight is, and
how you pull together and you keep a very up attitude, because mental attitude
is more than 50 percent of your medicine.” Besides his optimism and strong will
to live, viewers got to see a fiery side of Landon previously reserved for
intrusive reporters and network executives who disagreed with him. “That a
tabloid would write ‘It’s over’ … can
you imagine that? It’s unbelievable that people can be that insensitive. That’s
the cancer in our society!”
By
Jennifer Pearson, Roger Hitts, Dave LaFontaine, Diane Mannino (June 11 1991)
Looking ravaged from his battle against cancer
of the pancreas and liver, his body frail under a loose black shirt and grey
slacks, 54-year-old Michael Landon won a significant victory – he walked out of
Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre unassisted. His wife, Cindy, extended
her hand, but the rugged star of Bonanza, Highway to Heaven and Little House on
the Prairie made it down the few steps to the waiting car on his own. Pain was
evident as he limped, favouring his right leg. The scene took place on the
hazy, overcast Friday afternoon of May 24. Only two days before, Landon had
undergone emergency surgery to remove a life-threatening blood clot in his leg.
Although he’s been battling a high fever since the surgery, Landon still
insisted on going home to his Bonanza-style home in Malibu to fight his next
battle surrounded by Cindy and his nine children.
By
Barbara Sternig (June 25 1991) “I want to die at home!” With those words, a
brave Michael Landon refused to spend his final days in a hospital. He wanted
to feel the comfort of his family –and tell them he would love them forever.
And as he lay in pain at home, the beloved actor showed only courage to his two
youngest children, Jennifer, 7,and Sean, 4. “When they first came into his room
he was rigged up with tubes, both Sean and Jennifer were taken aback,” said a
source. “Sean asked, ‘Daddy, does it hurt?’ Michael told them, ‘Daddy is having
a hard time and he may not make it.’ The he added: ‘I love you and I’m gonna
love you forever, from wherever I am.’” The cancer-stricken actor decided on
May 29 that he would not face his fate in a hospital room. Michael – who’d been
hospitalised for emergency treatment of blood clotting nine days earlier – was
taken that day to St. Vincent Medical Centre in Los Angeles, where doctors
tried an experimental chemotherapy treatment to stop the disease that struck in
April. But Michael suffered a violent reaction. “He became severely nauseous
and sick – too nauseous to even eat. This was a terrible side effect of what
was hoped to be a miracle cure,” said an insider.
At the time, Michael was
already rapidly deteriorating. In sharp contrast to the robust appearance he
gave May 9 on “The Tonight show,” the beloved 54-year-old actor was now too
weak to walk, in agonizing pain – and his handsome features were growing
skeletal as he lost at least three pounds a day. Said a family friend: “Doctors
found he was suffering massive internal bleeding, with blood clots showing up
everywhere – not only near the heart, but in his limbs, everywhere. The
abdominal pain had become almost unbearable. Michael told his doctors after that
chemotherapy treatment, ‘Let’s don’t prolong this hospital thing.
I want to die
at home.’” He knew he was losing ground and wanted only to spend all his time
with his wife Cindy and his nine children. Michael’s doctor, Cary Presant,
agreed it was best and arranged for an intensive care unit to be set up in the
Landon Malibu estate. A hospital bed was delivered and nurses were assigned 24
hours a day to care for the actor. Every conceivable piece of equipment and
medication – oxygen tanks, intravenous devices, morphine, anti-nausea drugs and
blood for transfusions – were provided to make him comfortable. Although
Michael’s celebrity friends wanted to visit him, he did not want them to
witness his agony, said the source. He preferred only the company of his family.
By
Carolyn Ford (July 2)
Hollywood lost one of its nice guys when
Michael Landon died yesterday. The star of Bonanza and Little House on the
Prairie had just finished a series of chemotherapy treatments for cancer of the
pancreas and liver and was resting at his Malibu, California, home when he
died, aged 54. He is survived by his wife, Cindy Clerico and nine children.
Landon announced he had inoperable cancer on April 8 this year. But he was so
determined to beat it, to create his own miracle, as he said, that news of his
death came as a terrible shock to everyone. It seemed such a short time since
he appeared on the Johnny Carson show to talk about his condition, looking
healthy and cracking jokes about health food commercials now being out of the
question. And his spokesman had just released a statement saying he was in a
weak state but was still able to move around.
The news of Landon’s death was
immediately broadcast around the world and the tributes began to flow in from
people who first got to know Landon as the baby-faced young rancher in the hit
TV series Bonanza.
I believe there is a God in all of us.
Michael Landon
Cap comentari:
Publica un comentari a l'entrada