Michael Landon: The Career and Artistry of a Television Genius

by David R. Greenland, Cindy Landon (Foreword)

MICHAEL LANDON: Actor, Writer, Director, Producer For over three decades, Michael Landon's creative gifts touched millions of viewers around the world on Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, Highway to Heaven and in several other productions. This is the first detailed examination of his work both in front of and behind the camera, including information about every Landon script. Among the illustrations are some rarely seen photographs. "I am grateful that one of Michael's greatest admirers has devoted an entire book to a serious study of his productions, and I hope readers will appreciate David Greenland's efforts as much as I do." - CINDY LANDON

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir

174 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2015

Reviews

[Magdalena]

I'm actually a bit surprised how much I came to enjoy this book after I discovered that this book was not so much a Michael Landon biography as a study of Landon's work both front and behind the camera. This should teach me to check what I request from NetGalley a bit more careful. But then again I did request this book when I was more eager to get books and less cautions to pick books that I probably would like. Safe to say; I have quite a lot to read now thanks to me being a bookaholic and a period of request madness.

Anyway, this is not a book if you want a biography of Michael Landon. What this is instead is a book about his work as an actor, writer and director. Of course much of the books is about Bonanza, Little House of the Prairie and Highway to Heaven. And, projects he did before Bonanza and between the series. He did not start to write until he got the role of Little Joe on Bonanza, but that was the start of a long careers both front and behind the camera. I found the Little House of the Prairie and Highway to Heaven part of the books most interesting. That, despite the fact that I have never seen Highway to Heaven. I had thought I would find the part not that interesting and I was fully prepared to skim read the part, but I enjoyed it quite much and now I really want to see the series. Strangely enough I found the part about Bonanza not that interesting, but I was more of an Adam fan than Little Joe and I stopped watching Bonanza after Pernell Roberts left the show.

I would have loved to read a biography about Michael Landon, but this one was quite good despite being just about his work. It was not a thick book so it didn't take so long to read it and I was surprised how much in the end I came to like the book. It really showed me another side of Michael Landon.

Thanks to Bear Manor Media and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

[Kay Noble]

This book was better than I thought. At first, I felt like I was listening to a Wikipedia version of Landon’s life, but I decided to see if I could learn something new about Landon. It is true that you can get to know Landon through his work! It is also true that Michael Landon is not Landon at all, and his real name is Eugene Orowitz. I’m glad that he had his named changed. But I like Landon better because I grew up with that name, and I felt that his shows mentored me through my youth. I’m very grateful for his work, and the hope that it brought to the world. Television hasn’t been the same since his death, but I’m glad that his son carried on the work just as well!!

[April]

Unless you are TV obsessed this is a bit boring, mainly lists of which episodes were written, directed, produced by him and notes things like "Alice was his favourite name for a female character"

[Michelle]

As the author starts the book, if you’re looking for all the dirt and scandal about Michael Landon’s life, marriages and loves, then this is not the book for you. I’m sure there’s another more salacious biography out there, which will cover what you need to know.

This slim volume (it’s only 169 pages) reads like an expansion of his IMDB page. This book is solely dedicated to his television and film career, a lot admittedly, I have not seen. In fact, the only thing that I have seen is obviously Little House On The Prairie. A significant portion of the book is devoted to his time acting, writing, directing and producing episodes of Little House, something that he got his teeth into during Bonanza. (And Highway to Heaven.)

There are some black and white colour photos included halfway through the book, some strangely not featuring Landon. And they’re just regular paper, so the photos also are not glossy.

There’s not much detail into the rest of Michael‘a life, only the briefest look into his parents and oddly, his IQ (159 FYI), and nothing about his relationships. For that, you’d probably have to choose a different biography or pick up one of the other Little House stars biographies. This does make the book a little dry sometimes, particularly for those of us who have not seen his entire back catalogue. Basically, the author has picked out the most memorable (or what feels like his favourite episodes) of each of the shows, and sections detailing his film work.

The ending comes quite quick too, sometimes I forget how early we lost Michael. There’s some more coverage given to Michael’s short battle with pancreatic cancer and then a bibliography/episode index, and then that’s it.

Ultimately, it’s a good look over his notable television and film career and has inspired me to watch some of his back catalogue at some point, but if you’re wanting all the juicy gossip, you’ll be left feeling empty after reading this. But for fans of his career and who don’t need all the gory details, this is the book for you.

[Melody]

Honestly? Not a great book at all, more of a selective episode guide for Landon's work with periodic pulls from other sources. That said, it's more engaging than I found Melissa Sue Anderson's book, for example, which struck me similarly (so much time spent just telling the stories of key episodes). I read that one before finishing Little House and it kind of spoiled a few things for me. I'm reading this one just before beginning Bonanza (after I finish Highway to Heaven in a couple of months) and it actually whetted my appetite which thus far was pretty much nonexistent (other than knowing it has Landon in it). Just the stories of the episodes themselves are enough to bring back tears, and a lot of the Landon quotes did likewise. It might just be that I feel way closer to the guy than I did when read Anderson's book. So it did its job emotionally, and as for not being more insightful, it admits upfront that it's not going to be that, as well as crediting and pointing the way to other books that might be more interesting on that front. So it's not the best book about Landon, but it's maybe the only one he needs.

[Traci]

A good look at an amazing television and film career. I knew it was not a book on personal tidbits and the such but with a complete lack of the personal, the book was very dry. Literally describing plots of episodes for shows and then jumping to another quickly without even a blink. It seemed sterile and more like a case study than a novel. In part, it could be that I was listening to it on Audible and the narration left a lot to be desired with this one.

Overall, a nice reminder of shows I watched and adored but not one I would ever pick up again.

[Scott R. & Mary F. Clayton]

I grew up watching bonanza, and lol Joe. Always looked forward to seeing the adventures that they got into. Little house as well. He was a very talented man and his accomplishments are truly legendary. I liked the book but it went too much into each and every description of his shows. And not enough about the man.

[Dante Ferrigno]

Great book exploring Landon’s work, and how he bares his heart in his art. I was hoping this free book on Audible would go more into his biography, but I am not disappointed about the limited scope. I never watched Bonanza, or much of anything else Landon was in, but now I find myself tempted to go back and binge some of his work.
God rest your soul Michael.

[Tina Nalley]

Loved it completely!

I've read a few of these biographies / autobioghies and I like this one the most. I feel as though I received a glimpse of a wonderful human being who meant so much to us all.

[Amanda]

A fun read about Landon's work. This is not a biography about his life though small portions of it are detailed, this is focused in detail on his work. Landon left a whole in family programming and I for one miss that sort of TV.

[Colleen Baldwin-Hayter]

IA Look At Michael Landon’s Work

I listened to this book on Audible.

I enjoyed hearing about Michael’s work. As a fan of Bonanza, Little House and Highway it was interesting.

At times I found it a bit lagging but overall I’m happy I listened to it

He was one of a kind. Thank you Michael.

[Sue]

If you want scandal, read something else. If you want to hear how a genius talent packed several life times of creation into a mere half century of life, this is your book. Highly recommended!

[Brian]

Mostly just a rehashing of his resume. Didn’t learn very much about the person...

[Louise]

I found this to be a great read about a great man.

[Katherine Thornton]

It was good, but do wish it covered his relationships and private life too. To be fair, it did say at the beginning that he wouldn’t be doing that.

[Melissa Coffman]

I’m a huge Michael Landon fan and I enjoyed this book.

[Bridget Bandach]

This book basically recapped a majority of the episodes of the different TV series he was in along with any movies. It was pretty boring to me.