Michael Landon’s kids remember him 'bigger than life' on 34th anniversary of his death

Michael Landon will always be remembered for being “bigger than life” not only to his fans, but also to his children.

Michael Landon Jr. and Leslie Landon Matthews spoke with us in a new interview about their father and his enduring legacy.

On the anniversary of his passing 34 years ago today, Landon’s children reflect on his legacy and the love he had for his family, fans and the Little House family.

“There's so many things that that we've done throughout the years of raising our kids that we pull from our own parents, the beautiful parts that we got to always have growing up,” Leslie said. “And if [it's Mike] chasing his kids around like a monster, or I'm doing an African safari ride on a raft in the pool, and I'm flipping my kids over, I feel my dad. Those are all the things that he did.”

She continued, “Laughter was a huge part of our childhood and growing up, and he had a wicked sense of humor, and just, you know, he's bigger than life, and he's a storyteller, and it's, it's kind of fun to see the storytelling throughout the generations.”

Leslie said she went through her family’s genealogy, and found that her paternal grandfather, who she had never met, listed writer as his occupation, though it wasn’t something he did full time.

“I think it was something he probably really wanted to do full time, but he wasn't able to but then to see the beautiful writing that my dad did, and then the writing that Chris and Mike do, and then the writing that goes on to his grandchildren. It's fun just to see all of those things come together in a very natural way.”

Landon had nine children: sons Mark and Josh from first wife Dodie Levy-Fraser’s previous relationship, Cheryl, Leslie, Michael Jr., Shawna, and Christopher with second wife Marjorie Lynn Noe, and Jennifer and Sean with third wife Cindy Clerico.

Many of them have or still work in Hollywood, including Leslie, who appeared on several episode of “Little House” with their dad, Michael, who is a writer/producer/director and creator of “When Calls the Heart” on Hallmark, Christopher, a horror director, and Jennifer, who’s appeared on “Yellowstone.”

“I think it's fun,” Leslie said of the family’s quiet Hollywood takeover. “Like Jennifer doing ‘Yellowstone,’ and she killed it as Teeter, she was so incredible. She's such a great actress. And I remember her saying that it was fun for her to do a Western. It just kind of felt like a connection with dad that she obviously could never have.”

She continued, “I feel like he'd just be so proud of seeing the work that she does. And then both my brothers with Mike creating such incredible family viewing shows and Chris doing his thing and Mike's son, Austin, is an actor. I've got three of my four in the film business as writers, directors and actors. So yeah, I guess it's kind of in the blood. It's fun to see all the creativity, and seeing them work together is really fun.”

Landon starred on “Bonanza” and “Highway to Heaven,” but is perhaps best known for his role as Pa Ingalls on “Little House on the Prairie.”

“There wasn't a cynical bone in his work, which is rare these days,” Michael said.

He points to the fans turning out for the 50th anniversary celebration of “Little House” last year, saying, “I think you'd be hard pressed to find another series that would bring over 20,000 fans, 50 years later, from around the world, from over 20 countries, five continents, to shower their love on a series that touched their hearts and their families hearts and made a difference.”

Landon experienced some of that outpouring of love from fans after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 1991.

“He knew he was beloved through his work and that he had an impact, but he had no idea the impact until he became ill. Tens of 1000s of cards and well wishers, and it was just unbelievable the love that was poured out on our father, it was so moving,” Michael said.

The actor died at age 54 on July 1, 1991, just a few months after his diagnosis.

Leslie recalled, “I knew it was bad because I was at work at the time, I was a school counselor, and he called me, and I took the call, and I remember him crying on the other line, which for him, he would cry when he was happy. I mean, he was very emotional and didn't hold back. But I could feel it that this was, this was really something scary, and I didn't know what pancreatic cancer was. But to hear him, you know, feel what he was feeling, and sharing that news with me, I had, like, a complete fear of this is, this is bad news, for sure.”

At the time, the family felt they had limited resources, but over the years have been working with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), which leads the charge in funding critical research, advocating for patients, and working toward better outcomes.

Leslie praised the organization for being so caring and a valuable resource for patients and families.

“When you go through something like this, like when we first found out our dad had pancreatic cancer in 91 [in] April, our only source was, believe it or not, going to the library and pulling out books and trying to have an understanding or trying to make calls to big hospitals. There was no cell phones, there wasn't anything to just look up and try to figure out. And there's a desperateness that you feel when you have a loved one that gets diagnosed with cancer, and to have a source dedicated to pancreatic cancer the way Pam Acosta and all the people from PanCan, they are there 100% for families and pointing them in the right direction, the resources, all of it, and so you feel like someone is literally sitting with you as you go through this, as you try to navigate through this terrible type of cancer.”

According to PanCan, 67,000 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2025, and it’s the 10th most commonly diagnosed cancer in the U.S.

The survival rate is currently at 13% after five years but was sadly lower around the time Landon was diagnosed.

But through PanCan’s support for funding and research, it’s become, as Leslie put it, “a lifeline for anybody going through tough stuff like pancreatic cancer.”