Remembering Michael Landon ....

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Bill Kiley

My memories of Mike, like everyone who ever worked with him (you worked with Mike, not for him) includes the word happy. I was lucky enough to be the NBCV-TV publicity man on both Bonanza and Little House. He enjoyed his too-short life more than anyone I ever knew. He had a fabulous sense of humor, and liked hearing jokes as well as telling them, and he was deadly with practical jokes: When he noticed his stand-in eating a daily second helping of pie and ice cream he said, "Careful Bubba. You'll eat yourself out of a job." Then he went to Andy, the wardrobe man, and told him to start taking in Bubba's pants a quarter-inch a day. At the end of that month Bubba was eating nothing but salad, and had to have blood in his shoes trying to button those pants. In the pilot for Little House there was a scene where Ma Ingalls (Karen Grassle) had to help him battle a prairie fire that was approaching their cabin. The shot Mike set up showed Karen, shoveling dirt and weeds as fast as she could to fight the oncoming flames. When Mike had enough of the shot he cut the camera and motioned to everyone to remain quiet and watch. Poor Karen puffed and pushed and threw dirt for damn near five minutes before peaking over her shoulder to see if this was really a part of the scene. She met the eyes of Mike and the entire crew laughing out loud.

He was a wise, tender, loving, forgiving, helpful and gentle man. We all miss him.