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Marilyn Beck
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Of the countless actors I have interviewed since I began my
syndicated column in the late '50s, Mike Landon stands out as special -- a warm and down-to-earth human being with a marvelously
wicked sense of humor and a rare insight into human nature. Some 16
years after his death, the memories remain vivid. I remember the time he told me that when one starts out as an actor, "Studios pamper you and spoil
you and treat you like royalty, yet when you start acting --
believing -- that such treatment is your due, you are put down as
spoiled and demanding." He never fell into that trap, with
reason. Before hitting it in Hollywood as an actor, he was driving
with his father in the Hollywood area, and his dad got the idea that
they should stop by Paramount Studios and say hello to some of the
many people he had known there during the days when he worked as a
movie publicist. As I recall Michael's words, he said, "Dad left me
in the car and I saw him walk to the guard's gate and then wait and
wait for permission to enter the lot. He never got it. They wouldn't
even talk to him. He came back very dejected." Michael was so hurt
for his father that the incident had a profound effect on him. He
went on to find fame, but refused to become part of the social
circle inhabited by the power players of Hollywood -- the top
filmmakers and stars. Instead, Mike formed a close and lasting
relationship with the people who worked for him -- the stuntmen and
cameramen, the casting directors and other crew members who were
part of the Landon ‘family’. Many of them worked with Mike for 30
years -- from the beginning of his Bonanza days in 1959 to
his final Highway to Heaven season in 1989. They were the
envy of many in Hollywood, not only because of the lavish Christmas
presents they received, but because of his day-to-day treatment of
the troupe. To this day the group holds get-togethers and talks
about the good old days with that one-in-a-million star,
ever-the-nice guy, Mike Landon.
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