‘Bonanza’: Why Michael Landon Hit a Reporter and Took His Dinner Away
NBC’s hit Western series, Bonanza, starred Michael Landon in a leading role as Little Joe Cartwright. The show centered on the lives of the Cartwrights, and Landon later made his media rounds to talk about the ins and outs of the series. During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Landon said he once hit a reporter and took the reporter’s dinner away. Here’s why.
Michael Landon said he hit a reporter and took his dinner away at an event
Michael Landon attained a lot of fame thanks to his many years on Bonanza. But the press wasn’t always kind to him. While talking to Johnny Carson, Landon shared a story of when he hit a reporter in Sweden when Bonanza was airing on TV.
“That night, we have a banquet with 50 people from the press,” the actor shared. “I found out after I sat down at the table that I was buying. I was buying dinner for 50 people I didn’t even know.
Landon then said he gave an interview with a man from Stockholm, and another man from a different newspaper also wished to interview Landon. The second interviewer wanted to ask the same questions Landon just answered the first time. “He tells me that if I don’t give him the same story that I gave the other guy, he’s gonna write negative,” Landon continued. “Then, he goes into a tirade about people from the United States, what’s wrong with our country, he goes on and on. And I’m so tired.”
Landon then took the reporter’s dinner, as he was the one buying it. This greatly angered the reporter. “I get up and I hit him,” Landon continued. “The minute I hit him, all of the cameras go right away because you have all the press there. The police grab the guy and drag him out because they love me.”
A ‘Little House on the Prairie’ cast member commented on the actor’s ‘terrifying’ outbursts
Michael Landon’s story about punching the reporter during his time on Bonanza was funny to audience members. But the actor had a reputation for having a temper. In her memoir, his Little House on the Prairie co-star, Melissa Gilbert, wrote about Landon’s temper.
“One day, as we shot an emotional scene for the episode titled ‘The Gift,’ I sensed his famous temper was about to blow,” she wrote. “It was my fault. I couldn’t remember my lines.”
Gilbert recalled a time when Landon yelled “cut” after she forgot her lines for the third time. When he questioned and scolded her, she cried until Landon calmed her down.
“[Michael Landon’s] anger was terrifying and having witnessed it, I never wanted to be on the receiving end,” she noted.
How old was Michael Landon when ‘Bonanza’ ended?
Michael Landon was just 36 years old when Bonanza ended. The Western ran from 1959 to 1973, and fans will forever remember Landon as the youngest Cartwright on the show. After Bonanza, he attained even more fame with Little House on the Prairie until he died in 1991. He was 54 years old when he died from cancer.
“I keep my father’s memory alive by living each day to the best of my ability and try being of service to others,” his daughter, Shawna Landon, said. “I instill some of his strong beliefs in my children — to work hard, be a good human being, and live each day to the fullest. Never take what you have for granted and whatever you want to do, do it now. There are only so many tomorrows. I miss my dad every day and strive to be the best version of myself to pass on his legacy to my family.”
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