Original subtitles

Hello, I'm Michael Lannan Jr.

And my brothers and sisters and I have gotten together with some old friends to

celebrate along with you the life of an extraordinary man.

My dad.

That's my sister Shauna.

And that's Mark chomping on a burger.

That's little Jennifer.

And Chris.

That's Leslie.

And that's Josh.

That's Cheryl.

And, of course, that's me.

Did you ever sneak up on any of you when you were supposed to be studying and

you weren't studying? No, we always studied, Mark.

Only you were.

Tell us about that. Well, one time I was 10 years old. I was supposed to do my

math, right?

And I wasn't very good at it back then.

I was trying to get the answer.

And I couldn't get it. I couldn't get it. So I started praying. I went, God,

please give me the answer. Please give me the answer.

And suddenly I hear this voice.

I'll give you the answer. If you finish your lamb chops next time,

Mom makes them for you.

And I turned around.

But he really had me like, I was a weird feeling because he changed his voice.

Yeah. And it didn't sound like him.

me and sean would be really bad at this night so dad pulled down her pants and

he was gonna say so i just sat there because i knew it was gonna get over

or later and i knew he wasn't gonna think it's because sean was just gonna

crying go daddy don't so i'm just sitting there smiling oh he's not just

but daddy don't he goes okay give me one more chance so what about you did he

give you a chance to

Or if Chris and I were fighting, he'd bang our heads together.

Knock it off. Boom.

I'll never forget when he scared Shauna.

When we were up on location.

Oh, it was a bear.

Yeah, she was just a tiny little one.

And they were doing a sequence where there was a bear, and Dad put the bear

costume on and went over and got right behind Shauna. And when she turned

around, she was... seen her expression she was like that life was over oh my

grabbed a hold of her and she's really freaked out until dad pulled the bear

off and you're just you lit up like a light yeah you were just oh so cute what

about the time when it was uh halloween and and uh dad wanted to go get some

food at carlos and pepe's and he put his amazing do you remember this dad and he

and he put on his amazing uh man outfit like superman outfit with the cape

He's got, you know, the big yellow cape.

You know, he's got like that special shoulder thing that makes, you know, he

looks like bigger.

So then he comes in and he put his hands and said, I'm here to pick up my order.

There were some people. There were a lot of people in there. He's got the cape

and we're standing next to him. We're like, we're not related to this man.

That's true. We didn't want to be related to him.

With the hips.

how you wanted daddy's shirt.

So you went and you cut all the sleeves off your shirt.

Daddy helped you cut all, you got all these brand new shirts and then you go

into the drawer and find all the sleeves cut off of these little tiny shirts.

Sean had all the shirts cut off like daddy.

And I think Cindy had brought a bag of cherries or something and this guy kept

standing up, huge guy, just, you know, like, sit down, sit down, you know, and

dad just getting furious with him.

I think Mike was over in a box, two boxes over, and then Dad was at one end.

between all of us, we kept pelting this guy with cherry pits.

Well, as soon as we saw Dad throwing cherries, we told all of us.

Yeah, we're like pitching in here. I also remember, too, that he always came

home at dinnertime, and he was so tired, and he always made the time to talk to

us. Yeah, always.

No matter how much pressure he was under.

Yeah. We used to play Three Flies Up and playing baseball.

We'd always go to your school for events, like for your piano recitals. We

to listen to you play, Jen.

Hey, Mike.

You're not the show I thought you were.

My dad was born Eugene Orowitz in 1936 in Forest Hills, New York, but the

soon moved to Collingswood, New Jersey.

His childhood was not exactly as idyllic as the Ingalls children had in Lil'

House, and he would draw on it in later years in movies such as Sam's Son and

The Loneliest Runner.

Who do we have...

John?

John!

Why did you lie?

Huh?

You told me to stop. Now why did you have to lie about it?

Answer me!

I don't know.

Well, you'll think of one. I want an answer now.

I just don't know.

You don't know.

Well, you better think of something. You better think of it fast because I've

been real easy on you and I'm not going to do it anymore, you hear?

Now, what your mother did today was right and I'm going to see she keeps on

doing it until you stop.

You hear me? Until you stop.

I'm talking to you. Do you hear me?

But it's a hereditary sleep pattern.

And if he wets the bed, the chances are his father wet the bed. Now, my dad

never told me he wet the bed until I was 19 years old.

Now, if he'd have told me that when I was a little kid, I'd have been

I would have.

Because when you're a little guy and you wet the bed, you don't think anybody in

the world wets the bed except you.

So this comes out of a personal experience. Oh, sure. I was a bedwetter.

He's looking like he's worried about the couch.

No.

I'm glad you could find the time to join us. Come on.

Hey,

Horowitz!

Come on!

We haven't got all day.

Of course. Hope I didn't wreck it.

I'll get it.

That is one hell of a toss.

Now, your new movie, Sam's Son, it's got a base loosely or quite a bit on your

own life? Very much on my own life. I had this weird thing when I was a kid

the longer my hair got, the stronger I got.

Because of Sam's Son or something?

Yeah. We plucked the two prime feathers from the tip of one wing.

The mighty eagle can no longer fly.

The mark of his power is gone.

The mark of his power?

Saps.

This is the mark of your power.

It's your head.

If it were shorn from your head... I'd be as weak as any other man.

Do you believe it?

What?

The movie.

Samson.

It's hard to believe in a movie about Jews when all the parts are played by

Gentiles.

Come on, you know what I mean.

Do you believe all that about Samson?

About him getting his strength from his hair?

It's in the Old Testament. It must be true.

I wish he were around today. He'd make a great usher.

I came out to California when I was...

17 years old, I had a scholarship to the University of Southern California.

I was a javelin thrower, and I really felt that the rest of my life was

I'd spend four years in college and then join the service and throw the javelin

in the service, maybe win the Olympics.

And then I hurt my arm, and I had kind of a bad time at the school after that

because I couldn't compete, and I wasn't treated quite as well as I thought I

should be, and I finally quit school and got a job in a warehouse.

And while I was working there, a fellow I was unloading freight cars with had a

scene to do at a studio.

And I thought, why not? I'll give it a shot.

It was a scene from Home of the Brave, and he gave me the part of the young

Jewish soldier. It was the really emotional part in the show, because he

kind of afraid of it. And it was the first time I'd ever tried anything like

that, and I suddenly realized that it was a great release for me. I could...

cry when I was someone else, and get a lot of things out of my system that I

couldn't get out on my own.

And one of the things I found out pretty early was that wanting to be an actor

and getting a job were two entirely different things.

I spent a lot of time in parking lots waiting for producers and agents to come

out of their office, because if you don't have an agent, you're not a member

SAG, you can't get an appointment a lot of times.

So I'd wait for them in a parking lot and do the buck and wing and whistle

through my teeth.

and auditioned for them on the way to their cars. And finally, a gentleman

Jerry Stagg gave me my first chance. I had the lead on a show called Telephone

Time.

Soft like the fur of a cub.

The way he turns from the light.

Who is he? Perhaps an idiot peasant?

Good. So good.

Beautiful is the word, Casper.

Beautiful.

Beautiful.

Don't jump.

Little person.

Little.

That is a child.

Child?

We were all little children once, like her.

Not Casper. Yes, even you.

No.

Of course, in your darkness, how could you know that your body was growing?

With what could you compare yourself?

That is a flower.

A rose.

A rose.

Beautiful.

That is a thorn.

Often with beauty, there is a little pain.

From Decatur, Illinois, Kid Lombard!

I've been looking all over for you. Some people are waiting outside. They're

going to throw a big party for you.

You hear that?

You hear that? A big party.

Big party for the champ.

You come too, sis.

No, kid.

Tonight is your night.

like me?

Oh, gosh almighty.

I just didn't know there was a girl as pretty as you in the whole country.

I mean, you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen.

And you're so soft.

And you talk like a bird song.

Yeah, you smell good, too.

Oh, I just love the way you talk.

Hi, I'm Steve Bentley.

Oh, that's too bad.

I'm President of the Rangers.

Oh, well, I'm sorry, but I'm looking for some real action. We get most of the

football players. No, no, no, no, a different kind of action.

Okay, see you around.

Why not?

How old were you when you first started? The Bonanza was not the first show

you've ever done.

Oh, no, I did a lot of...

You know, when I started television, there were 39 westerns on the air.

Were you in the days when Gunsmoke started and all of them?

We had Gunsmoke and Wyatt Earp and Have Gun, Will Travel.

One of Dead or Alive, I did the pilot for One of Dead or Alive with Steve

McQueen.

Why are you doing this?

All he wants is something to eat.

Sorry coming up, Randolph.

I didn't make a secret of it.

Do you know him?

He's the guy that shot me.

No.

Looks like I didn't do a very good job.

You see, he admits it.

Tell her why.

Shut up. Tell her.

How you and your brother cut a man in half.

I told you to shut up. These guys used to live this stuff.

Used to live it up.

You know, I...

A guy like Peter Breck from Black Saddle would go on the set of Wanted Dead or

Alive with Steve McQueen over by the coffee machine.

They'd tell me you're pretty fast.

McQueen would look up.

Fast enough.

Commissary, one o 'clock.

Get inside, Mark.

Go on, son.

You know what's wrong with you?

You want to quit that bunch, but you're afraid to admit it to yourself.

You know why?

Because you've had a taste of regular life and you like it.

You met a girl you might be in love with.

And you've probably even got a notion about settling down.

This stuff is for fools, not for me.

Well, even if I wanted to settle down, and I'm not saying that I do, what could

I do about it?

That's easy, son.

When they come for you, just tell them you're through.

That's easy.

Well, you don't know my brother.

Did you ever make a pilot for television that was a real stinker? Oh, yes. I

mean, a bomb. I've never talked about it. I'm so glad you asked.

You made a show that you thought was great. I made a show.

I made a show years ago before Bonanza.

It was a half -hour show, and I played a character named Johnny Risk.

Johnny Risk?

That's a typical television name. Wait till they get a load of me.

Did this ever see the light of television at all? No.

What do you have against these people? Nothing.

They merely have...

that we should have had in the first place. And they worked hard for it.

They bought freezing temperatures, hunger, wild animals. They've got wives

children. Well, what about the rest of us?

We've gone through a lot up in this miserable country.

Anyway, please, spare me the sermon.

Don't talk to me about sermons.

It seems to me a day never went by when I was a kid because you weren't

lecturing me on decency and integrity and morality.

And I'm happy to see that my lectures bore fruit.

Nobody can deny that you're a decent, well -liked, and completely respectable

human being.

You volunteered to go on a mission with me?

It's my one chance.

I'm going to prove to you and through you to the entire crew that I'm not

yellow. In my book, you're still a murdering, yellow -gutted louse.

I said I'd go around you, or through you.

Help me God, I'm going to kill you.

Help me, doctor, please!

I know they're going to kiss me, but don't let anyone see me like that.

doctor, help me!

Michael Landon in a powerful performance as the boy possessed.

Remember how wonderful it was when you sprang and suddenly dug in with your

fangs, a soft throat, a gush of warm blood?

No! No!

Nothing you've ever seen has such blood -chilling savagery.

Nothing you've ever conceived packs such a spine -tingling jolt.

This high school boy, a teenage werewolf.

A constant threat of claw -ripping attack to everyone.

That string of parts was about to

lead into the part that would make my father famous.

Little Joe and Bonanza.

And by the time his career was over, he had written 107 hours, directed 208,

produced 330, and starred in over 800 hours of television productions.

Yep, that's a fact.

Starts a little fight. Knows he can trust on me.

I've got a flair for women everywhere.

Bonanza!

Bonanza!

And when I call on any gal at all, she's gonna welcome me. Too much noise. Can't

sleep.

I'm not afraid of any pretty maid.

Bonanza! Bonanza! When I give a kiss to any pretty mist, she...

I'm David Canary.

For six years, the Ponderosa was home to me when I played Candy, the foreman on

the Cartwright Ranch.

In 1959, America was introduced to two things that changed the viewing habits

of tens of millions of people across the country.

The first was the advent of color television.

The second was a program called Bonanza.

One wouldn't have existed without the other.

I think the early days of Bonanza, it's a known fact, NBC wanted a show in

color.

RCA wanted a show in color, I should say.

NBC was the only show on NBC that was in color, and we spent hours lighting

every scene. We had 15, 16 electricians every day to make sure the color balance

was correct.

We had people all over at the network that used to take all kinds of pains in

getting the right.

quality going out on the air and i think the first two years uh it stayed on the

air solely because of the color quality that you had boy i

never knew a couple dozen sheep could be so ornery almost as bad as people hey

what are you looking at now hey that's what i call a right pretty girl

hey look over here

That fellow right there, that's that handsome Joe Cartwright.

That's the guy that's always watching me when I'm shaving.

I just can't seem to get rid of him.

I was the first writer to become a television producer.

The show was a little show called The Restless Gun with an actor named John

Payne.

And Michael had been in the pilot.

While I was doing that, I got the idea for Bonanza.

I called Michael. He came in.

And there he was.

You know, the first time I really had met him in the flesh.

He was the most attractive young man.

We got a little game.

We like to play with strangers that come into town.

Oh?

Yeah.

You see, you and me draw on each other.

And the man that draws the fastest...

Gets to shoot a cartridge off the other man's head.

At 50 paces.

That sounds a mite dangerous.

Oh.

You mean you don't want to play?

Do you know when we do that shot where the four of... We used a title shot at

one point where the four of us rode up at a full gallop and...

pulled up right in front of camera with a smile kind of like this.

A little macho type of head.

Yeah, and that smile meant, oh, God.

What's the matter with you?

Haven't you ever seen a lady before?

No, ma 'am.

I mean, not such a pretty one.

Not in a long time.

You know, girls say they like poetry and music.

But the men that really impressed them are those of strength.

Of courage.

I'm going to take this gun.

I'm going to walk through that barricade and I'm going to walk down that street

up to that mesa and I'm going to kill as many of Matthew's men as I can before

they kill me.

Of physical action.

Little Joe, the way Mike played him, was the hot -blooded little brother of the

Cartwright clan.

He was the one who most often got the girl.

Now, I can't speak real fancy like Shakespeare.

And I don't agree with him.

Why not?

Well, first of all, I can't compare you to a summer's day.

You're more like a day in spring.

I could talk real fancy, and I could say that your eyes are like stars.

And I could say that your mouth is like a rose.

When I look at you, I just can't think of anything to say.

Am I beautiful?

You're very beautiful.

Can we talk of love sometime?

Joe, if you really want me... I want you.

I want you more than anything else in the world.

Tell me again, Joe.

Say it again.

I love you.

I love you more than anything else in the world.

Jersey, you can't go.

Do you understand I love you more than anything in my life?

Of course, I'm not exactly Romeo.

What the hell?

You got a lesson to learn.

I want to give you a chance to learn that lesson.

Just leave that stand there.

See, that's a very important beer glass.

That beer glass is you.

This one's me.

See, now the idea is to see if you can spill my beer before I spill yours.

Any time you're ready, Loudmouth.

Oh, you would have died of a real bad case of flow.

Don't you turn away from me, Cartwright!

In our first season, 9 o 'clock, we were number one.

And that is not only because of color, but because of the excellence of the

cast.

And we remained number one, I think, for five or six years in a row. And

throughout the entire 14 years, including the first two years, we were

out of the first five places.

And we were number one, I think, more than any other show in the history of

television.

Joseph, will you do me a birthday favor? Why, you just name it, Pa. I'd like to

hear one of my favorite songs, Shenandoah. Here goes.

Oh, Shenandoah I long to hear you

Away You rolling

river Oh, Shenandoah

to hear you

Did we ever play on this show the Japanese version of Bonanza?

Have you ever seen it? It is hysterical.

Dan

Blocker

would get off before us. Dan weighed, what, 260 pounds?

320 when we started. And he'd come in and get off of the horse, and the

actors would go, And then there's a big

Dan Blocky in here.

It was hysterical. All the WJs.

They had Hop Sing in the show. We'd go, hello.

While most actors in television series were negotiating for higher fees and

bigger trailers, and Starbilly.

Michael Landon was one of the first to ask for something else.

He wanted to direct.

Morning, boys.

Beautiful morning.

awful quiet this morning, I figured you'd be happy to see me.

You're insane, Postley.

You know that, don't you? You're insane, and you're trying to drive us insane.

But it won't work.

I feel sorry for you, John.

You're down there, and I'm up here.

And you feel sorry for me.

I'm free to go any place I want to.

No, you're not.

You can't get away from here.

You've got to keep coming back day after day, week after week. You're just as

much a prisoner as we are.

You'll never be free.

There was a scene that I was delighted that he wrote for me in which Candy

finally becomes unhinged in his prison and James Whitmore the Heavy tosses down

dynamite.

From then on, Mike devoted his time and talents to writing.

And as Kent said, he worked with John Hawkins, who was a great teacher, and

was a quick learner.

I started out by saying that Mike was a brat.

And after directing him in 63 Bonanzas and then working for him as a director

for 68 middle houses and 22 Father Murphys, I found that one of the best,

friends I'd ever had, the most talented people.

My great delight.

and surprise, was at his naturalness, his ease, his understanding of so many

aspects of things, and his great capacity not to let his own celebrity

the way of what he was trying to do.

You know, that's not always possible with a lot of people.

But I thought The Wish was a strong piece. I thought it was ahead of its

thought it said quite a lot for Hollywood for its day.

Jesse, you get that wagon and start loading.

Beth, you help him.

This is our home. We can't leave.

Jesse, you load that wagon, boy.

You want them to know they scared you off?

You want them to know they scared you off?

So you're just going to run, huh?

Yes.

I'm going to run.

You're the fellow that's telling me how hard you work to be a free man.

How you love the farm, love to put the seeds in the ground and make them grow.

You're going to give all that up, huh?

That's right.

I thought you was a better man than that, Sam. I'm not just a man. I'm a

man.

And don't you go thinking you know how I feel unless you're black, too.

I love this farm.

But I love my children more.

I can plant corn again and make it grow. I can plant beans and make them grow.

But I can't make my children grow again if they're dead.

And that's why we're moving out of here.

to fight.

And they ain't gonna hurt them, kid. I promise you that.

I ain't gonna let them. I promise you I won't let them.

Thank you, boss.

Thank you for taking care of old Sam and his children.

Oh, Sam, I didn't mean it like that. No, no, you're right, boss.

Go ahead and take care of old Sam.

Show his boys how the big white man always takes care of Papa so that when

grow up, they won't forget that it's the white man who is the man.

I think it's easy to understand how Michael might have looked upon The Wish

an episode that satisfied him more deeply, perhaps, than all the others

had done.

There was one very special relationship between Dan Blocker and Michael which

mirrored the brother relationship they portrayed on the screen.

It's very considerate of you to drive me, Mr. Cartwright.

Most people hereabouts just call me Little Joe.

Little Joe?

Well, you're not that small.

No, it's not that, man. It's my brother Hoss is that big.

Joe, this little wagon is getting mighty heavy.

You gotta suffer a little bit to be champion.

You sure we're going about this the right way, Joe?

Positive, please.

Let me do the thinking.

All right, 25.

How about it now?

Come on!

I told you to be careful. You know I got a bad back.

Are you letting your heart rule your pocketbook?

Well, Joe, money ain't everything, dad, burn it. All right.

Look, I didn't know when I went and parted with you that you were going to

squeamish on me.

But let's not forget that I still have a little say. Half of these rabbits

happen to be mine.

And I am going to skin my half of the rabbits.

Now, if you'll just step aside.

No, you ain't.

You ain't skinning these rabbits, Joe.

Oh, yes, I am. Would you step... You're standing in front... That fat gerby

right there behind your head happens to be my gerby. You're standing in front of

my gerby.

No, you ain't skinning these rabbits.

Not today, you ain't, Joseph.

I'm skinning that gerby.

Now, uh... I don't want to have to come through you.

I'd reconsider that, little brother. Well, I'm telling you right now.

I'm telling you, my brother. Now,

that ger... There's a... That Gerby right behind there is my rabbit.

I'll cut you to bits, Ribbon.

I won't.

I'm going to have to.

I'm telling you, I'm going to tell them who I'm going to... That's my Gerby, and

I'm going to get to him.

One way or the other, Brother Horse, I'm going to get into one of these gates.

Don't you run away.

When Dan passed away, Michael wrote a tribute episode called Forever.

So beautiful.

That's my favorite place.

Brother Hoss and I used to come here when we were kids.

We didn't do anything special. We just sat and looked at it.

Happy place.

From the time that I was nine until I was 17, I must have run out that door a

hundred times.

In later years, I moved to this house.

I no longer ran out the door, for childhood had given way to young

and I had a child of my own.

But I'll never forget that first house.

It was like a real home to me, not make -believe.

And Michael Landon was more than just my boss.

He was like my father.

The streets of Walnut Grove are covered with mustard leaves.

It's hard now to see where the buildings once stood, but for me, the memories

are still very clear.

That was the mercantile, church,

Belly's restaurant, the ice house,

and the road.

that led up to the mill.

I can remember Pa and Mr. Hanson and how they walked and looked and talked and

how we wondered what they said.

You know, there is no hurry, Mr. English. If I were in your boots, I

on it and sleep on it. Another thing about Mr. Hanson, my mind's made up.

be in Walnut Grove tomorrow morning to sign the paper.

All right.

I'll be at the mill. I'll see you then. Right.

And thank you. Thank you.

As soon as you get done soaking your feet, we got a wagon to unload.

We're home?

We're home.

My favorite episode is The Lord is My Shepherd.

I think it was because it was like working with my father.

No. No more.

I surrender I can't run another step.

Me neither.

It was the best day ever. Wasn't it, Frank?

Oh, that it was.

You'll always remember it, won't you?

I'll always remember it.

I love you more than anything.

I love you.

I think that he was able to make me feel safe enough to show things that I

wouldn't to anybody else.

And that it was okay to let things out.

It opens with the birth of a son for Ma and Pa. Pa really wanted a son. I am

very jealous and feeling very neglected, and the baby gets sick, and we're asked

to pray for him, and I don't.

You've got a special one for Charles.

Ma asked us to.

I don't have to.

Don't you even care about your own brother?

Pa cares enough for all of us.

That's all he cares about anymore.

I don't pray for him to get well, and he dies.

And I blame myself.

And in church one Sunday, I hear the Reverend Alden say, the closer you are

God, the more likely he is to listen.

So I take that literally, and I climb a mountain looking for God to ask him to

take me and give Pa back his son. And that's where I meet Jonathan, played by

Ernie Bortnight.

Can't you speak, child?

Where am I?

Don't you know?

I'm not sure.

You're on my mountain.

Jonathan's mountain.

At the end of the episode where he and Victor have climbed a mountain looking

for me and they find me and...

Ernie Borgnine says, go to him, child, go to him.

Go, child.

Let me go. No.

I don't want Pa to find me until God answers.

He has answered.

No, he hasn't.

He has answered, and he's made his decision.

That's why he sent your Pa.

He wants you to be with your Pa and your brother to be with him.

That isn't what I wanted.

Pa was a son. No, child.

That's what you thought he wanted.

Only God knows best about these things.

That's why he sent your pa here.

Because he knows that your pa loves you and needs you.

How else could your father have found you?

Are you all right?

Why did you do it?

I thought you needed turtles more than me.

How did you think that?

I just did.

I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry. It was my fault.

We just worked so well together. It was just so...

natural and and so real and i remember feeling really loved it was

the the two shows where i went blind and i remember thinking that the season

before i think was at the rap party the season before and i actually was a

nervous wreck and i went up to him thinking that you're writing me out why

you doing this to me you know and and he said it'll be great Missy, this is

going to be great.

Trust me.

And he had been absolutely right.

He said it was going to be great, and it was.

Now, I'd like you to make a goodbye as brief as possible.

I thought I could spend some time with Mary. My train doesn't leave until four.

The time spent would only be painful for both of you.

Adam, can I see you a minute?

Yes, sir.

Hey, nice room.

Pa.

Pa, I didn't know you were here.

Yeah, well, I can't stay very long. I got a chance to catch an earlier train.

thought I'd try to make it.

But I thought we'd spend the afternoon.

I was going to, but then this earlier train came up. I took a look at the

It's a fine place. You're in good hands.

So, uh, hey, I'm gonna make that train. I better go.

Give me a hug.

Pa, don't leave me here.

Please don't leave me here.

I love you.

I gotta go. Don't leave me here, please.

First show that I did was Plague, and I was about 9 or 10, and I played a dying

girl.

I had plague, and my dad played the part of Mr. Ingalls, and he came in to talk

to me, and I was the neighbor child.

And I remember it was very special because it was the first time I ever

got to act.

I remember we had to do the scene over again because while my dad was saying

lines, he got more emotional than he wanted to, as if I was his daughter

of the neighbor's child.

And so we had to do it over again.

Mr. Ingalls?

I was out to see him this morning.

They wanted to send you a whole mess of cornbread, but I told him it'd be a

little while before you got your appetite back.

Feed a cold, starve a fever, Ma says.

Your Ma's right.

I wonder if I'm gonna die.

not scared i know i'll go to heaven especially when you die in church

no more talk of dying all right

just get some sleep all right

and i remember driving back in

the car with him after a day's work and just feeling so proud I think that was

probably my most special memory of working with Dad.

I'd been involved in a drug program called PADA, which is Pharmacists

Drug Abuse. We started a pilot program back east.

And after I initiated the program, I came back and wrote a two -hour show

Matthew Labberto, who played Albert on the show. He was a wonderful young

Because I wanted to do a show to try to reach children, young kids.

When you can still get something accomplished.

No.

Don't you lie to me, Albert.

Lie to you about what?

About the morphine.

I don't know what you're talking about. About the morphine that you took from

Dr. Baker.

Now, don't lie to me. You took it, didn't you?

Didn't you? Yes!

I took it.

How long have you been taking it? I don't know. How long?

A few months.

How much?

Once a day? Twice a day? How much? I don't know.

Once in a while.

Why?

Why?

What do you care?

What do I care? You're my son. I love you.

Then why'd you bring me back here?

To try and help you.

You can leave me here.

That's not true.

Yes, it is!

You can leave me here.

You want me to tell the truth, but you don't.

All right.

All right, I was going to leave you.

I swear to you I did it because I love you.

No more running.

Come on.

Let me go. No.

We're going back.

We're going back. No.

Listen.

Talk to me, Doc Bakers.

He's got something. No. Oh, please.

I'll die if I...

I didn't do this to you. You did.

I didn't put that poison in you. You did.

You understand?

You did.

Mom, please.

And you can cry and you can beg and you can plead.

But it's not good work.

Not with me.

I remember the one thing that stuck out in my mind is you always wanted to

please this man so much, you know? You always wanted to do your best work.

And it was so important to look over at him when the scene was done, and he was

always there, you know, just saying, good job. It was just, you know, it was

just nice.

He'd come over and give you a hug and whisper in your ear, good job, you know,

I'm proud of you, whatever.

And then, okay, next scene.

The fighter.

That was my favorite show of all the little houses that I did.

It was a story about a man who had been a fighter. He was over the hill. He was

on his way down.

I don't often talk about myself, my work, or how it comes

across, because that's the eye of the beholder.

But doing that particular show and telling that particular story, Michael,

directed a hell of a lot.

My glasses just did tonight.

I don't know what happened.

I caught a punch early.

I couldn't get my head clear.

It could have gone the other way easy enough.

It's just not my night. Oh, damn it.

I swear after every fight it gets just a little bit worse. It ain't so. I'm

groggy from the fight. Oh, that's a lie. That's a lie.

No, it ain't.

Then read it.

Remember how you always used to read the Bible to me, Joe, before every fight?

Go on, Joe.

I'm tired.

Read it.

Before the death accomplished me, the

pains of hell...

God, hold on me.

I found sorrow and trouble.

Dinner called upon me.

I can't understand.

You know I didn't want to hurt you.

But you got to stop now. You can't go on fighting.

I have to. It's what I do. No, but you can't do it anymore.

That's what I do. It's all I can do. No, honey, you can go out and you can get

yourself a regular job.

Doing what?

better than this killing yourself night after night

promise me joe you'll go out and you'll look for a job

tomorrow promise me joe

joe i swear if you don't promise me i will leave you and

the ball will go with me

One of the scripts that was perhaps my favorite, I had talked to him about a

storyline of development for the boys, where the boys would be kind of going

through a transition period and given a test to prove that they were old enough

now to be considered adults.

It took my thoughts that I wasn't ready for.

I spent three days and three nights out there all alone.

I don't have to tell you that those were three of the longest, loneliest nights

of my life.

Something about being out there all alone in the wilderness.

Michael turned the story a little bit and said, but why not add this element

allowing the fathers to follow the boys, to check up on them, and allow the

fathers to get in all the trouble, which is what happened.

We can make it.

Mmm,

they're good.

Let's go.

Let's eat some of those berries and then follow.

Yeah.

Them two didn't lead much, did they?

Can you believe it?

Why, they're two little men.

Hungry ones, too.

Yep, they're hungry.

Would you like a little dessert?

Wait till those two finish eating all that food.

If they can't pay for it, they're going to be in a mess of trouble.

Yeah. I hope they call the law and put a little fear of God in them. Yeah.

It'll still work out perfect, though. We'll let him spend the night in jail.

can come in tomorrow and tell him that we heard and came on the stage.

In the meantime, we can get us a warm bed and get out of this rain and get

food. I'm hungry. All right, that'll teach him a lesson.

How much money did you bring?

For what?

For the bed and the food. How much money did you bring?

You did bring money.

Charles, I thought you had some money.

I didn't bring any money.

People always ask me, what was Michael Landon really like?

The first thing that comes to mind is his incredible sense of humor.

Mike loved to make people laugh.

Carolyn?

I ran in a truck.

Okay,

we're rolling.

Patrick,

you've got to eat something.

My name is Andrew.

You're right, Andrew.

You're burning up.

like ice.

We're all sick, Charles.

Take an enema.

Are you... Absolute...

You went that bad, Joe.

I thought she was gone.

Nag, nag, nag. Why don't you mind your own...

You gotta look on the bright side. Just think what a big meal we'll have tonight

if we eat that thugger.

I thought you'd killed another one.

The calf was an extra bonus because it was

too young to leave its mother.

That'll be milk for the children.

I don't care about the children.

I'm fed up with the kids.

Are you all right?

Oh, my butt.

14 years on Bonanza still hurts my ride.

Like the old saying, all great things

must come to an end.

And so did our 10 -year run on Little House.

Good is to worry about something that is past when we have the future to look

to.

Now, Lasseter's got the future.

He moves in here and runs the businesses that we've sweated over for years.

Well, why let him?

There's something we can do.

I got mad today.

Really mad.

And you know what I did?

I busted some windows.

Yeah, it may sound silly. Well, maybe it is.

But they were our windows, and he's not going to get them.

He owns the land. We'll let him have it.

But he's going to have an awful lot of fixing up to do before he starts running

our boarding house.

Listen here.

You want to do more than bust a couple of windows?

I got a wagon in my place loaded to the gills with dynamite for the mine.

When it was all over, when all of the buildings, which had become a second

home, not only to me, but to millions of fans all over the world, were gone, and

when everyone else had gone home, I remember Mike took me in his arms.

I was crying, and he put my head on his chest.

And he said, don't worry, kid.

It's not the end.

It's just the beginning.

It's just the beginning.

Oh, Jonathan, you've got to sit down and watch this. I was a teenage werewolf.

Oh, I love horror films.

Ah, it killed her.

You know, the guy in this film reminds me a lot of you.

I mean when he's a regular guy, not when he's got the hair all over his face.

Come on, gentlemen, why don't you sit down and watch this? We don't have an

assignment. Let's just take it easy.

Hey,

buddy, is there something wrong?

Nothing?

All right, get yourself together.

It's a dream. It's a dream.

It's a dream.

Take it easy. You're having a dream.

You all right?

Yeah.

That was some dream. I mean, it was real.

It's a sandwich.

What? It's a sandwich. It's a submarine sandwich. You can't eat like that before

you go to sleep. Hey, I warned you.

That's right, you did.

I mean, it was real, son. It was just like in the movies.

Well, except you were older. You're like a middle -aged werewolf.

Why does he have to put it that way?

By the time my dad made Highway to Heaven, he was at the height of his

and his creative powers, and he was ready to do a different kind of show.

In Bonanza, he was the feisty, hot -tempered little brother, and in Little

on the Prairie, he portrayed the prototype of the American pioneer

the shows dealt with every aspect of the American life.

But with Highway to Heaven, he was about to do a show which would reflect his

feelings of man and God, man and man, and man and the environment.

What's wrong with him?

I don't know.

Doesn't look like he got hung up on telephone wires or anything.

No, no, something else is happening here.

He's dead.

Beach to be their spokesman.

Of course, they wanted to speak for themselves, but they couldn't. You know

Because they're dead.

They're dead.

And these are only the beginning.

I'm talking about groundwater contamination, and the source of that

contamination is Drake Technologies.

Why don't you fly back to your nest, you kook?

There's nothing wrong with our plant.

There's a lot wrong with this plant.

And these birds are only the beginning.

Only the beginning.

The weak are always the first to die.

Small animals, birds.

And your babies.

And then your elderly.

It's contamination that's killing them.

And where's it going to stop?

Or has it started with you already?

Look at you all looking at me like I'm a fool.

Why worry about this, huh?

Worry about the important things.

Worry about the bomb. Oh, we're going to be killed by the bomb.

Let me tell you, none of you are going to die from the bomb.

You'll be dead long before that because you're killing yourselves.

Hey, friend.

Yeah? You parked in the handicapped zone.

So what?

So it's there for a reason.

Look mister. It really isn't any of your business where I park.

No, I think it is my business if you're breaking the law Well, maybe you want to

make me move my car Come on dude

No Anybody in here on that

blue Chevrolet parked out front.

Yeah, I do why you better see for yourself pal

I just parked it. It was fine.

You parked it in the handicapped zone?

Yeah, two minutes ago.

Then I'm going to have to write you up.

So Michael had written this kind of hard -hearted, slinty,

pessimistic, New York, big -time New York City columnist who

had seen it all and had gotten a little...

A little kind of callous about humanity, about mankind. Just a little callous

about it. If you know I'd come here, there are only about 50 ,000 places I

have gone.

He is an angel, Mr. Bassinger.

Oh, of course he is.

Here's your soda, Mr. Bassinger.

Hey, see this guy here?

He's an angel.

Like I said, Mr. Bassinger, any friend of yours is a friend of mine.

What do you have, fellas?

Say what? Why don't you bring some sandwiches and coffee to the guys

Tell them it was your idea.

Hey, if it was my idea, I don't need your money.

An act of charity.

Back then, you were an angel.

Boy, it's not possible.

But pay is not probable.

Oh, boy, it's Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas to you, Bert.

And God bless you.

And God bless you.

There was a scene in All the Colors of the Heart where I'm supposed to be a

terrific blind basketball player.

Odd, you say?

Not for Michael Landon. I made the mistake of telling him I could shoot

and he said, oh, fine, let's put it in the episode.

So we go out to...

to practice before the actual shot, and I hit 10 out of the first 16.

I mean, I was Magic Johnson. I was unconscious.

Now, Michael called action.

I missed the first one.

Action. I missed the second one.

At 18, he was still calling action. I was still missing.

So now, he decided to kind of turn the needle up on me. He said, you know, Tom,

it's getting pretty expensive.

I shoot, miss.

Gee, he said, you know, I could have hired Stevie Wonder for this.

I miss.

Could have hired Ray Charles.

I miss.

Could have hired Jose Feliciano.

I miss.

Could have hired Ronnie Millsap.

I miss.

Gee, he said, I'm getting pretty desperate. He said, I could have hired

Shearing. I miss.

He said, I'm out of blind people. I could go out and hire Marlee Matlin.

And I absolutely switched it. And that's what you see on kids.

I haven't done too much straight dramatic acting in my life. Mostly I've

light comedy.

And there was a scene where a street lady, a bag lady really, is accidentally

killed during a robbery.

And she dies in my arms.

And it was very hard for me to do.

Very difficult.

I felt very strong. It was well written.

And the actress was wonderful. But I hadn't done that kind of a heavy thing

much.

Michael made me feel so relaxed about it, so confident.

We did one take.

It was perfect, and I looked up, and Michael had tears in his eyes.

Now lay me down to sleep.

I pray to the Lord, my dear.

If I should... Die before I wake?

Pray the Lord.

There's a scene about a man whose son was gone, and no one cared about his

and his son was a hero.

And this man fought to bring his son's memory back to people's attention.

And Michael used that.

One of my favorite scenes in that is at the end when I'm sitting in this B -25

plane.

How you doing, son?

What is this?

Your last mission.

What are you talking about?

I'm talking about touching the face of God.

Jonathan, this old plane never happened like this.

I mean, this old crate is...

Boy, uh, I guess I gotta go the rest of the way all

alone.

What are you talking about alone?

Spreading your wings and taking flight, living life to the fullest no matter

what the obstacles, and a family and a home to come back to when day is done.

These were the themes not only of my father's work, but of his life.

You know, you, people and pigeons are curiously much alike.

That is to say, the lovely birds have those qualities of fidelity.

Affection and love, courage, determination and pride, which are

humans may boast of when they are at their best.

If they display jealousy and pettishness, quarrelsome moments and

they should be forgiven, for their sins are small.

Indeed, we humans should be forgiven as well.

This is what's going on that we can't see.

Your chick has turned itself and is pipping away at the large end of the

It'll be born soon, Doc.

It'll be born soon.

Very soon.

What will you call him?

Dickens.

The last day of filming.

And that night, Michael wrote me a beautiful letter.

I want to share it with you if I can.

He slipped it under the door of my room in the hotel.

And I feel glad, so thankful that I kept it.

I'd like to read it to you.

Dear Art, you and I are both quite shy, so you can understand why I'm writing

this brief letter rather than talking to you in person.

I would have difficulty saying it, and you would have difficulty accepting it.

Working with you has been one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

I so wanted you to be like the man I have enjoyed all these years.

You were that man and more.

an amazingly honest actor, and a joy to be with every moment.

On behalf of my crew and myself, thank you.

Your friend, Michael Landon.

The next two scenes are from The Us pilot, starring Barney Martin and Casey

Peterson. It was my dad's last endeavor as a writer, producer, actor, and

director.

When asked about doing a fourth series, he replied, I think my best work is yet

to come.

What's she calling here for? It's over.

It's been over.

You've got to get on with your life.

What are you talking about? She's having a problem with her boy. He's not your

kid.

What do you mean he's not my kid? She had to tell him the truth now. He knows

he's got a father. He's my kid.

She raised him. If he's got a problem, it's her fault.

Look, you're just getting started again, Jeff. What do you need our problem for?

Just drop it, Dad. I don't want to talk to you about it. Oh, sure.

Don't listen to your father. What the hell does he know?

If you'd have listened to me in the first place, you wouldn't have screwed

your life. All right, that's it.

I'm out of here. Oh, sure.

Run away.

Just like when you were a kid.

I didn't run away when I was a kid, Dad. You drove me away. There's a

difference, you know? I drove you away?

I try to give you good advice. Is that driving you away?

You could have gone to college, Jeff.

You had the grades.

But no, not you.

You get a girl pregnant, you gotta marry her. I married Ellen because I loved

her. I'd have married her if she couldn't have a kid.

What the hell am I doing this for?

We had the same stupid argument 19 years ago. 19 years and nothing changes with

you. Oh, and with you something changes, huh?

She's going to dump that kid on your problems and all. You'll see.

Dump the kid on me, huh?

You know what books I used to read when I was in prison, Dad?

Books about raising kids.

And from year one.

About how you hold them and look at them and how quick they get to know you.

And the terrible twos and the potty training and the first days in school.

About their joys and their fears.

And I used to lie in my bunk at night and try to get myself to dream I was

those things with my kid.

Teaching him to swim and how to throw a ball.

And you know what, Dad?

In my dreams, my kid loved me.

Just the same as I love him.

Let's say they didn't catch this guy. And I spend the rest of my life in

Are you trying to tell me that you would have been better off spending the

fourth Saturday of every month talking to me through a pane of glass? At least

would have known you.

I would have come.

I would have come every Saturday. Well, maybe I didn't want you to come, okay?

Same as I didn't want your mother coming anymore.

Hey, do you know what it's like in there?

It's like dying.

It's like spending your life dying.

And then once a month the people that you love have to come and watch you die.

Well, I didn't want that.

I made the decision. I didn't want it anymore.

Can't you understand that?

When mom told me about you, I got so angry. I don't know. It was like,

well, Paul didn't want me.

And then I find out I have a real father and he didn't want me. So you wrote a

rotten letter and took off.

It was a lousy thing to do to your mom. She deserves better than that.

She took care of you alone for a lot of years.

She should have stayed alone.

She shouldn't have married him.

We were getting along fine. Oh, no, you were getting along fine. What, your

mother doesn't have a life?

We had a life.

A good life.

I took care of her. Oh, come on. Oh, you were the man of the house, huh? I was.

Until she met him.

And what happens when you move out?

What happens when you move out, you get married, you got a family of your own?

What happens to your mother then?

Come on, what happens to her?

What, maybe she gets lucky, gets to visit you the fourth Saturday of every

month?

Come on, kid, it's time for you to start thinking of somebody besides yourself.

Now, come on, I'm taking you home.

I'm not going back.

Hey, look, this isn't Paul you're talking to.

I don't want to be your buddy. I don't want to be your pal.

I'm your father and you're going to do what I tell you because I spent 18 years

of my life loving a kid I never...

Get in the car.

Get in the car.

From 50 yards away, I'd start to smile at the sight of him.

Because I knew what was coming at me was kind of robust and made you feel

good. Because he felt good about life. He was an encouraging person.

And he made me laugh.

He made me laugh.

Smile and laugh all the time.

I think one of the things that...

separated Michael from a lot of other people was his courage.

He chose a very difficult tack professionally.

Family shows, family programming, that's a tough way to make a living.

Michael Landon was a person who went beyond his boyhood

to find and determine himself as a man.

And to express this maturity by exchanging what

he had with other people so that people could have a better understanding of

themselves. You could always count on Michael, you know.

You knew that if you were there for him, then he was going to be there for you,

100%. There was so much of him.

In his work and in his words and in what he wrote, all of the good stuff that he

believed in, he wasn't afraid to let it out and to let people see it and to show

it.

And because he wasn't afraid, it made me proud to be able to say those

words and to help him to show that.

And I think that's a very, very special quality for someone to have.

To not be afraid of letting their true heart be seen, you know?

To not feel like they have to close it off and be this guy.

He wasn't. He was sensitive.

He was funny.

He was an amazing

man.

I think Michael had within him the kind of heart and mind and spirit

that was tapped in directly to what the majority of us

feel as human beings every day.

Michael was like a prophet.

I really think this. I have a feeling that he's up there now, that he's left.

His horse, the Bonanza, he's got on his wagon and gone across the little house,

left the house on the prairie.

He's no longer the angel from Highway to Heaven. He's up there now planning a

new show.

I don't know which network is going to do it, but if he calls me, I'll come.

I'll come. I'll do it with him.

That's the kind of man he is. I enjoyed working with him, and I will really miss

him. And I found Michael to be a normal human being.

There was absolutely no dissembling or hypocrisy about him. He was who he said

he was.

And I admired him so much over the years because the man obviously had a

mission. He knew what kind of programming he wanted to put out. And he

his guns in a business which increasingly pressurizes you to pander

lowest common denominator, to sensationalize and grab an audience.

Michael stuck with...

what he believed in putting in front of the audience.

And thank God there was a great, loyal audience that stayed with him.

And he's going to be missed because there are no Michael Landons around

now. Did anybody talk about his ears?

He heard everything.

No one on that set could be within 30 feet

saying something if they didn't want Mike to hear it.

The most remarkable thing to me about Michael was he seemed to be without fear

of anything or anyone.

Most fear comes from, I guess, from doubts about ourselves.

He seemed to have none of those.

He seemed to be willing to stand up to anybody and everybody.

As a matter of fact, seemed to sort of enjoy it and love to win an argument.

But he had the stuff to back it up. Generally, people would...

Maybe try to fight him for a while, but finally give in and say, well, Mike,

you're probably right anyway.

Michael Landon never backed off his convictions about the American family

the relevance of the American family in our society. And at a time when we've

become a little bit cynical about the place of the American family in society,

the nation is crying out for the continuation of...

michael landon legacy and for those of us who were privileged enough to be

touched by michael if you're listening mike we guarantee that we're going to

keep trying hello i'm cindy landon from the

time my husband was diagnosed we have received hundreds of thousands of cards

and letters from people all over the world from all walks of life all of whom

had one thing in common a love for a man they had never met.

I'd like to thank all of you for your love and support and all of your

and prayers.

It meant so much to my husband and all of his family, knowing so many people

were reaching out with genuine love and concern.

My father left us with a legacy we'll be able to cherish from one generation to

the next.

His shows touched our hearts, our souls, and our minds.

He helped teach us the value of life and the importance of family.

You know, my father always wanted to make this world a better place.

He did.

My father wrote this for a Little House episode called Remember Me.

Remember me with smiles and laughter, for that's how I'll remember you all.

If you can only remember me with tears, then don't remember me at all.