"I will remember his incredible power to love. I have a favorite picture of him, and all I have to do is look into his eyes, and I see it there," Michael Landon's daughter shared.
Michael Landon's step-daughter Cheryl, his second wife Marjorie Lynn Noe's daughter from her previous marriage, got in a horrific crash back in 1973. “She was coming home from a fraternity-sorority gathering with four friends in a little Volkswagon, and they were struck by a Ford going in excess of 80 miles an hour,” he told PEOPLE in 1985. “It killed everyone but her, and it broke everything in her—all her ribs, her neck, you name it.” He prayed incredibly hard hoping she would make it through the ordeal even speaking to God saying if his daughter could be spared, he would “do my best to make a product to help people.”
Michael Landon Quote
— Kevvy62 (@Kevvy62) June 3, 2023
Screen Actor Michael Landon was Born on this Day, October 31, of 1936, and Died, July 1, 1991.
“There are a lot of things in this world that are more important than being popular. Being true to yourself is one of them.” — Michael Landon pic.twitter.com/w96PCdDrk0
The Little House on the Prairie actor was told his daughter had a very low chance of survival so he prayed harder than he ever did in his whole life. Fortunately, his prayers worked and his daughter survived the horrifying ordeal.
Cheryl recalled to the Chicago Tribune, "He was the prime force in my life. When I was 19, I was in a car accident that killed the other three people in the car and left me in a coma for four days. My father willed me back to life. He sat with me for a month. After the doctors had given up on me, I remember him saying to me, 'Fight, Baby!'" She added, "I will remember his incredible power to love. I have a favorite picture of him, and all I have to do is look into his eyes, and I see it there."
Over the years Cheryl has lived a quiet life away from the spotlight. She looked back on her father fondly saying that she "will remember his incredible power to love. I have a favorite picture of him, and all I have to do is look into his eyes, and I see it there. I hope it will teach others to make the most of their lives regardless of the odds against them."
The Bonanza star died of pancreatic cancer at age 54 in 1991. His other daughter Leslie Landon Matthews remembered her dad on the 30th anniversary of his passing in 2021 telling PEOPLE, "We just felt like he was a superman. He was bigger than life." But she felt that he cared so much about others that he may have neglected his own health.
"When my dad didn't feel good — if something didn't feel right — he tended to ignore it, hoping that it would go away," she said adding that he was always working. "He was a busy man burning the candle at both ends. I think his own health got put on the back burner." She hopes her father's story reminds others to prioritize health and make time for early detection. "Because we knew how my dad was with his own health, we kids do the opposite," she shared. "We're like, 'Something doesn't seem right, let's look into it.' Information is power and it allows you to make choices about your health when you know what you're dealing with. Fear tends to paralyze people."
References:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-12-06-9204210378-story.html
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by: (R) Keystone
