Michael Langdon is the creative pseudonym of the American actor, screenwriter and director Eugene Maurice Orovitz, famous in the 60-80s of the last century. He is known to the Russian audience for his roles in the series of that era "Little House on the Prairie" and "Bonanza".
Childhood and youth
Eugene was born in the suburbs of Queens, in the Forest Hills area of New York, to the Orovitz acting family on the last day of 1936. In the early biography of the actor, there are many serious tests. Peggy O'Neill's mother, a former comedian, was an unbalanced person who constantly tried to commit suicide, and Eli Orovitz's father, the theater director, was always busy with work and devoted little time to his son. Family troubles seriously affected the fate of Eugene Maurice.
The future idol of millions of Americans was the son of a Jew, and this also ruined his life. Christian parents, who were in the majority in the city, forbade their daughters to associate with Eugene, high school students insulted him for his Jewish origin. The mother's madness was not a secret for the neighbors and served as a pretext for another insult.
After graduating from school, Eugene entered the University of Southern California in the sports department. He dreamed of the world of big sports, setting the national record for javelin throw while still in school. But the bullying of the "Jewish bastard" continued, flaring up once, after the "teammates" caught him and cut his head off, he neglected the safety rules, was seriously injured and was forced to give up his childhood dream.
It was necessary to choose a different future, and the acting traditions were strong in the family. In 1954, he traveled to Los Angeles with his father. Eli Orovitz believed that acquaintances would allow him to get his son into show business, but as a result they were not allowed further than the threshold. This humiliating moment was a turning point for Eugene, who decided to overcome everything and become a movie actor. Fortunately, one of the directors in Hollywood saw his audition and invited him to study at the Warner Bros. acting course.
Career
The beginning of creativity and popularity for Eugene, who took for himself the pseudonym Michael Langdon (or Landon), choosing him from a telephone directory, was the full-length fantasy drama I Was a Teenage Werewolf, released in 1957, where the guy played the main role. This was followed by several works in the series. The audience fell in love with the romantic heroes played by the young, curly-haired handsome man, and Eugene had a solid army of fans. The creative piggy bank of the famous Michael Landon has 44 film and TV roles as an actor. In the project "Bonanza", where he played one of the roles, he first tried himself as a director, and then, in 1974, Michael made his full-length debut. It was the sports drama It's Good to Be Alive.
In 1976, he created a film based on his childhood story, the family drama The Loneliest Runner. Michael Langdon directed fourteen films, produced 13 films and wrote eleven films. Michael has become so popular that there are 38 projects in which he played himself!
Personal life and death
Michael Landon was married three times and had six of his children, and he adopted three more. In 1991, Michael was given a terrible diagnosis - pancreatic cancer. Together with his third wife, 34-year-old Cindy, 54-year-old Michael tried to fight his ailment, but lost in mortal combat and died in the summer of 1991.
