Michael Landon made his first real splash on the big screen in Gene Fowler Jr.’s 1957 drive-in classic “I Was a Teenage Werewolf,” playing Tony Rivers, the teenage werewolf. The film was a hit and led to Landon getting more work in high-profile movies like “High School Confidential!,” “God’s Little Acre,” and “The Legend of Tom Dooley.” Landon was the hotness of the moment. Then, in 1959, he landed a plum role playing Little Joe Cartwright on NBC’s classic Western TV show “Bonanza” and stuck around for all 14 seasons of that (very successful) series.
If Landon’s career had ended there, he still would’ve been a legend. However, unwilling to rest on his laurels, the man hastily joined the cast of NBC’s “Little House on the Prairie” TV show, which debuted in 1974. Landon starred in the Laura Engalls Wilder book series adaptation as Charles Ingalls, the gentle, protective patriarch of the Ingalls clan and the role played by Luke Bracey in Netflix‘s reboot show. As a child of the 1980s, I personally recall hearing from many of my peers that Landon was their first celebrity crush. It was heartbreaking when the series went off the air in 1983, but it remained in reruns for years thereafter.
From there, to keep the ball rolling, Landon immediately created and starred in “Highway to Heaven,” a high-concept NBC drama series that lasted an impressive five seasons and over 100 episodes following its premiere in 1984. There, Landon played Jonathan Smith, an angel in a denim jacket who has been sent to Earth for a probationary period. Teaming with a bitter ex-cop named Mark Gordon (Victor French), Jonathan goes on a quest from God to help people. The series is currently available to watch on Prime Video, among other streaming platforms.
Highway to Heaven was Michael Landon’s baby
The pilot episode of “Highway to Heaven” sees Jonathan Smith coming to a retirement home to prevent it from being sold, protecting the elderly residents inside. One of the residents is Mark’s sister, so when Mark sees a gentle, handsome dude poking his nose around, he gets suspicious. He eventually learns that Jonathan is an angel and realizes he must be lonely, working on human problems all alone. After getting approval from the Boss (i.e. God), Mark and Jonathan team up. A feature-length movie, the pilot was quite an event in 1980s households.
It should be noted that “Highway to Heaven” was Michael Landon’s baby. Not only did he create the show, but he further wrote the pilot and directed the bulk of the series.
“Highway to Heaven” covers a lot of material that one might’ve seen in an old-fashioned After-School Special. There’s an episode devoted to gang violence. Another is about the terminally ill son of an astronaut. Another still is about a Vietnam War vet and the 15-year-old orphan he adopts. Sometimes, Jonathan is just there to help star-crossed lovers from warring families elope. Many campus people appeared in “Highway to Heaven” in guest roles, and browsing through episodes will have you yelling “Hey, it’s so-and-so!” a lot. Ed Asner, Eli Wallach, James Earl Jones, Dick Van Dyke, Leslie Nielsen, Bob Hope, Lorne Greene, Ned Beatty, Helen Hayes, Ernest Borgnine, Shannon Tweed, Keenan Wynn, Ronee Blakely, Jonathan Frakes … everyone was on this show. Also, because troubled youths were a common feature, some notable teen and child actors appeared as well, like David Faustino, Wil Wheaton, Peter Billingsley, Josh Brolin, and Matthew Perry (well before he became the heart of “Friends”).
Highway to Heaven marked the end of Landon’s 30-year NBC partnership
Because Jonathan is an angel, he’s able to use divine magic to don various identities and professions throughout the series. He can also summon material possessions from time to time, but that’s not a very usual feature. Jonathan and Mike dub the former’s divine magic as The Stuff, although Jonathan is not allowed to use The Stuff in defiance of God’s will. Although the series is about an angel, it’s not explicitly Christian, nor does it ever proselytize about attending church or believing in Jesus. Rather, its theology is that there’s a single God who has helpers on Earth aiding those in distress. Despite its nondenominational approach, “Highway to Heaven” has been widely embraced by Christian audiences, and reruns are often featured on Christian cable networks.
Back in 1988, Michael Landon spoke with the Los Angeles Times about “Highway to Heaven,” and he said that it was inspired by a rising tide of anger he witnessed in Los Angeles. Everyone was so mad all the time, so he decided to fight what he saw with a gentle show about divine kindness. It’s a sweet story and might indicate that “Highway to Heaven” could, at times, be a bit maudlin and sentimental. In the cynical, Ronald Reagan-era U.S., though, maybe that was needed.
“Highway to Heaven,” compared to “Bonanza” and “Little House on the Prairie,” wasn’t a bowl-’em-over success, although it always had respectable ratings. In 1988, however, NBC decided to cancel the show (there was a writers’ strike at the time), and the fifth season of 13 episodes was burned off by 1989. The cancelation ended a 30-year relationship that Landon had with NBC. Too bad.
Landon passed away in 1991 of pancreatic cancer. R.I.P., good sir.
