Michael Landon’s Youngest Daughter Was In His Final TV Episode
Highway to Heaven - Full Episodes / YouTube
The world was first introduced to Michael Landon when he was cast at “Little Joe” Cartwright on the long-running western series Bonanza. Beginning in 1959, the show ran for 14 seasons, making it the second longest-running western show behind Gunsmoke, which ran for 20 seasons.
Bonanza was centered around Ben Cartwright, who is a three-time widower, and his three sons. Adam Cartwright, played by Pernell Roberts, Eric “Hoss” Cartwright, played by Dan Blocker, and Joseph “Little Joe” Cartwright, played by Michael Landon. They all lived on a Lake Tahoe, Nevada-area ranch called the Ponderosa.
After wrapping up Bonanza in 1974, Michael went on to land another huge role on the TV show Little House on the Prairie. He played Charles Ingalls for the entirety of the series, which ran on NBC from 1974-1982.
After Little House, Michael starred in – and produced – the NBC TV series Highway To Heaven from 1984-1989.
Landon had a history of giving jobs to people he had worked with before. On Little House, he hired several production members from Bonanza and for his next series, Highway to Heaven, his co-star was none other than fellow Little House alum, Victor French.
Not only did he give jobs to people he worked with before, he also gave a couple to his children. His daughter Leslie played the recurring character Etta Plum on Little House from 1982-1984, as well as other guest appearance in the 70s.
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In 1989, for Highway to Heaven‘s series finale episode, Landon cast his youngest daughter, Jennifer, in one of the final scenes. She was only five years old, but she played a member of a children’s choir that appears at the bedside of the president.
Jennifer can be seen in the screenshot below, front and center with bangs.
She even had a line:
“Merry Christmas, Great-great-great grandfather,” she said.
One scene later, the show’s end titles would run for the very last time and Highway to Heaven came to an end.
Jennifer likely caught the acting bug then because after the series ended, her father cast her in his next television project, a series titled Us, but he passed away before it came to fruition. Now, Jennifer stars on the hit Paramount network show Yellowstone as the female ranch hand Teeter.
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She also has three Daytime Emmy Awards for her role on the soap opera As the World Turns.
Watch her scene in the finale episode of Highway To Heaven below.
