Michael Landon met his cancer diagnosis head-on in final ‘Tonight Show’ interview
While researching Here’s Johnny! Thirty Years of America’s Favorite Late Night Entertainment, vintage entertainment scribe Stephen “Steve” Cox was granted rare backstage access by Johnny Carson’s conscientious assistant Helen Sanders. The King of Late Night had been repeatedly dragged through the coals by writers only interested in the dirt, but the fellow Midwesterner, who was barely 25 years old, convinced Carson that his tome would respectfully chronicle the Tonight Show, then entering its final season with “Carnac the Magnificent” anchoring the desk. Carson had turned down interviews with all the big publications but shockingly acquiesced to Cox’s genuine request for an exclusive phone summit.
On a dozen occasions Cox sat in the Tonight Show audience, interviewed guests in their dressing rooms such as Bob Hope and Buddy Hackett, and wandered around backstage looking like he belonged. An approachable Clint Eastwood, waiting for his cue to walk onstage, questioned Cox about his deceased High Plains Drifter costar Billy Curtis, prominently included in Cox’s The Munchkins of Oz.
On the evening of May 9, 1991, Cox was in Burbank when Carson’s bona fide Scorpio counterpart and friend Michael Landon valiantly sat down on the Tonight Show couch for the final time. The 54-year-old star of NBC’s Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, and Highway to Heaven chose Carson’s show, which he first stopped by as a wet-behind-the-ears Cartwright pup on Sept. 8, 1964, and had actually guest-hosted four times at the height of his powers in the mid-‘70s [where’s the footage?], because he wanted to refute sordid National Enquirer tales of his imminent demise.
Carson introduced Landon with straight-from-the heart sentiments. “I think most of the nation and the world know by now that on April 8 of this year Michael Landon was diagnosed as having inoperable cancer of the pancreas and liver,” stated Carson. “That would stun anybody. But like Michael Landon, he met the problem head-on. He invited the press to his house [in Malibu] and told them the situation. He did that mainly to avoid the rumors, speculation, misinformation, and to try to avoid sensationalism by the tabloids. For the past month he has continued to face this battle with humor and honesty and a personal sense of dignity that characterizes the man. Would you welcome…Michael Landon.”
A standing ovation enveloped the returning hero, who put on a brave face for the next 16 minutes as he thoroughly lived up to Carson’s assessment. Coffee enemas, angrily castigating the real cancer afflicting society, thanking those who mailed letters of support even if they contained far-fetched remedies like swimming with dolphins, teasing the host about his ham-fisted costarring turn in the Connie Francis and Jim Hutton musical comedy vehicle Looking for Love, sharing a clip for the US pilot that was sadly posthumously aired — Landon’s wit and knack for bringing the goods to a talk show had not diminished.
Previously on the Tonight Show on Feb. 15 in an atypical brown suit because he was headed to a ritzy hotel to celebrate his eighth wedding anniversary to Cindy Clerico, Carson had aired a “Highway to Hair” clip poking fun at “Jesus of Malibu’s” long locks based on the establishing shot of Highway to Heaven. Three months later Landon mischievously upped the ante by convincing Carson he had run over a cat while they dined together at the BeauRivage Restaurant, completing the prank with an all-feline menu written in Old English font.
For the nearly two-hour March 14, 2019, installment of The Carson Podcast [a total of 391 episodes were dropped between 2014 and the definitive podcast’s finale eight years later], well-prepared host Mark Malkoff quizzed Cox, who usually prefers a low profile, about Landon [skip to the 70-minute mark to listen; read pages 75 — 82 of the revised edition of Cox’s Tonight Show book for additional insight].
“The mood backstage was very uptight and tense,” Cox candidly clarified to Malkoff. “The Tonight Show staff were focused. Landon did his interview with Carson and met some fans afterwards and signed autographs. I didn’t meet Landon because I wanted to stay my distance. I didn’t see any interaction with him and Carson afterwards. Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t.
“People knew that Landon had cancer. It had already hit the news. His hair was freshly dyed brown. He still looked kinda lively and wasn’t hunched over. But he was sickly and more gaunt than everybody expected. It was a very poignant interview because Carson knew it was not a good diagnosis. Landon received a death sentence. We were watching a man who was dying of cancer, and it was one of the deadliest kinds…”
Malkoff then raised the subject of heavyweight boxing champ George Foreman’s lawyer’s brother being backstage and approaching Landon [Foreman and British singer Joe Jackson followed the prolific writer-director’s spot]. “Essentially he went up to Landon and got an autograph,” said Cox. “Landon was very kind. That’s all. I’m surprised that there weren’t more people around Landon. I think people were afraid. They didn’t know how to treat him. If you didn’t know he had cancer, you probably wouldn’t have suspected it other than the fact that he was thinner.”
With the malady infecting Landon, no one would have blinked twice if he had left the stage after his segment was over, but the Ingalls patriarch humbly moved down the couch as he had done during past appearances. Carson bid adieu to the broadcast by extending his appreciation to each guest. “I think you probably know by now how many millions of people and how many fans you have rooting for you,” reassured Carson to Landon. “If prayer helps at all, you’ve got the prayers of everybody in the nation.” Bandleader Doc Severinsen cued the NBC Orchestra, and Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” fittingly played while the credits rolled. Landon’s last public appearance was over, and a scant 53 days later, so was his life, one brimming with nonstop laughter and love.
July 1991 was not a pleasant month for Carson. NBC had named guest host Jay Leno as the successor to the highly coveted Tonight Show throne, while Carson preferred Late Night trailblazer David Letterman. At the conclusion of the July 17 broadcast, Carson summoned the strength to address two passings that hit too close to home.
“One of my sons, Rick, was killed in an accident on June 21,” said Carson [three days after his 39th birthday, Carson’s middle child’s Nissan Pathfinder SUV fell down a 125-foot embankment near Cayucos, California, less than a quarter of a mile from the Pacific Ocean, while he was on a nature photography freelance assignment]. “First of all, I wanna thank all of you who were so very thoughtful, compassionate, and sympathetic with your letters. It meant a great dealt to me, and I know it meant a great deal to Rick’s brothers — Chris and Cory — and our entire family. Two days after my son’s death, I got a call from Michael Landon. Even though he was in a desperate situation, he called to console me. A week later, Michael was dead. So these have not been the most happy several weeks.”
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