Married Michael Landon Had Affair With Teen & Bragged About Their Intimacies On 'Little House' Set

Nov 26, 2021 by apost team

Michael Landon was an American actor, writer, director, and producer, best known for his television roles — primarily Little Joe on "Bonanza" and Charles Ingalls on "Little House On The Prairie." The actor was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1995 and has appeared on the cover of TV Guide 22 times — a feat only accomplished previously by Lucille Ball. 

Landon has been recognized for his writing abilities as well as for his acting. His script for the "Bonanza" episode "Forever" was considered one of the most memorable television specials of all time by TV Guide in 2002. The script featured an emotional recalling of the beloved character Hoss, portrayed by Dan Blocker prior to his passing. Landon began directing the show in 1968.

The star used much of what he learned from writing and directing on "Bonanza" when he worked on "Little House On The Prairie." Landon was also incredibly loyal to the people he worked with, including producer Kent McCray, director William F. Claxton and composer David Rose who all worked with Landon on "Bonanza," "Little House On The Prairie" and "Highway to Heaven."

Outside of his career, Landon was a family man who was married three times and had nine children. His first marriage was to Dodie Levy-Fraser, his second to Marjorie Lynn Noe, and his third wife was Cindy Clerico. Despite the ups and down through some of the relationships, most ended amicably. His last marriage ended with his death in 1991 from pancreatic cancer.

Keep reading to learn about Landon’s personal life and how he used to brag about his affair while on the “Little House on the Prairie” set. 

Apart from his professional life, Landon was also known for his somewhat tumultuous personal life. Landon was married to Dodie Levy-Fraser in 1956, at the time he was beginning his acting career. The couple adopted two children together, Mark and Josh, but they eventually divorced in 1962.

It is believed that Landon had begun seeing his second wife, Lynn Noe, that same year. Noe was an American actress best known for her time on the television series "The Mike Douglas Show." Upon meeting Landon, Noe already had a daughter from a previous relationship named Cheryl, who was nine at the time. 

Noe and Landon initially met on the set of "Bonanza." They were married in 1963, the year after the birth of their first child together, Leslie Ann. Landon chose to adopt Cheryl when the couple got married. The pair then went on to have three more children, Michael Jr., Shawna Leigh, and Christopher Beau. The couple divorced in 1982.

Landon's third marriage was to Cindy Clerico, a producer who first met Landon when she was 18 and working as a makeup artist on the set of "Little House on the Prairie." She was more than 20 years younger than the actor. Landon was still married to Noe when he met Clerico and their relationship made the cast and crew of “Little House on the Prairie” uncomfortable. This was in part because many of the people who worked on the show were also friends with Noe and Landon was not shy about his infidelity.

Clerico and Landon were later married the same year their daughter Jennifer was born, in 1983. In 1986, Clerico and Landon had another child, a son named Sean. 

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One cast member of “Little House on the Prairie,” in particular, did not get along well with Landon and she shared details about his behavior on set. Kate Grassle wrote in her memoir, “Bright Lights, Prairie Dust: Life, Loss and Love from Little House’s Ma,” that Landon would brag about his “revived libido” and make comments about intimacies between him and Clerico. “Mike began to arrive jubilant at the makeup table, crowing about the benefits of bee pollen for the aging male,” Grassle wrote.

Many of the cast members were close friends with Landon’s wife Noe, who he was still married to when he began bragging about his escapades with Clerico. “I knew his wife,” Grassle said in her autobiography. “I had been in their home. She had been kind to me. And I thought about her children — there were three of them still at home … and younger than Cindy.”

In her memoir, Grassle said that Clerico and Landon spoke with each other more on set than with anyone else, and their obvious flirting made others uncomfortable. “Then they began to walk further away from the action, engrossed in conversation and each other,” Grassle explained. “It was awkward as hell for us in the company. Everyone saw. Everyone looked away.”

Grassle also mentioned that Landon, as one of the producers of the show, declared that she should get paid as much as the child actors despite playing the role of Ma. She also claimed that he would make rude comments about her body and facial expressions on set as well. “It was mostly the lack of appreciation,” Grassle told The New York Post. “But it was also the way he treated women in general.”

What do you think of Landon and Clerico’s relationship? Let us know your opinion and be sure to send this along to your friends and family that watched “Little House on the Prairie.”