Growing up, Michael Landon seemed to be on TV all the time. He was Little Joe on Bonanza, a show that many of us would watch after school during the weekdays. He was also on endless Kodak commercials, and, of course, he played the patriarch of the Ingalls family for nine wonderful seasons on Little House on the Prairie.

And truth be told, he was so much more. He was the driving force behind the show. Michael spent a great deal of time and energy helping to bring the world of the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder to life. Clearly, this show was special to him, and he wanted it to be special for the viewers who tuned in each week.