‘Little House on the Prairie’ Star Melissa Gilbert Recalls Michael Landon’s Cancer Battle

Michael Landon, 1981 — Gene Trindl/Everett Collection

While Michael Landon had nine children of his own, he was a father figure to many others, including his Little House on the Prairie costar Melissa Gilbert. So, it was just as hard for her when Landon was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died three months after announcing his diagnosis to the world. She recently opened up about how brutal that type of cancer is and how he went from being a relatively healthy person to very ill so quickly. He was only 54 when he died in 1991.

She explained, “It is really a brutal and pernicious disease. To me, it felt like a tornado. You have no warning. It’s just there and the survival rate is virtually nil. I’d seen Michael have meningitis, I’d seen him with broken bones, I’d seen him with a lot of illnesses over the course of our time together. But this took him and decimated him so fast.”

LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, from left: Michael Landon, Melissa Gilbert, Melissa Sue Anderson, 1974-1983

NBC/Everett Collection

“This man was the epitome of physical well-being,” she continued. “I always described him as an upside-down triangle, so strong, in such great shape, so healthy. And to see it happen so quickly and so almost violently, it felt like an enemy I wanted to defeat.”

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Gilbert said that it was tough watching Landon and his family suffer. Now she, along with several of Landon’s children, have teamed up with Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) to raise money for the charity. This November, Gilbert is also launching a special collection of products from her brand Modern Prairie in honor of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. All of the proceeds from the collection featuring purple products, the color of pancreatic awareness, will go to support PanCAN.

“It is absolutely incumbent upon us to use that money for good,” said Gilbert. “This was always going to be a goal of ours. And I think our relationship with PanCAN is just the first step in that direction.”