Was Michael Landon Jewish?

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Well, to make a long story short, Michael Landon was not Jewish! (though he considered himself Jewish)

Since Michael Landon's mother was not Jewish, and in Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism, those with a Jewish mother (or those who underwent a halakhic conversion) are considered Jewish, then that makes him not Jewish (though once again, he DID consider himself to be Jewish). Though he was not Jewish, His father was Jewish , and by Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism, who accept both matrilineal (by mother) and patrilineal (by father) descent views, he is considered Jewish.

Michael Landon (whose full birth name was Eugene Maurice Orowitz) was born on October 31, 1936 in Queens, New York, U.S.. Michael Landon passed away on July 1, 1991 (aged 54).

He attended and celebrated his Bar Mitzvah at Temple Beth Sholom, a Conservative synagogue, then located in Haddon Heights. His family recalls that Landon ''went through a lot of hassle studying for the big event, which included bicycling to a nearby town every day to learn how to read Hebrew and do the chanting.''

He is known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza (1959–1973), Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie (1974–1983), and Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven (1984–1989). Landon appeared on the cover of TV Guide 22 times, second only to Lucille Ball.

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