As far as dream careers go, the cowboy is pretty high up on the list. Who wouldn’t want to be a gunslinger extraordinaire, keeping the peace and riding a horse through countless towns? We’re willing to bet that at some point in your childhood, you wanted to be a cowboy when you grew up.
Michael Landon was given quite a gift when he took on the part of Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza. Audiences looked up to the actor, not just for the character that he played but also for the man that he was. The Cartwrights were balanced and just, and were always able to remedy a situation.
However, according to Michael Landon, there was a fight that Little Joe simply could not win, and that was against the Caped Crusader himself.
During an interview with the Associated Press, Landon said that, instead of Bonanza, his children were far more interested in watching Batman.
“I give the two little ones their bath and we sit in front of the fireplace,” he said, explaining his children’s nightly routine. “And then, they watch Batman.”
To fall in second place is no easy thing to handle, however, when pitted against Batman, Landon was too happy to lose.
While he may not have been his children’s favorite character, Landon worked hard to make sure that he was an ideal father. “Everything’s going well, but that’s not what makes you happy,” he said.
“My family. My kids,” Landon said when pressed as to what made him happy.