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I Promised My Dad : An Intimate Portrait of Michael Landon by his Eldest Daughter

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The daughter of the late television star offers candid insights about her famous father, from his role as a devoted parent and his talent as a writer/producer/director to his marital troubles. Reprint.

277 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1992

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Cheryl Landon Wilson

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5 stars
51 (27%)
4 stars
66 (35%)
3 stars
53 (28%)
2 stars
13 (7%)
1 star
2 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
Profile Image for John Yelverton.
4,437 reviews38 followers
May 25, 2013
Decent and interesting biography, but Cheryl Landon Wilson seems more interested in telling her own story than her father's.
Profile Image for Eric WT.
58 reviews2 followers
July 7, 2022
A book I read awhile back.
Profile Image for Juanita.
776 reviews8 followers
December 24, 2019
Review: I Promised My Dad by Cheryl Landon Wilson.

The author held nothing back about her father’s goodness or his flaws. I rated the biography a three because Michael Landon isn’t the person I thought he was. What I read sends off more flaws then goodness. His main three shows, Bonanza, as Little Joe, Little House on the Prairie, as Charles Ingalls, and Highway to Heaven, as Jonathan Smith were great shows and I feel he was a great character, almost a saint, but he was a whole different guy when off-stage.

Michael was admired by so many people and Cheryl’s intimate memoirs written by her were close up, personal and special. His family meant a lot to him even though his up-bringing was abusive. Landon had nine children between two marriages. Michael Landon was a television hero to her and in his character roles with family values Cheryl believed he was the best.

There were moments when Michael degraded, hated, used family and friends and he sometimes showed anger and he even went through drinking uncontrollable and using drugs but the world did not see or live his life in that manner but his step-daughter created an image of a different person. I won’t go through the rough attitude or flaws of Michael Landon that Cheryl wrote in the book because I like to imagine him like the characters he acted on television.
Profile Image for Lisa.
82 reviews11 followers
July 19, 2010
It's hard to retreat far enough away from the story emotionally to review this book, but I'm going to try. Some of the horrors of Michael Landon's childhood I already knew about, but some of it was even worse than I knew. That he became such a warm, loving adult is practically a miracle, and in all probability, most of the problems he did have can be traced back to his home life as a child and adolescent.

This certainly seems to be the opinion of his step-daughter, Cheryl, as well. As a child, she was unofficially adopted by Landon when he became a constant in her mother's life, but he was prevented from legal adoption by Cheryl's father, who wanted an exclusive paternal claim on his daughter in spite of her pleas that she could (and did) love two fathers.

Cheryl goes on to tell the amazing story of her life as Michael Landon's daughter, from their idyllic early relationship to the horrific car crash that left her at the brink of death (only to be called back by his constant presence at her bedside), to her dependence on painkillers and her rehabilitation, to her father's affair and eventual desertion of her mother, to the full reconciliation between father and daughter when she learned of his cancer diagnosis, to his death three months later at the age of 54.

The childhood anecdotes are too few and far between for my taste, but recalling her life, Cheryl must have had greater recollection of something like being willed back to life by her father's love than of smaller incidents in her earlier youth. The story of Michael Landon's attempt at plowing their lawn, however, is much appreciated :)

This book is chock full of tragedy, but it's also the story of a lonely little girl's "rescue" by her "knight in shining armor" and all the ways in which father and daughter -- both continuously searching for someone to love them -- found what they were looking for and used it to weather together the rather large bumps in the road that surfaced along the way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Teri.
183 reviews13 followers
June 3, 2009
I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portrait of Michael Landon by His Eldest
Daughter by Cheryl Landon Wilson with Jane Scovell

When I was 11, I fell in"love" with Little Joe on Bonanza. For 14 long years, I watched that show, then watched Little House, then Highway To Heaven. I still have photos from Photoplay in my movie scrapbook of Mike, Dodie and Mark. Years later, when I had the honor of spending time with my close friend Heather in her suite in Mike's Beverly Hills Mansion in early '80, and met Leslie, I was so honored to receive a specially autographed picture of Mike as a Wedding gift. I treasure that gift, one of his photos as Charles Ingalls. Mike was admired by so many and Cheryl's intimate memoirs bring Mike up close and personal. His family meant the utmost to him. Even with his tragic upbringing with an abusive mother, Mike turned things around with his family, bringing unconditional love into his nine children's lives. I was moved to tears while watching Mike on The Tonight Show 9 May '91, when he shared with the world his quick battle with Pancreatic Cancer. I know what it's like, as I've battled my Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma for 6 years, though have embraced it all just like Mike did with his indomitable courage. When we were watching him on Johnny Carson, it was actually my BD, 10 May, when we saw him. Mike, we miss you, b ut your legacy lives on!!!! This is a wonderful book!!!! Thanks Cheryl!!!! One thing about Mike that I so admired about him was that he had LDS people working for him.

Forever Friends Rating 5 Stars by Teri
Until Next Time, See You Around the Book Nook


Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
Pub. Date: November 1992
ISBN-13: 9780671793524
224pp



Profile Image for Amber Davison Crawford.
9 reviews
October 29, 2012
I love this book. It touched my heart. I have loved Michael Landon since I was a small girl. Cheryl does a wonderful job describing the relationship between her and her 'dad' (Michael Landon) in this. It is a great tribute to a great man. For Michael Landon fans, it is a 'must read'. Truly beautiful. <3
95 reviews
August 6, 2017
Author made this book more about how she feels slighted by Michael Landon. Mad because he did not leave her enough money (in her opinion), mad that he spent more time with his juvenile children then he did with her (a married woman with a child of her own). Wanted to yell, "Grow up and be an adult!"
141 reviews
April 15, 2012
Cherly wrote a wonderful book about her dad Micheal Landon. He was a wonderful actor and will be remembered by lots of family and friends and fans.
25 reviews30 followers
March 11, 2014
I loved this book. I honestly can say that I had to force myself to put it down at night.
I have a notebook full of quotes and most are by Michael Landon.
Profile Image for Tammy.
673 reviews2 followers
March 3, 2015
This was a lovely tribute, but honest too.
835 reviews2 followers
April 11, 2019
I always admired Michael Landon, this book written by step daughter---okay but seemed a bit "off key" to me.
165 reviews1 follower
August 16, 2022
not as good as I thought it would be. Seemed to be more about the writer, his daughter then about Michael. Told a bit about him, but not enough.
Profile Image for Michelle.
609 reviews24 followers
August 24, 2020
Will give you an insight into the real Michael Landon

When people think about Michael Landon, they most commonly refer to him as his possibly best known character - Charles Ingalls. So it comes as a shock to people when they discover that he was a heavy smoker, could knock back neat vodka like it was water and despite being a notoriously jealous and possessive man of his wife, had affairs.

Should this cloud your judgement of him though? No. As his oldest (although not biological) daughter, Cheryl, repeatedly states, he was Michael Landon NOT Little Joe. Not Charles Ingalls. Not Jonathan Smith. He was her dad.

And she never let us forget who her dad was during this biography. The amount of times she full named him. We get it. He’s Michael Landon. We know who he is. And then she dropped it down to Mike, and then to Dad (despite the consternation of her biological father), it then reverted back to Michael Landon again.

Cheryl is also guilty of repeating stories and jumping back and forth in time. The biography is not told in a linear fashion and whilst sometimes it can be hard to read a biography from birth to death, the constant leaping about in time annoyed me. She also talks more about Bonanza than Little House, I feel like there was a whole period of time skipped over, but Cheryl was getting older by that point and had her own stories to tell (like the horrific car accident she was in.) The repetitiveness of some of the stories gave me a severe case of deja vu more than once.

I do feel that this biography is written with a tang of bitterness about it. There’s a lot that could be gathered in hindsight, but reading this, which was clearly written shortly after his death (the postscript is written on the first anniversary of his death), it still feels like there is a lot of anger towards his affairs (Cheryl mentions one, Cindy, although I’m sure Melissa Gilbert mentions a different one in her [[ASIN:1416599177 biography]], although I may be misremembering) and the lesser inheritance that she got after he died.

I wish she’d talked about her siblings more, as I knew Leslie from various appearances in Little House and another brother, Christopher, has gone into [[ASIN:B076BHTLZ7 directing]]. But I suppose they have their own stories to tell and this book was more about her dad than anything. Little is mentioned of her marriage and her son, particularly after she got married and I feel that the book could have been expanded upon, to include more of her adult life, post marriage.

It is a good book, albeit only 224 pages long. It’s short chapters as well, so you can fairly read through. The finale of the book, the lead up to his death, is particularly hard to read, and would have been particularly hard to write for Cheryl too. There are plenty of photos included on glossy paper, although they are black and white (the photos on the dust cover are colour.)

This book does have its issues, but it is a good biography of Michael, with slight bitterness. You do learn a lot about his life and his apathy towards his first and second marriages. It would be interesting to see if any of his other children release biographies in the future.
Profile Image for Carmen Redding.
145 reviews3 followers
May 20, 2022
I Promised my Dad is a courageous and insightful book. I’m sure it took a lot of emotional strength for Cheryl Landon Wilson to pen this book. To put down on paper an honest and unadulterated story of a loved one is a daunting task. Human beings, by their very nature are complicated, but when dealing with a loved one, it would be like walking on a tightrope between romanticizing and objectively presenting the events, decisions and emotions that make up a life.

You can sense throughout the book that Cheryl took time to give us a daughter’s perspective of Michael Landon, a man who rescued, nurtured, supported and gave his unconditional love to a young girl who was not his biological child. She acknowledged his strengths and shortcomings, his values and the painful memories of his upbringing.

Michael Landon’s rags to riches story is filled with his struggle to succeed and the demands of success; his desire to live the good life and the consequences of having to fit into that lifestyle choice. In the book we see how family life is affected, and how being at the top does not translate into living happily ever after. Having said this, the book helps us know, admire, and understand the man Cheryl knew, not only for his success on the set, but for the generous, gutsy, resilient man who fought the good fight and finished the race surrounded by his children who loved him.

Michael was more than Little Joe, more than Charles, more than Jonathan . Or perhaps he was Eugene Orovitz and Michael Landon with a little bit of Joe, Charles and Jonathan thrown in for good measure. However we might feel about his life choices, we find out he left a lasting legacy through his children and the wholesome programming that has entertained, moved and inspired many in this generation.
Profile Image for Susan.
86 reviews
December 24, 2021
Difficult to review a book about one of my most loved heroes whom I’ve learned most of my life lessons from. I’d say it was difficult to read about some of his personality flaws because let’s be real, he has passed and can’t defend himself AND we all have flaws. The book endeared me to him even more actually, and I’ve got to say I can’t believe that would have been possible. I am so thankful Cheryl wrote the book to allow a lifetime fan a glimpse into his soul offscreen. Viewers are all the better for this man to have written, directed, acted and given us a legacy of stories and lessons that in my opinion will never be outdated. Cheryl did seem to write a balanced and brief account of his short lived life. And I do have to add…I’m so glad they all loved Barone’s just as I did with my family!
Profile Image for Maura.
632 reviews9 followers
December 29, 2020
I borrowed this book because I had always admired Michael Landon and loved the TV series he was in, starting with Bonanza (yes! I am that old - ha!). Good looking, always seemed genuine... And this book by his step-daughter does support my sense of the man. However, he was not perfect and after reading this book I lost a bit of respect for him. He did become a celebrity, after all, and that can really wreck havoc on your humanity, I think. The writing was good/adequate. Maybe a little repetitious to keep the page count up?
Profile Image for Marti.
2,479 reviews17 followers
May 25, 2025
Michael Landon's stepdaughter shares a lot about the actor, director and producer in his personal / family life.

I remember my dad always referring to Pa Ingalls as Little Joe while I was watching "Little House on the Prairie."
Profile Image for Ashley Stark.
174 reviews
January 10, 2021
Good look into the family life of Landon. But I would have liked to know more about Little House. She also repeated a lot.
This books is also 221 pages, not 10 as Goodreads says.
Profile Image for Melissa Coffman.
352 reviews1 follower
March 28, 2024
I absolutely loved this book. It’s such a great tribute to such an awesome man, who is her Dad. Very well written. Amazing book!
Profile Image for Elaine.
686 reviews7 followers
August 7, 2024
What a wonderful bio/memoir. I learned so much about Michael from his daughter. He truly was a great person especially when one considers his childhood.
Profile Image for Wanda Maynard.
299 reviews22 followers
May 12, 2018
I PROMISED MY DAD: AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT OF MICHAEL LANDON by His Eldest Daughter, Cheryl Landon Wilson, with Jane Scovell, Showed not only happy times of and about Michael Landon, but also some of his saddest moments too. And, above all, about his love for God and family.
Michael Landon was one of my heroes of Television. When it came to making programs that were based on family values, in my opinion, he was one of the best. If not the best.
I love westerns! Every time I watched "Bonanza," and listened to the theme song and watched Michael Landon, as Little Joe, come riding toward the camera, on his horse, along with the other Cartwright men, ready to face another episode, Michael's smile seemed to light up the screen big as life.
There will never be another Michael Landon. Oh! there may be others that might try to follow in his footsteps, but will they ever be able to take his place? I don't think so. He had that certain quality, certain image, and yes, personality that was his alone that stood out on the screen. And that laugh, that look he had, I will never forget. And, on "Little House On The Prairie," as Charles Ingalls, as he and Caroline rode out in the prairie schooner, there was that bright smile again that lit up the screen, ready to save the day as a true family hero and father figure.
Then on "Highway To Heaven," as Jonathan Smith walked down that lonely road, and the sunshine lit upon his handsome face, that look of his just came forth, like a warm, soft glow, and again the screen lit up. Michael Landon was such a wonderful actor. He will always be with us through his delightful family programs that will live on. Michael's death not only had an impact on his family, it also had a deep impact on his dearly, devoted fans too. No, we can't say goodbye. We will just say, see you in another episode Michael. Great read!
September 7, 2025
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➕ What an incredibly moving portrait. I so appreciate the author's candidness and grace as she navigated all of this. It must have been so hard to write this book. I absolutely loved the journey this book took me through, of a man who was flawed, who was deeply intelligent, who could be both compassionate and petty, and who is remembered by millions. I appreciate hearing about his life, through the eyes of someone who knew him, loved him, was hurt by him, and could still speak of him with such clear affection.

I didn't expect to feel so much reading this. The ending in particular affected me. ♡
Profile Image for Kristen Lester.
181 reviews18 followers
September 23, 2013
Book Cover: The book cover was not my favorite in the world but I thought it was appropriate for the book. *STAR*

Author: I really enjoyed reading this book and the way Cheryl wrote it from her perspective and experience. *STAR*

Story: This story that is told was very insightful about Michael Landon and I learned a lot of things that I didn't know about him. *STAR*

Characters/Relationships: I thought Cheryl did a wonderful job of sharing the relationship she had with her dad as well as the ones he shared with others in his lifetime. *STAR*

Cleanliness: There was some language used in this book. NO STAR


Overall Review: I enjoyed this easy light read about Micheal Landon told from the perspective of his daughter. She shares intimate things about his life that you would never know had she not shared them. She walks you through his career, family situations, accomplishments, and failures all the way until the end of his life. This was a wonderful tribute to dedicate to her dad and I know he would be very proud of his daughter Cheryl for doing such a wonderful job preserving a little bit of her dads life that has touched so many.
Profile Image for Karen & Gerard.
Author 1 book26 followers
May 8, 2014
I Promised My Dad—An Intimate Portrait of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter, Cheryl Landon Wilson with Jane Scovell is about the life of Michael Landon. I was impressed by how much his daughter knew about his childhood. By reading this book, I learned many things about Michael Landon that I never knew. Since I watched him as “Little Joe” in Bonanza and then as Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie, I was eager to learn about him as a person. This book answers the question, What was Michael Landon really like? It has a lot of interesting things in it but I especially liked his reason for letting his hair grow long—it gave him more confidence and made him feel like he could do anything, like Samson who had great strength when his hair was long. He was a loving man with a great sense of humor.
(Karen's review)
Profile Image for Kelly.
49 reviews
September 1, 2013
At first I didn't like it. But as it went on I really started to enjoy it more. You could tell she was really trying to be fair and give her mother the appreciation she didn't get. It really gave me a clear picture of what kind of person Michael Landon was. An example is, how he would sit outside where his wife was to make sure she was there or order her food at a restaurant for her. Another is the Las Vegas trip where he made his friend pay 1/2 of the large bill because he didn't feel like working. And you never hear much about his first two children. I think that is sad. But, I guess everytime he decided to start a new family he kind of forgot about the old one.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews

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