<Tr> <Th> Spouse (s) </Th> <Td> Dodie Levy - Fraser (m . 1956--1962) Marjorie Lynn Noe (m . 1963--1982) Cindy (Clerico) Landon (m . 1983; his death 1991) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Children </Th> <Td> 9, including Mark, Leslie, Michael Jr., Christopher, and Jennifer </Td> </Tr> <P> Michael Landon (born Eugene Maurice Orowitz; October 31, 1936--July 1, 1991) was an American actor, writer, director, and producer . He is known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza (1959--73), Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie (1974--83), and Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven (1984--89). Landon appeared on the cover of TV Guide 22 times, second only to Lucille Ball . </P> <P> Landon was born Eugene Maurice Orowitz on October 31, 1936, in Forest Hills, a neighborhood of Queens, New York . His parents were Peggy (née O'Neill; a dancer and comedian) and Eli Maurice Orowitz . Eugene was the Orowitz family's second child; their daughter, Evelyn, was born three years earlier . In 1941, when Landon was four years old, he and his family moved to the Philadelphia suburb of Collingswood, New Jersey . He attended and celebrated his Bar Mitzvah at Temple Beth Shalom . 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 praying ." He attended Collingswood High School . </P>

Who played charles on little house on the prairie