Michael Landon was born as Eugene Maurice Orowitz on October 31st, 1936 in Forest Hills, New York. The family later moved to Collingswood, New Jersey. He had one sister-Evelyn. His parents-Eli and Peggy never got along. Eli was a Jew, and Peggy an Irish-Catholic. His mother was abusive and crazy, often threatening her life, and sometimes even the children's. She used to turn on the gas oven and stick her head into it, only she had knee pads so she wouldn't hurt her knees, and also left the window open. Michael used to run to a spot and pretend to be different people and characters. Because of all the stress at home, Michael Landon was a chronic bed wetter. His mother used to hang out the sheets out the window, to try to embarass him. But by the time he started track and throwing the javelin, his bed-wetting stopped.
Michael Landon finally found something he could do better than "anyone else." He practiced and practiced throwing the javelin. He decided to go to school and eventually be in the olympics. He enrolled in the University of Santa Barbara, and later his coach helped get him a scholarship to go to UCLA. At this time, the Orowitz family was planning to move to California, and Michael then lived with his family. His sister Evelyn changed her name to Victoria King when they moved to Hollywood. All of Michael Landon's dreams were shattered when he injured his arm, and could not throw the javelin any longer.