By: Follow South Jersey Staff
COLLINGSWOOD, N.J. — Elected officials, community members, and staff from the Camden County Parks Department gathered in Collingswood, along with supporters of the project, to unveil a bench dedicated to legendary actor and Camden County native, Michael Landon on Saturday, May 20.
The project was spearheaded by Marla Fair, Jessie Heuer, and Sonya Lehman, who’ve been working on the project for the past two years, and are great fans of Landon. The Ohio residents came from across the country to commemorate where the actor spent his childhood and adolescence.
“Michael Landon starred in some of the most beloved TV shows of the 20th century and it’s wonderful that we can commemorate one of Camden County’s finest,” said Commissioner Melinda Kane. “Landon not only grew up in Collingswood, but his father was the manager of the iconic Westmont Theater. Landon’s connection to the area runs deep and this bench will be a great addition to our park system.”
Michael Landon was born Oct. 31, 1936, in Queens, New York as Eugene Maurice Orowitz. The family soon after moved to Collingswood. He changed his name to Michael Landon when he entered acting school and is best known for his roles in I Was a Teenage Werewolf, Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven. Landon died of cancer in 1991 at the age of 54.
The bench with a plaque dedication sit on a concrete pad beneath a tree on South Newton Lake Drive near the intersection of Chelsea Avenue in Newton Lake Park.
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