Michael Landon

Michael: (about acting) I realized that it was a great release for me. I could cry while I was someone else. I could get a lot of things out of my system that I couldn't get out on my own. One of the things I learned early on, though, was that wanting to be an actor and getting a job are two entirely different things. I spent a lot of time in parking lots, waiting for producers and agents to come out of their offices. I'd wait for them and whistle through my teeth, and I'd audition for them on their way to their cars.

Michael: I loved my father because I learned a lot from him. He never disciplined me, and he only hit me once. He didn't even want to hit me then, but my mother goaded him into it. He didn't know how to hit me-by the time it happened, I was a half-foot taller than he was-so he slapped me with the back of his hand. A ring he was wearing cut my lip, and I started to bleed. It didn't bother me, but my father started to cry and left the room. I was really glad it happened because it was the first time my father showed any emotion.

Michael: Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows.