The brother that he never had: Kent McCray remembers the multi-talented Michael Landon on his birthday

Always keep smiling: Michael Landon’s hazel eyes, fit physique, Malibu tan, and burgeoning hair mark the waning days of “Bonanza.” An alternate black and white shot from this photo session was sent to newspapers to promote Landon’s residency as Mike Douglas’s co-host on the syndicated daytime “Mike Douglas Show” from KYW-TV studios at 5th and Market Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Landon’s five 90-minute appearances with Douglas were taped in early February 1973, less than a month after Landon starred, wrote, and directed “Bonanza’s” final episode entitled “The Hunter.” Image Credit: NBCUniversal

Perhaps tough to fathom, but actor-writer-director-producer Michael Landon would be an octogenarian had he not succumbed to brutal pancreatic cancer in July 1991. Landon was noted for his unabashedly lucrative 32-year run on three beloved NBC television series — Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, and Highway to…