When he was a youngster in Collingswood, Michael Landon (then known as Eugene Orowitz) would spend days fishing and dreaming across from his house on Newton Park Lake.

Now, a group of his fans raised money through a GoFundMe campaign to install a bench in the park in tribute to the late actor.

The bench will be positioned so that it faces Landon’s boyhood home and there will be a plaque as well, reading “In loving memory of Michael Landon, Actor Writer Director Producer. His fans raised over $5,000 for the bench and plaque. According to the GoFundMe page, “Just as the lake was a special place for Mr. Landon, we want to make it a special place for his fans to visit and honor him.”

As reported in the Courier-Post, Landon came to Collingswood as a child and stayed through high school, before leaving for college and then for his acting career.

Landon died in 1991 at the age of 54. He had many starring roles on television including roles on “Bonanza”, “Little House on the Prairie”, and “Highway to Heaven.” Marla Fair, organizer of the fundraiser said, “Michael Landon is known as ‘Television’s Good Guy’ due to his contribution to wholesome and uplifting storytelling. This legacy continues to this day.”

They had originally hoped to have the bench and plaque installed in October in time for his 85th birthday but the pandemic interfered with those plans; now they plan on having everything in place by early spring of this year.

The town already has one memorial to the actor — a plaque in Knight Park.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle only.

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