Lynn Noe was an American actress and model best known as the second wife of actor Michael Landon.
She worked as a background actress in the 1950s and later appeared on television alongside her family.
Who is Lynn Noe?
Lynn Noe, born Marjorie Lynn Noe, was an actress and model from Louisville, Kentucky. She worked as an extra in films and met her future husband on the set of Bonanza.
She married Michael Landon on January 12, 1963.
Together, the couple raised five children, including four biological children with Landon. Their marriage lasted nearly 20 years before they divorced in 1982.
Noe died on November 26, 2015, at age 82.
After the divorce, she opened a boutique in Los Angeles and founded a support group called L.A.D.I.E.S. To this day, her name stays tied to Landon, who starred in Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie.
Early Life of Lynn Noe
Marjorie Lynn Noe was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on June 6, 1933. As an adult, she built her life in Southern California.
She went by Lynn professionally.
Before she met Landon, she worked as a model and commercial actress. In the 1950s, she also took extra roles in films.
She had married twice before she met Landon.
Lynn Noe Age / Birthday
Lynn Noe was born on June 6, 1933, and died at age 82 on November 26, 2015.
Her zodiac sign was Gemini, a sign often linked with curiosity and communication. In her final years, she lived in Palos Verdes Estates, California.
Noe was well-liked for her physical attributes, while she had never revealed her height, weight, and body measurements.
Lynn Noe Ethnicity and Nationality
Lynn Noe was American, born in Louisville, Kentucky. Her ethnic background is not publicly confirmed.
She spent her adult life in California, where she raised her children. Later, she settled in Palos Verdes Estates.
Lynn Noe Career
Lynn Noe’s career moved from modeling and extra work to talk shows, telethons, and commercials. Her screen work often placed her beside Michael Landon, one of television’s biggest stars.
Background Actress and Modeling (1950s)
Noe started out as a model and commercial actress. In 1956, she appeared as an uncredited extra in Around the World in Eighty Days.
She also worked as an extra on Bonanza.
That job changed her personal life because she met Landon on the set. At that point, Landon played Little Joe Cartwright on Bonanza, a role he held from 1959 to 1973.
Television Appearances (1961-1987)
Noe appeared as herself on The Mike Douglas Show in 1961. Six years later, she took part in the Third Annual Tennessee Cerebral Palsy Telethon, a credit listed on her IMDb profile.
In March 1976, she attended the 16th Annual International Broadcasting Awards with Landon.
During the 1970s, the couple also appeared in Kodak television ads that featured their children. Later, in 1987, she appeared in an episode of Biography.
Portrayal in Film (1999)
Her family story reached the screen in 1999 with Michael Landon, the Father I Knew. Michael Landon Jr. directed the film and wrote its story.
Cheryl Ladd played Lynn Noe Landon in the movie.
John Schneider played Landon, and the film followed the family through the divorce.
Lynn Noe Filmography
Noe’s screen credits include one film extra role and several television appearances.
| Year | Title | Type | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Around the World in Eighty Days | Film | Uncredited extra |
| 1961 | The Mike Douglas Show | Television | Self |
| 1967 | Third Annual Tennessee Cerebral Palsy Telethon | Television | Appearance |
| 1976 | The 16th Annual International Broadcasting Awards | Television | Self |
| 1987 | Biography | Television | Appearance |
Her earliest credit dates to 1956.
Her last listed appearance came in 1987.
Lynn Noe Marriages and Husbands
Lynn Noe married three times. Her first husband was Michael Angelo Pontrelli, and they had a daughter, Cheryl.
Her second husband was Mannie Baier, whom she married on November 21, 1961.
Soon after, in 1963, she married Michael Landon on January 12. The two met on the Bonanza set, and Landon later starred in Little House on the Prairie from 1974 to 1983.
Landon raised Cheryl as his daughter after the wedding.
The couple divorced in 1982 after Landon began a relationship with Cindy Clerico.
Clerico worked as a makeup artist on Little House on the Prairie, and Landon married her on February 14, 1983.
In a 1985 interview with People, Landon said the marriage had problems before he met Clerico. Noe told the magazine she had put Landon at the center of her life.
Landon and Noe divorced after almost two decades together.
Lynn Noe Children
Lynn Noe had five children: one daughter from her first marriage and four children with Michael Landon.
Her daughter Cheryl was born Cheryl Ann Pontrelli and later became known as Cheryl Lynn Landon.
Cheryl was nine years old when her mother married Landon.
With Landon, Noe had Leslie, Michael Jr., Shawna, and Christopher. Leslie became an actress and later a psychologist, while Michael Jr. built a career as a director, writer, and producer.
Leslie Landon played the schoolteacher Etta Plum on Little House on the Prairie.
Michael Jr. married actress Sharee Gregory in December 1987, which made Noe her mother-in-law. Leslie followed in 1990 and married Brian Matthews.
Noe’s grandchildren include Justin Matthews, Rachel Matthews, Dylan Lupia, Brittany Landon, and Ashley Landon.
Christopher Landon works as a filmmaker.
In 1973, Cheryl survived a serious car collision near Tucson, Arizona. Landon later said he promised God he would create something to help people if she recovered, and that promise led to the series Highway to Heaven.
Cheryl wrote the 1992 book I Promised My Dad about her father.
Lynn Noe Later Life and Death
After the divorce, Noe opened a boutique in Los Angeles. She also founded L.A.D.I.E.S., short for Life After Divorce Is Eventually Sane.
She started the group after her split from Landon.
Landon died of pancreatic cancer on July 1, 1991, at age 54 in Malibu, California. Noe did not attend his funeral because she felt the divorce had already been like a death.
She died on November 26, 2015, in Palos Verdes Estates, California.
Her children include a director, a filmmaker, and a psychologist.
Lynn Noe Net Worth
Lynn Noe’s estimated net worth was $1 million when she died in 2015. Her income came from her modeling and acting work, her boutique, and her divorce settlement.
Landon’s divorce from Noe cost him $26 million.
As part of the settlement, he reportedly gave her his 35-room Beverly Hills mansion, valued at $3.5 million.
She ran her boutique in Los Angeles after the divorce.
Conclusion
Lynn Noe spent two decades as the wife of Michael Landon and raised five children, four of them with him.
After their 1982 divorce, she built a new life of her own through a Los Angeles boutique and the L.A.D.I.E.S. support group.