What Happened To Little House On The Prairie Star Michael Landon's Ex-Wife Dodie After Their Divorce?

In the age of information, escaping the public eye may seem an impossible feat for celebrities and those closest to them. However, as naturally curious creatures, the desire to inquire about our favorite stars existed far before the digital age. Just take a look at the cast of "Little House on the Prairie." The beloved and culturally impactful show churned out celebrities in the '70s, and audiences were fascinated with them, such as Pa Ingalls actor Michael Landon.

Landon met his first wife, Dodie Levy-Fraser, prior to his big break on "Bonanza" in 1959 (where he met fellow "Little House" actor Victor French). Levy-Fraser was a law secretary at the time, and although the couple never disclosed how or when they met, they had a modest wedding in 1956. Landon adopted Dodie's son from a previous marriage, Mark, as his own, and the couple went on to adopt an infant, Josh – the first two of the nine children of the "Highway to Heaven" star. Despite their marriage being on the rocks by 1961, the couple adopted another newborn, Jason, a year before their separation and divorce.

After they separated, Levy-Fraser gained full custody of all three children, while Landon married Marjorie Lynn Noe in 1963 (an extra he met on the set of "Bonanza"). We don't know a lot about her life after that, as the law secretary largely disappeared from the limelight after her divorce. What is public about her life after Landon is heartbreaking: her remarriage ended in tragedy, and she gave up one of her children. 

Although Dodie Levy-Fraser left the Hollywood limelight after separating from Michael Landon, the story of how she gave up their youngest son, Jason, eventually came out.  A 1991 People article detailed how she handed her year-old son over to a pair of Texan empty-nesters, Bill and Alma Smith. A friend of Landon's assumed, "It's a terrible thing, but when she couldn't handle the kid, that was the end of the adoption." 

Landon had defended his role in his adopted sons' lives back in 1962, asserting, "I hate it when someone calls [Josh and Jason] 'adopted' ... They're my sons – period." However, following Jason's re-adoption, it seems as though Landon was totally out of the picture. Jason wasn't counted among Landon's nine children, but the actor's publicist, Nik Venet, claimed that the actor "... knew an awful lot about Jason. It would be hard to prove, but I think someone was contacting him ... He just wanted to make sure the kid was okay." His ex-wife refused to comment.

Levy-Fraser remarried in 1976, but her relationship with EMC Research Director Dr. Peter Anthony Lake was also cut short. The wedding ceremony was kept small in an EMC patient suite with close friends, family, and hospital employees. The neuroscience specialist died a few months later in August 1976 at only 36 years old. After the devastating loss, she moved from Palm Springs to California, where she lived a private life until her own death in 1994.