The Loneliest Runner
Encyclopedia
The Loneliest Runner is an autobiographical made-for-television film
written, and directed by Bonanza
star Michael Landon
. It first aired in 1976 on NBC and starred Lance Kerwin
, Brian Keith
, DeAnn Mears, and Landon's television daughter, Melissa Sue Anderson
. Landon also made a cameo appearance
in the show. The film was nominated for two Emmys
.
's alter-ego, 13 year-old John Curtis (played by Kerwin), who still wets his bed although already into his teens. The problem is publicized, by his mother, Alice Curtis (Mears), not only at home but also in public. She even goes so far as to hang her son’s stained bed sheets up in the window for all to see.
For fear of having his friends see the yellow sheets, the embarrassed John runs home from school every day and takes them down to avoid further humiliation. Soon, however, the running becomes more than a race home but an ambition. Partly because he loves it, and also to help him forget his shame and hurt of his unhappy home life, John starts running with the Junior track team in order to channel his anger.
The show continues on ten years later when the now adult John Curtis (played by Landon himself) is an Olympic
marathon runner and a gold-medal-winner.
was the real-life version of the loneliest runner. As a child, he wet his bed until he was 14 and his mother, Peggy O'Neill, really did hang his sheets to dry outside of his bedroom window as punishment. The dysfunctional family
life that Landon experienced during his early life were also similar to the ones in this autobiographical film.
The character of John Curtis is modeled after Landon himself, as are his parents and other supporting characters. He reused actor Walker Edmiston
of Bonanza
to play Doctor Claymore (who coincidentally later took two jobs on Little House guest starring as different Doctors in seasons five and nine, as well as an appearance in season three). Landon also asked his on-screen daughter, Melissa Sue Anderson
to play Nancy Rizzi, saying the part was perfect for her. Melissa says she was both honoured and thrilled to have been included.
Prior to acting, Landon also had Olympic
ambitions as a javelin thrower. Due to an injury in his shoulder ligaments during university, Landon was unable to pursue a career in sports and started acting, which eventually led to three very successful television series, in addition to other acting, directing, and writing jobs on other shows.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
written, and directed by Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
star Michael Landon
Michael Landon
Michael Landon was an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is widely known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza , Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie , and Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven...
. It first aired in 1976 on NBC and starred Lance Kerwin
Lance Kerwin
Lance Kerwin is an American actor, perhaps best remembered for his starring role in the TV series James at 15. Since the mid-1990s, however, Kerwin has not acted, instead focusing on his Christian religious beliefs, having become a pastor...
, Brian Keith
Brian Keith
Brian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
, DeAnn Mears, and Landon's television daughter, Melissa Sue Anderson
Melissa Sue Anderson
Melissa Sue Anderson is an American-Canadian actress. She played the role of Mary Ingalls on the NBC television series Little House on the Prairie. She starred on the show from 1974 until 1981, leaving after Season 7, but later appeared in 2 episodes of Season 8 in late 1981. She won an Emmy...
. Landon also made a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in the show. The film was nominated for two Emmys
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
.
Synopsis
The Loneliest Runner follows the story of Michael LandonMichael Landon
Michael Landon was an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is widely known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza , Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie , and Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven...
's alter-ego, 13 year-old John Curtis (played by Kerwin), who still wets his bed although already into his teens. The problem is publicized, by his mother, Alice Curtis (Mears), not only at home but also in public. She even goes so far as to hang her son’s stained bed sheets up in the window for all to see.
For fear of having his friends see the yellow sheets, the embarrassed John runs home from school every day and takes them down to avoid further humiliation. Soon, however, the running becomes more than a race home but an ambition. Partly because he loves it, and also to help him forget his shame and hurt of his unhappy home life, John starts running with the Junior track team in order to channel his anger.
The show continues on ten years later when the now adult John Curtis (played by Landon himself) is an Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
marathon runner and a gold-medal-winner.
Creation of film
Michael LandonMichael Landon
Michael Landon was an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is widely known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza , Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie , and Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven...
was the real-life version of the loneliest runner. As a child, he wet his bed until he was 14 and his mother, Peggy O'Neill, really did hang his sheets to dry outside of his bedroom window as punishment. The dysfunctional family
Dysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
life that Landon experienced during his early life were also similar to the ones in this autobiographical film.
The character of John Curtis is modeled after Landon himself, as are his parents and other supporting characters. He reused actor Walker Edmiston
Walker Edmiston
-Career:Walker Edmiston was an American character actor and voice-over artist who was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Edmiston appeared on various television programs in character roles during the 1950s – 1970s, such as Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, Knots Landing, and The Dukes of Hazzard, all...
of Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
to play Doctor Claymore (who coincidentally later took two jobs on Little House guest starring as different Doctors in seasons five and nine, as well as an appearance in season three). Landon also asked his on-screen daughter, Melissa Sue Anderson
Melissa Sue Anderson
Melissa Sue Anderson is an American-Canadian actress. She played the role of Mary Ingalls on the NBC television series Little House on the Prairie. She starred on the show from 1974 until 1981, leaving after Season 7, but later appeared in 2 episodes of Season 8 in late 1981. She won an Emmy...
to play Nancy Rizzi, saying the part was perfect for her. Melissa says she was both honoured and thrilled to have been included.
Prior to acting, Landon also had Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
ambitions as a javelin thrower. Due to an injury in his shoulder ligaments during university, Landon was unable to pursue a career in sports and started acting, which eventually led to three very successful television series, in addition to other acting, directing, and writing jobs on other shows.
Cast
- Lance KerwinLance KerwinLance Kerwin is an American actor, perhaps best remembered for his starring role in the TV series James at 15. Since the mid-1990s, however, Kerwin has not acted, instead focusing on his Christian religious beliefs, having become a pastor...
, of James at 15James at 15James at 15 is an American drama series that aired on NBC in the 1977-1978 season. The series was preceded by the 1977 made-for-TV movie James at 15, intended as a pilot for the series...
as the teenaged John Curtis - Brian KeithBrian KeithBrian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
, TV’s “Uncle Bill” of Family AffairFamily AffairFamily Affair is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966 to September 9, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do civil engineer and bachelor Bill Davis as he attempted to raise his brother's orphaned children in his luxury New York City apartment. Davis' traditional...
as Arnold Curtis - DeAnn Mears, from Law And OrderLaw and OrderLaw and Order may refer to:In politics:*Law and order , a term common in political debate and discussion, generally indicating support of a strict criminal justice system*Law and Order Offensive Party, a minor German political party...
as Alice Curtis - Landon’s television daughter of Little House on the PrairieLittle House on the Prairie (TV series)Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling series of Little House books...
, Melissa Sue AndersonMelissa Sue AndersonMelissa Sue Anderson is an American-Canadian actress. She played the role of Mary Ingalls on the NBC television series Little House on the Prairie. She starred on the show from 1974 until 1981, leaving after Season 7, but later appeared in 2 episodes of Season 8 in late 1981. She won an Emmy...
as Nancy Rizzi. - Former Olympic champion, Rafer JohnsonRafer JohnsonRafer Lewis Johnson is an American former decathlete and film actor.-Biography:Johnson was born in Hillsboro, Texas, but the family moved to Kingsburg, California, when he was nine. For a while, they were the only black family in the town. A versatile athlete, he played on Kingsburg High School's...
as himself - Landon as the adult John Curtis
- Randy Faustino of TV’s Exo-Man as Tony
- CSICSI: Crime Scene InvestigationCSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
’s Dermott Downs as Donnie - The versatile and talented voice and character actor, Walker EdmistonWalker Edmiston-Career:Walker Edmiston was an American character actor and voice-over artist who was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Edmiston appeared on various television programs in character roles during the 1950s – 1970s, such as Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, Knots Landing, and The Dukes of Hazzard, all...
who occasionally appeared on BonanzaBonanzaBonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
and Little House on the PrairieLittle House on the Prairie (TV series)Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling series of Little House books...
as Doctor Claymore - Herb VigranHerb VigranHerbert "Herb" Vigran was a well-known American character actor in Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1980s. Over his 50-year career, he made over 350 television and film appearances.-Career:...
as the Security Guard - Clifford A. Pellow (credited Cliff Pellow) as Geoge Sanders
- Bing RussellBing RussellBing Russell was an American actor and baseball club owner, and was the father of Golden Globe-nominated actor Kurt Russell.-Personal life:...
as Fred Dawkins - Robert Hackman as Mr. Rizzi
- Barbara Collentine as Miss King