Pseudonyms are nothing new

Lots of actors use stage names. We can't all be blessed with a Hollywood-ready moniker, so many stars adopt a new one that's easier to pronounce. After all, would "Tiny Dancer" hit as hard if it were sung by a guy named Reginald? Would it be just as compelling to watch Thomas Cruise Mapother IV in the cockpit in Top Gun? We'll never really know!

Michael Landon's not-so-secret name change

One of the many examples of a star embracing a name for show business is Bonanza's Michael Landon. Before Michael Landon was Michael Landon, he was Eugene Orowitz. Before Eugene Orowitz starred as Little Joe Cartwright, he was just a skinny high schooler in Collingswood, New Jersey. According to Camden's Courier-Post, Orowitz found salvation in a javelin with the encouragement of his school's track coach. 

Landon's early track stardom

"The Courier-Post gave me the greatest write-up I ever had," said Landon in '86. "I had just finished winning some meet and had the chance for the national championship. The Courier-Post article said, 'Gene Orowitz is a solidly-built kid with broadly-built shoulders and arms.' Well, when you're a skinny little kid in high school, for the girls to be reading that, it was great."

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Eventually, those track and field victories brought Landon to the attention of some Hollywood talent scouts. It was at their suggestion that Orowitz changed his name to "Michael Landon."

Here's why he made the change

"Collingswood in those days was a very anti-Semitic town," said Landon, reflecting on his willingness to take on a new name. "I spent a lot of time alone. I can remember sitting in high school on Wednesday afternoons when everyone else went to church, and I and one or two other Jewish children had to stay in school and clean the blackboards."

It wasn't all bad, though. "I think Collingswood gave me a lot of pluses," he said, "especially the people who encouraged me."