Joe Lando, who starred as Jane Seymour’s love interest on her hit series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, revealed in a tearful video on Saturday that his family had tragically lost their home in the raging LA fires.
But the 63-year-old actor revealed they had been given a crucial lifeline amid the devastation as his longtime friend Seymour, 73, invited his family to stay at her home in the aftermath.
“The Lando family is intact. All of us, our dogs and our two birds, luckily there are angels in this world,” Lando said in a video he shot outside.
“We have nothing but each other,” he continued. “My friend Jane Seymour allowed us to come to her house and opened it up for us without any hesitation and thank God. [she] gave us a place to come and sleep.”
Seymour and Lando starred in Dr. for six seasons. Quinn, from 1993 to 1998, and they both returned for two television movies after the series was canceled.
The English actress led the series as Dr. Michaela Quinn, a trained physician who moves to Colorado shortly after the end of the American Civil War.
Joe Lando, 63, revealed Saturday that his Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman costar Jane Seymour had his family stay at her home after their home was destroyed by the devastating LA fires
Seymour and Lando starred in Dr. for six seasons. Quinn, from 1993 to 1998, plus two subsequent TV movies
She sets up a clinic in Colorado Springs and tries to ingratiate herself with the locals, who are initially resistant to treatment by a woman.
Lando starred in the series as outdoorsman Byron Sully, who was Seymour’s main love interest.
Although his family had a comfortable place to stay after losing their home thanks to Seymour, Lando revealed that even at her home, things were still difficult due to the effects of the fire.
‘The electricity [at Seymour’s home] I just showed up for the first time in three days,” he shared in his video.
He added that there was no natural gas for cooking and they had been advised not to drink the tap water.
“And you can’t breathe the air because it’s all poisonous,” he continued. ‘I’ve never experienced anything like this before. It’s indescribable.’
Lando, who filmed his video himself, did not clarify whether Seymour was also currently staying at her home.
He became increasingly emotional, momentarily taking off his sunglasses to wipe his eyes as he mused on the overwhelming tragedy he had experienced.
‘The electricity [at Seymour’s home] just came out for the first time in three days,” he said in his video, adding that they couldn’t drink the water and that the air was “poisonous”
He broke down in tears as he spoke about the loss of his home and the fact that so many of their neighbors were left with nothing after the fire passed.
Lando did not clarify whether Seymour was staying at her home with his family. He choked with emotion as he revealed his children’s school had burned down
“You see people on TV going through these things and you think, ‘Oh my God, that must be something terrible. Thank God, it’s not me.’ And now we are those people,” he said.
“If it was just us, I’d be fine with this,” he continued, his voice beginning to crack, “but it’s everyone. It’s everything and I’m devastated and heartbroken for everyone.”
“There are a lot of wealthy people in my neighborhood, but they’re not the majority of this neighborhood,” Lando said. ‘Most of them are just hard-working people [who have] I’ve lived there for generations.’
Among those who lost everything in the fires were his wife’s parents, who lived near him and his wife, Kristen Barlow, before losing the home they had owned for 40 years.
“Our house wasn’t big or luxurious, but it was our home,” Lando continued through his tears. ‘I worked so hard on it. When I wasn’t acting, I was working at it, trying to stay out of trouble and save money.”
The actor, who shares four children with his wife, sounded particularly discouraged when talking about taking them to school, but noted that their school was among the buildings that burned in the inferno.
“Everything’s gone,” Lando said, overcome with emotion.
He noted that the fire did not discriminate against the victims.
He played Seymour’s love interest, beefcake outdoorsman Byron Sully, in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. The two also starred in two TV movies that continued the series after it was canceled
Lando reunited with Seymour in 2011 for the Hallmark Channel film Perfectly Prudence, and just over a decade later they starred in the 2022 Lifetime film A Christmas Spark; seen in 2018 in LA
“There is no rich or poor, black or white, red or blue,” he added. “This fire is evil and will kill everything.”
Joe has maintained a strong friendship with Seymour over the years, and the two have reunited on screen several times.
In 2011, they appeared together in the Hallmark Channel movie Perfectly Prudence, and just over a decade later they starred in the 2022 Lifetime movie A Christmas Spark.
Last week, Seymour shared photos of the fires creeping up a hill in LA, praising the “courage and dedication of the firefighters and first responders who are risking their lives to protect us.”
On Sunday evening, 24 people died as a result of the fires and more than 180,000 people were forced to evacuate.