Bonanza

Bonanza was
the first color western and one of the longest running TV
shows. Bonanza first aired in 1959 on NBC and
there were 430 sixty minute episodes produced. The
series followed the adventures of the Cartwright clan who owned
a 1000 square mile timber range known as The
Ponderosa just outside Virginia
City.
Head of the
Cartwright family was Ben Cartwright
(Lorne Greene)who was a widower.
Michael Landon played the youngest son Little Joe with Dan
Blocker the middle son Eric "Hoss" Cartwright and Pernell
Roberts as the oldest son Adam Cartwright. All three sons
had different mothers and all being
deceased.
There were
several cast changes over the years with Pernell Roberts
leaving in 1965. In 1967 a drifter named Candy arrived and was
hired as a ranch hand and became part of the family.
Three years later two other cast members arrived to help on
the Ponderosa. Dusty Rhodes, a friend
of Ben's and Jamie Hunter, an orphan. The series
lasted 14 years but after the death of Dan Blocker at age 43
the demise of the series was evident. NBC moved it from
Sunday to Tuesday and that forever sealed
it.
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The Bonanza Cast:
Ben Cartwright
Lorne Greene
Little Joe
Cartwright
Michael Landon
Eric "Hoss"
Cartwright
Dan Blocker
Adam
Cartwright
Pernell Roberts
Hop Sing
Victor Sen Yung
Sheriff Roy
Coffee
Ray Teal
Candy David
Canary
Dusty Rhoades
Lou Frizzel
Jamie Hunter
Mitch Vogel
Griff
King Tim
Matheson Deputy
Clem Bing Russell
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