Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
      • Playlists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Television»Drama
    Drama TV Shows - 1960s TV Shows - 1970s 3 Mins Read

    Bonanza

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    1 9 5 9 – 1 9 7 3 (USA)
    430 x 30 minute episodes

    The first colour TV western, Bonanza followed the adventures of the Cartwright clan, owners of the 1,000 square mile timber ranch, The Ponderosa, near Virginia City, Nevada, during the 1860s.

    The family patriarch of the all-male Cartwright clan was thrice-widowed Ben Cartwright, who worked his property with his three grown sons: shrewd, steely Adam (Pernell Roberts), big-hearted brute Hoss (Dan Blocker), and hotheaded dandy Little Joe (Michael Landon).

    Each of his sons had been born by a different woman, none of them still living. Adam, the oldest of the half-brothers, was the most serious and introspective, the likely successor to his father as the controlling force behind the sprawling Cartwright estate.

    bonanza_000

    Hoss, the middle son, was a mountainous man who was as gentle as he was huge and ‘ornery. At times he could be incredibly naive and was not particularly bright. Little Joe was the youngest, most impulsive and most romantic of the three Cartwright brothers.

    Bonanza was more than just another Western in an age that had an abundance of them – it was a clever marketing idea.

    First aired in 1959, the series was specially developed to be filmed and viewed in colour and was supposed to make Americans buy colour televisions.

    It apparently worked, as the colour TV became rather popular and the series lasted for fourteen years. Plots generally centred around the ranch and the folk who visited.

    The final episode was both written and directed by Michael Landon who then went on to torture us throughout the remainder of the seventies with his tale of Christian cowboy morality, Little House on the Prairie.

    bonanza66

    There were several cast changes over the years. Pernell Roberts left the show at the end of the 1965 season and his role was written out of the series.

    At the start of the 1967 season, a wanderer named Candy was hired as a ranch hand for the Cartwright’s and became one of the family.

    Three years later two other new cast members arrived to help out on the Ponderosa. Dusty Rhoades was a friend of Ben’s, and Jamie Hunter was an orphaned teenaged son of a rainmaker who had been killed.

    bonanza_055

    When Dan Blocker died in 1972 at the age of 43 from surgical complications, many felt the heart and soul of the show went with him.

    After Blocker passed away even the show’s leads knew it would be difficult to continue. But the show also dropped in the ratings after NBC moved it from its longtime Sunday-night berth to Tuesday night.

    Next to Gunsmoke, it was the longest-running Western on TV and for much of that time, it turned in phenomenal ratings.

    The Bonanza format was later repeated in shows such as The Big Valley and The High Chaparral.

    In 1988, a made-for-TV film, Bonanza: The Next Generation was produced. None of the original cast appeared in the production, but Michael Landon’s son, Michael Landon Jr, and Dan Blocker’s son, Dirk Blocker, were featured in the cast.

    Two subsequent Bonanza made-for-TV movies were made but had little – if any – residual results. A Bonanza-based prequel series called The Ponderosa appeared on US cable in 2001.

    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

    Video

    Related Posts

    • Joe and Sons
      Joe and Sons
      1 9 7 5 - 1 9 7 6 (USA) 14 x 30 minute episodes Widowed sheet-metal worker Joe Vitale (Richard…
    • Champion House
      Champion House
      1 9 6 7 - 1 9 6 8 (UK) 30 x 50 minute episodes Widowed Joe Champion (Edward Chapman) was…
    • Make Room For Granddaddy
      Make Room For Granddaddy
      1 9 7 0 - 1 9 7 1 (USA) 24 x 30 minute episodes An update of the classic Make Room…
    • Knight Errant
      Knight Errant
      1 9 5 9 - 1 9 6 1 (UK) 76 x 60 minute episodes Private investigator Adam Knight (John Turner)…
    • Cimarron City
      Cimarron City
      1 9 5 8 - 1 9 6 0 (USA) George Montgomery was both star and narrator of this saga of…
    • Wire Service
      Wire Service
      1 9 5 6 - 1 9 5 7 (USA) 39 x 60 minute episodes This ABC drama related the…
    • Legend of Jesse James, The
      Legend of Jesse James, The
      1 9 6 5 - 1 9 6 6 (USA) 34 x 30 minute episodes Set in Saint Joseph, Missouri, in…
    • My Three Sons
      My Three Sons
      1 9 6 0 - 1 9 7 2 (USA) 369 x 30 minute episodes One of television's longest-running sitcoms, My…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleCheyenne
    Next Article Virginian, The/The Men From Shiloh

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    You May Also Like
    • Cars That Ate Paris, The (1974)
      Peter Weir achieved a career-high as the Oscar-nominated […]
    • Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974)
      Handsome, debonair, dope-smoking vampire hunter and expert […]
    • Witness, The
      1 9 6 0 – 1 9 6 1 (USA) First telecast on 29 September […]
    • Robe, The (1953)
      20th Century Fox’s The Robe was the first motion picture […]
    • Cycling Proficiency Test
      Learning to ride a bicycle was always a significant childhood […]
    • Bert D’Angelo, Superstar
      1 9 7 6 (USA) 13 x 60 minute episodes This Quinn Martin crime […]
    Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

    OUR LATEST FACEBOOK POSTS

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64442824 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Television frontman Tom Verlaine dies at 73

    www.bbc.co.uk

    His band rose to fame in the 1970s New York punk scene, scoring UK hits including Marquee Moon.
    19 hours ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64418847 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Mr Blobby costume sells for more than £62,000 on eBay

    www.bbc.co.uk

    The character, made famous by BBC show Noel's House Party, had been in storage since the 1990s.
    2 days ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    Put some beefiness into your mid-week menu with these recipe ideas published in a Birds Eye advertisement from the Radio Times on 30 September 1965.

    Put some "beefiness into your mid-week menu" with these recipe ideas published in a Birds Eye advertisement from the "Radio Times" on 30 September 1965. ... See MoreSee Less

    1 week ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 3
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    They were awful. An overpowering savoury flavour that lingered in your mouth for hours. Heaven knows what unmentionable parts of a bull went into making them 😳

    More sad news 😪

    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    US rock legend David Crosby dies aged 81

    www.bbc.co.uk

    Crosby, who co-founded both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash, had been ill for some time.
    1 week ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 1
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    This is what they promised us when I was a kid. What happened? 

All I have is 700 channels of rubbish on the TV in High Def, TikTok, Facebook and a phone I can take photographs with . . .

    This is what they promised us when I was a kid. What happened?

    All I have is 700 channels of rubbish on the TV in High Def, TikTok, Facebook and a phone I can take photographs with . . .
    ... See MoreSee Less

    1 week ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 54
    • Shares: 22
    • Comments: 7

    Comment on Facebook

    I thought we would have moving pavements by now when I was a kid 😂

    Totally agree!!!

    The new Tesla, 4.6 next century.

    We got transvestite story hour instead

    We appear to be going backwards

    There's actually a very good David Graeber essay on this very topic: thebaffler.com/salvos/of-flying-cars-and-the-declining-rate-of-profit

    The Jetsons strike again.

    View more comments

    Renowned Australian singer Renee Geyer is dead at 69 following complications from hip surgery. Such a fabulous voice. RIP😢

https://nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-l-to-z/artists-r/renee-geyer/

    Renowned Australian singer Renee Geyer is dead at 69 following complications from hip surgery. Such a fabulous voice. RIP😢

    nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-l-to-z/artists-r/renee-geyer/
    ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    That is so sad to hear 😥 rest in peace 🙏 🕊 xx

    Gina Lollobrigida: Italian screen star dies at 95
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64292026

    Gina Lollobrigida: Italian screen star dies at 95
    www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64292026
    ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 4
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    😍😍😍😍

    Vale Jeff Beck. Dead at 78. 😢

    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Jeff Beck: British guitar legend dies aged 78

    www.bbc.co.uk

    One of rock's most influential guitarists, he was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.
    3 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 1
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    Hi everyone. Were in the process of moving www.nostalgiacentral.com to new dedicated servers to better cope with the volumes of traffic. Please ignore any SSL security errors you may receive when visiting the site over the next 24 hours while the move completes.

    Hi everyone. We're in the process of moving www.nostalgiacentral.com to new dedicated servers to better cope with the volumes of traffic. Please ignore any SSL security errors you may receive when visiting the site over the next 24 hours while the move completes. ... See MoreSee Less

    3 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 5
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 2

    Comment on Facebook

    Ironically, this post has jumped off the page at me. You'll probably get most traffic today because everyone will want to see what they might be missing!

    Martin Platt

    RIP Fred White, drummer with Earth, Wind and Fire, who has died aged 67. 😢

    RIP Fred White, drummer with Earth, Wind and Fire, who has died aged 67. 😢 ... See MoreSee Less

    4 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 4
    • Shares: 2
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    Great band

    Load more
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Sport Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2023 Nostalgia Central
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.