Bonanza – 50 Things You Never Knew About The Cast And Production

15. David Canary (“Candy” Canaday)

David Canary joined Bonanza as “Candy” Canaday to help fill the gap that was left when Pernell Roberts left the show. Before Bonanza, Canary was among the candidates to take over the role of Mr. Spock in Star Trek. Canary died of natural causes in November 2015.

16. The Ponderosa Ranch – Disappointment Turned to Delight

Because of the success of the show, many Bonanza fans traveled to Incline Village, Nevada, the location of the fictional Ponderosa. However, they were disappointed because there actually wasn’t anything there. Sensing opportunity, land developers Bill and Joyce Anderson partnered with the producers of the show to develop a large theme park in Incline Village, which included a complete recreation of the ranch house. Portions of the show were even filmed at the park, and it continued to attract fans until it closed in 2004.

17. Stock Footage That Saved A Ton Of Money

Because of the stock footage used, the production saved thousands of dollars per episode. It was a simple but very effective trick that cut out plenty of big shots that would have inflated the show’s budget.

18. One of the Most Expensive Shows On TV

Even if the production saved money using stock footage and using the same clothing, the network was spending between $100,000 and $150,000 per episode. That made Bonanza one of the most expensive scripted shows to produce on a weekly basis. It was also one of the best performing TV shows, which helped justify the large amount of money spent on each episode.

19. Zorro Could Be Adam Cartwright

Guy Williams was offered to play the role of Adam Cartwright. Williams refused and decided to play the role of Zorro instead. While he never took on the main role, he did appear on five episodes of the show as cousin Will Cartwright. His character was created as a replacement for Pernell Roberts in case he ever walked off the show. Guess they sensed something was up with Roberts early on!

20. Hoss Had A Real First Name

Hoss Cartwright was actually named Eric Haas Cartwright. His family and other characters on the show always used the nickname “Hoss” which was a play on his middle name.