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

We’re drawn to Bonanza, one of TV’s most iconic Westerns, based on the well-off Cartwright family and their one-thousand square mile Ponderosa Ranch, the site of the Comstock Silver Lode, during and after the Civil War. The beloved TV series created by David Dortort is based on the adventures of Ben Cartwright and his three sons as they run and defend their ranch while helping the surrounding community in and around the area of Virginia City, Nevada, bordering Lake Tahoe. Set in the 1860s, Bonanza starred Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker, Michael Landon, Pernell Roberts (who left after six seasons), and later David Canary and Mitch Vogel. NBC’s longest-running western was known for presenting moral dilemmas and how they overcame them.

Bonanza chronicled the weekly adventures of the Cartwright family, headed by the thrice-widowed patriarch Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene). He had three sons, each by a different wife: the eldest was the urbane architect Adam Cartwright (Pernell Roberts) who built the ranch house; the second was the warm and lovable giant Eric “Hoss” Cartwright (Dan Blocker), and the youngest was the hotheaded and impetuous Joseph or “Little Joe” (Michael Landon).

1. Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright