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Bonanza

  • Watchlist
  • 1959-1973
  • 14 Seasons
  • NBC
  • Action & Adventure
  • TV-PG
  • Watchlist

The Cartwrights' one-thousand-square-mile Ponderosa Ranch is located near Virginia City, Nevada, site of the Comstock Silver Lode, during and after the Civil War. Each of the three sons was born to a different wife of Ben's; none of the mothers are still alive. Adventures are typical Western ones, with lots of personal relationships/problems thrown in as well.

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Cast & Crew See All

Lorne Greene
Ben Cartwright
Michael Landon
Joseph 'Little Joe' Cartwright
Dan Blocker
Eric 'Hoss' Cartwright

Season 14 Episode Guide See All

Episode 1

Forever

Tue, Sep 12, 1972100 mins

Little Joe falls in love with Alice Harper played by a young Bonnie Bedelia who he meets while rescuing her gambler brother John from a poker game gone bad. The two eventually marry and are expecting a baby. However, things go sour for them when John Harper owes a large sum of money to a professional gambler named Damion played by actor Larry Golden. When Damion attempts to collect the debt from John, he and his gang pay his sister Mrs. Alice Cartwright a visit. Damion encounters a valuable music box given to her by Joe as a wedding gift and demands that Alice surrenders the box as payment for the gambling debt. When she refuses both she and John are murdered and the house is burned to the ground to conceal the evidence. Joe later finds the music box in the possession of a prostitute. It was given to her by Damion. Joe concludes that his wife's death was no accident. And he and Candy seek to bring the culprits to justice.

Where to Watch
Bonanza, Season 14 Episode 1 image

Awards

  • 1964 - Golden Globe - Best TV Show - Drama - nominated
  • 1964 - Golden Globe - Best TV Star - Male - nominated
  • 1962 - Primetime Emmy - Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for Television - nominated
  • 1963 - Primetime Emmy - Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction and Scenic Design - nominated

Latest News See All

Twilight Zone Actress Christine White Dies at 86

Christine White, an actress best known for The Twilight Zone, passed away on April 14 in Washington, D.C., the Carroll County Times reports. She was 86.

Sun, May 19, 2013
Twilight Zone Actress Christine White Dies at 86

Bonanza Creator David Dortort Dies at 93

David Dortort, creator of the long-running hit Western Bonanza, has died. He was 93.Dortort died Sunday at his Westwood, Calif., apartment, according to The Hollywood Reporter.See other celebrities we've lost this yearA three-time Emmy nominee, Dortort got his start writing for such series as ...

Tue, Sep 7, 2010
Bonanza Creator David Dortort Dies at 93

I heard that the PAX network ...

Question: I heard that the PAX network made a new Bonanza series. Do you know anything about the show and the actors? Thanks.Answer: But of course, Brian. The Ponderosa, which initially ran from September 2001 to the following May, was a prequel to the famous series. In it, Daniel Hugh Kelly portrayed rancher Ben Cartwright as a young man, taking on the role originally played by Lorne Greene during the parent series' 1959-73 run on NBC. Ponderosa took place 10 years before Bonanza began, and it told the story of how Cartwright and his three sons — Adam (Matt Carmody), Hoss (Drew Powell) and Little Joe (Jared Daperis) — got their start in the ranching business after the death of Cartwright's wife.

Thu, Jul 14, 2005

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