List of Bonanza characters
The show is set in the 1860s and centers on the wealthy Cartwright family, who live in the vicinity of Virginia City, Nevada, bordering Lake Tahoe.
The series initially starred Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker and Michael Landon and later featured (at various times) Guy Williams, David Canary, Mitch Vogel and Tim Matheson.
John Goddard was initially offered the role of Adam Cartwright, but turned it down to star in Johnny Fletcher.
[4] Attempts to replace Adam with Little Joe's maternal half-brother Clay (Barry Coe) and Cartwright cousin Will (Guy "Zorro" Williams), were unsuccessful.
Roberts decided to stay an additional season, so the scripts were quickly revised by having Adam's fiancée and her daughter depart the series prematurely with Guy Williams' Will, with whom she'd fallen in love.
[7] The nickname was used as a nod to the character's ample girth,[8] an endearing term for "big and friendly", used by his Swedish mother Inger (and Uncle Gunnar).
Not until the TV movie Bonanza: The Next Generation was it explained that Hoss had drowned attempting to save a woman's life.
Then in 1964, Lorne Greene released the song "Saga of the Ponderosa",[12] wherein Marie's previous husband was "Big Joe" Collins, who dies saving Ben's life.
In the last of the three Bonanza TV movies, it is revealed that "Little Joe" had died in the Spanish-American War – a member of the "Rough Riders".
Most of the episodes Landon wrote and directed were dramas, including the two-hour, "Forever" (1972), which was recognized by TV Guide as being one of television's best specials (November 1993).
[vague] Landon's development was a bit stormy according to David Dortort, who felt that the actor grew more difficult during the last five seasons the show ran.
[12] "Candy" Canaday is a plucky Army brat turned cowboy,[13] who became the Cartwrights' confidant, ranch foreman and timber vessel captain.
After Canary's departure in mid-1970, and aware of the show's aging demographic, the writers sought a fresh outlet for Ben's fatherly advice.
Griff King is a parolee who tries to reform his life as a worker at the Ponderosa Ranch under Ben Cartwright's tutelage.
Hop Sing, the happy-go-lucky Chinese cook for the Cartwrights, whose blood pressure rose when the family came late for dinner.
[16] Hop Sing is portrayed by Chinese American character actor Victor Sen Yung, a veteran of more than 160 appearances in movies and on television between 1937 and 1970 including the "#2 son" in the Charlie Chan series after Keye Luke departed.
[17] Bonanza series creator David Dortort told the Archive of American Television that the "Hop Sing" character generated massive fandom - "Victor was just absolutely delightful.
He received star billing after the four original rotating Cartwrights during his second appearance going forward, but ultimately, Roberts changed his mind and decided to stay for one more season, and Williams found himself pushed out.
It was rumored that Michael Landon and Lorne Greene felt threatened by the studio initiating a precedent of successfully replacing one heroic leading man Cartwright with a new one, particularly in view of Williams' popularity with viewers.
