In this case, it may be both! The show's title refers to a big deposit of ore. They are always referencing the Comstock Lode. In fact, it was almost canceled after season 1. That is so hard to believe, as it went on to run for over four hundred episodes! Its season 1 ratings were terrible, but NBC kept it on the air for one specific reason - to sell more color TVs! Luckily, the show continued to gain massive popularity and ended up lasting for many more seasons! He was very loyal to the show, and was even seen in of the episodes.
Additionally, Michael Landon got his start in directing, as well as writing, while on the show. He directed some episodes as well. He was such a fan of the show, which made it really special for him to not only act in it, but have these other roles as director and writer as well. It was said that during the last couple of seasons of filming, Michael Landon got increasingly harder to work with.
He did not want any new characters introduced into the cast of the show. He also had a specific vision for the show and the direction it was going in, so it was said that he would become difficult and delay the shoots for various reasons.
He loved the show so much he wanted to take total control. The producers of the film, however, did not have the same high opinion of Dan, and he ultimately did not get the role, despite Altmans requests. But, can you imagine what it would have been like to see Dan in the film? It seems MASH came full circle in this family.
Dan Blocker passed away. It was all very unexpected, and because it was so close to when they were beginning to film the next season, they had to figure out what to do. The writers, including Michael Landon, had to re-write the episodes to incorporate his death. They did not know if people would like the show since the main cast members were not very well known actors. Essentially, they were unknowns.
Because of this, the production team continued to bring big stars onto the show for guest starring roles. They were hoping this would get more people to watch the show. The producers, of course, paid the stars more than the leads, even though they were only small parts. Most people only know the instrumental version of the song, but it definitely had lyrics.
The theme song was written by songwriters Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. Video was found of the cast members singing the lyrics. In fact, Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon sang the theme song lyrics which they were using for the pilot episode, but unfortunately, it did not air, and they went with the instrumental version.
Everybody loved this song! The world-famous singer Johnny Cash also recorded a version of the theme song to Bonanza! Because it was one of the first to be produced in color, it was also one of the most expensive shows during this time.
After its first season, which was quite underwhelming, it was going to be canceled. However, they had spent so much money on this new color television show that they just had to keep going. Additionally, RCA wanted to really push the new color television, so they had to have the color shows stay on the air.
And thankfully so. They filmed over episodes. Gunsmoke comes in second on the list for longest running scripted TV shows. Both of these shows are still popular today. They were not just passing fads. Both of these timeless television programs continue to run in syndication all over the world, even today. Throughout season one, the writers portrayed the Cartwright family as hostile to visitors.
The business they had meant that they had to be more personable. Because of this, they could not be hostile to people that came on their land. He realized that people were going to visit their land, conduct business, and become a place where people would convene. Because of this realization, the writer altered the characters. They made them more approachable and hospitable to the people of the town. So much of the income from the show was due to the fact that it had this partnership with Chevrolet.
This partnership really kept the TV show in production, and kept it running, despite its expensive nature. Additionally, the cast members starred in Chevrolet commercials. This was also part of the sponsorship deal. The stars had to promote a wide array of Chevrolet vehicles. While this seems crazy, you see this all the time today, when you are watching a show and then during the commercials the same cast members from the show are starring in a commercial or something semi related to what you were watching.
Crazy, right? This series ran in He wanted to have more stake in the show, he wanted to do more than just act in it. He wanted to write for it, too. The producer, David Dortort, did not want him to. Landon attempted a couple of times to write a script, but failed. He did not give up, and finally, he gave the producers a script that they thought would be good to produce.
This amazing opportunity and perseverance landed Landon an amazing job. Additionally, he would occasionally produce an episode as well. His writing did not end here, as he would also later write multiple episodes for the show Little House on the Prairie. After all, there are over four hundred episodes. Clearly, they were doing something right. As it turns out, Bonanza was the very first dramatic Western that was not all about killing bad guys and hunting. This show had depth. It focused on relatable problems, such as racism, prejudice, and even social justice.
It was really cutting-edge, and very different for its time. Perhaps, this is why it ended up doing so well, and continues to be successful today. Like we had mentioned before, the production team really wanted to make sure that all of the main actors in the show were equal. They really monitored the script, making sure everyone was equal and no one stood out. Because the production team was so focused on equality, you will notice if you look at the opening credits of a couple of different episodes, you will see that in each episode, the actors are ordered differently.
They did not want one actor to get top billing, so they continued to rotate so that everyone got top billing at some point. However, fans in the US were not able to see this, as it was only released in Mexico. They moved it from Saturday night to Sunday night at 9pm, which was a prime slot.
By , the ratings had soared. Pretty impressive for a show that was going to be canceled after just one season. Landon had to wear lifts on the set of the show so he would look taller next to the rest of the cast members. The lifts he wore were said to add about a couple of inches to his height. His co-stars were taller, which really made his small stature stand out. Blocker stood six foot four and was lbs, so he had to gain a little height, for sure! Michael Landon was quite the jokester.
He was constantly cracking jokes about the unspoken Cartwright curse. He thought that it was hilarious that all of the women who came on the show would disappear. They would either die or mysteriously disappear. It was well known by fans that the Cartwright curse was in full effect anytime a female character appeared on the show. They would introduce a wife or love interest to one of the male characters.
Eventually, they would disappear without warning, no female character ever survived more than a couple of episodes on Bonanza. His port of call was New Orleans, Louisiana. The opening burning map of the Ponderosa Ranch was illustrated without compass points, which caused the map to appear to be incorrectly oriented Reno appeared to be west of Carson City. David Dortort , choosing not to redo the map, added the compass points.
Many have suggested that the compass points are pointing in the wrong direction slightly north-northwest. However, the compass points are aligned with Magnetic North instead of True North. Pernell Roberts objected to the racist portrayal of minorities in the series. For most of its episode run, the show's main sponsor was Chevrolet. The stars occasionally appeared in commercials endorsing Chevrolet automobiles. Producer David Dortort had mixed feelings about Michael Landon , the new, unfamiliar actor auditioning for the part, thinking he was way too young.
With the encouragement of his wife, who picked up a publicity still of Landon, Dortort changed his mind and gave Landon the role. When Pernell Roberts decided to quit the series, newcomerand former Zorro star Guy Williams was brought in to replace him as the very attractive new character, cousin Will Cartwright, who was to become a permanent cast member. However, he only lasted 5 episodes due to Michael Landon 's insecurities.
Landon notoriously refused to work with any actor whom he deemed better looking and more charismatic than himself, so he had Williams fired. Indeed, before filming Highway to Heaven , Landon told the producers he refused to do the series unless his much older-looking friend, Victor French was brought in to play Mark. The producers had wanted a much younger and more handsome actor for that part.
Later, Roberts decided not to quit the series. It took Michael Landon several attempts before he wrote a script that producer David Dortort thought was good enough to use. After this, he became a regular writer and director for the series.
Later, he would re-write many of his Bonanza scripts for new episodes of Little House on the Prairie Bonanza was not the first television western series to be completely shot in color. However, it was the first network television western to air completely in color. In a Television Archives interview, Ray Evans and Jay Livingston said that when Desi Arnaz asked them to write a theme song for a Western television show, Arnaz told them he couldn't pay them much for a weekly salary, because the show was only going to last one year.
The men made a deal with Arnaz to keep the rights to the song. When this show became an unexpected smash-hit, the men made millions. But off-screen, Dan Blocker is born in the same year and is just seven months younger than Pernell Roberts. After eleven seasons, the show's theme music was replaced by an original tune composed by David Rose.
Rose continued to work with Michael Landon after this show ceased production, by becoming the resident composer on Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven Anthony Lawrence didn't write authentic Western scripts, so he focused on writing about relationships.
Lawrence replied, "Let me do it, I can kill off at least two of them! The last 14 episodes of season one, and the first 17 episodes of season two, have fallen into the public domain. They have been released by many different companies in many different configurations, usually with the familiar theme music replaced with generic music.
In their American Archives interviews, both David Dotort and Haskell Boggs said, Desi Arnaz purposely hired unknown actors to play the father and children. Desi wanted to prove a television show could be successful by the writing, not the "Star names". Desi clashed with NBC executives who wanted to hire known names, but he proved to be right, in the end, as Bonanza smashed its' competition in the Nieslen Ratings. Michael Landon was responsible for Guy Williams being fired from this series.
Footage of the main street in Virginia City was reused often. It showed a surrey with passengers, with a Chinese Man and an Indian talking over a jug, at the lower left, and two old prospectors with mules at the lower right. One of the longest running television series in television history spanning 14 years, 14 seasons and episodes. Dan Blocker, who played Eric "Hoss" Cartwright, started the Bonanza steakhouse chain in , naming it after the show.
Eventually, it was sold to a company called Metromedia in Metromedia also bought the Ponderosa steakhouse chain started two years after Bonanza under no connection with the show one year earlier, and marketed both restaurants under the same concept.
Ponderosa was also the name of the show when it first went into syndication back when it was common to give the syndicated version a different name or variation of the name to differentiate it from the original if the original was still in production.
Lorne Greene was 44 when the series first aired on American television and was nearly 58 when the final episode was broadcast. Michael Landon was 22 when the series aired for the first time on American television and was 36 when the finale was broadcast.
The setting for Virginia City is not too different from the settings used for other television Westerns. Today marks the 60th anniversary of its debut. Bonanza almost got cancelled early on because of its larger budget. However, it was the first show shot and broadcast in color, and RCA which owned NBC at the time used the show to drive interest in color televisions.
A move from a Saturday time-slot to a Sunday spot allowed the series to flourish. The ongoing saga of rancher Ben Cartwright, his sons, and the action and drama surrounding their Ponderosa ranch, clicked with audiences. Bonanza broke through as the first show to stay in the Nielsen top five for nine consecutive seasons.
At 14 seasons that spanned from to , Bonanza remains one of the longest-running primetime shows of all time. The longest-running scripted primetime series of all-time is The Simpsons , which at this writing is still going. In fact, it had multiple sets of lyrics, one even penned by series star Lorne Greene. Johnny Cash played a version containing words of his own. A sequence was actually filmed for the pilot episode that had the cast singing the song, but it was cut.
John Robinson, in Lost in Space.
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