Ben Cartwright
Though not familiar stars in 1959, the cast quickly became favorites of the first TV generation. All but Roberts had appeared in Dortort’s earlier “Restless Gun” series. Lorne Greene, known as the “Voice of Canada,” was a fairly successful announcer, actor and drama coach in his native land; he gained notoriety during World War II for his deep, resonant voice, and the maudlin task of reading the weekly casualty list to his radio audience. Ben Cartwright, as Greene once described him, was “suede leather,” as he was both a strong and soft patriarch. Greene recorded several record albums in character as Ben Cartwright, scoring a #1 hit with his dramatic spoken word performance of “Ringo.” He also recorded a version of the Bonanza theme.
Adam Cartwright
Georgia-born Pernell Roberts was a familiar face at television studio lots in the late 1950s according to producer David Dortort, who saw him in a Gunsmoke episode. The young actor won a prestigious Drama Desk award in 1955 for his performance in an off-Broadway rendition of “MacBeth.” Roberts had long disdained the medium’s commercialization of his craft for its mass production, assembly-line mindset. In 1964 he told Look magazine’s John Poppy, “I just get on and ask somebody for the lines and say them. They have to turn-out 34 a season, one every six days.” But the B-movie quality of the scripts were what the actor loathed most, “the plots, the godawful plots. They take a plot and write it six different ways for six different Sundays. One week it’s lawyers night, next week it’s ranchers night. You change protagonist, but it’s the same old plot. And the writing-GAD!” An accomplished singer as well as stage actor, he recorded an album of folk ballads entitled “Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies.” He left the series in February 1965 after disagreements with writers and producer David Dortort. According to the July 2005 Bonanza Gold issue, David Dortort said his intent was to have a married Adam appear less frequently, thus making him a semi-regular. It was a move to broker with Roberts, who vowed not to renew his contract. Attempts to replace him were made by introducing Ben’s stepson, Clay, (played briefly by Barry Coe) and Will, a nephew (played by Zorro star Guy Williams), but neither lasted. Two of the remaining stars felt that storylines which created new Cartwrights could potentially defeat their own contract negotiations, so Williams’ Will Cartright wound up leaving the series with Adam’s fiancèe. Williams moved on to Lost in Space and never revived the Will role.
Hoss Cartwright
Three hundred pound Dan Blocker, played the gentle middle son Eric, AKA “Hoss.” Born in Texas, he was a teacher before becoming Hoss. The character had a warm heart and a penchant for lost causes. The Hoss character was originally conceived as “lovable but slow-witted”. Blocker, however, was the only cast member with an advanced degree, a Masters in Dramatic Arts.
In 1972, Dan Blocker suddenly died from a post-op blood-clot to the lungs. The show’s producers chose to simply mention the character’s death in passing (TV producer Sheldon Leonard was the first to “kill off” major characters, starting in 1956 with Make Room For Daddy and in 1963 with The Real McCoys, wherein the female leads of each show chose not to renew their contracts).
Little Joe Cartwright
It was young Michael Landon who received most of the fan mail, and was seen in female oriented teen magazines. Taking advantage of that appeal, there were several episodes in which Landon and David Canary appeared shirtless, either separately or together. In addition to acting, Landon began to develop his skills in writing and directing Bonanza episodes, starting with “The Gamble.” Some of the shows Landon directed are considered to be the most moving including, “The Wish,” “He Was Only Seven,” and “Forever.” According to David Dortort, Landon himself grew difficult during the last five seasons the show ran, “Nearly every line, every scene, every set up… everything would halt for endless story conferences on the set… it got increasingly bitter toward the end.” In a 1992 memorial retrospective directed by the star’s son Michael Jr., “Michael Landon: Memories with Laughter and Love,” cast member David Canary said that the one word that most described Landon to him was, “fearless.”
In the episode, “Marie, My Love” (1963), the episode detailing Ben Cartwright’s wooing of Little Joe’s mother, we find out that Little Joe has an older half-brother that nobody knows about. Marie’s then-mother-in-law spirited the child away moments after Marie gave birth, then told her that he died.
Candy Canaday
In 1967, David Canary joined the cast as “Candy” Canaday, a plucky army-brat turned cowboy, who became the Cartwrights’ confidant, ranch foreman and timber vessel captain. The character vanished in 1970 after Canary himself had a contract dispute with Dortort. He would later return.
Jamie Hunter/Cartwright
In 1970, 14-year-old Mitch Vogel joined the series as Jamie Hunter, the orphaned son of a rainmaker. Ben adopted Jamie in a 1971 episode. During this character’s run on the show, Bonanza ratings fell greatly.
In the fall of 1972, Bonanza was moved to Tuesday nights against a new CBS sitcom, Maude. Both events signaled the end of the program. Canary returned to his former role of Candy (to make up for Blocker’s absence), and a new character named Griff King (played by Tim Matheson) was added to lure younger viewers. Griff, in prison for nearly killing his abusive stepfather, was paroled into Ben’s custody and got a job as a ranch hand. Several episodes were built around his character, one Matheson never had a chance to fully develop before the show’s sudden demise in January 1973. Many fans felt that the Hoss character was essential, as he was a nurturing, empathetic soul who rounded-out the all-male cast.
