Bonanza Was Nearly Cancelled Before It Aired. Color TV Saved It

NBC almost dropped the costly Western before it premiered, but RCA needed a color showcase to sell its new TV sets. Ride with Bonanza's Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, Michael Landon and Victor Sen Yung, from the burning map to the Lake Tahoe theme park and the final 1972-73 season. In this documentary we look back at Lorne Greene (Ben Cartwright), Pernell Roberts (Adam), Dan Blocker (Hoss), Michael Landon (Little Joe), Victor Sen Yung (Hop Sing), Ray Teal (Sheriff Roy Coffee), Bing Russell (Deputy Clem), Guy Williams (Will Cartwright), David Canary (Candy), Lou Frizzell (Dusty), Mitch Vogel (Jamie) and Tim Matheson (Griff King): how NBC and RCA used Bonanza to sell color television, the move to Sunday nights and three seasons at No. 1, the Ponderosa Ranch theme park at Lake Tahoe, Dan Blocker's death and the 1972-73 final season, Michael Landon's Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven, the TV movies Bonanza: The Next Generation (1988), Bonanza: The Return (1993) and Bonanza: Under Attack (1995), and where the surviving cast are in 2026. Every date and fact in this video was checked against reliable sources (obituaries in the New York Times, Reuters, Variety, UPI and the Hollywood Reporter, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Television Academy Foundation, MeTV, Netflix, and Wikipedia with its citations). Living cast members are described only from dated reports. Personal recollections are presented as each person's own account. CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:58 How Bonanza began 2:04 Saved by color: NBC and RCA 2:29 1959 premiere and No. 1 ratings 4:27 Lorne Greene (Ben Cartwright) 7:02 Pernell Roberts (Adam) 9:33 Dan Blocker (Hoss) 11:33 Victor Sen Yung (Hop Sing) 12:51 Ray Teal (Sheriff Coffee) and Bing Russell 13:37 Guy Williams (Will Cartwright) 14:17 Behind the scenes 15:45 Michael Landon (Little Joe) 18:35 David Canary (Candy) and Lou Frizzell 19:55 The Ponderosa Ranch at Lake Tahoe 21:33 Losing Hoss: the final season 1972-73 23:20 The TV movies and the prequel 24:36 Dirk Blocker and the legacy 25:24 Mitch Vogel (Jamie) 26:24 Tim Matheson (Griff King) in 2026 27:52 Then and now CREDITS Photos: Wikimedia Commons. Public domain NBC and ABC publicity photos and press photos, plus: Michael Landon (1990): Alan Light, CC BY 2.0 Michael Landon and Lorne Greene on the Bonanza set (1972), Michael Landon (1972): Larry Bessel, Los Angeles Times, UCLA Library, CC BY 4.0 Michael Landon's Walk of Fame star: Antoine Taveneaux, CC BY-SA 3.0 Landon family crypt: Arthur Dark, CC BY-SA 4.0 Tim Matheson (2010): ewen and donabel, CC BY 2.0 Lorne Greene (1969): Allan Warren, CC BY-SA 3.0 Commander Adama costume: John Seb Barber, CC BY 2.0 Ponderosa II, Mesa, Arizona: Tony the Marine, CC BY-SA 3.0 Dan Blocker plaques and museum room, Texas: Billy Hathorn, CC BY-SA 3.0 / CC BY 3.0 Ponderosa Ranch (1993): Kelisi, CC BY-SA 4.0 Ponderosa Ranch postcard: Charlie Rose, CC BY 2.0 Lake Tahoe, Incline Village: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0 Virginia City: Vivaverdi, CC BY 3.0; Loren Kerns, CC BY 2.0 RCA color television sets: HumanisticRationale, CC BY 3.0; DogsRNice, CC BY-SA 4.0 Some black-and-white photos were colorized and enhanced for this video. Footage (public domain / Creative Commons): Bonanza public-domain episodes (NBC, 1960): "The Fear Merchants", "San Francisco", "Dark Star", "Silent Thunder", "The Ape", "The Blood Line", via Internet Archive (no theme music used) Prelinger Archives (public domain): Wathen Collection home movie, Nevada (late 1940s); home movie, Reno and Tahoe (1953); American Cowboy (Ford, 1950); The Story of Television (RCA) Lake Tahoe and Incline Village: Sarah Stierch, CC BY 4.0 Virginia City V&T railroad: Thomas Farley, CC0 Wild horses, Carson City: Rick Cooper, CC BY 2.0 Music: original score created for Golden Screen Then & Now. #Bonanza #ThenAndNow #ClassicTV