Bonanza was an American western/cowboy television program starring Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, Pernell Roberts, and Victor Sen Yung. Its original run was from 1959 through 1973.
The show chronicled the weekly adventures of the Cartwright family, headed by patriarch Ben Cartwright (Greene). He had three sons: Joseph or "Little Joe" (Landon); Adam (Roberts); and Eric, better known to viewers by his nickname of "Hoss" (Blocker). The family's cook was the Chinese immigrant Hop Sing (Sen Yung). The family lived on a ranch called "The Ponderosa", on the shore of Lake Tahoe in Nevada.
Following the program's cancellation it was brought back as several made-for-television movies. These include Bonanza: The Movie (1988), Back to Bonanza (1993), Bonanza: The Return (1993), Bonanza: Under Attack (1995), and Bonanza: The Next Generation (1995)
Bonanza also featured a memorable theme song that is often parodied.
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