Episodes of the series have also been officially released as part-works on DVD in France and the United Kingdom. Bonanza is uniquely known for having addressed racism, not typically covered on American television during the time period, from a compassionate, humanitarian point-of-view. It was not unusual for Little Joe Cartwright and Candy Canaday to appear shirtless in various scenes involving manual labor. Bonanza was considered an atypical Western for its time, as the core of the storylines dealt less about the range but more with Ben and his three dissimilar sons, how they cared for one another, their neighbors and just causes.
Exploring the Cerrillos Hills
Reruns of the series have aired on several cable networks such as TV Land, INSP, Family Channel, the Hallmark Channel and Great American Faith & Living. The program’s Nevada set, the Ponderosa Ranch house, was recreated in Incline Village, Nevada, in 1967, and remained a tourist attraction until its sale thirty-seven years later in September 2004. This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in at least one season of the series. Though the population is speculated to have reached 2000, the only recorded number is 200 residents in 1884.
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- Later that year, two miners found gold and silver there.
- In 1968, a slightly revamped horn and percussion-heavy arrangement of the original score introduced the series, which was used until 1970.
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- Copies of the „Ponderosa Map“, autographed by three of the Cartwrights, became souvenirs at the ranch for decades afterward, along with tin cups bearing their likenesses.
- Currently, Bonanza Ventures, Inc. grants merchandising and licensing rights worldwide.
Use as a filming location
In 1680, the Pueblo revolted against the Spanish and temporarily drove them from Santa Fe de Nuevo México ; with the exception of a few sporadic mining operations, wide-scale mining would not occur again until the late 1800s. Bonanza City is a ghost town, located 13 miles (21 km) southwest of Santa Fe in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. Later in the 20th century, The Bonanza Creek Movie Ranch, which contains a movie set depicting a late 19th century mining town, was built near the ruins of Bonanza City. Bonanza City is a ghost town, located 13 miles (21 km) southwest of Santa Fe in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States.
Bonanza Creek Movie Ranch
Several episodes were built around his character, one that Matheson never had a chance to fully develop before the show was abruptly cancelled in November 1972 (with the final episode airing January 16, 1973). Many fans, as well as both Landon and Greene, felt that the character of Hoss was essential, as he was a nurturing, empathetic soul who rounded out the all-male cast. In 1968, a slightly revamped horn and percussion-heavy arrangement of the original score introduced the series, which was used until 1970. A new theme song, called „The Big Bonanza“ was written in 1970 by episode scorer David Rose, and was used from 1970 to 1972.
Original town
At its busiest, Bonanza City may have had up to 2,000 people. There were activities such as a haunted house, panning for gold, amusements based on old-time Wild West shows, as well as concessions and souvenirs. A visit to the park consisted of visitors riding up on the wagon, being „robbed“ by „outlaws“, and then disembarking at the main house. Adjacent to the house were the „graves“ of Ben Cartwright’s three wives, each of whom had given birth to one of the three (half) brothers. Graves of the Cartwrights and cook Hop Sing were later added, following the deaths of Dan Blocker (1972), Victor Sen Yung (1980), Lorne Greene (1987), and Michael Landon (1991).
Though not familiar stars in 1959, the cast quickly became favorites of the first television generation. The order of billing at the beginning of the broadcast appeared to be shuffled randomly each week, with no relation whatsoever to the current episode featured that week. For 14 years, Bonanza was the premier Western on American television.
Lunch, including a „Hoss Burger“, could also be purchased. Estimates are that more than three million of these were sold during the park’s existence. You may never have noticed Bonanza’s system of location work and set-dressing magic. But the long-running NBC Western made use of California sets, stock footage and scenery shots, and a famous Western street on a Paramount backlot—also used for other Western TV series of the era, including Have Gun-Will Travel and Branded. In the episode „Enter Thomas Bowers“, the Cartwright family helps the opera singer Thomas Bowers, an African-American freedman, after he encounters prejudice while in Virginia City to perform. As producer, Dortort ensured that the episode re-aired during the summer rerun seasons, though two TV stations in the South refused to air it.
- In episodes shot in-studio, the home exterior has a backdrop of sky and trees.
- By July 1881, the town had a store, a post office, a hotel, and a smelter.
- In 2001, there was an attempt to revive the Bonanza concept with a prequel, Ponderosa—not to be confused with the 1972 summer reruns under the same title6—with a pilot directed by Simon Wincer and filmed in Australia.
- During the first season extra horses were rented from the Idyllwild Stables in Idyllwild, also in the San Jacinto Mountains.
- Nothing remained of the town but remnants of foundations.
- Bonanza City saw a small return of activity in the early 1900s.
- In 2011, StudioCanal acquired the rights to the series and have begun re-releasing it on DVD, and all seasons have now been released but have not been remastered.
Action-shot pictorials of the cast replaced the galloping trio with the order of the actors rotating from episode to episode, resulting in Blocker or Landon often getting top billing over Greene. Finally, a faster rendition of the original music returned for the 14th and final season, along with action shots of the cast (sans Dan Blocker, who had died by this point). Only the front of the ranch house was ever shown on television because a highway ran directly to the right of the house. In episodes shot in-studio, Bonanza City the home exterior has a backdrop of sky and trees.
In the 1500s and 1600s, the Spanish took over the area. They made Pueblo people work as slaves to mine turquoise, lead, and silver. The Cerrillos Hills are a group of hills in New Mexico. These include silver, gold, lead, copper, and turquoise. Near the main house were sculptures of the horses ridden by Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker and Michael Landon that visitors could have their pictures taken either on or alongside of. The park also had a church that could be reserved for weddings near the church where the grave markers are located.
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Get in touch with us through our contact form for access to our production resource library, including extensive set photos, video footage, and additional information about the property’s key filming locations. We’re happy to share more detailed materials upon request to support your project planning. When the ranch opened in 1967, Pernell Roberts (Adam Cartwright) had long since departed the series. Consequently, he was not featured in Ponderosa’s promotional campaign until after the show’s initial run.
Bonanza City is a ghost town, located 13 miles southwest of Santa Fe in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. The town was founded in 1880 as a mining town, following the discovery of gold and silver in the nearby Cerrillos Hills. It was later abandoned sometime in the early 1900s. Later in the twentieth century, The Bonanza Creek Movie Ranch, which contains a movie set depicting a late 19th century mining town, was built near the ruins of Bonanza City. The Pueblo have mined for turquoise in the hills as early as the 900s AD. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the colonizing Spanish used Pueblo slave labor to mine turquoise, as well as lead and silver.
