Bonanza – 50 Things You Never Knew About The Cast And Production
31. The Theme Song Actually Had Lyrics
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We mostly heard the theme song on its instrumental version. However, it really had lyrics. The song was created by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans and there is footage of the lead actors singing those lyrics. Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon sang a lyric version for the pilot, but it never aired. Famed singer Johnny Cash recorded his own version of the Bonanza theme song.
32. The First Western TV Series Filmed 100% In Color
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Bonanza was not just filmed in color. In fact, it was one of the very first U.S. Western TV shows to be 100 percent produced in color, just like The Cisco Kid. That’s also the reason why it’s one of the most expensive of its time. If it wasn’t for that decision the show would have been canceled before it had the chance to become one of the most popular TV shows of all-time.
33. It Was the Second Longest Running TV Western of All Time
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The only Western TV series to run longer than Bonanza was Gunsmoke, which ran for 15 seasons while Bonanza for just 14. Syndication for both shows continues in various parts of the world up to this very day.
34. The Cartwrights Were Not Hostile To Visitors
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During the first few shows, the Cartwrights were hostile to visitors who came onto their land. However, Lorne Greene realized that the family ran an important business for the community. That meant many people would visit their homestead to conduct business. The show’s characters were soon altered to make them more approachable for their neighbors.
35. The Chevrolet Connection
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Large portions of Bonanza’s income came from its long-standing partnership with Chevrolet. The car company sponsored almost all of the TV show’s 431-episodes which helped keep the series in production. The stars appeared in numerous Chevrolet commercials as part of the sponsorship deal which showed them endorsing various vehicles.
36. The Show Has A Deep Connection To The Original ‘Star Trek’
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Almost every major actor of the 1966 TV series Star Trek appeared at some point during Bonanza’s run. Some of them were William Shatner, James Doohan, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Grace Lee Whitney, Majel Barrett, and Walter Koenig.
37. Landon’s Repeated Attempts To Write Scripts For The Show Originally Failed
Landon really wanted to write scripts for the show, but the show producer David Dortort wouldn’t allow him. While his first attempts failed, Landon eventually submitted a script that Dortort thought was good enough to produce. Not only would he become a regular writer and occasional producer on the show, he eventually wrote many scripts for Little House on the Prairie.
38. It Was The First Issue-Oriented Western TV Show
SOURCE: TV-Cowboys.com (definition.org)
Bonanza was the first “dramatic” TV Western that didn’t focus on hunting down and killing bad guys. Instead, each episode of the show focused on issues such as racism, prejudice, and social justice.
39. The Credits Were Rotated Each Week
SOURCE: Wikipedia.org (definition.org)
If you closely watch the opening sequence you will quickly notice that the order of the actors’ names was swapped out so nobody always had top billing on the show 100% of the time. As previously mentioned, the four main actors were considered equal stars and that was a carefully monitored part of the show.