The West Old & New Vol. III Issue IV April 2014 | Page 13

Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada to Russian-Jewish parents, Lorne
Greene was chosen to play widowed patriarch Ben Cartwright.
Early in the show's history, he recalls each of his late wives in
flashback episodes. A standard practice with most westerns was to
introduce some romance but avoid matrimony. Few media cowboys
had on-screen wives. Any time one of the Cartwrights’ seriously
courted a woman, she died from a malady, was abruptly slain, or
left with someone else. Greene appeared in all but twelve Bonanza
episodes.

Waycross, Georgia-born Pernell Roberts played eldest son Adam,
an architectural engineer with a university education. Adam built
the impressive ranch house ("The Philip Diedesheimer Story", Oct.
31, 1959; "Bonanza: The Return", NBC TV, April 21, 1993). Roberts disdained the assembly-line mindset of serial television (a rigid
34 episode season), and fought with series writers regarding Adam's
lack of independence, noting that his 30-plus year old character was
dependent on his "Pa's" approval.

Dan Blocker was 6-foot-4, 320-pounds when chosen to play the gentle middle son Eric, better known as Hoss. According to a biography, the show's crew found Blocker to be the "least actor-ish as well
as the most likeable" cast member. According to producer David
Dortort: "Over the years he gave me the least amount of trouble."
In May 1972, Blocker died suddenly from a post-operative pulmonary embolism following surgery to remove a failing gall bladder.
The producers felt nobody else could continue the role. It was the
first time a TV show's producers chose to kill off a major male
character.

Michael Landon played the youngest, feistiest Cartwright son,
whose mother (Felicia in the pilot, and later changed to Marie) was
of French Creole descent. Landon began to develop his skills in
writing and directing Bonanza episodes, starting with "The Gamble." Most of the episodes Landon wrote and directed were dramas,
including the 1972 two-hour, "Forever", which was recognized by
TV Guide as being one of television's best specials (November
1993). Landon's development, was a bit stormy according to David
Dortort, who felt that the actor grew more difficult during the last )