Amazing Bonanza Facts for October

The character Hoss Cartwright was actually named Eric Haas Cartwright.  Hoss Cartwright was born in 1836, somewhere between California and Nevada. He is the son of Ben Cartwright and his second wife, Inger Borgstrom, a Swedish immigrant.

The opening credits would alternate the order among the four stars.

Ben Cartwright had three wives: Elizabeth (English), Inger (Swedish) and Marie (French Creole). All three wives were not around long enough to see their children grow up: Elizabeth died in childbirth, Inger was shot by an Indian with an arrow when Hoss was only a few weeks old, and Marie fell off of a horse and was killed when Joe was only five.

Dan Blocker (Hoss) weighed 14 pounds at birth, then the largest baby ever born in Bowie County, Texas.

The Ponderosa/Bonanza Steakhouses are inspired by the television show. The Bonanza Steakhouses were started by Dan Blocker and the Ponderosa Steakhouses were started by businessmen in Canada. Both are now owned by the same company.

Dan Blocker died in 1972 from a blood clot in his lung.  Lorne Greene died in 1987 of pneumonia following heart surgery.  Michael Landon died in 1991 of pancreatic cancer.  Pernell Roberts died in 2010 of pancreatic cancer.

Amazing.

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