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The Bonanza is a classic western series that entertained audiences and helped define the genre. Today, we're taking a look at the Bonanza cast then and now to see how they've changed through the years.

00:00 - Intro
0:19 Ray Teal as Sheriff Roy Coffee
1:25 Victor Sen Yung as Hop Sing
2:29 David Canary as "Candy" Canaday
3:34 Guy Williams as Will Cartwright
4:41 Micheal Landon as "Little Joe" Cartwright
5:44 Dan Blocker as Eric "Hoss" Cartwright
6:51 Pernell Roberts as Adam Cartwright
7:56 Mitch Vogel as Jamie Hunter-Cartwright
9:00 Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright

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In Bonanza, Ben Cartwright is the patriarch of an all-male Nevada ranching family. Set during and after the Civil War, "Bonanza" is the story of life on the family's thousand-acre spread, known as the Ponderosa, near Virginia City. Ben has his three sons, each with a different (and deceased) mother. Serious eldest son Adam hopes to follow in his father's footsteps; middle son Hoss is a gentle giant -- physically strong, but sometimes naive; and youngest son Little Joe is the most impetuous and romantic of the offspring.

The title "Bonanza" is a term used by miners in regard to a large vein or deposit of silver ore, from Spanish bonanza (prosperity) and commonly refers to the 1859 revelation of the Comstock Lode of rich silver ore mines under the town of Virginia City, not far from the fictional Ponderosa Ranch that the Cartwright family operated. The show's theme song, also titled "Bonanza", became a hit song. Only instrumental renditions, absent Ray Evans' lyrics, were used during the series's long run.

In 2002, Bonanza was ranked No. 43 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, and in 2013 TV Guide included it in its list of The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time. The time period for the television series is roughly between 1861 (Season 1) and 1867 (Season 13) during and shortly after the American Civil War.

During the summer of 1972, NBC aired reruns of episodes from the 1967–1970 period in prime time on Tuesday evening under the title Ponderosa.
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