Bonanza
Season 6
Cast of Bonanza in 1959
Cast of Bonanza in 1959
Starring
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes34
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 20, 1964 (1964-09-20) –
May 23, 1965 (1965-05-23)
Season chronology

The sixth season of the American Western television series Bonanza premiered on NBC on September 20, 1964, with the final episode airing May 23, 1965.[1] The series was developed and produced by David Dortort, and season six starred Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon. The season consisted of 34 episodes of a series total 431 hour-long episodes, the entirety of which was produced in color.[2] Season six was aired on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. It moved up to capture the #1 spot in the Nielsen ratings for the 1964-1965 season, a position it would hold for three straight seasons.[3]

Synopsis

Bonanza is set around the Ponderosa Ranch near Virginia City, Nevada and chronicles the weekly adventures of the Cartwright family, consisting of Ben Cartwright and his three sons (each by a different wife), Adam, Eric ("Hoss"), and Joseph ("Little Joe"). A regular character is their ranch cook, Hop Sing.

Cast and characters

Main cast

Recurring

Guest cast

Production

Filming

On location shooting for season six was completed at the following sites:

Episodes

Bonanza, season 6 episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1691"Invention of a Gunfighter"John FloreaDaniel B. UllmanSeptember 20, 1964 (1964-09-20)
Joe teaches to his friend Johnny Chapman (Guy Stockwell) how to use a six-shooter, only for the man to embark on a career as a ruthless bounty hunter.
1702"The Hostage"Don McDougallDon MullallySeptember 27, 1964 (1964-09-27)
Ben is taken hostage by a band of outlaws demanding a ransom of $100,000. The Cartwrights formulate a plan to rescue their father. Harold J. Stone and Jacqueline Scott guest star.
1713"The Wild One"William WitneyJo PaganoOctober 4, 1964 (1964-10-04)
Hoss is looking for a wild stallion for breeding and he chooses a gruff mountaineer (Aldo Ray), who is later confronted by the wife (Kathryn Hays) he left long ago.
1724"Thanks for Everything, Friend"Christian NybyJerry AdelmanOctober 11, 1964 (1964-10-11)
Tom Wilson (Rory Calhoun), who's an expert in cards and women, saves Adam from drowning. This event begins a friendship that Adam will later regret.
1735"Logan's Treasure"Don McDougallStory by : Robert Sabaroff
Teleplay by : Ken Pettus		October 18, 1964 (1964-10-18)
Sam Logan (Dan Duryea) gets out of prison and tries to avoid those who are certain he's hidden a cache of stolen gold somewhere. Ben believes him and invites him to stay at the Ponderosa.
1746"The Scapegoat"Christian NybyRod PetersonOctober 25, 1964 (1964-10-25)
Hoss befriends suicidal man Waldo Watson (George Kennedy), who turns out to be a scapegoat for three men who intend to do him harm.
1757"A Dime's Worth of Glory"William F. ClaxtonRichard Shapiro and Esther MayeshNovember 1, 1964 (1964-11-01)
Ben and Adam capture a known outlaw that tried to hold up the stage they were passengers on. After this episode, Ben turns down a dime novelist's offer to make the Cartwrights famous, so the novelist gives it to aging Sheriff Laramore (Bruce Cabot).
1768"Square Deal Sam"Murray GoldenJessica Benson and Murray GoldenNovember 8, 1964 (1964-11-08)
The Cartwrights fall for the schemes of con artist Samuel T. Washburn, nicknamed Square Deal Sam (Ernest Truex).
1779"Between Heaven and Earth"William WitneyEd AdamsonNovember 15, 1964 (1964-11-15)
Joe and his friend Mitch Devlin (Richard Jaeckel) are chasing a sheep-killing puma and Joe has to climb a steep slope, but something goes wrong.
17810"Old Sheba"John FloreaAlex SharpNovember 22, 1964 (1964-11-22)
Hoss injured traveling circus wrestler Bearcat Samspon (Henry Kulky). When the owner of the traveling circus squanders Hoss's winnings in a wrestling match, Joe and Hoss receive an elephant as payment.
17911"A Man to Admire"John FloreaMort R. LewisDecember 6, 1964 (1964-12-06)
Hoss is accused of murdering a scheming businessman, and then has to rely on his new friend, an alcoholic lawyer (James Gregory), to clear him.
18012"The Underdog"William F. ClaxtonDon MullallyDecember 13, 1964 (1964-12-13)
Joe tries to help half Native American Harry Starr (Charles Bronson), who is accused of being a chronic horse thief.
18113"A Knight to Remember"Vincent McEveetyRobert V. BarronDecember 20, 1964 (1964-12-20)
A knight in shining armor who calls himself King Arthur (Henry Jones) scares away bandits trying to rob a stagecoach carrying Adam.
18214"The Saga of Squaw Charlie"William WitneyWarren DouglasDecember 27, 1964 (1964-12-27)
Old Indian Squaw Charlie (Anthony Caruso) befriends a little girl in spite of the townspeople ridiculing him. After she goes missing, the whole town wants his blood.
18315"The Flapjack Contest"William F. ClaxtonStory by : Tom Davison
Teleplay by : Frank Cleaver		January 3, 1965 (1965-01-03)
Hoss has to stay on a strict diet before a flapjack-eating contest: he has to win against champion Big Ed Simpson (Mel Berger).
18416"The Far, Far Better Thing"Bernard McEveetyMort R. LewisJanuary 10, 1965 (1965-01-10)
Joe competes with ranch hand Tuck (Warren Vanders) for the affections of Lucy Melviney (Brenda Scott), an Eastern girl with a thirst for adventure.
18517"Woman of Fire"William F. ClaxtonSuzanne ClauserJanuary 17, 1965 (1965-01-17)
Shakespeare-inspired Adam takes care of a temperamental señorita (Joan Hackett) while her father finds her a husband.
18618"The Ballerina"Don McDougallFrank ChaseJanuary 24, 1965 (1965-01-24)
An aspirant ballerina (Barrie Chase) falls for her teacher and faces resistance from her father, who is a traveling violinist.
18719"The Flannel-Mouth Gun"Don McDougallLeo Gordon and Paul Leslie PeilJanuary 31, 1965 (1965-01-31)
Desperate ranchers hire a gunman to take care of rustlers; tragedy follows and Sherman Clegg (Earl Holliman) is accused of murder.
18820"The Ponderosa Birdman"Herbert L. StrockBlair Robertson and Hazel SwansonFebruary 7, 1965 (1965-02-07)
An eccentric inventor (Ed Wynn) plans to take flight with his meticulously crafted wings. Hoss tries to help him and his overly-protective granddaughter.
18921"The Search"William F. ClaxtonFrank CleaverFebruary 14, 1965 (1965-02-14)
Adam searches for his troublesome lookalike Tom Burns. His search lands him in the Placerville jail. Lola Albright and Elaine Devry guest star.
19022"The Deadliest Game"Gerd OswaldJo PaganoFebruary 21, 1965 (1965-02-21)
Aging circus aerialist Guido Borelli (Cesar Romero) grows jealous of his partner Petina's (Ilze Taurins) attraction to Joe, but he's quick to comfort her after a fistfight with her boyfriend Carlo (Fabrizio Mioni) lands Joe in prison.
19123"Once a Doctor"Tay GarnettMartha WilkersonFebruary 28, 1965 (1965-02-28)
A vengeful Englishman comes after Doctor P.A. Mundy (Michael Rennie), nicknamed Professor Poppy, that he blames for the death of his wife.
19224"Right Is the Fourth R"Virgil VogelJerry AdelmanMarch 7, 1965 (1965-03-07)
Adam tries to teach a course in frontier history and learns some unsettling facts about the territory's founders. Everett Sloane, Mariette Hartley and Barry Kelley guest star.
19325"Hound Dog"Ralph E. BlackAlex SharpMarch 21, 1965 (1965-03-21)
Cousin Muley Jones (Bruce Yarnell) returns along with hound dogs, but Tracy Ledbetter (Sue Ane Langdon) claims he stole them from her.
19426"The Trap"William WitneyKen PettusMarch 28, 1965 (1965-03-28)
Married man Burk (Steve Cochran) sets a trap to keep Joe away from his wife (Joan Freeman), but when his plan backfires and he ends up dead, his twin brother decides to finish the job.
19527"Dead and Gone"Robert TottenPaul SchneiderApril 4, 1965 (1965-04-04)
Adam tries to help wandering troubadour Howard Mead (Hoyt Axton) overcome his habit of stealing after he tried to rob Johann Brunner (Steve Ihnat) and his sister Hilda (Susanne Cramer).
19628"A Good Night's Rest"William F. ClaxtonStory by : Jeffrey Fleece
Teleplay by : Frank Cleaver		April 11, 1965 (1965-04-11)
After dealing with Hoss' snoring, Adam's guitar playing and Little Joe's courting shenanigans, Ben checks into a hotel to try to get a good night's sleep. Eddie Firestone and Jean Willes guest star.
19729"To Own the World"Virgil VogelEd AdamsonApril 18, 1965 (1965-04-18)
Wealthy tycoon Charles Augustus Hackett (Telly Savalas) is out to get the Ponderosa.
19830"Lothario Larkin"William WitneyWarren DouglasApril 25, 1965 (1965-04-25)
Infamous womanizer Lothario Larkin (Noah Beery, Jr.) returns to Virginia City, to the displeasure of the fathers and the sheriff.
19931"The Return"Virgil VogelStory by : Frank Chase & Ken Pettus
Teleplay by : Ken Pettus		May 2, 1965 (1965-05-02)
Ex-convict Trace Cordell (Tony Young) returns to town, but no one is glad to see him, especially Paul Dorn (John Conte), the banker he crippled in a bank robbery.
20032"Jonah"William F. ClaxtonPreston WoodMay 9, 1965 (1965-05-09)
Ranch hand George Whitman (Andrew Prine) is offered a job on the Ponderosa when he saves Hoss's life, but rumors state that he's a jinx.
20133"The Spotlight"Gerd OswaldRichard CarrMay 16, 1965 (1965-05-16)
Ben tries to talk retired opera star Angela Bergstrom (Viveca Lindfors) into resuming her career on the stage.
20234"Patchwork Man"Ralph E. BlackDon Tait and William KoenigMay 23, 1965 (1965-05-23)
Hoss hires recluse Albert 'Patch' Saunders (Grant Williams) to work on the Ponderosa. After learning about Patch's past, Hoss decides to help him.

Release

Season six aired on Sundays from 9:00 pm–10:00 pm on NBC.[10]

Reception

Season six was the first season the show captured the #1 position in the Nielsen ratings. It held that position for the three straight seasons.[3]

Awards and nominations

Award Year[lower-alpha 1] Category Nominee(s) / Work Result Ref(s)
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards 1965 Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment—Cinematographer Haskell Boggs and William Whitley Nominated [11]
Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment—Color Consultant Edward Ancona Won [11]
  1. ↑ Indicates the year of ceremony.

References

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Shapiro 1997, pp. 95, 100.
  2. ↑ Shapiro 1997, pp. 5, 65–157.
  3. 1 2
    • "TV Ratings: 1964–1965". ClassicTVGuide.com. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
    • "TV Ratings: 1965–1966". ClassicTVGuide.com. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
    • "TV Ratings: 1966–1967". ClassicTVGuide.com. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 89.
  5. ↑ Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 90.
  6. ↑ Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 94.
  7. ↑ Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 99.
  8. ↑ Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 91.
  9. ↑ Leiby & Leiby 2015, p. 93.
  10. ↑ Brooks & Marsh 2007, p. 164.
  11. 1 2 "Television Academy Emmy Awards & Nominations—Bonanza". emmys.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.

Bibliography

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