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Bonanza Legacy
brings you the 'Bonanza Hall of Fame'. A hall of fame and
tribute to all the people who came together to bring Bonanza to life.
We've tried to list all the great actors, guest stars and notable
off-screen talent in honor of their
contributions to making Bonanza a Television History Legend!
If anyone can think of a person who should be in this listing, please email us at Bonanza Legacy Please note that these pages are currently under construction - Thank You |
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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ELLEN CORBY
June 3rd 1911 - April 14th 1999 Ellen Corby was born Ellen Hansen in Racine, Wisconsin. She began her career as a bit player in the film Speed Limited (1935) in 1940. Ellen would not be seen on the big screen again until 1945 in Cornered. In 1946, Ellen appeared in 14 motion pictures although mostly in small minor roles. One of the small parts was in the Christmas classic It's a Wonderful Life (1946). One of the motion picture highlights of her career came about in 1948 in I Remember Mama (1948) in the role of Aunt Trina. As a result of this role, Ellen garnered a nomination for Best Supporting Actress which was ultimately won by Claire Trevor in Key Largo (1948). It was television where she would garner the acclaim that had eluded her on the silver screen. Her real fame came in the highly watched and highly acclaimed "The Walton's" from 1972-1979 as Esther "Grandma" Walton. The role resulted in the prestigious Emmy award for 1973, 74, & 75. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Cora Milford" Season 4 Ep 121: "The Hayburner" 17
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RICARDO CORTEZ
September 19th 1899 - April 28th 1977 Born in Austria, Jacob emigrated with his family to New York. There he worked a number of jobs while he trained as an actor. When Jacob arrived in Hollywood to work in movies in 1922, the Valentino mania was in full swing. Never shy about changing a name and a background, the studio transformed Jacob Krantz from Austria into Latin Lover Ricardo Cortez from Spain. Such was life in Hollywood. Starting with small parts, the tall, dark Cortez was being groomed by Paramount to be the successor to Rudolph Valentino. But Cortez would never be viewed, or consider himself, as the equal to the late Valentino. A popular star, he was saddled in a number of run of the mill romantic movies which would depend more on his looks than on the script. Pictures like 'Argentine Love (1924)' and 'The Cat's Pajamas (1926)' did little to extend his range as an actor. He did show that he had some range with his role in 'Pony Express (1925)', but roles like that were few. Cortez would be the only actor to ever have his name above Greta Garbo as she appeared with him in her first American movie 'The Torrent (1926)'. When sound came, Cortez made the transition in late 1929 and he would play Sam Spade in the 1931 movie 'Dangerous Female' (aka The Maltese Falcon). Never a great actor, Cortez would often be cast as the smirking womanizer in a number of films and would soon slide down into 'B' movies. After 1937, Cortez would hit a lean patch for his work and tried his hand at directing. His career as a director ended after a half dozen movies and his screen career would soon follow. When he retired from the screen, he returned to Wall Street where he had started as a runner decades before. Only this time, he returned as a member of one of Wall Street's top brokerage firms and lived a comfortable life. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Don Xavier" Season 1 Ep 16 "El Toro Grande" 2 January 1960
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JOHN DEHNER Born John Forkum, Dehner began his career as an
animator for Walt Disney Studios, then worked as a disc jockey and a
professional pianist. In 1945, at the age
of 30, Dehner made his debut and has appeared in dozens of films. He was a tall, distinguished looking man with
a rich voice and somewhat flamboyant demeanor. Dehner was often cast as
the outlaw leader, crooked banker or a saloon owner in westerns,
although he occasionally played opposite types in several comedies, and
once played a crusading newspaper reporter in the 1960’s TV series, The Roaring ‘20s. Some of his film credits include: War
and Remembrance (1988, Young Maverick (1979), and How The West Was Won
(1977). His Bonanza credits include: The Click here for Online Credits & more info |
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DON DUBBINS
June 28th 1928 - August 17th 1991 He was handed a film career out of nowhere by James Cagney, who took a liking to the baby-faced kid and gave him co-starring roles in a couple of his rugged features, with little prior experience. His last performance was as Willie Loman in Death of A Salesman at the Warehouse Theatre in Greenville, South Carolina. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes: - "Todd McCarren" Season 1 Ep 29 "Bitter Water" 9 April 1960
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HOWARD DUFF
November 24th 1913 - July 8th 1990 Once he hit the screen in 1947, this burly leading man's gruff voice was instantly recognizable: He'd spent several years playing private eye Sam Spade on a hit radio show. With acting experience dating back to pre-WW2 stage work in his native Washington, Duff made a solid impression with moviegoers portraying tough guys in Westerns and crime dramas. After an auspicious start in Brute Force (1947) and The Naked City (1948), however, he was relegated to second-tier films by the taint of left-wing affiliations during the Hollywood witch-hunt era-which also cost him his radio gig as Sam Spade. He reemerged in the 1960s as a solid character actor in leading films. Duff was married to actress-director Ida Lupino, whose name you may recognise as the actress who played 'Annie O'Toole' in the episode 'The Saga of Annie O'Toole'. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- "Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain" Season 1 Ep 5 "Enter Mark
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DAN DURYEA
January 23, 1907 - June 8, 1968 Dan Duryea was born in Ithaca, NY and attended Cornell University. He began his acting career in the late 1930's appearing in stage productions on Broadway in New York City. On stage as well as on film, Dan played low-life, malicious and sometimes psychopathic characters. His career spanned 47 years and he appeared in 70 films. From 1952 - 1955 Duryea starred in the TV series, China Smith. Duryea's western films included Black Bart (1948), Winchester 73 (1950), Al Jennings of Oklahoma (1951), He Rides Tall (1964) and Taggart (1965). In 1932, Dan married Helen Bryan and together they had two sons, Peter and Richard. Dan died of cancer in 1968.
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BUDDY EBSEN
April 2nd 1908 - 2003 Buddy is best known for his roles as 'Pa Campett' in the 'Beverly Hill Billies' and the title character of the long running detective series 'Barnaby Jones'. Buddy Ebsen almost became the Tin Man in the production Wizard of Oz with Judy Garland but as a result of a severe allergic reaction to the silver makeup, his part was recast. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Sheriff" Season 1 Ep 14 "The Sisters" 12 Dec 1959 |
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LEIF ERIKSON
October 27th 1911 - January 29th 1986 Tall, beefy, deep-voiced character actor who'd been a band singer and trombone player before getting into movies in 1935. An inauspicious debut (as a corpse) in the Zane Grey Western Wanderer of the Wasteland (1935) was Erickson's first assignment under a Paramount contract; he was initially billed as "Glenn" Erickson. He was under contract to Universal during the early 1940s before entering the Armed Forces, and was twice wounded during World War 2. A pleasant personality translated indifferently onscreen and he never really hit it big. Erickson, who was once married to actress Frances Farmer, also appeared on stage and in many TV shows, including "The High Chaparral" as Big John Cannon the series' Patriach. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Tom Cain" Season 7 Ep 216 "All Ye His Saints" 19
December 1965
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JAMES GAMMON April 20th 1940 - July 16th 2010 Rugged-looking James Gammon first broke into the entertainment industry not as an actor but as a TV cameraman. From there his weatherbeaten features, somewhat menacing attitude and a tough-as-nails voice - the kind that used to be described in detective novels as "whiskey-soaked" - reminiscent of '40s noir icon Charles McGraw got him work in front of the cameras in TV westerns and he made his film debut in 1967. He made his first appearance on television in the first season of the “Wild Wild West” – a western featuring Secret Service men Jim West and Artemus Gordon who traveled about the country in a fancy train as they chased bad guys (or girls) and saved the country from harm and unrest. Over the next four decades Gammon appeared in over 125 films and television shows including “Bonanza”, “Batman”, “Cool Hand Luke”, “The Virginian”, “The High Chaparral”, “Gunsmoke”, “Kung Fu”, “The Waltons”, “Charlie’s Angels”, “Any Which Way You Can”, “Urban Cowboy”, “Murder She Wrote”, “In the Heat of the Night”, “Cold Mountain”, “Monk”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, and “Jesse Stone: Sea Change”. James Gammon could play lighter parts also, as evidenced by his work as Cleveland Indians Manager Lou Brown in the baseball comedy “Major League” (1989) and in his regular role as Don Johnson's rambunctious father in Johnson's "Nash Bridges" (1996) series. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com and allvoices.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Harry Jeffers" Season 8, Ep 264 - "A Man Without Land" April 9, 1967
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WILL GEER
March 9th 1902 - April 22nd 1978 Will Geer admired his grandfather, a man who said hello to trees by their Latin names and who had used what he brought back to Indiana from the California gold rush to build Frankfort's first opera house. Will pursued a college major in botany, from Chicago through a Master's degree at Columbia, but ultimately gave in to his need to perform. Starting with touring company tent shows and river boats, his six-decade career included Broadway, movies, television; many Shakespeare roles; one-man performances as Walt Whitman and Mark Twain. His best know role was his last, Zebulon Walton, Grandpa in the long-running television series "The Waltons." Less well known was his life-long role as a political agitator and radical ("Someone who goes to the roots, which is the Latin derivation of radical") and folklorist/folksinger - he toured U.S. government work camps in the 1930s, singing with Woody Guthrie and Burl Ives. He was blacklisted during the McCarthy era for refusing to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Affairs. In 1951 he formed the "Theatricum Botanicum," a repertory theater in Topanga Canyon, CA, where he not only coached actors but also encouraged outdoor philsophical discussion and, of course, folksinging. At his deathbed his family sang "This Land Is Your Land" and recited Robert Frost poems. His ashes lie in a corner of the Shakespearean garden on the grounds of his Theatricum Botanicum. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Ferris Callahan" Season 13 Ep 402 "A Home for Jamie"
19 December 1971
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JANE GREER
September 9th 1924 - August 24th 2001 As a baby she was winning beauty contests; as a teenager, with good looks and an attractive contralto voice, she was singing with big bands (most notably Enric Madriguera's orchestra in Latin Club Del Rio in Washington, D.C.. She met Rudy Valle, her first husband, on the radio where she also enjoyed a brief stint as a singer. At age 15 an attack of palsy left her face partially paralyzed. She claimed that it was through facial exercises to overcome the paralysis that she learned the efficacy of facial expression in conveying human emotion, a skill she was renowned for using in her acting. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Julia Bulette" Season 1 Ep 6 "The Julia Bulette Story" 17 October 1959
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ALAN HALE
March 8th 1918 - January 2nd 1990 The son of the great character actor (and Erroll Flynn sidekick) Alan Hale Sr., Alan Hale Jr. (he dropped the Jr. after his father passed away) was literally born into the movies. Hale did his first movie as a baby and continued to act until his death. Unlike other child actors, Hale made a smooth transition in the movies and starred in several classics like "Up Periscope, " "The Lady Takes a Flyer, " and "The West Point Story, " as well as many westerns. He did a lot of television guest appearances as well before getting his role as The Skipper on the cult comedy "Gilligan's Island." After the show went off the air, Hale continued to act and even teamed up with Gilligan co-star Bob Denver in the "The Good Guys, " a CBS-TV comedy that lasted only two years. After that ended, Hale kept busy acting in guest shots and maintained his business interests which included a restaurant and travel agency. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Swede Lundberg" Season 1 Ep 7 "The Saga of Annie O'Toole" 24 October 1959
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RICHARD HALE
November 16th 1892 - May 18th 1981 Because of his unusual appearance was often cast as exotic Middle Eastern characters and Native Americans. His roles ranged from kindly, but strict, priests to sinister villains. His only Shakespearean role on film was that of the Soothsayer who warns "Beware the Ides of March!" in Julius Caesar (1953). Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes: - "Chief Winnemuca" in "Ride the Wind"
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HENRY HULL
Henry Hull began his career in 1909. His most successful role was on Broadway portraying "Jeeter Lester" in Tobacco Road (1933). He was a master of character roles, and did much of his own make-up on the stage. Bonanza Episodes:
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ARTHUR HUNNICUT
February 17th 1911 - September 26th 1979 Lean, tall American character actor known for playing humorously wise rural roles. He attended Arkansas State Teachers College in his native state, but was forced to drop out in his third year due to lack of funds. He joined a theatre company in Massachusetts, then migrated to New York, where he began to find acting roles on Broadway and on tour. He played in numerous productions, including the leading role in Tobacco Road, a part his rangy country persona was made for. He took a few roles in small films in the early 1940s, then returned to stage work. In 1949, he came back to Hollywood permanently and began a long career as a reliable supporting player. His wonderfully written and vibrantly played role in the Howard Hawks Western Big Sky, The (1952) won him acclaim and an Oscar nomination for Supporting Actor. He continued playing similar characters, almost always sympathetic, for remainder of his career. Biography sourced from www.imdb Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Salty Hubbard" Season 11 Ep 344 "Dead Wrong" 7
December 1969
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DEFOREST KELLEY
January 20th 1920 - June 11th 1999 Deforest Kelly is undoubtably best remembered for his portrayal of the cantankerous cheif medical officer, Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy in the original series of 'Star Trek' and the later feature films. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, he graduated from highschool at 16 and went on to sing at the church where his father was a baptist minister. At 17 he made his first trip outside the state to visit an uncle in Long Beach CA, only intending to stay for 2 weeks but ended up staying a year before returning to tell his parents he was going to be an actor. Back in CA, Kelley was spotted by a Paramount scout while doing a Navy Training film. He went on to roles in many westerns series and films, building up an impressive list of credits and eventually playing the role of 'Bones' McCoy which changed his life forever. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Tully" Season 7 Ep 220 "Ride the Wind: Part 2"
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January 1966
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WESLEY LAU
June 18th 1921 - August 30th 1984 No Biography available at this time Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Carl Armory" Season 7 Ep 226 "Her Brother's
Keeper"
6 March 1966
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JACK LORD
December 30th 1920 - January 21st 1998 Jack Lord will probably be best remembered as Steve McGarett in the long running televison series HAWAII FIVE-O, but he was much more than that however. He starred in several movies, directed several episodes of his show, was in several Broadway productions, and was an acomplished artist. Two of his paintings were acquired by New York's Metrpoltian Museum of Art and the British Museum of Modern Art by the time he was twenty. Lord was also known for being a very cultured man who loved reading poetry out loud on the set of his TV show and as being somewhat reclusive at his Honolulu home. He met his son from his first marriage, who was killed in an accident when he was thirteen, only once as a baby Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Clay Renton" Season 1 Ep 17 "The Outcast" 9 January 1960
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IDA LUPINO
February 4th 1914 - August 3rd 1995 Ida was born in London to a show business family. In 1933, her mother brought Ida with her to an audition and Ida got the part her mother wanted. The picture was 'Her First Affaire (1933)'. Ida, a bleached blonde, came to Hollywood in 1934 and played small and insignificant parts. 'Peter Ibbetson (1935)' was one of her few noteworthy movies and it was not until 'The Light That Failed (1939)' that she got a chance to get better parts. In most of her movies she was cast as the hard, but sympathetic woman from the wrong side of the tracks. In 'The Sea Wolf (1941)' and 'High Sierra (1941)' she played the part magnificently. It has been said that no one could do hard-luck dames the way Lupino could do them. She played tough, knowing characters who held their own against some of the biggest leading men of the day - Bogart, Colman, Garfield and Robinson. She made a handful of films during the forties playing different characters ranging from 'Pillow to Post (1945)', where she played a traveling saleswoman to the tough nightclub singer in 'The Man I Love (1946)'. But good roles for women were hard to get and there were many young actresses and established stars competing for those roles. She left Warner Brothers in 1947 and became a freelance actress. When better roles did not materialize Ida stepped behind the camera as a director, writer and producer. Her first directing job came when director Elmer Clifton fell ill on a script that she co-wrote 'Not Wanted (1949)'. Ida had joked that as an actress, she was the poor man's Bette Davis. Now she said that as a director she became the poor man's Don Siegel. The films that she wrote, or directed, or appeared in during the fifties were mostly inexpensive melodramas. She later turned to Television where she directed episodes in shows such as 'The Untouchables (TV)' and 'The Fugitive (TV)'. In the seventies, she did guest appearances on various television show and small parts in a few movies. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Annie O'Toole" Season 1 Ep 7 "The Saga of
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LEE MARVIN
February 19th 1924 - August 29th 1987 Lee Marvin guest starred in what is arguably one of the best and most horrowing and dramatic episodes of Bonanza, 'The Crucible', giving Pernell Roberts a real run for his money as the insane 'Kane'. The white haired actor began as a supporting player of generally vicious demeanor, then metamorphosed into a star of both action and drama projects. Born in New York City the young Marvin was thrown out of dozens of schools for incorrigibility. He enlisted in the U.S. Marines at the beginning of World War II. In the battle of Saipan in June 1944, he was wounded in the buttocks by Japanese fire which severed his sciatic nerve. He was invalided home and got menial work as a plumber's apprentice in Woodstock, New York. While repairing a toilet at the local community theatre, he was asked to replace an ailing actor in a rehearsal. He was immediately stricken with a love for the theatre and went to New York City, where he studied and played small roles in stock and Off-Broadway. Landing an extra's role in Henry Hathaway's U.S.S. Teakettle, he found his role expanded when Hathaway took a liking to him. Returning to the stage, he made his Broadway debut in Billy Budd, and after a long succession of small TV roles, moved to Hollywood, where he began playing heavies and cops in roles of increasing size and frequency. Given a leading role in Eight Iron Men, he followed it with enormously memorable heavies in The Big Heat and The Wild One. Established as a major screen villain, Marvin began shifting toward leading roles with a successful run as a police detective in the TV series 'M Squad'. A surprise Oscar for his dual role as a drunken gunfighter and his evil, noseless brother in the Western comedy Cat Ballou placed him in the upper tiers of Hollywood leading men, and he filled out his career with predominantly action-oriented films. Marvin continued making films of varying quality, always as a star, until his sudden death from a heart attack in 1987. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Peter Kane" Season 3 Ep 94 "The Crucible" 8 April 1962
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ROSS MARTIN
March 22nd 1920 - July 3rd 1981 Ross Martin was born as Martin Rosenblatt, in Grodek, Poland, but grew up in New York City's Lower East Side. He spoke İiddish, Polish and Russian before learning English and later added French, Spanish and Italian to his repertoire. His career was varied, starting as a solist in a youth symphony, then performing in vaudville, radio shows, on Broadway, movies, game shows and TV. He was a co- star in the TV series Mr. Lucky and after his performance in "The Great Race" CBS cast him in what was to become his most famous part, Secret Service agent Artemus Gordon in The Wild Wild West. He appeared as a guest star in several programs from the 1950s to the 1970s, including Honestly, Celeste!, Sheriff of Cochise, Wonder Woman, Sanford and Son, Columbo, The Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond, The Law and Mr. Jones, Night Gallery, Mork & Mindy, Hawaii Five-O and Charlie's Angels. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in the movie An Experiment In Terror. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Nick Biancci" Season 4 Ep 143 "Little Man ... Ten Feet Tall"
26 May 1963
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MORT MILLS
January 11th 1919 - June 6th 1993 No Biography available at this time Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - Season 8 Ep 260 "Joe Cartwright,
Detective" 5
March 1967
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CAMERON MITCHELL
November 4th 1918 - July 6th 1994 Cameron Mitchell was the son of a minister, but chose a different path from his father. Prior to World War II, in which he served as a bombardier, Mitchell appeared on Broadway, and in 1940, an experimental television broadcast, "The Passing of the Third Floor Back". He made his film debut in 1945 in "What Next, Corporal Hargrove" but continued with stage as well as film work. He gained early recognition for his portrayal of Happy in the stage and screen versions of "Death of a Salesman". Still, out of more than three hundred film and television appearances, he is probably best remembered for his work on "The High Chaparral" television series in which he, as the happy-go-lucky Buck Cannon, and Henry Darrow, as Manolito Montoya, stole the show. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Frederick Kyle" Season 1 Ep 18 "House Divided" 16 January 1960
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VIC MORROW
February 14th 1929 - July 23rd 1982 Born in the Bronx, Morrow dropped out of high school at 17 to join the U.S. Navy. When he left the Navy, he used the G.I. Bill to study pre-law at Florida State. While Morrow was working on his degree in Law, he also took part in the school play and found that he preferred stage acting to courtroom acting. When he went to New York, Morrow enrolled in the Actors' Workshop to improve his acting skills. After graduating, he was cast in the summer stock production of "A Streetcar Named Desire". His screen debut came when he was signed by MGM as a tough talking, surly, street punk in Blackboard Jungle (1955). The good news was that he was now in the movies, but the bad news was that he became typecast as the heavy. Disappointed with this casting, Morrow eventually left MGM after a few years and headed back to school to study directing at USC. He made some appearances on television and in 1962 found a role that brought him fame and made him the "hero". That TV series was "Combat!" (1962) and he played Sergeant Chip Saunders, veteran leader of his squad. Due to his demands, the show quickly went from an alternating series between Lt. Hanley and Sgt. Saunders to one showcasing Saunders. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - Season 3 Ep 79 "The Tin Badge" 17
December 1961
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LLOYD NOLAN
August 11th 1902 - September 27th 1985 We're still not sure why someone raised and educated in northern California would speak with such a distinctive Bronx accent-but then, this dependable character lead spent half a century confounding both critics who predicted major stardom for him, and audiences who took him for granted even while looking forward to seeing him on-screen. Nolan, who started acting on stage in 1927, most often played contemporary American types. This handsome, easygoing actor found a welcome home in such vintage crime films as "G"-Men (1935), Exclusive, King of Gamblers (both 1937), Dangerous to Know, King of Alcatraz (both 1938), Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:-
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SUSAN OLIVER February 13th 1932 - May 10 1990 No Biography available at this time Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Leta Malvet" Season 1 Ep 17 "The Outcast" 9 January 1960
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RUTH ROMAN
December 22nd 1922 - September 9th 1999 Roman, and her son Dickie, were first class passengers aboard the Andrea Doria when she collided with the Stockholm and sank in 1956. The two were among almost 1,700 saved in the sinking.She was also famous for dating Ronald Reagan. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:-
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TELLY SAVALAS
January 21st 1924 - January 22nd 1994 American actor Telly Savalas was born into a transplanted Greek family in Garden City, New York. After dropping out of Columbia University, Savalas served in World War II, from which he was discharged with a Purple Heart. Though not a performer himself, Savalas was active in show business with the Information Services of the State Department, which led to a news director post at the ABC network. In 1959, Savalas attended an audition for the CBS anthology series "Armstrong Circle Theatre," intending to prompt an actor friend who was up for a role. Instead, the casting director took Savalas' sinister demeanor (and bald head) into account and cast him in a character part, which led to other TV assignments. The 1960 television anthology "Witness," though not a ratings success, brought the novice actor a great deal of acclaim for his portrayal of racketeer Lucky Luciano, gaining attention from audiences, producers, and even a few of Luciano's old associates. More TV and movie roles of a slimy-villain nature followed, and then Savalas was cast as Burt Lancaster's fellow Alcatraz inmate in The Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) -- a performance that earned an Oscar nomination. Many in the industry felt that Savalas had what it took to be a leading man and was quoted as being "one of the funniest men she'd ever met" by Imogene Coca. Still, producers continued to use Savalas as a supporting bad guy. Even in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), Savalas incurred audience hisses as Pontius Pilate. But the role everyone will remember him for is the charismatic, wisecracking police lieutenant, Theo Kojak a character which first appeared in the TV movie The Marcus-Nelson Murders based on a real-life homicide. The actor's fully rounded interpretation of the sarcastic, incorruptible, lollipop-sucking New York detective earned him a full time TV job as the star of the CBS series "Kojak." Biography sourced from www.blockbuster.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episode:- "Charles Hackett" Season 6 Episode 29 "To Own the World" 18 April 1965
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EVERETT SLOAN
October 1st 1909 - August 6th 1965 After more than a decade as a stage performer and radio actor (one of the medium's finest, appearing on an estimated 15,000 broadcasts), Sloane went to Hollywood with Orson Welles' Mercury Theater group and made his movie debut in Citizen Kane (1941), playing the excitable Mr. Bernstein. An extremely capable and talented supporting player, Sloane also appeared with Welles in Journey Into Fear (1942), The Lady From Shanghai (1948, as Rita Hayworth's husband), and Prince of Foxes (1949). Perhaps his best part was in Patterns (1956), in which he recreated his performance from the Rod Serling teleplay as a ruthlessly pragmatic business executive. He was active on television, and provided the voice of Dick Tracy for a series of early 1960s TV cartoons. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - Season 6 Ep 196 "A Good Night's Rest" 11 April 1965
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FAY SPAIN
October 6th 1932 - May 6th 1983 In the mid-Fifties, starlight Fay appeared on in YOU BET YOUR LIFE with Groucho Marx. She also guest starred along side Pernell Roberts in an episode of 'The Detectives', 'House Call'. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Sue Ellen Terry" Season 1 Ep 14 "The Sisters" 12 December 1959
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ONSLOW STEVENS
March 29th 1902 - January 5th 1977 Son of character actor Houseley Stevenson, brother of costume designer Edward Stevenson and actor Houseley Stevenson Jr. Highly active from mid-1920s at Pasadena Community Playhouse, where his entire family worked frequently as performers, directors, and teachers. Scored a major success on Broadway in "Stage Door" in 1936. Played many leading roles and even more character parts over the years. Although at first a stalwart and reliable figure in films, in later years his career was adversely affected by alcohol. Nevertheless, he was a familiar and respected performer for many years. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Flint Johnson" Season 1 Ep 12 "The Hanging Posse" 28 November 1959
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BARRY SULLIVAN
August 29th 1912 - June 6th 1994 No Biography available at this time Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Dayton Fuller" Season 9 Ep 273 "Judgment at Olympus"
8 October 1967
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DUB TAYLOR
February 26th, 1907 - October 3rd, 1994 Veteran character actor who was famed for his thick Southern drawl and squat, grizzled appearance. His film career began with an audition for director Frank Capra, who was casting the nutty family in You Can't Take It With You (1938). Capra later described him as "a merry oaf wearing a perpetual infectious grin as big as a sunburst." Taylor played "Dinah" on the xylophone, and Capra cast him on the spot as Ann Miller's husband-keeping the xylophone as part of his "business." He was a semi-regular on "Little House on the Prairie," and a frequent guest star on "Gunsmoke," which featured his son, the Western artist and actor Buck Taylor, as a regular cast member. Biography sourced from www.imdb & "Great Character Actors" Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Luke Calhoun" Season 13 Ep 401 "Easy Come, Easy Go"
12 December 1971
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GREG WALCOTT January 13, 1929 Biography to come soon Bonanza credits include: - Death At Dawn (Farmer Perkins) Click here for Online Credits & more info |
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PETER WHITNEY
Peter Whitney, a burly character actor, worked under contract to Warner Bros from 1941 to 1945. During those years, Whitney spent much of the time loaned out, playing a variety of rolls as a half-wit thugs and henchmen. His greatest success came when he was cast as twins, Mert and Bert Fleagle in the 1944 film classic, Murder He Says. Partial film credits include: Ballad
of Cable Hogue (1970), Savage Wilderness (1956), The Big Heat (1953)
and Living Christ Series, The Boyhood and Baptism – Volume 3 (1951) Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Credits Include:
- Season 13 Ep 399 "The Iron Butterfly" |
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GRANT WILLIAMS
August 18th, 1930 - July 28th, 1985 As a child, Williams acted in summer stock productions. After graduation from high school he joined the Air Force for a four-year stint. Then returning to New York, he took acting classes with Lee Strasberg. A few minor Broadway roles followed in parts on some live TV dramas. One of these parts caught the eye of a talent agent and Williams signed with Universal in 1956. Universal put him into several supporting roles most notably as the gas-station stud in "Written on the Wind" (1956) but the high point of his career came when he played the title role in "The Incredible Shrinking Man" (1957). Director Jack Arnold said that Williams gave an Oscar-worthy performance because, in many special-effects scenes, he could only imagine his surroundings and his fellow actors. In 1959 Williams moved over to Warner Brothers which cast him in the "Hawaiian Eye" TV series. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes:- - "Albert 'Patch' Saunders" Season 6 Ep 202 "Patchwork
Man" 23 May 1965
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LEWIS ALLEN December 25th, 1905 - January 1, 1986 Lewis Allen moved to Hollywood
during World War II after spending several years as a Allen directed several Bonanza episodes, including The Witness, Riot, One Ace Too Many, Second Sight, Frenzy, and many more. Click here for Online Credits & more info | ||
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HASKELL B. BOGGS
April 17th, 1909 - May 30th, 2003 Click here for Online Credits & more info Click here to read Andy Klyde's biography page about Haskell "Buzzy" Boggs. |
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VIRGIL W. VOGEL (Director)
November 29th, 1919 - January 1st, 1996 Virgil W. Vogel began his career at Universal in 1940, as an assistant editor. He worked as an editor for many years, although by the mid-50s he had begun to tire of the job and pressed Universal executive Ed Muhl for a shot at directing. Vogel was handed "The Mole People" (1956) with John Agar, and his capable handling of that film led to other assignments at the studio. Vogel later directed many made-for-television movies as well as episodes of TV's "Bonanza, " "Wagon Train, " "M Squad, " "The Six Million Dollar Man, " "Mission: Impossible", "Quantum Leap", "Spenser: For Hire" and many others. (Biography source: www.imdb.com) Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Credits Include:- "Devil on Her Shoulder", "The Return", "Right Is the Fourth R" and "To Own the World" |
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