15 Things You Didn’t Know About ‘Bonanza’

7. Those Costumes

From season four to season fourteen, the characters on the show only wore one set of distinctive outfits. The reason for this was purely economical. Not only did it make the costume budget easier to swallow, but it also made for easier editing in the event of reshoots.

8. ‘Bonanza’ Almost Got Cancelled … Like Immediately

At first, Bonanza’s competition (Perry Mason) proved to be too powerful and NBC was tempted to cancel the cowboy show. However, Bonanza was one of the earliest shows to be filmed in color, so it provided temptation for people to buy color TVs like the ones sold by NBC’s parent company RCA. Thanks to pressure from the television company, the show was switched to Sundays, which ultimately proved to be a huge ratings … well, bonanza.

9. Dan Blocker Died Before the Show Finished

The beloved middle son, Hoss, was played by the talented Dan Blocker. Unfortunately, Blocker succumbed to a pulmonary embolism during a failed gall bladder surgery. The producers, as a result, found themselves incapable of replacing the gentle giant and so the show went on without him. What’s odd, though, is that fans didn’t get an explanation for Hoss’ death (he drowned trying to save someone’s life) until a TV movie years later.