‘Bonanza’ Was the First TV Show to Do This & More Trivia on Anniversary of Premiere

Pernell Roberts, Michael Landon, Lorne Greene, and Dan Blocker in 'Bonanza'
Everett Collection
This excerpt appears
courtesy of our partner site

The Cartwrights first rode through Virginia City, Nev., in the Western TV drama series Bonanza on Saturday, Sept. 12, 1959, on NBC, and it was the first Western to be televised entirely in color. Bonanza lasted 14 seasons, making it the second-longest-running TV Western behind Gunsmoke. In honor of the occasion, we ponder some bullet points from the Ponderosa Ranch: