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Episode 135. She Walks In Beauty - First aired on
September 22, 1963.
After
she worked with Dan, guest star Gena Rowlands
(Ragan Miller), said that she was amazed at the sensitivity, the
enormous natural talent, and the ease with which it flowed out of Dan
Blocker. |
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Episode 136. A Passion For
Justice -
First aired on September 29, 1963.
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Episode 137. Rain From Heaven -
First aired on October 6, 1963. |
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Episode 138. Twilight Town -
First aired on October 13, 1963.
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Episode 139. The Toy Soldier -
First aired on October 20, 1963. |
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Episode 140. A Question Of Strength –
First aired on October 27, 1963.
Ilka
Windish plays Mother Veronica.
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Episode 141.
Calamity Over The Comstock -
First aired on November 3, 1963. |
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Episode 142. Journey Remembered –
First aired on November 10, 1963.
In
this episode when a little boy dies we don’t see Ben at the graveside
and according to Kent McCray that is because of Lorne’s sensitivity to
people seeing him without his toupee on, or even knowing that he wore one.
Because it was a flash back and Ben had to look younger, Lorne’s hair
was darkened. It took a couple of hours to do it so the make up man went
to Lorne’s house and then they travelled out to the location where they
were filming. Lorne had been complaining that he wasn’t getting enough
close ups and one morning he and the make up man showed up about
forty-five minutes to an hour early. Kent immediately knew something was
wrong because Lorne wasn’t supposed to be there yet. Kent went over to
the make up man and asked if everything was all right, if Lorne had a
problem. According to Kent the make up man replied, ‘No, we went through
all the scenes today and he never takes his hat off so we only did the
sides (of his hair) and everything else is fine.’ The first scene that
was due to be filmed was after the child had died and people were standing
around the grave, doing the service. According to Kent this is what
happened. “I went down about three trucks away in the background and I
said, ‘All the men around the grave without their hats on.’ Well Lorne
looks around and he’s trying to see where that’s coming from. Well, I
step around, going back and forth. About three times I said, ‘All the
men around the grave without their hats on.’ He stood up and he said,
‘That’s right. You know, only the immediate family should be in this
scene. I shouldn’t be here at all. I’ll be on my wagon and when the
service is over, then we’ll ride out.’ He got out of the scene but he
kept looking at me. He wasn’t sure if it was me, but he finally found
out it was me.”
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Episode 143. The Quality Of Mercy -
First aired on November 17, 1963.
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Episode
144. The Waiting Game –
First aired on December 8, 1963.
This is the first of
four episodes where Kathie Browne plays Laura Dayton. David Dortort
originally planned to have Adam and Laura marry. The following is from an
article in 1964. Only four episodes with Kathie (Browne) have been planned
so far, no definite date for a wedding has been set, and David Dortort,
the show’s producer is carefully assessing public reaction to the
encounter before proceeding with many more scripts. Why
are they tampering with it? "It was Pernell Roberts constant
agitation about wanting out of the show. We weren't sure what would
happen, and had to protect ourselves." By 'protecting,' Dortort means
if Roberts had left the show, a marriage would have been a logical way to
shuffle him off into the sunset. On the other hand, the new dimension in
his role might make him happier about staying. "Now," Dortort
says, "the network has definitely said they will not let him out of
his contract, so he'll be with us until '65." Kathie's previous
appearances on Bonanza impressed producer Dortort. "Her serious
attitude toward acting and her versatility were wonderful. She is
intelligent and sensitive," he says. Dortort has faith that Kathie's
three or four appearances will stretch into a continuing performance, and
that her presence may give Roberts a reason to stay. Does the Roberts
reputation scare Kathie? "I have found him a bit moody, but
interesting to work with. The whole cast is wonderful. I love to work with
them." Also according to the article, the previous year, Pernell had
written to NBC suggesting that the network cast the part of his bride as
an Indian girl (to be played by a black actress).
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Episode 145. The Legacy -
First aired on December 15, 1963. |
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Episode
146. Hoss And The Leprechauns –
First aired on December 22, 1963.
John Florea directed this episode. In
the following two pieces he talks about Michael Landon.
"I
would use Mike to get Pernell to cooperate, and Mike was a very good
salesman. Pernell was kind of ornery, he didn't like the show. And there
were always instances where you had to have a shot of the four guys
together in the living room. And Pernell said, 'Well, I don't want to sit
there; I'd rather sit over here.' And it added additional work. I would
have to do the three-shot and then go over and do the single shot.
And I'd try to convince Pernell: 'This is important to see the four of you
together as much as we can. We don't see you together too much.' And he
said, 'Well, seeing us at dinner is enough.' Things like that. And Mike
would come over and say, 'Come aaahhhnn, you know you're only holding up
the thing.' And Mike would finally convince him. He was a good ambassador,
you might say." John Florea, 1991.
“He was very
energetic, very helpful. He was game to just about do anything. I directed
a show called 'Hoss and the Leprechauns', where these six little midgets
were dressed up in green suits, running through the Ponderosa, looking for
gold. They had escaped from the circus, and nobody would believe that Dan
saw 'em, and finally Mike sees them and believes it and they can't
convince Dad and Pernell that they've seen these things. And finally
there's this big fight with the four Cartwrights and the six leprechauns,
and the little leprechauns are tossing them all over the place. Mike
insisted on doing his own stunts on that. I went down to the Olympic
Boxing Stadium, and at that time they used to have midget wrestling
matches. So I hired six midget wrestlers to double for the others. And Mike
was just wonderful with these guys." John Florea, 1991.
The
photo of Lorne, Michael and Pernell is said to have been taken during
filming of this episode. Apparently, Michael fell over when they were
filming the scene where Joe comes running into the house to tell Pa and
Adam that they’ve caught one of the little men.
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Episode 147. The Prime Of Life
- First aired on December 29, 1963. |
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Episode 148. The Lila Conrad Story –
First aired on January 5, 1964.
In
an earlier draft of the script, Hoss is with Adam and Joe. Also, the Judge
talks about when Adam was a lawyer. Adam replies that, that was a long
time ago. |
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Episode 149.
Ponderosa Matador –
First aired on January 12, 1964.
In the photo, taken
during a break in the filming of this episode, Pernell and Marianna Hill
(Delores Tenino) are jokingly applying makeup to Dan Blocker.
Blooper:
When Joe is practicing his shooting by firing at bottles on posts, he hits
and breaks all the bottles, he then knocks some glass off a post and puts
a new bottle up. There is still some broken glass on the post. Hoss rides
up, and Joe turns to greet him, then the bottle is no longer on the post
nor is any of the broken glass there.
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Episode 150. My Son, My Son -
First aired on January 19, 1964. |
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Episode 151. Alias Joe Cartwright -
First aired on January 26, 1964. |
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Episode
152. The Gentleman From New Orleans
– First aired on February 2, 1964.
This was the sixth
highest rating Bonanza episode.
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Episode 153.
The Cheating Game –
First aired on February 9, 1964.
This was the third
highest rating Bonanza episode.
Katie Sweet (Peggy Dayton) loved the time she spent on set with Pernell
Roberts, she thought he was one of the nicest actors she worked with
during the years of her career. Katie said that as well as
playing catch with a ball, she and Pernell played frisbee with the
round film containers.
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Episode 154. Bullet For A Bride
– First aired on
February 16, 1964.
This was the second highest rating Bonanza episode.
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Episode 155. King Of The Mountain - First aired on February 23,
1964. |
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Episode 156. Love Me Not - First aired on March 1, 1964. |
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Episode 157. The Pure Truth – First aired on March 8, 1964.
This
was the highest rating Bonanza episode.
Blooper:
Ben, Adam and Joe walk past the blue chair to go upstairs, Hoss follows
them and goes past the chair. In the next scene he walks into the chair
and falls over it.
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Episode 158. No Less A Man - First aired on March 15, 1964. |
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Episode 159. Return To Honor – First aired on
March 22, 1964.
According to an article, Will (Guy Williams) was
originally going to be Ben Cartwright’s younger brother but because of
his age, it made more sense to cast him as Ben’s nephew.
Blooper:
When
Will finds out who Ben is, in the background behind Will you can see a
car.
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Episode 160. The Saga Of Muley Jones – First aired on March 29,
1964.
According to an article in 1964, at one time, Bruce Yarnell (who
plays cousin Muley in this episode and the same character in “Hound
Dog")
was being considered as a replacement for Pernell Roberts. The following
piece is from the article. The new season is bringing a certain number of
changes to the show, in spite of the show business adage that you
shouldn't change a good thing. And Pernell is a little more talkitive. We
questioned him about the rumor that he'll get married on the show this
season and that Bruce Yarnell might replace him. "That is what they
promise," he said. "After my last four years of experience with
this organization I'll believe it when I see it. They talk a lot. At the
end of last season they asked me what I thought, but that was just to make
me feel I belong. They do what they want to anyway. I told them I didn't
have any feeling about a bride, one way or the other. I couldn't care
less. I think they want to introduce a girl and then another male
personality who will bunk at the Ponderosa. I really don't know what the
reasons are. I can only say from a subjective point of view, because if
the show goes more than two years they're going to be minus one
fellow." Did this mean he isn't happy with the show? "No,
not particularly. I have a contract and it runs out in two years, so if I
go they'd like to have somebody else around the house. I guess that I am
anti-establishment. It is a very good show but everybody has different
needs in life, you know that. I want to be an actor. I don't feel that I'm
acting in Bonanza. We are all just personalities, one-dimensional
conceptions on the part of writers and producers and networks and so
forth. My main beef is that Bonanza is 'bad literature' and in four
seasons has not improved. When well-meaning friends and colleagues remind
me that 'you can't argue with success' I reply: 'That, I say is a
degenerate point of view.' I'm not going to leave the Bonanza show. I
tried that a couple of times, right up to the courthouse door, and it
won't work. They simply won't let me out of my contract. It is such a
complicated subject. I can't treat it too glibly. I'm very grateful to the
show in that it has served to make me a national name and that means a lot
to me. I got sucked into Bonanza on the promise there would be some honest
writing and that the people producing it had integrity. To my way of
looking at it, the writing has been adolescent and the integrity is still
on the shelf. We should sit down very quietly and intelligently for about
an hour and discuss it. It's a very complex subject. That is why I can't
treat it glibly. If we do, it'll lead to remarks like I'm over- sensitive,
know what I mean?"
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Episode 161. The Roper - First aired on April 5,
1964. |
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Episode 162. A Pink Cloud Comes From
Old Cathy – First aired on April 12, 1964.
Lorne,
Pernell, Dan and Michael would sometimes do things just to see if they
could get away with it. In this photo they are all giving “the
finger". When the view finder reel for this episode was released, this
photo was included, it was only discovered later what the cast had done.
After
working with Dan, guest star Marlo Thomas (Tai Li) told David Dortort,
"I have never had an actor give me so much in a scene."
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Episode 163. The Companeros
- First aired on April 19, 1964.
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Episode
164.
Enter Thomas Bowers – First aired on April 26, 1964.
The lead actors in Bonanza were all very concerned
about civil rights. In January 1964, Lorne, Dan and Michael were booked to
appear at a rodeo in Jackson, Mississippi. When they found out the
audience was to be segregated, with white people to get the best seating,
they pulled out. The Governor of Mississippi called for Bonanza to be
boycotted. Pernell Roberts joined a picket line to protest about a housing
development that refused to sell property to black people. According to
articles in 1964, it was Dan Blocker who thought of the story idea for
this episode. He discussed it with his co-stars and together they put the
idea to David Dortort. Mr Dortort did some research into the history of
the Bonanza time frame and read about Thomas Bowers, who travelled and
performed in the 1860’s and 1870’s. Mr Dortort then turned the story
idea over to two writers. General Motors, the sponsor of Bonanza was
worried about viewer reaction in the South to this episode and asked NBC
not to show it. NBC ran the show.
Ena Hartman (Caroline) was a model turned actress.
Bonanza was her first dramatic role. David Dortort revised a scene in the
script to give her a bigger part. |
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Episode 165.
The Dark Past - First aired on May 3, 1964.
Susan Seaforth plays Holly Burnside.
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Episode
166. The Pressure Game - First aired on May 10, 1964.
Kathie Browne played Laura
Dayton in four episodes during this season. The following pieces are from
an interview with Kathie where she talked about what it was like to work
with the Bonanza stars.
(Pernell)
“There’s been an awful lot written about how difficult and rebellious
he’s supposed to be. Well, that’s ridiculous! Pernell is anything but
hard to work with. When they signed me for the part, Pernell and I met
with the producers of the show and he couldn’t have been more eager to
cooperate. He was already in the office when I got there – and I’m
never late. They explained what they had in mind for us and he listened
very intently, nodding like he was making mental notes. When they
finished, he was all business. ‘Well, now,’ he said briskly, ‘I
think that Kathie and I should get together and discuss this first
script.’ Which is exactly what we did. I discovered immediately that
Pernell is extremely serious about his work; he’s a real perfectionist.
We hashed over that script for hours, down to the smallest nuance….He
feels very strongly about keeping his personal life private, which
probably inspires much of the criticism about him. For instance, he
wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you, as I am. He doesn’t discuss
his home life with anybody. You just get the impression that he’s very
happy at home and that’s all. Otherwise, he’s quite cooperative about
publicity. He once spent a whole free afternoon riding me around the
studio on the handlebars oh his bike so they could get some pictures. He
volunteered to do it and he was in a marvellous mood, laughing and
carrying on and doing everything they asked him to.”
(Dan)
“If you see a crowd and hear a lot of loud laughter, you immediately
know that Dan’s at the center of it! This man is unbelievable. He has
the most marvellous gift for telling stories and the wildest sense of
humor since they invented it. I think that Dan could make a trip to a
supermarket sound like a great adventure. From the way he carries on,
you’d think Dan was just a big, overgrown kid out for a laugh. That’s
what I thought at first. But he has a very serious side. Dan is an
excellent actor. He works hard and he has a good business mind. I doubt if
there are many people who could pull a shabby on him.”
(Michael)
“Mike is probably the sweetest, most gentle man I’ve ever met. He
adores children. If there’s a kid on the set, you can count on Mike to
make a special point of going over and making friends. The kids
immediately dig him, and, of course, the mothers are completely
captivated. It’s no politician’s bit, Mike’s for real. You can’t
talk to him for five minutes without him fishing out the pictures of his
own kids, Mark, Josh, Jason and baby Leslie."
(Lorne)
“He’s the type of person whom I always visualize as sitting by a
fireplace in a velvet smoking jacket, reading a book and puffing on a
pipe, although I don’t know if he actually does. I could also see him
sitting around the dinner table with a small group of politicians and
writers and carrying on intellectual conversations. He’s a very warm,
friendly person, but he’s hard to get to know.”
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Episode 167. Triangle
– First aired on May 17, 1964.
The
cast often joked around by pinching each other or squeezing a hand during
filming while everyone tried to keep a straight face. Here is one example
of it happening. This is from a 1964 article by John Poppy who was on the
set during the making of this episode: A
soundproof door leads from a glaringly sunlit alley into Stage 16, which
contains the front yard of the Ponderosa ranch house. There, near the
porch, Lorne Greene - Ben Cartwright - was doing a close-up, shaking hands
with another actor. The camera was focused on Greene's face.
"Good-bye, Uncle Ben...and thanks for all you've done," said the
off-camera actor. Ben Cartwright nodded as though trying to swallow a lump
in his throat, stared hotly into the lens and whispered, "Remember
what I said...this will always be your home." The creamy bass voice
throbbed like a church organ. He really meant it. Then, suddenly, he
lurched and bellowed a laugh. "Cut," said the director. It
dawned on me that Greene wasn't shaking hands; he was arm-wrestling. The
scene started again, and the off-camera contest grew fierce. Arms pumped
as if the two men were sawing wood. "Remember what I said...this will
always be your home." The voice throbbed again, but the face in the
close-up showed no sign of the arm's struggle. Later, Greene answered a
question about his horseplay: "We need that release from tension, to
make the pressure bearable.” Also from the same article is this piece
about Pernell: The next shot
was to be a close-up of Adam Cartwright struggling to get out of a
wheelchair. An assistant director called for Pernell Roberts. Without
moving from his camp chair, Roberts asked, “Are you absolutely sure
you’re ready for me?” “Yes, sir, any time you are.” “Well,
let’s not wait that long,” Roberts said and got up. “OK, Pernell,
look back at Ben” the director was talking him through the scene –
“now down at your legs. Start struggling up…cut.” There was a
problem. “You’re coming up too fast, Pernell…Hold it longer. Show
more suffering as you push with your arms.” “Gentlemen,” Roberts
said, “my legs are damaged, not my arms, I’m supposed to be a big
strong man, and there is no reason for me to have trouble doing a little
push-up like this. I’ll suffer when I’m on my feet, if you don’t
mind.” “Come on, Pernell,” said the director. “We need the shot
this way. We don’t get in close on you after you’re up. Try it, will
you?” “Anything you say, gentleman.” He began to push with his arms,
setting his face in an expression that made me whisper, “My God, what is
it?” It was remarkable. Roberts radiated suffering, bravery, strain and
a nearly tearful look of hurt – plus something else that might have been
pain, or mockery. At length, he heaved himself upright and swayed out of
camera range. I relaxed as his face went blank, but he startled me by
clearing his throat loudly and loosing a great spit. Right on the porch of
his Pa’s house.
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The
following is from the last page of an earlier script – where Adam and
Laura have just gotten married.
BEN
(to
Laura, softly, sincerely)
I'm
glad it's you.
Laura's
expression reveals that she is really touched by the compliment. She turns
and climbs up into the buggy and Adam goes around and gets in the other
side.
ANOTHER
ANGLE
ADAM
Sorry
we can't stay for the
reception,
but we've got a
long
way to go.
Laura
looks at Adam and he realizes that his words have significance beyond
their original intent.
ADAM
(Continuing;
to Laura)
A
long, long way to go.
Adam
flicks the horse into motion and the buggy starts out. Hop Sing and the
others who have been holding their hands behind them, during all this, now
start showering the bride and groom with handfuls of rice.
WIDE
ANGLE
The
buggy moves off with Laura and Adam waving and the wedding party ad
libbing goodbyes. And then they are gone.
CLOSE
SHOT - BEN AND AUNT LIL
BEN
Aunt
Lil, will you do me the
honor
of cutting the wedding cake?
Lil
daubs at her eyes with her handkerchief.
LIL
If
you don't mind soggy wedding
cake,
I'd be proud to.
The
others laugh and all start drifting back into the house for the reception.
FADE
OUT
THE
END
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Episode 168. Walter And The
Outlaws - First aired on May 24, 1964. |