The Cartwrights' one-thousand-square-mile Ponderosa Ranch is located near Virginia City, Nevada, site of the Comstock Silver Lode, during and after the Civil War. Each of the three sons was born to a different wife of Ben's; none of the mothers are still alive. Adventures are typical Western ones, with lots of personal relationships/problems thrown in as well.
All 14 Seasons
Cast of Bonanza
Lorne GreeneBen Cartwright
Dan BlockerHoss Cartwright
Michael LandonJoe Cartwright
Pernell RobertsAdam Cartwright
Victor Sen YungHop Sing
Ray TealSheriff Roy Coffee
Bing RussellDeputy Clem Foster
Tim MathesonGriff King
Kathie BrowneLaura Dayton
Guy WilliamsWill Cartwright
Ford RaineyJudge Josh Wyllit
Morgan WoodwardLuke Catlin
DeForest KelleyTully
Katie SweetPeggy Dayton
Mariette HartleyLola Fairmont
Claude AkinsMarshal Emmett Dowd
Dub TaylorBarlow
Al BainTownsman (uncredited)
Ann PrentissWilhelmina Calhoun
Jim DavisJohnny
Jack ElamBuford Buckalew
Melissa MurphyJenny Winters
Strother MartinLittle Meredith Smith
Eric FlemingHeber Clauson
R. G. ArmstrongAndrew Holloway
Bonnie BedeliaAlice Harper
James CoburnPete Jessup
John SaxonSteven Friday
Leo GordonEarly Thorne
Joe TurkelThug #1
Tony ColtiOrv Pettis (as Anthony Colti)
Rudy DoucetteTownsman (uncredited)
Charles MaxwellVirgil Jordan
Harry HarveyBixle
Dawn WellsMarty Johnson
Tom LowellJabez Ludlow
Neville BrandPepper Shannon
Joan HackettMargarita Miguel
Tom SkerrittCorporal Bill Tanner
Vera MilesSarah Lowell
David HuddlestonMyles Johnson
Diane ShaletKatie York
Jacqueline ScottJoy Dexter
Louise LathamWillie Mae Rikeman
Brooke BundyAnnie Kane
Diane BakerMary Wharton
Buddy EbsenCactus Murphy
Andrew RobinsonJohn Harper
Lola DeemDolly Bantree
Linda FosterSue Miller
Linda LawsonMaria Hackett
John RandolphDonavan
George KennedyWaldo Watson
Clifton JamesLawson
Joan FreemanHallie Shannon
Beth BrickellEmily McPhail
Warren StevensCount Alexis
Dina MerrillSusannah Clauson
Lois NettletonElizabeth Ann Clauson
Albert SalmiAlbie
Barry SullivanAttorney Dayton Fuller
Sue Ane LangdonTracy Ledbetter
Anne HelmMeredith Smith / Callie Martin
Jan-Michael VincentEddie
John McIntireSheriff Mike Latimer
Ted KnightMayor Amos Garrett
Sue RandallSue Watson
Irene TedrowMrs. Buford
Jason EversTom Blackwell
Edward PlattWade Colly
Royal DanoJason Ganther
Harry Dean StantonBilly
Laurie MitchellJulie Martingale
Brioni FarrellRegina Rossi
Davey DavisonLouise Corman
Cal BolderArnie 'The Ape' Guthrie
Simon OaklandFrank Scott / Mel Barnes
Slim PickensBig Jim Leyton
Anna NavarroConsuela
Marshall ReedHammond
Joe De SantisSamuel Michelson
Herbert LyttonAbe McClane
Don BarryBud Claggett
Henry HullSheriff B. Banneman Brown
William DemarestEnos Milford
Dale Van SickelMiner (uncredited)
Marie WindsorMrs. Elizabeth Lassiter
John HoytMajor Sutcliffe
Yvonne De CarloLotta Crabtree
George MacreadyAlpheus Troy
Luana AndersJulie
Tommy SandsWiley Kane
Tom TullySundown Davis
Anthony D. CallBilly Davis
Elizabeth PerryRuthie Davis
Kelly ThordsenJed Drugan
Helen FunaiLim Toy
Allyn Ann McLerieCharity Moffet
Bob BarkerMort
Franchot ToneDenver McKee
Fletcher AllenBecker
Jack CarrCard Player
Barry KelleyAaron Cooper
Willis BoucheyGeorge Garvey
Jimmy CarterKavanaugh's Grandson
Noah Beery Jr.Lothario Larkin
Dorothy GreenLaura
Linda BennettFrancine
Olive SturgessNancy
Jan NorrisMeg (as Jane Norris)
Frank FergusonAbner
John RodneyEdwin Booth
Pat CrowleyJulia Grant (as Patricia Crowley)
Natalie TrundyConnie McKee
Jill HaworthGillian Harwood
Tracy StratfordSusan Clarke
Jon ShankTim Moss
Kevin O'NealReb
Nicolas BeauvyRon Lewis
Ron HowardTed Hoag
David LaddBilly Allen
Guy PrescottCharlie
John EldredgeMr. Sherman
Madeleine SherwoodVella Owens
Robert MiddletonGrizzly Martingale
Anjanette ComerJoan Wingate
Gena RowlandsRagan Miller
Meg FosterEvangeline Woodtree
Sandra EgoHaida
Louis Gossett Jr.Buck Walter
Yaphet KottoChild Barnett
Kelly Jean PetersMissy Hamilton
Loretta SwitEllen Sue Greely
Ben JohnsonKelly James
Victor FrenchTom Callahan
Sandy DuncanAngeline
Kathleen WiddoesAnna Kosovo
Terry MooreLydia Yates
Charles DierkopNicholson
Susan Seaforth HayesHollybelle Burnside
Dennis HopperDev Farnum
Jay NovelloDon Miguel
Charles BronsonHarry Starr
Telly SavalasCharles Augustus Hackett
Rory CalhounTom Wilson
Sandra WarnerNancy Collings
Harold J. StoneChad Cord
Kathryn HaysPrudence Jessup
Karen CarlsonTheodora Duffy
Bruce CabotSheriff Reed Larrimore
Valerie AllenOlive
Barrie ChaseKellie Conrad
Melissa NewmanLori
Victoria ThompsonJulia Griswold
Ayn RuymenEvie Parker
Gary BuseyHenry Johnson
Jodie FosterBluebird
Edward AndrewsBert
Anthony JamesWillie Bruder
Brenda ScottLucinda 'Lucy' Melviney
Rip TornWill Hewitt
John QuadeTallman
Martin LandauEmeliano
Cherie LatimerBright Moon
M. Emmet WalshMattheson
Forrest TuckerFrank Ryan
Linda CristalTeresa
Chief Dan GeorgeRed Cloud
Will GeerFerris Callahan
Michael RennieProf. Poppy / Dr. P.A. Mundy
James BoothRev. Jess Avery
Joan BlackmanClara Dorn
Roscoe Lee BrowneJoshua
Claudia BryarMartha
William WatsonZack
Suzanne PleshetteRose Becket
Viveca LindforsAngela Bergstrom
Ian WolfeAmos
Louise SorelMarie
Ina BalinSarah Reynolds
Eileen BaralLisa
Glenn CorbettReverend Paul Watson
Julie GreggDolly
Janis HansenMillie
Clint HowardMichael Thorpe
Leif EricksonTom Caine
Kate JacksonEllen Clark
John VernonBeaudry
Robert LansingJohn Dundee
Sian Barbara AllenTeresa Burnside
John DoucetteRev. Evan Morgan
Burt MustinJake Smith
Pamela FranklinKelly Edwards
Bek NelsonGlory
Inger StevensEmily Pennington
Jack WardenMike Wilson
Adrienne HayesAmy Bishop
Jan ShepardSally