Ponderosa Steakhouse and Bonanza Steakhouse under the Metromedia Restaurant Group. The names of the restaurants were derived from the classic TV series "Bonanza", which was set at a place called Ponderosa Ranch. In 1963, Dan Blocker, who played Eric "Hoss" Cartwright on "Bonanza", started the Bonanza Steakhouse chain. The first Bonanza opened in Westport, Connecticut. Sam Wyly and his brother Charles Wyly bought the small Bonanza restaurant chain three years later. The company grew to approximately 600 restaurants by 1989, when the Wylys sold it to Metromedia. In 1965, Dan Lasater, Norm Wiese and Charles Kleptz founded Ponderosa in Kokomo, Indiana, moving the headquarters to
The 101 Ranch The 101 Ranch The 101 Ranch written by Ellsworth Collings in collaboration with Alma Miller England, narrates the history of the famed Miller Brothers 101 Ranch, the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show, and the Miller family who founded and operated both the ranch and the show. The 101 Ranch Wild West Show was one of the last of the large Wild West Shows. The history spans from 1841, Col. George Washington Miller Jr.'s birth, until 1936, when the last piece of property was auctioned off following the economic downturn of 1929. At its height, the ranch encompassed more