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
This Is the Life (TV series) in the series included: 1972: Nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Religious Programming - Programs. 1980: Won two Daytime Emmy Awards and was nominated for a third. 1983, 1984, 1985: Won the New York International Film and TV Festival Gold Medal Award for episodes, "Bon Voyage and Shalom", "Reprise for the Lord", and "The Face of Gabriel Ortiz", all directed by Sharron Miller. This Is the Life (TV series) This Is the Life is an American Christian television dramatic series. This anthology series aired in syndication from the 1950s through the 1980s. The series was originally