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 Family (2003 TV series) The Family (2003 TV series) The Family is a reality television series that aired on ABC spanning one season in 2003. It starred ten members from an Italian-American family, who were each fighting for a $1,000,000 prize. The show was hosted by George Hamilton. Ten family members from New York City were removed from their daily lives and moved into a mansion in Wellington, Florida. The house was fully furnished and came with a full staff of multiple maids, butlers, and a full cooking staff. Each week, the contestants played reward challenges and elimination contests. The elimination contests determined the