Bonanza Bonanza Bonanza is an NBC television western series that ran from 1959 to 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, "Bonanza" is NBC's longest-running western, and ranks overall as the second-longest-running western series on U.S. network television (behind CBS's "Gunsmoke"), and within the top 10 longest-running, live-action American series. The show continues to air in syndication. The show is set in the 1860s and it centers on the wealthy Cartwright family that live in the vicinity of Virginia City, Nevada, bordering Lake Tahoe. The series initially starred Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon and later featured (at
The Big Bonanza school teacher, Judy Parker. It turns out Sam is a dishonest man who intends to stake an illegal claim to the Big Bonanza gold mine that belongs to someone else. Jed ends up literally fighting him for the mine, where a cave-in results in Sam's death. Hap is happy to learn that Jed and Judy are already busy planning a wedding. The Big Bonanza The Big Bonanza is a 1944 American film starring Jane Frazee, Richard Arlen, Gabby Hayes, Robert Livingston and Lynne Roberts. Escaping from jail after being falsely accused of cowardice, Army captain Jed Kilton ends up at