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 Royal Family (TV series) The Royal Family (TV series) The Royal Family is an American sitcom that ran on CBS from September 18, 1991 until May 13, 1992. The series was created and executive produced by Eddie Murphy, as part of a development deal Murphy had with CBS, and produced by Paramount Television, the television arm of Paramount Pictures, with which Murphy had long been associated. The series starred Redd Foxx and Della Reese. Murphy had previously worked with Foxx and Reese in the 1989 film "Harlem Nights", which Murphy wrote and directed. The working title for the series was Chest Pains. The series