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David Canary

Cast · Known for All My Children, Bonanza

David Hoyt Canary (August 25, 1938 – November 16, 2015) was an American actor. Canary is best known for his roles as ranch foreman "Candy" Canaday in the Bonanza beginning in its ninth season, and as Adam Chandler in the television soap opera All My Children, for which he received 16 Daytime Emmy Award nominations and won five times. In his youth, Canary was a star football player and was drafted as a lineman in the inaugural 1960 AFL draft by the Denver Broncos. Instead, he opted to pursue acting. Early roles included Russ Gehring in the primetime soap opera Peyton Place and Lamar Dean in the 1967 Western film Hombre. Canary's most notable stage performance was on Broadway in the original production of Tennessee Williams's Clothes for a Summer Hotel, starring Geraldine Page. A baritone, he also appeared in musical stage roles in shows such as Kismet, Man Of La Mancha, The Fantasticks, Sweeney Todd and Carousel, along with dramatic performances in The Seagull, Macbeth, and Clarence Darrow.

Fintan Meyler

Born in Ireland, she studied acting at the Dublin Abbey Theater. She then moved to the U.S., landing roles in shows including “Bonanza,” “Emergency” and “Perry Mason.” She appeared in features including “Showdown at Boot Hill” with Charles Bronson, “Zero Hour!” and “The Abductors.” After retirement, she dedicated her time to WAIF children’s charity and Pet Pride for cats.

Ray Teal

Cast · Known for Bonanza, Lassie, Maverick

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ray Elgin Teal (January 12, 1902 – April 2, 1976) was an American actor. His most famous role was as Sheriff Roy Coffee on the television series Bonanza (1959–1972), which was only one of dozens of sheriffs on television and in movies that he played during his long and prolific career stretching from 1937 to 1970. He appeared in pictures such as Western Jamboree (1938) with Gene Autry, The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) with Fredric March and Myrna Loy, The Black Arrow (1948), Billy Wilder's Ace in the Hole (1951) and Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) with Spencer Tracy and Burt Lancaster. Teal was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A saxophone player, he worked his way through the University of California, Los Angeles as a bandleader before becoming an actor. His longest-running role was as Sheriff Roy Coffee, a law-enforcing sheriff on Bonanza. Teal was one of the most senior members of the crew having a permanent role. He had also played a sheriff in the Billy Wilder film Ace in the Hole (1951). Teal co-starred in numerous TV westerns throughout his career: he appeared five times on Cheyenne, four times on The Lone Ranger, on The Alaskans, three times in different roles on another long-running western series, Wagon Train, on NBC's Tales of Wells Fargo, on the ABC western series Broken Arrow, five times on the ABC western comedy Maverick, on the CBS western series The Texan, the NBC western series The Californians, twice on Colt .45, once on Wanted: Dead or Alive, and as "Sheriff Clay" for a single 1960 episode of the NBC western series Riverboat, and four times on a western series about the rodeo titled Wide Country. After more than 15 years performing in films and in early television, Teal secured a recurring role as a police officer in the 1953–1955 ABC sitcom with a variety-show theme, Where's Raymond?, later renamed The Ray Bolger Show. In 1955, Teal appeared as McCanles, a ruthless cattle baron in the episode "Julesburg" of the ABC/Warner Bros. Western series, Cheyenne. Altogether, Teal appeared five times on Cheyenne. He later appeared in a guest-starring role in another ABC/WB Western series, The Alaskans. From 1957 to 1962, Teal was cast three times in different roles on the Western series, Wagon Train. He also appeared in a number of episodes of Bat Masterson, an episode of The Rifleman and later in Green Acres. In 1957, Teal played a lawman, Captain McNelly, in the episode "Sam Bass" of NBC's Tales of Wells Fargo. Teal was cast as Fenster in "The Bounty Hunters" (1957) on the ABC Western series, Broken Arrow. In 1958, Teal guest-starred "No Tears for the Dead" on the CBS Western series, The Texan. He also later appeared in the CBS sitcom, Dennis the Menace. In 1960, Teal was cast as Sheriff Roy Coffee in Bonanza, a role he played until 1972, appearing in 98 episodes, occasionally as the lead character. He also portrayed judge/dentist/shoe repairman H.G. Cogswell in Bat Masterson starring Gene Barry. He died of undisclosed causes on April 2, 1976, at age 74 in Santa Monica, California. CLR

Don Collier

Donald Mounger Collier was an American actor best known for Western films and NBC television shows such as The High Chaparral, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, and Outlaws as Marshal Will Foreman. Wikipedia

Sonya Wilde

An actress best known for playing an African American in the movie 'I Passed For White.' Wilde played a number of Native Americans on television Westerns, including Bonanza.

John T. Dugan

Writer · Known for Little House on the Prairie

John T. Dugan was an American screenwriter. He wrote for television programs, including Bonanza, Mr. Novak, 12 O'Clock High, Dr. Kildare, Adam-12, Star Trek: The Original Series, Ben Casey, Mission: Impossible, Columbo and Little House on the Prairie.

Liam Dunn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Liam Dunn (November 12, 1916 – April 11, 1976) was an American character actor. Life and career The New Jersey native's early career was spent on television in series such as Bonanza, Room 222, Alias Smith and Jones, Mannix, Emergency! [S5Ep18] as "Amos", and Gunsmoke. Dunn's breakout role was as the judge (and Barbra Streisand's character's father) in the 1972 film What's Up, Doc?, for which he was noticed by Mel Brooks, who was in the process of forming a stock company of actors.[citation needed] Dunn went on to appear in Brooks films, including Blazing Saddles (1974) as Rev. Johnson, Young Frankenstein (1974) as Mr. Hilltop, and as the Newsvendor in Silent Movie (1976). He also appeared in several Walt Disney productions, such as The World's Greatest Athlete (1973), Charley and the Angel (1973), Herbie Rides Again (1974) and Gus (1976). He frequently portrayed characters who were verbally and/or physically abused in a slapstick way. Additional television credits include Twigs, All in the Family, Barney Miller, McMillan & Wife, Rhoda, Sanford and Son, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, S4Ep6. Additional film credits included roles in Catch-22 (1970), The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972), A Reflection of Fear (1972), Emperor of the North Pole (1973), Papillon (1973), Killer Bees (1974), Bank Shot (1974), At Long Last Love (1975), The Night That Panicked America (1975), Peeper (1976) and High Velocity (1976). Dunn collapsed on the set of Disney's The Shaggy D.A. (1976) during the filming of the roller rink sequence, and as soon as he was hospitalized, died on April 11, 1976, from emphysema in Granada Hills, California. John Fiedler was brought in to complete the role as dog catcher. Though only 59 at the time of his death, Dunn always looked much older than he was, and he was cast accordingly. CLR

Charles Maxwell

Cast · Known for Bonanza

Charles Carlton Maxwell was an American character actor and producer who worked primarily in television. Maxwell frequently appeared as a guest star in western television series, including Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Lawman, Rawhide, and The Rifleman. Wikipedia

Lee H. Katzin

Director · Known for Mission: Impossible

Lee H. Katzin (April 12, 1935 – October 30, 2002) was an American film director. He was born in Detroit, Michigan and became a TV director in the late 1960s for TV shows that included Bonanza, Mission: Impossible and Police Story. He also directed the 1971 feature film Le Mans. Starting in 1969, he did an array of theatrical films starting with Heaven with a Gun and other films like The Break and the cult classic What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? In 1972, he directed the film The Salzburg Connection, which starred Barry Newman and Anna Karina. In 1975, he directed the launch episode "Breakaway", and other early episodes, of the Gerry Anderson live-action series Space: 1999. He also directed the pilots for the television series Man from Atlantis and Spenser: For Hire. He was primarily known as a prolific episodic television director, and he worked on series such as MacGyver, Police Story, The Young Riders, and Mission Impossible.

Dan Blocker

Cast · Known for Bonanza

Bobby Dan Davis Blocker (December 10, 1928 – May 13, 1972) was an American television actor and Korean War veteran, who played Hoss Cartwright in the long-running NBC Western television series Bonanza.

Bing Russell

Cast · Known for The Fugitive, Bonanza

Neil Oliver "Bing" Russell (May 5, 1926 – April 8, 2003) was an American actor and Class A minor-league baseball club owner. He was the father of Hollywood actor Kurt Russell. Although best known as the deputy on Bonanza (1959) and Robert in The Magnificent Seven (1960), Russell's was also well known on a national level as the owner of the Portland Mavericks Baseball Club. Helming the only independent team in the class A Northwest League, Russell was an innovator. Before Bull Durham (1988), there were the Mavericks. Russell kept a 30 man roster because he believed that some of the players deserved to have one last season. His motto was simply one three lettered word - not WIN - although the Mavericks did just that - no, the word was FUN. He created a park that kept all corporate sponsorship outside the gates, hired the first female general manager in professional baseball, and the following year hired the first Asian American GM/Manager. That same season his team set a record for the highest attendance in Minor league history, and went on to win the pennant. Ex-major leaguers and never-weres who couldn't stop playing the game flocked to his June tryouts, which were always open to anyone that showed up. From as far away as Capetown, and France, players would head to Portland for a chance with Russell's Mavericks.

Louise Latham

Was an American actress, perhaps best known for her portrayal of Bernice Edgar in Alfred Hitchcock's film Marnie (1964). Most of her work has been on television, including appearances on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Perry Mason, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Hawaii Five-O, Murder, She Wrote, Designing Women (as Perky, the mother of Julia and Suzanne Sugarbaker), and The X-Files. Latham was also the first person to learn the real circumstances of Dr Richard Kimble's wife's death in the final episode of The Fugitive (1967). She has also appeared in the films Mass Appeal (1984) and Love Field (1992). Latham's Broadway theatre credits include a 1956 revival of Major Barbara, Invitation to a March (1960), and Isle of Children (1962). Description above from the Wikipedia article  Louise Latham, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Jack Betts

Cast · Known for Spider-Man

Jack Betts (April 11, 1929 - June 19, 2025) was an American actor also known as Hunt Powers. He starred in numerous Spaghetti Westerns, including Sugar Colt (1966), Django and Sartana Are Coming... It’s the End (1970), and A Barrel Full of Dollars (1971). Besides Westerns, he appeared in films like Spider-Man (2002), Falling Down (1993), and 8mm (1999). On television, he had roles in series such as General Hospital, Bonanza, Kojak, and Perry Mason. Betts studied acting at the University of Miami and was also active in theater. He wrote the play Screen Test: Take One and performed on Broadway.

Harrison Page

Cast · Known for JAG

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Harrison Page (born August 27, 1941) is an American television and film actor who has appeared in many popular shows, including Cold Case, JAG, ER, Ally McBeal, Melrose Place, Quantum Leap, The Wonder Years, 21 Jump Street, Murder She Wrote, Fame, Gimme a Break!, Benson, Hill Street Blues, Webster, The Dukes of Hazzard, Kung Fu, Kojak, Mannix, and Bonanza. His most famous role is perhaps that of the ill-tempered Captain Trunk in the ABC's 1980s police satire Sledge Hammer!. He was also a regular on C.P.O. Sharkey, starring Don Rickles. Page appeared with Jean-Claude Van Damme in the box-office hit movie Lionheart (1990). Page also has a cult following for his appearances in two well-known cult films, both directed by Russ Meyer: Vixen! (1968) and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970). Description above from the Wikipedia article Harrison Page, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Michael Landon

Cast · Known for Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie

Michael Landon (born Eugene Maurice Orowitz; October 31, 1936 – July 1, 1991) was an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza (1959–1973), Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie (1974–1983), and Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven (1984–1989). Landon appeared on the cover of TV Guide 22 times, second only to Lucille Ball.

Jane Greer

Jane Greer (born Bettejane Greer; September 9, 1924 – August 24, 2001) was an American film and television actress. Although best known for her femme fatale role in the noir Out of the Past (1947), her noteworthy roles in television include guest appearances on episodes of numerous shows over the decades, such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Bonanza, Quincy, M.E., Murder, She Wrote, and a 1975 gig with Peter Falk and Robert Vaughn in an episode of Columbo titled Troubled Waters. She even got to make fun of Out of the Past in a parody with Robert Mitchum on TV's Saturday Night Live in 1987. Greer joined the casts of Falcon Crest in 1984 and Twin Peaks in 1990 in recurring roles until her retirement in 1996. Greer was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1634 Vine Street for her contributions to the motion picture industry. The star was dedicated on February 8, 1960. In 2009, The Guardian named her one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination.

Catherine McLeod

Catherine McLeod (July 2, 1921 – May 11, 1997) was an American actress who made over sixty television and movie appearances between 1944 and 1976. She memorably portrayed the one woman whom James Garner's character Bret Maverick wanted to marry on the 1957 television series Maverick, in the episode "Rage for Vengeance," and appeared in literally dozens of other series including The Millionaire, Meet McGraw, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, 77 Sunset Strip, Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, Bronco, Perry Mason, Colt .45, Lawman, Bonanza, Hawaiian Eye, Have Gun - Will Travel, The Outer Limits, The Virginian, and the Ten Thousand Horses Singing episode of Studio One opposite James Dean and John Forsythe. Movies included Frank Borzage's I've Always Loved You (1946), Courage of Lassie (1946), The Fabulous Texan (1947), That's My Man (1947), Old Los Angeles (1948), My Wife's Best Friend (1952), A Blueprint for Murder (1953), William Witney's The Outcast (1954), Ride the Wild Surf (1964), and Lipstick (1976). McLeod's greatest impact upon American consciousness by far, however, was as purveyor of one of the most ubiquitous catchphrases of its era when she portrayed the woman in the 1963 headache remedy television commercial who plaintively but irritably said, "Mother, please! I'd rather do it myself!" The announcer's voiceover would then intone, "Sure you have a headache... tense, irritable.... but don't take it out on her." Description above from the Wikipedia article Catherine McLeod, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Gerd Oswald

Gerd Oswald (June 9, 1919 - May 22, 1989) was a German director of films and television. Oswald's film credits include A Kiss Before Dying (1956), Brainwashed (1960), and Bunny O'Hare (1971). His television credits include Perry Mason, Bonanza, The Outer Limits, The Fugitive, Star Trek, Gentle Ben, It Takes a Thief, and The Twilight Zone.

Christopher Dark

Christopher Dark was born on April 21, 1920 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA as Alfred Francis DeLeo. He was an actor probably known best for guest starring roles in many TV shows such as Bonanza, Lone Ranger and Sea Hunt, but also for movies like Suddenly! (1954), World Without End (1956) and The Rabbit Trap (1959). He was married to Eleanor Dark (married 1948-till his death) He died on October 10, 1971 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA of a heart attack.

Victor Sen Yung

Cast · Known for Bonanza

Victor Sen Young (born Victor Cheung Young or Sen Yew Cheung; October 18, 1915 – body discovered November 9, 1980) was an American character actor, best known for playing Jimmy Chan in the Charlie Chan films and Hop Sing in the Western series Bonanza. He was born in San Francisco, California to Gum Yung Sen and his first wife, both immigrants from China. His mother died during the flu epidemic of 1919. His father placed Victor and his younger sister, Rosemary, in a children's shelter, and returned to his homeland to seek another wife. He returned in 1922 with his new wife, Lovi Shee, forming a household with his two children. Sen Yung made his first significant acting debut in the 1938 film Charlie Chan in Honolulu, as the Chinese detective's "number two son", Jimmy Chan. Sen Yung played Jimmy Chan in 11 Charlie Chan films between 1938 and 1942. Moonlighting from the popular Chan series, Sen Yung won critical acclaim playing the nuanced role of Ong Chi Seng, a young attorney assisting Howard Joyce, in defending Leslie Crosbie, in The Letter. Like other Chinese-American actors, he was cast in Japanese parts during World War II, like his role as the treacherous Japanese-American Joe Totsuiko in the 1942 Humphrey Bogart film Across the Pacific. During World War II he joined the U.S. Army Air Forces just as his erstwhile co-star Sidney Toler was set to revive the dormant Charlie Chan series at Monogram Pictures. Sen Yung's military obligations forced him to decline rejoining the series immediately, but Monogram gave him a standing invitation to work there after his tour of duty. Sen Yung's military service included work in training films at the First Motion Picture Unit and a role in the Army Air Forces' play and film Winged Victory. In 1946 Sen Yung resumed his Hollywood career at Monogram, now billed as Victor Sen Young, and reunited with Sidney Toler. Toler's health was failing; Monogram was conserving Toler's waning energy, limiting his scenes and giving him long rest periods during filming. To relieve the burden on Toler, Monogram entrusted much of the action to Victor Sen Young; he and either Mantan Moreland or Willie Best shared much of the footage in Toler's final three films, Dangerous Money, Shadows Over Chinatown, and The Trap. The addition of Moreland as Chan's black chauffeur, Birmingham Brown, reflected the fact that by this time the Chan pictures had a significant following among black Americans, who liked a film series that for once did not feature a white hero. Moreland's popularity in the Chan pictures was so great that he was booked for a nationwide vaudeville tour. Following Toler's death in 1947, Victor Sen Young appeared in five of the remaining six Charlie Chan features. His character "Jimmy" was renamed "Tommy". Victor Sen Young continued to work in motion pictures and television in roles ranging from featured players (affable or earnest Asian characters) to bit roles (clerks, houseboys, waiters, etc.). Arguably even more than for his work in the Charlie Chan films, Victor Sen Yung is remembered as "Hop Sing," the irascible cook and general factotum on the iconic television series Bonanza, appearing in 107 episodes between 1959 and 1973. Sen Yung was also an accomplished and talented chef. He frequently appeared on cooking programs and authored The Great Wok Cookbook in 1974.

Nestor Paiva

Nestor Paiva (June 30, 1905 - September 9, 1966) was a prolific American actor of Portuguese descent who portrayed the innkeeper on Walt Disney's live-action television series Zorro by ABC and its feature film The Sign of Zorro which was shot in Burbank's Walt Disney Studios. Nestor appeared in motion pictures and television shows from the 1930s to the 1960s such as Get Smart, Bonanza, I Spy, Family Affair, Gunsmoke, The Beverly Hillbillies, and The Addams Family. In 1943, he played the Italian Major in the 20th Century Fox wartime movie Chetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas. He played the part of Lucas (the boat captain) in the 1954 horror film The Creature from the Black Lagoon starring Ben Chapman as the title monster; Paiva would reprise this role in that film's sequel Revenge of the Creature the following year. He appeared in more than 250 movies. Paiva married in 1941 and had two children, Joseph and Caetana, who appeared with him in the 1956 movie Comanche with Dana Andrews. Paiva died of cancer in 1966. He is buried in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery. Description above from the Wikipedia article Nestor Paiva, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Charles F. Haas

Charles F. Haas was an American film and television director known for his work across various genres. He began his career at Universal Studios in 1935, starting as an extra and eventually becoming an assistant director and later a director of non-dramatic films. During World War II, Haas directed films for the Army Signal Corps. In the 1950s, he directed low-budget films and numerous television episodes for series such as Bonanza, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Outer Limits, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. Haas's versatility and ability to work across different formats made him a respected figure in the industry.

Allen H. Miner

Director · Known for Wagon Train

Allen H. Miner was an American television and film director known for his work in the 1950s and 1960s. He directed episodes for various television series, including The Twilight Zone, Perry Mason, and Bonanza. Miner's direction was noted for its narrative clarity and ability to build suspense, contributing to the success of many classic television episodes.

Guy Stockwell

Cast · Known for Knight Rider

Guy Harry Stockwell (November 16, 1934 – February 6, 2002) was an American actor who appeared in nearly 30 movies and 250 television series episodes. Stockwell was born in Hollywood, California, the son of Nina Olivette (née Elizabeth Margaret Veronica), an actress and dancer, and Harry Bayless Stockwell, or Harry Stockwell, an actor and singer. The older brother of Dean Stockwell, he had roles in many television shows, including Simon & Simon, Knight Rider, Tales of the Gold Monkey, Magnum, P.I., Murder, She Wrote, Columbo, Quantum Leap, Bonanza, Tombstone Territory, Combat! The Richard Boone Show, and Return to Peyton Place, He also had important roles in several major motion pictures including The War Lord (1965), Blindfold (1965), Beau Geste (1966) and Tobruk (1967). Description above from the Wikipedia article Guy Stockwell, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.