A

JOHN ABBOTT

5 June 1905 – 24 May 1996

His gaunt face and morose countenance made him a marketable character player, most adept at playing sinister, eccentric roles. He was a well-known Shakespearean actor in the 1930's in England. Worked for the British Embassy in Moscow during World War II. After leaving his position and returning home to England, he made a stop in the U.S. and was offered a Hollywood film role in 1941. Wound up staying and settling there for the rest of his life.

Following repertory stage work in Watford and Crewe, Abbott was invited by Tyrone Guthrie to join the Old Vic in 1936 where he played such roles as Nathaniel in "Love's Labour's Lost" and Prospero in "The Tempest".

In 1937 he was part of the legendary production of "Hamlet" performed in Elsinore with Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. In 1944 Abbott was cast in the lead role of Elwood P. Dowd on Broadway in Mary Chase's "Harvey," but argued that the writer was wrong to have the play's imaginary six-foot rabbit visible on stage. He left the production due to "artistic differences." Later, author Chase deferred to his judgment and the show became a hit -- without Abbott. Tennessee Williams wrote the one-act play "Auto-da-Fe" (his only verse play) specifically for Abbott.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:

- "Zachariah Wickham" Season 3, Episode 14 "Gabrielle" 24 December 1961

PHILIPP ABBOTT

21 March 1923 - 23 February 1998

After studying at Fordham University and the Pasadena Playhouse, he co-starred in the national touring company of Sidney Kingsley's "Detective Story" (1950) and came to Hollywood in 1952. Abbott was a co-founder of Theatre West, a Los Angeles stage company. His work there included "The Web and the Rock," "O' Socrates," "Sonata for Rimbaud" and a critically acclaimed adaptation of Robert Frost's poem "Promises to Keep".

Although he made a handful of films, notably "The Bachelor Party" (1957) and "Sweet Bird of Youth" (1962), Abbott spent practically his whole career in television, with guest spots in over 100 shows. The quiet authority he exuded pegged him for roles as doctors and executives. He is best known as 'Assistant Director Arthur Ward' in the long-running series "The F.B.I." (1965 to 1974). In his last film, "Starry Night" (1999), he appeared with his son, actor David Abbott.

He served as the honorary mayor of Tarzana in the early 1970s, and served terms as the president and board chairman of the Los Angeles United Cerebral Palsy-Spastic Children's Foundation. He served as a B-24 bomber pilot in the United States Air Force during World War II and was awarded an Air Medal and three oak leaf clusters.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:

-"James Callan" Season 5 Episode 5, "The Toy Soldier", 20 October 1963

BETTYE ACKERMAN

28 February 1924 - 1 November 2006

Married to actor, Sam Jaffe in 1956. They were married for 28 years until Sam Jaffe's death 28 years later in 1984 at age 93. There was a 33-year age difference between them.
She was one of four children born to a school superintendent and his wife. She graduated from Columbia College in 1945 before pursuing a career in New York City while doing graduate work at Columbia University.

Her film debut was in the 1959 movie "Face of Fire" as Grace Trescott.

She was most well known for her role as Dr. Maggie Graham in "Ben Casey". Other television work included episodes of "Dynasty", "The Love Boat", "Trapper John, M.D." and "St. Elsewhere".

She was a prolific artist and displayed many of her works in Beverly Hills and Columbia, South

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:

-"Estelle Dawson", Season 9, Episode 1, "Second Chance" 17 September 1967

JULIE ADAMS

According to her website, she spent her formative years in Arkansas.  She moved to California and started as a part-time secretary.  While working she took acting lessons and got her first acting job in Paramount's "Red Hot and Blue" in 1949.  She billed herself under her real name, Betty Adams for several years while working in westerns until she was signed by Universal. 

In the 1950s, she modified her name to Julie Adams.  Many fans consider her breakout role as a scantily clad heroine, Kay Lawrence, in "Creature from the Black Lagoon".  She has worked with Charlton Heston, Jimmy Stewart, Rock Hudson, Elvis Presley and John Wayne, to name a few stars. 

Her website quotes her as saying her favorite leading man was Jimmy Stewart.  She was married to actor/director Ray Danton. This lady is still actively working as an actress.  Most recently, she had the role of Elise Summers in "Chez upshaw" (2011). Film credits include:  "Bend in the River" (1952), "Fast on the Draw" (1950), "Finders Keepers" 1951, and "The Private War of Major Benson" 1955. 

More of her filmography can be found at her website. Series include "Code Red" and "The Jimmy Stewart Show". She has made numerous guest appearances on such shows as:  "Cold Case", "Diagnosis Murder" and "Beverly Hills, 90210" She appears at conventions. Her autobiography is available for purchase at her website "Julie Adams The Lucky Southern Star: Reflections from the Black Lagoon"

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com and her website

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Bonanza Episodes:

- "Helen Layton", Season 2 Episode 16, "The Courtship", 7 January 1961

NORMAN ALDEN

September 13th 1924 - July 27th 2012

Born Norman Adelberg in 1924, he served in the Army during World War II. At the end of the conflict he had the opportunity to benefit from the Montgomery GI Bill program meant to help returning soldiers to start or resume studying. That is how, while attending Texas Christian University, he discovered on the boards of on-campus theater that he had a talent for acting. This was the beginning of a long, long career. Though most of the time in small or even bit parts, Alden, worked for such big names as Howard Hawks, Jerry Lewis, Walt Disney, Woody Allen and Tim Burton. He might have become a major star himself after Richard C. Sarafian chose him for the title role of Andy (1965). The director must have been very pleased with Alden for, as Andy Chadakis - the retarded son of elderly Greek immigrants - he showed remarkable acting ability . Unfortunately, the film was little seen and the gifted actor landed no other parts of such importance and quality afterward.

He played Lou the mechanic in a series of AC Delco commercials. He was so convincing that people would actually come up to him and tell him their car problems.

Alden appeared or did voice work in about 2,500 movies, TV series and commercials.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza episodes:

- "Poke" Season 2, Ep 9, "Breed of Violence", 5 November, 1960
- "Teller" Season 3, Ep 8, "The Friendship" 12 November, 1961

LOLA ALBRIGHT

July 20th 1925

After modeling and working for a radio station in Akron, Ohio, Lola Albright moved to Hollywood in the mid-1940s. Considered one of the most stylish, sultriest and beautiful actresses in Hollywood, with one of the throatiest, smokiest and most distinctive voices in the business, she starred with Kirk Douglas in the 1949 hit Champion (1949).

From 1958 to 1961 she played nightclub singer Edie Hart in the popular TV series "Peter Gunn" (1958). She also made TV guest appearances on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955), "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (1964) and "Airwolf" (1984). She played Constance McKenzie in the night-time soap opera "Peyton Place" (1964) after Dorothy Malone became ill and could no longer play the role. Lola received critical acclaim for her performances in A Cold Wind in August (1961), Joy House (1964) and How I Spent My Summer Vacation (1967) (TV).

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza episodes:

- "Ann" Season 6, Ep 21 "The Search" 14 February 1965
- "Dolly Bantree" Season 8, Ep 18 "A Bride for Buford" 15 January 1967

CLAUDE AKINS May 25th 1918 - January 27th 1994 A native of Georgia like Pernell Roberts, Claude was a familar face on Bonanza with four featured guest starring roles including the title character of the almost eerie episode 'Sam Hill'. He is probably best known for the character 'Sheriff Lobo' in the comedy series of the same name and TV movie 'B.J. and the Bear'. He also had small parts in screen classics such as 'From here to Eternity', 'Rio Bravo' and 'The Caine Mutiny'. Biography sourced from www.imdb.com Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes: - "Col. Edward J. Dunwoody" Season 4 Ep 105 "The Deserter" 21 October 1962 - "Sam Hill" Season 2 Ep 66 "Sam Hill" 3 June 1961 - "Ezekiel" Season 2 Ep 36 "The Mill" 1 October 1960 - "Marshal Dowd" Season 1 Ep  23 "Desert Justice" 20 February 1960

EDWARD ASHLEY August 12th 1904 - May 5th 2000 No Biography available at this time Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes: - "Lord Marion Dunsford" Season 1 Ep 27 "The Last Trophy" 26 March 1960

JOHN ASTIN March 30th 1930 John Astin achieved pop culture status through his portrayal of the kooky patriarch "Gomez Addams" in the hit TV series "The Addams Family" (1964). He discovered a passion for the theater and began performing in minor plays and doing voice-over work for commercials. He first got noticed in a small role in "West Side Story" (1961), then appeared in several other films before being cast as "Gomez Addams". Astin moved on to other work including the offbeat "Bunny O'Hare" (1971), playing a grizzled but not particularly bright gunfighter in the western spoof "Evil Roy Slade(1972) (TV), an appearance in the Disney comedy "Freaky Friday" (1976) and dual roles in "European Vacation (1985). He has since lent his comedic talents to numerous appearances as "Dr. Gangreen" in several corny "Killer Tomato" movies, and has contributed his voice to recreate "Gomez Addams" in the animated series "The Addams Family" 1992), and then played "Grandpa Addams" in the short-lived TV series "The New Addams Family"(1998). In addition, Astin has contributed voices to several animated shows, and still regularly appears in films. Click here for Online Credits & more info Bonanza Episodes: - "Abner Willoughby" Season 11 Ep 13 "Abner Willoughby's Return" 21 December 1969

B

C

June 3rd 1911 - April 14th 1999

Ellen Corby was born Ellen Hansen in Racine, Wisconsin. She began her career as a bit player in the film Speed Limited (1935) in 1940. Ellen would not be seen on the big screen again until 1945 in Cornered. In 1946, Ellen appeared in 14 motion pictures although mostly in small minor roles. One of the small parts was in the Christmas classic It's a Wonderful Life (1946). One of the motion picture highlights of her career came about in 1948 in I Remember Mama (1948) in the role of Aunt Trina. As a result of this role, Ellen garnered a nomination for Best Supporting Actress which was ultimately won by Claire Trevor in Key Largo (1948). It was television where she would garner the acclaim that had eluded her on the silver screen. Her real fame came in the highly watched and highly acclaimed "The Walton's" from 1972-1979 as Esther "Grandma" Walton. The role resulted in the prestigious Emmy award for 1973, 74, & 75.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Cora Milford" Season 4 Ep 121: "The Hayburner" 17 February 1963
- "Lorna Doone Mayberry" Season 1 Ep 19 "The Gunmen" 23 January 1960

September 19th 1899 - April 28th 1977

Born in Austria, Jacob emigrated with his family to New York. There he worked a number of jobs while he trained as an actor. When Jacob arrived in Hollywood to work in movies in 1922, the Valentino mania was in full swing. Never shy about changing a name and a background, the studio transformed Jacob Krantz from Austria into Latin Lover Ricardo Cortez from Spain. Such was life in Hollywood. Starting with small parts, the tall, dark Cortez was being groomed by Paramount to be the successor to Rudolph Valentino. But Cortez would never be viewed, or consider himself, as the equal to the late Valentino. A popular star, he was saddled in a number of run of the mill romantic movies which would depend more on his looks than on the script. Pictures like 'Argentine Love (1924)' and 'The Cat's Pajamas (1926)' did little to extend his range as an actor. He did show that he had some range with his role in 'Pony Express (1925)', but roles like that were few.

Cortez would be the only actor to ever have his name above Greta Garbo as she appeared with him in her first American movie 'The Torrent (1926)'. When sound came, Cortez made the transition in late 1929 and he would play Sam Spade in the 1931 movie 'Dangerous Female' (aka The Maltese Falcon). Never a great actor, Cortez would often be cast as the smirking womanizer in a number of films and would soon slide down into 'B' movies. After 1937, Cortez would hit a lean patch for his work and tried his hand at directing. His career as a director ended after a half dozen movies and his screen career would soon follow. When he retired from the screen, he returned to Wall Street where he had started as a runner decades before. Only this time, he returned as a member of one of Wall Street's top brokerage firms and lived a comfortable life.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Don Xavier" Season 1 Ep 16 "El Toro Grande" 2 January 1960

D

CHRISTOPHER DARK

April 21, 1920 - October 10, 1971

Christopher Dark was born on April 21, 1920 in The Bronx, New York, USA as Alfred Francis DeLeo. He was an actor, known for Suddenly (1954), World Without End (1956) and The Rabbit Trap (1959). He was married to Eleanor Dark. He died on October 10, 1971 in Hollywood, California, USA.

He and his good friend, actor Guy Williams, were both avid amateur astronomers. Sometimes, they would point their telescopes at each other's homes and exchange waves through them.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:

- "Langord Poole" Season 1 Ep 1 "A Rose for Lotta" 12 September 1959
- "Jesse Tibbs" Seasons 1 Ep 20 "Fear Merchants" 30 January 1960
- "John "Doc" Holliday" Season 5 Ep 7, Calamity Over The Comstock, 3 November 1963
- "Testy" Season 9 Ep 10, Showdown At Tahoe, 19 November 1967

YVONNE DE CARLO

September 1, 1922 - January 8, 2007

Yvonne De Carlo was born Margaret Yvonne Middleton on September 1, 1922 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

In 1945 she landed the title role in "Salome Where She Danced" for Universal Pictures. While critics were less than thrilled with the film, it was at long last her big break, and the film was a success for Universal.

Her next film was the western comedy "Frontier Gal" (1945) as Lorena Dumont. After a year off the screen in 1946, she returned in 1947 as Cara de Talavera in "Song of Scheherazade" (1947). Her next film was the highly regarded Burt Lancaster prison film "Brute Force" (1947). Time after time, Yvonne continued to pick up leading roles, in such pictures as "Slave Girl" (1947), "Black Bart" (1948), "Casbah" (1948), "River Lady" (1948) and "Criss Cross" (1949). At the start of the 1950s, Yvonne enjoyed continued success in lead roles. Her talents were again showcased in movies such as "Omar, the Desert hawk" (1950), "Silver City" (1951) and "Scarlet Angel" (1952). Her last film in 1952 was "The treasures of Dakaru" (1952).

In 1956, she appeared in the film that would immortalize her best, "The Ten Commandments" (1956). She played Sephora, the wife of Moses Charlton Heston. The film was, unquestionably, a super smash, and is still shown on television today. Her performance served as a springboard to another fine role, this time as Amantha Starr in "Band of Angels" (1957). In the late 1950's and early 1960's, Yvonne appeared on such television series as "Bonanza" (1959) and "The Virginian" (1962). However, with film roles drying up, she took what turned out to be the role for which she will be best remembered--that of Lily Munster in the smash series "The Munsters" (1964). Appearances in such films as "McLintock! (1963), "The Power" (1968), "The Seven Minutes" (1971) and "La casa de las sombras" (1976) kept her before the eyes of the moviegoing public. Yvonne De Carlo died at age 84 of natural causes on January 8, 2007 in Woodland Hills, California.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Her Bonanza credits include:

- "Lotta Crabtree" Season 1 Ep 1 "A Rose For Lotta"12 September 1959

JOHN DEHNER

November 23, 1915 - February 4, 1992 Emphysema/Diabetes.

Born John Forkum, Dehner beg an his career as an animator for Walt Disney Studios, then worked as a disc jockey and a professional pianist.  In 1945, at the age of 30, Dehner made his debut and has appeared in dozens of films.  He was a tall, distinguished looking man with a rich voice and somewhat flamboyant demeanor. Dehner was often cast as the outlaw leader, crooked banker or a saloon owner in westerns, although he occasionally played opposite types in several comedies, and once played a crusading newspaper reporter in the 1960’s TV series, The Roaring ‘20s.

Some of his film credits include: War and Remembrance (1988, Young Maverick (1979), and How The West Was Won (1977).

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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His Bonanza credits include: The Mission and The Gentleman from New Orleans

November 24th 1913 - July 8th 1990

Once he hit the screen in 1947, this burly leading man's gruff voice was instantly recognizable: He'd spent several years playing private eye Sam Spade on a hit radio show. With acting experience dating back to pre-WW2 stage work in his native Washington, Duff made a solid impression with moviegoers portraying tough guys in Westerns and crime dramas. After an auspicious start in Brute Force (1947) and The Naked City (1948), however, he was relegated to second-tier films by the taint of left-wing affiliations during the Hollywood witch-hunt era-which also cost him his radio gig as Sam Spade. He reemerged in the 1960s as a solid character actor in leading films.

Duff was married to actress-director Ida Lupino, whose name you may recognise as the actress who played 'Annie O'Toole' in the episode 'The Saga of Annie O'Toole'.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

"Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain" Season 1 Ep 5 "Enter Mark Twain" 10 October 1959

January 23, 1907 - June 8, 1968

Dan Duryea was born in Ithaca, NY and attended Cornell University. He began his acting career in the late 1930's appearing in stage productions on Broadway in New York City. On stage as well as on film, Dan played low-life, malicious and sometimes psychopathic characters. His career spanned 47 years and he appeared in 70 films. From 1952 - 1955 Duryea starred in the TV series, China Smith. Duryea's western films included Black Bart (1948), Winchester 73 (1950), Al Jennings of Oklahoma (1951), He Rides Tall (1964) and Taggart (1965).

In 1932, Dan married Helen Bryan and together they had two sons, Peter and Richard. Dan died of cancer in 1968.

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Bonanza credits -

- Season 2 Ep 35 "Badge Without Honor"
- Season 6 Ep 173 "Logan’s Treasure"

E

April 2nd 1908 - 2003

Buddy is best known for his roles as 'Pa Campett' in the 'Beverly Hill Billies' and the title character of the long running detective series 'Barnaby Jones'. Buddy Ebsen almost became the Tin Man in the production Wizard of Oz with Judy Garland but as a result of a severe allergic reaction to the silver makeup, his part was recast.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Sheriff" Season 1 Ep 14 "The Sisters" 12 Dec 1959
- "Jesse Sanders" Season 13 Ep 406 "The Saddle Stiff" 16 Jan 1972

October 27th 1911 - January 29th 1986

Tall, beefy, deep-voiced character actor who'd been a band singer and trombone player before getting into movies in 1935. An inauspicious debut (as a corpse) in the Zane Grey Western Wanderer of the Wasteland (1935) was Erickson's first assignment under a Paramount contract; he was initially billed as "Glenn" Erickson. He was under contract to Universal during the early 1940s before entering the Armed Forces, and was twice wounded during World War 2. A pleasant personality translated indifferently onscreen and he never really hit it big. Erickson, who was once married to actress Frances Farmer, also appeared on stage and in many TV shows, including "The High Chaparral" as Big John Cannon the series' Patriach.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Tom Cain" Season 7 Ep 216 "All Ye His Saints" 19 December 1965
- "Josh Tatum" Season 2 Ep 55 "The Rescue" 25 February 1961

JAMES GAMMON

April 20th 1940 - July 16th 2010

Rugged-looking James Gammon first broke into the entertainment industry not as an actor but as a TV cameraman. From there his weatherbeaten features, somewhat menacing attitude and a tough-as-nails voice - the kind that used to be described in detective novels as "whiskey-soaked" - reminiscent of '40s noir icon Charles McGraw got him work in front of the cameras in TV westerns and he made his film debut in 1967.

He made his first appearance on television in the first season of the “Wild Wild West” – a western featuring Secret Service men Jim West and Artemus Gordon who traveled about the country in a fancy train as they chased bad guys (or girls) and saved the country from harm and unrest. Over the next four decades Gammon appeared in over 125 films and television shows including “Bonanza”, “Batman”, “Cool Hand Luke”, “The Virginian”, “The High Chaparral”, “Gunsmoke”, “Kung Fu”, “The Waltons”, “Charlie’s Angels”, “Any Which Way You Can”, “Urban Cowboy”, “Murder She Wrote”, “In the Heat of the Night”, “Cold Mountain”, “Monk”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, and “Jesse Stone: Sea Change”.

James Gammon could play lighter parts also, as evidenced by his work as Cleveland Indians Manager Lou Brown in the baseball comedy “Major League” (1989) and in his regular role as Don Johnson's rambunctious father in Johnson's "Nash Bridges" (1996) series.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com and allvoices.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Harry Jeffers" Season 8, Ep 264 - "A Man Without Land" April 9, 1967

March 9th 1902 - April 22nd 1978

Will Geer admired his grandfather, a man who said hello to trees by their Latin names and who had used what he brought back to Indiana from the California gold rush to build Frankfort's first opera house. Will pursued a college major in botany, from Chicago through a Master's degree at Columbia, but ultimately gave in to his need to perform. Starting with touring company tent shows and river boats, his six-decade career included Broadway, movies, television; many Shakespeare roles; one-man performances as Walt Whitman and Mark Twain. His best know role was his last, Zebulon Walton, Grandpa in the long-running television series "The Waltons." Less well known was his life-long role as a political agitator and radical ("Someone who goes to the roots, which is the Latin derivation of radical") and folklorist/folksinger - he toured U.S. government work camps in the 1930s, singing with Woody Guthrie and Burl Ives. He was blacklisted during the McCarthy era for refusing to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Affairs. In 1951 he formed the "Theatricum Botanicum," a repertory theater in Topanga Canyon, CA, where he not only coached actors but also encouraged outdoor philsophical discussion and, of course, folksinging. At his deathbed his family sang "This Land Is Your Land" and recited Robert Frost poems. His ashes lie in a corner of the Shakespearean garden on the grounds of his Theatricum Botanicum.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Ferris Callahan" Season 13 Ep 402 "A Home for Jamie" 19 December 1971
- "Zach" Season 12 Ep 370 "The Love Child" 8 November 1970
- "Calvin Butler" Season 10 Ep 329 "The Running Man" 30 March 1969

September 9th 1924 - August 24th 2001

As a baby she was winning beauty contests; as a teenager, with good looks and an attractive contralto voice, she was singing with big bands (most notably Enric Madriguera's orchestra in Latin Club Del Rio in Washington, D.C.. She met Rudy Valle, her first husband, on the radio where she also enjoyed a brief stint as a singer. At age 15 an attack of palsy left her face partially paralyzed. She claimed that it was through facial exercises to overcome the paralysis that she learned the efficacy of facial expression in conveying human emotion, a skill she was renowned for using in her acting.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Julia Bulette" Season 1 Ep 6 "The Julia Bulette Story" 17 October 1959

March 8th 1918 - January 2nd 1990

The son of the great character actor (and Erroll Flynn sidekick) Alan Hale Sr., Alan Hale Jr. (he dropped the Jr. after his father passed away) was literally born into the movies. Hale did his first movie as a baby and continued to act until his death. Unlike other child actors, Hale made a smooth transition in the movies and starred in several classics like "Up Periscope, " "The Lady Takes a Flyer, " and "The West Point Story, " as well as many westerns. He did a lot of television guest appearances as well before getting his role as The Skipper on the cult comedy "Gilligan's Island." After the show went off the air, Hale continued to act and even teamed up with Gilligan co-star Bob Denver in the "The Good Guys, " a CBS-TV comedy that lasted only two years. After that ended, Hale kept busy acting in guest shots and maintained his business interests which included a restaurant and travel agency.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Swede Lundberg" Season 1 Ep 7 "The Saga of Annie O'Toole" 24 October 1959

November 16th 1892 - May 18th 1981

Because of his unusual appearance was often cast as exotic Middle Eastern characters and Native Americans. His roles ranged from kindly, but strict, priests to sinister villains. His only Shakespearean role on film was that of the Soothsayer who warns "Beware the Ides of March!" in Julius Caesar (1953).

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes: - "Chief Winnemuca" in "Ride the Wind"

HENRY HULL

October 3, 1890 - March 8, 1977

Henry Hull began his career in 1909. His most successful role was on Broadway portraying "Jeeter Lester" in Tobacco Road (1933). He was a master of character roles, and did much of his own make-up on the stage.

Hull appeared in several silent films, including the murder mystery One Exciting Night, directed by film legend D.W. Griffith. When sound was brought into film making, Hull appeared in many acclaimed productions, namely, Great Expectations  (1934), Jesse James  (1939), The Chase (1966) and many others. One of his favorites was Lifeboat  (1944), working with director Alfred Hitchcock. He also enjoyed acting with Vincent Price in Master of the World  (1961), based on the Jules Verne novel. Hull’s best-remembered role came in 1935. He was cast as the tormented Dr. Wilfred Glendon, in the now classic "Werewolf of London" with Universal Studios.  Henry saw Glendon's personality as being similar to Sherlock Holmes. In his words: "Glendon, being a botanist, or scientist, was not open to belief in the supernatural, as it interfered with his work".

Hull stared in films such as The Great Gatsby (1949), Inferno (1953), Buccaneer (1958) also starring Lorne Greene. 

Bonanza Episodes:

- "Sheriff B. Banneman Brown" Season 1 Ep 19 "The Gunmen"
-"Charlie Trent" Season  2 Ep 34 "The Mission"

February 17th 1911 - September 26th 1979

Lean, tall American character actor known for playing humorously wise rural roles. He attended Arkansas State Teachers College in his native state, but was forced to drop out in his third year due to lack of funds. He joined a theatre company in Massachusetts, then migrated to New York, where he began to find acting roles on Broadway and on tour. He played in numerous productions, including the leading role in Tobacco Road, a part his rangy country persona was made for. He took a few roles in small films in the early 1940s, then returned to stage work. In 1949, he came back to Hollywood permanently and began a long career as a reliable supporting player. His wonderfully written and vibrantly played role in the Howard Hawks Western Big Sky, The (1952) won him acclaim and an Oscar nomination for Supporting Actor. He continued playing similar characters, almost always sympathetic, for remainder of his career.

Biography sourced from www.imdb

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Salty Hubbard" Season 11 Ep 344 "Dead Wrong" 7 December 1969
- "Obie" Season 5 Ep 168 "Walter and the Outlaws" 24 May 1964
- "Obie" Season 4 Ep 126  "Any Friend of Walter's" 24 March 1963
- "Paiute Scroggs" Season 1 Ep 12  "The Hanging Posse" 28 November 1959

I

J

K

January 20th 1920 - June 11th 1999

Deforest Kelly is undoubtably best remembered for his portrayal of the cantankerous cheif medical officer, Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy in the original series of 'Star Trek' and the later feature films. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, he graduated from highschool at 16 and went on to sing at the church where his father was a baptist minister. At 17 he made his first trip outside the state to visit an uncle in Long Beach CA, only intending to stay for 2 weeks but ended up staying a year before returning to tell his parents he was going to be an actor. Back in CA, Kelley was spotted by a Paramount scout while doing a Navy Training film. He went on to roles in many westerns series and films, building up an impressive list of credits and eventually playing the role of 'Bones' McCoy which changed his life forever.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Tully" Season 7 Ep 220 "Ride the Wind: Part 2" 23 January 1966
- "Tully" Season 7 Ep 219 "Ride the Wind: Part 1" 16 January 1966
- "Dr. Michael Jones" Season 4 Ep 112 "The Decision" 16 December 1962
- "Captain Johnson" Season 3 Ep 69 "The Honor of Cochise" 8 October 1961

L

June 18th 1921 - August 30th 1984

No Biography available at this time

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Carl Armory" Season 7 Ep 226 "Her Brother's Keeper" 6 March 1966
- "Dave Walker" Season 1 Ep 23 "Desert Justice" 20 February 1960

December 30th 1920 - January 21st 1998

Jack Lord will probably be best remembered as Steve McGarett in the long running televison series HAWAII FIVE-O, but he was much more than that however. He starred in several movies, directed several episodes of his show, was in several Broadway productions, and was an acomplished artist. Two of his paintings were acquired by New York's Metrpoltian Museum of Art and the British Museum of Modern Art by the time he was twenty. Lord was also known for being a very cultured man who loved reading poetry out loud on the set of his TV show and as being somewhat reclusive at his Honolulu home. He met his son from his first marriage, who was killed in an accident when he was thirteen, only once as a baby

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Clay Renton" Season 1 Ep 17 "The Outcast" 9 January 1960

February 4th 1914 - August 3rd 1995

Ida was born in London to a show business family. In 1933, her mother brought Ida with her to an audition and Ida got the part her mother wanted. The picture was 'Her First Affaire (1933)'. Ida, a bleached blonde, came to Hollywood in 1934 and played small and insignificant parts. 'Peter Ibbetson (1935)' was one of her few noteworthy movies and it was not until 'The Light That Failed (1939)' that she got a chance to get better parts. In most of her movies she was cast as the hard, but sympathetic woman from the wrong side of the tracks. In 'The Sea Wolf (1941)' and 'High Sierra (1941)' she played the part magnificently. It has been said that no one could do hard-luck dames the way Lupino could do them. She played tough, knowing characters who held their own against some of the biggest leading men of the day - Bogart, Colman, Garfield and Robinson. She made a handful of films during the forties playing different characters ranging from 'Pillow to Post (1945)', where she played a traveling saleswoman to the tough nightclub singer in 'The Man I Love (1946)'. But good roles for women were hard to get and there were many young actresses and established stars competing for those roles.

She left Warner Brothers in 1947 and became a freelance actress. When better roles did not materialize Ida stepped behind the camera as a director, writer and producer. Her first directing job came when director Elmer Clifton fell ill on a script that she co-wrote 'Not Wanted (1949)'. Ida had joked that as an actress, she was the poor man's Bette Davis. Now she said that as a director she became the poor man's Don Siegel. The films that she wrote, or directed, or appeared in during the fifties were mostly inexpensive melodramas. She later turned to Television where she directed episodes in shows such as 'The Untouchables (TV)' and 'The Fugitive (TV)'. In the seventies, she did guest appearances on various television show and small parts in a few movies.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Annie O'Toole" Season 1 Ep 7 "The Saga of Annie O'Toole" 24 October 1959

M

February 19th 1924 - August 29th 1987

Lee Marvin guest starred in what is arguably one of the best and most horrowing and dramatic episodes of Bonanza, 'The Crucible', giving Pernell Roberts a real run for his money as the insane 'Kane'. The white haired actor began as a supporting player of generally vicious demeanor, then metamorphosed into a star of both action and drama projects. Born in New York City the young Marvin was thrown out of dozens of schools for incorrigibility. He enlisted in the U.S. Marines at the beginning of World War II. In the battle of Saipan in June 1944, he was wounded in the buttocks by Japanese fire which severed his sciatic nerve. He was invalided home and got menial work as a plumber's apprentice in Woodstock, New York. While repairing a toilet at the local community theatre, he was asked to replace an ailing actor in a rehearsal. He was immediately stricken with a love for the theatre and went to New York City, where he studied and played small roles in stock and Off-Broadway. Landing an extra's role in Henry Hathaway's U.S.S. Teakettle, he found his role expanded when Hathaway took a liking to him.

Returning to the stage, he made his Broadway debut in Billy Budd, and after a long succession of small TV roles, moved to Hollywood, where he began playing heavies and cops in roles of increasing size and frequency. Given a leading role in Eight Iron Men, he followed it with enormously memorable heavies in The Big Heat and The Wild One. Established as a major screen villain, Marvin began shifting toward leading roles with a successful run as a police detective in the TV series 'M Squad'. A surprise Oscar for his dual role as a drunken gunfighter and his evil, noseless brother in the Western comedy Cat Ballou placed him in the upper tiers of Hollywood leading men, and he filled out his career with predominantly action-oriented films. Marvin continued making films of varying quality, always as a star, until his sudden death from a heart attack in 1987.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Peter Kane" Season 3 Ep 94 "The Crucible" 8 April 1962

March 22nd 1920 - July 3rd 1981

Ross Martin was born as Martin Rosenblatt, in Grodek, Poland, but grew up in New York City's Lower East Side. He spoke Ýiddish, Polish and Russian before learning English and later added French, Spanish and Italian to his repertoire.

His career was varied, starting as a solist in a youth symphony, then performing in vaudville, radio shows, on Broadway, movies, game shows and TV.  He was a co- star in the TV series Mr. Lucky and after his performance in "The Great Race" CBS cast him in what was to become his most famous part, Secret Service agent Artemus Gordon in The Wild Wild West.

He appeared as a guest star in several programs from the 1950s to the 1970s, including Honestly, Celeste!, Sheriff of Cochise, Wonder Woman, Sanford and Son, Columbo, The Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond, The Law and Mr. Jones, Night Gallery, Mork & Mindy, Hawaii Five-O and Charlie's Angels. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in the movie An Experiment In Terror.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

-  "Nick Biancci" Season 4 Ep 143 "Little Man ... Ten Feet Tall" 26 May 1963

July 19th 1919 - April 28th 2012

Patricia Paz Maria Medina was born on July 19, 1919 in Liverpool, England to a Spanish father and an English mother. She began acting as a teenager in the late 1930s and worked her way up to leading roles in the mid-1940s, where she left for Hollywood. Medina teamed up with British actor Louis Hayward and they appeared together in Fortunes of Captain Blood (1950), The Lady and the Bandit (1951), Lady in the Iron Mask (1952) and Captain Pirate (1952). Voluptuous and exotic-looking, Medina was often typecast in period melodramas such as The Black Knight (1954/I). Two of her more notable films were William Witney's Stranger at My Door (1956) and Orson Welles' Mr. Arkadin (1955), a follow-up of The Third Man (1949), based on the radio series "The Lives of Harry Lime". Although prolific during the early 1950s, her film career petered out by the end of the decade.

Medina appeared as Margarita Cortazar in four episodes of Walt Disney's "Zorro" (1957), and as Diana Coulter in two episodes of Richard Boone's "Have Gun - Will Travel" (1957). She returned to the screen in Robert Aldrich's adaptation of the lesbian-themed drama The Killing of Sister George (1968). She and her husband, American actor Joseph Cotten, toured together in several plays and on Broadway in the murder mystery "Calculated Risk". Her appearances on television include an episode of "Bonanza" (1959) titled "The Spanish Grant" and "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (1962) titled "See the Monkey Dance". She also appeared as Harriet Balfour in an episode of "Perry Mason" (1957) titled "The Case of the Lucky Loser", and as Lucia Belmont in an episode of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (1964) titled "The Foxes and Hounds Affair".

Patricia Medina retired from acting in 1978 after 40 years in the motion picture industry. She died at age 92 of natural causes on April 28, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. She was interred at Blandford Cemetary in Petersburg, Virginia beside her second husband Joseph Cotten.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

-  Season 1 Ep 20 "The Spanish Grant" 6 February 1960

January 11th 1919 - June 6th 1993

No Biography available at this time

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Bonanza Episodes:-

-  Season 8 Ep 260 "Joe Cartwright, Detective" 5 March 1967
- "Sheriff" Season 4 Ep 116 "Song in the Dark" 13 January 1963
-  Season 3 Ep 100 "The Miracle Worker" 20 May 1962
-  Season 3 Ep 77 "Day of the Dragon"  3 December 1961
- "Carl Morgan" Season 1 Ep 13 "Vendetta" 5 December 1959

November 4th 1918 - July 6th 1994

Cameron Mitchell was the son of a minister, but chose a different path from his father. Prior to World War II, in which he served as a bombardier, Mitchell appeared on Broadway, and in 1940, an experimental television broadcast, "The Passing of the Third Floor Back". He made his film debut in 1945 in "What Next, Corporal Hargrove" but continued with stage as well as film work. He gained early recognition for his portrayal of Happy in the stage and screen versions of "Death of a Salesman". Still, out of more than three hundred film and television appearances, he is probably best remembered for his work on "The High Chaparral" television series in which he, as the happy-go-lucky Buck Cannon, and Henry Darrow, as Manolito Montoya, stole the show.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Frederick Kyle" Season 1 Ep 18 "House Divided" 16 January 1960

February 14th 1929 - July 23rd 1982

Born in the Bronx, Morrow dropped out of high school at 17 to join the U.S. Navy. When he left the Navy, he used the G.I. Bill to study pre-law at Florida State. While Morrow was working on his degree in Law, he also took part in the school play and found that he preferred stage acting to courtroom acting. When he went to New York, Morrow enrolled in the Actors' Workshop to improve his acting skills. After graduating, he was cast in the summer stock production of "A Streetcar Named Desire". His screen debut came when he was signed by MGM as a tough talking, surly, street punk in Blackboard Jungle (1955). The good news was that he was now in the movies, but the bad news was that he became typecast as the heavy. Disappointed with this casting, Morrow eventually left MGM after a few years and headed back to school to study directing at USC. He made some appearances on television and in 1962 found a role that brought him fame and made him the "hero". That TV series was "Combat!" (1962) and he played Sergeant Chip Saunders, veteran leader of his squad. Due to his demands, the show quickly went from an alternating series between Lt. Hanley and Sgt. Saunders to one showcasing Saunders.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

-  Season 3 Ep 79 "The Tin Badge" 17 December 1961
- "Lassiter" Season 1 Ep 26 "The Avenger" 19 March 1960

N

June 19 1905 - October 25 1994

A disarming character lady quite capable of scene-stealing, Mildred Natwick was a well-rounded talent with distinctively dowdy features and idiosyncratic tendencies who, over a six-decade period, assembled together a number of unforgettable matrons on stage and (eventually) film and TV. Whimsical, feisty, loony, stern, impish, shrewish, quizzical, scheming -- she greatly enhanced both comedies and dramas and, thankfully, her off-centered greatness was captured perfectly on occasion by such film directors as John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock and Neil Simon.

With only the slightest of gesture, look or tone of voice, Mildred's characters could speak volumes and she became an essential character player during the 1970s as an offbeat friend, relative or elderly on TV and film. She was awarded the Emmy for her playing of one of "The Snoop Sisters" (1972) alongside the equally delightful Helen Hayes in the short-lived TV series. She also played Rock Hudson's quirky mother in "McMillan & Wife" (1971) and a notable dying grandmother in a guest appearance of the critically-lauded TV series drama "Family" (1976). Her final film came with a small regal role as Madame de Rosemonde in Dangerous Liaisons (1988) with Glenn Close, John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Mildred was called "Milly" by close friends and family and was the first cousin of Myron 'Grim' Natwick, the creator of Betty Boop for the Max Fleischer cartoon studio and prime animator for Disney's Snow White character

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

-  "Mrs Wharton" Season 10 Ep 17 " Mrs. Wharton and the Lesser Breeds" 19 January 1969

April 3rd, 1942

Carson Wayne Newton, better known as Wayne Newton, is an American singer and entertainer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He performed over 30,000 solo shows in Las Vegas over a period of over 40 years, earning him the nickname Mr. Las Vegas. His best known songs include 1972's "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast", "Years" (1980), his vocal version of "Red Roses for a Blue Lady" (1965), and his signature song, "Danke Schoen" (1963).

He appeared in many films throughout his career, from his debut big screen appearance in 1969's "80 Steps to Jonah" to the 1989 James Bond "License to Kill" as Professor Joe Butcher, the family comedy "National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation" (1997) and the action packed, high stakes thriller "Smokin' Aces" (2006). Newton often appeared onscreen as himself, especially when a role called for an all-around Las Vegas-type superstar - from popular shows like "Roseanne" (ABC, 1988-1997), "Full House" (ABC, 1987-1995),
to "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (NBC, 1990-96).

Newton had a remarkable 25,000th show in 1994, and a lucrative decade-long deal with the Stardust. Newton performed for the very last time at the Stardust on April 20, 2005, telling the audience he ended his contract to spend more time with his family. He underwent treatment for cardiomyopathy, a viral infection of the heart. He recovered by the end of 2007, proving yet again that he was not only an entertainer to millions, but also a true fighter.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com and movies.yahoo.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Andy Walker" Season 7 Ep 28 "The Unwritten Commandment" 10 April 1966

- "Andy Walker" Season 8 Ep 15 "A Christmas Story" 25 December 1966

August 11th 1902 - September 27th 1985

We're still not sure why someone raised and educated in northern California would speak with such a distinctive Bronx accent-but then, this dependable character lead spent half a century confounding both critics who predicted major stardom for him, and audiences who took him for granted even while looking forward to seeing him on-screen. Nolan, who started acting on stage in 1927, most often played contemporary American types. This handsome, easygoing actor found a welcome home in such vintage crime films as "G"-Men (1935), Exclusive, King of Gamblers (both 1937), Dangerous to Know, King of Alcatraz (both 1938),

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

-  "Charles Leduque" Season 1 Ep 24 "The Stranger" 27 February 1960

O

March 15th 1904 - February 27nd 1985

He was born in Burnley, England, and began his acting career in British musical halls. J. Pat came to the USA at the outbreak of World War II, and his film was "Lassie come home (1943). He also worked on the Broadway stage during the 1940s and 1950s.

Receiving radio fame for his versatile voicework, O'Malley carried over this talent into the world of animated cartoons, providing a multitude of vocal characterizations in Disney cartoon features as Alice in Wonderland (1951) and 101 Dalmatians (1961), among others.

J. Pat was a very familiar face on TV sitcoms and dramas for 3 decades, where he played mostly uncle and grandfather types. He made over 100 TV guest appearances, and was in series such as "The Adventures of Spin and Marty" (1955). "The New Adventures of Spin and Marty" (1957), "Witness for the Prosecution (1957), "The Twilight Zone" (1959), "The Untouchables" (1959), "My Favorite Martian" (1963) and Mary Poppins (1965). J. Pat was a kind and gentle man, who made this world a better place for having been here, and he left his legacy on film

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com and hollywood.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Harry Simpson" Season 2 Ep 25 "The Duke" 11 March 1961
- "Clancy" Season 4 Ep 32 "Rich Man, Poor Man" 12 May 1963
- "Big Mac" Season 12 Ep 20 "The Reluctant American" 14 February 1971

SUSAN OLIVER

February 13th 1932 - May 10 1990

No Biography available at this time

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Leta Malvet" Season 1 Ep 17 "The Outcast" 9 January 1960

P

SLIM PICKENS

June 29th 1919 - December 8th 1983

Slim Pickens spent the early part of his career as a real cowboy and the latter part playing cowboys. He is best remembered for a single "cowboy" image: that of bomber pilot Maj. "King" Kong waving his cowboy hat rodeo-style as he rides a nuclear bomb onto its target in the great black comedy Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964).

He was born in Kingsburg, near Fresno in California's Central Valley and spent much of his boyhood in nearby Hanford, where he began rodeoing at the age of 12. Over the next two decades he toured the country on the rodeo circuit, becoming a highly-paid and well-respected rodeo clown, a job that entailed enormous danger. At the age of 31 he was given a role in a western, Rocky Mountain (1950), and quickly found a niche in both comic and villainous roles in that genre. With his hoarse voice and pronounced western twang, he was not always easy to cast outside the genre, but when he was, as in "Dr. Strangelove", the results were often memorable.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Big Jim Leyton" Season 4 Ep 8 "Half a Rogue" 27 January 1963
- "Big Jim Leyton" Season 5 Ep 21 "King Of The Mountain 23 February 1964
- "Sheriff Grant" Season 10 Ep 7 "Catch As Catch Can 27 October 1968
- "Sheriff" Season 11 Ep 27 "What Are Pardners For" 12 April 1970

EDWARD PLATT

February 14th 1916 - March 19th 1974

Character actor Ed Platt (also billed as Edward C. Platt) was born in Staten Island, New York, and inherited an appreciation of music on his mother's side.

Instead of opera, however, Ed first became a band vocalist with Paul Whiteman and Orchestra. He then sang bass as part of the Mozart Opera Company in New York with the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company in 1942, and appeared in the operettas "The Mikado," "The Gondoliers" and "The Pirates of Penzance".

WWII interrupted his early career. Ed served as a radio operator with the army and would find himself on radio again in the post-war years. A number of musical comedy roles also came his way again. In 1947, he made it to Broadway with the musical "Allegro". Star José Ferrer took an interest in Ed while they both were appearing in "The Shrike" on Broadway in 1952. He earned fine notices as James Dean's understanding juvenile officer in the classic film "Rebel Without a Cause (1955). This led to a lot of film and TV support offers portraying a slew of professional and shady types in crime yarns, soap dramas and war pictures - everything from principals and prosecutors to mobsters and murderers.

After years of playing it serious, which included stints on the daytime drama "General Hospital" (1963), Ed finally was able to focus on comedy as "The Chief" to Don Adams klutzy secret agent on "Get Smart" (1965), a show that inevitably found a cult audience. Picking up a few occasional guest spots in its aftermath, he later tried producing. He was married twice and the father of four. He died in 1974 at the age of 58.

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Harvey Bufford" Season 1 Ep 17 "The Outcast" 9 January 1960
- "Wade Colly (as Edward C. Platt)" Season 3, Ep 23 "The Guilty" 25 February 1962
- "Will Flanders" Season 4, Ep 15 "The Colonel" 6 January 1963

R

December 22nd 1922 - September 9th 1999

Roman, and her son Dickie, were first class passengers aboard the Andrea Doria when she collided with the Stockholm and sank in 1956. The two were among almost 1,700 saved in the sinking.She was also famous for dating Ronald Reagan.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

-  "Adah Issics Mencken"  Season 1 Ep 10 "The Magnificent Adah"  14 November 1959

S

January 21st 1924 - January 22nd 1994

American actor Telly Savalas was born into a transplanted Greek family in Garden City, New York. After dropping out of Columbia University, Savalas served in World War II, from which he was discharged with a Purple Heart. Though not a performer himself, Savalas was active in show business with the Information Services of the State Department, which led to a news director post at the ABC network.

In 1959, Savalas attended an audition for the CBS anthology series "Armstrong Circle Theatre," intending to prompt an actor friend who was up for a role. Instead, the casting director took Savalas' sinister demeanor (and bald head) into account and cast him in a character part, which led to other TV assignments. The 1960 television anthology "Witness," though not a ratings success, brought the novice actor a great deal of acclaim for his portrayal of racketeer Lucky Luciano, gaining attention from audiences, producers, and even a few of Luciano's old associates. More TV and movie roles of a slimy-villain nature followed, and then Savalas was cast as Burt Lancaster's fellow Alcatraz inmate in The Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) -- a performance that earned an Oscar nomination.

Many in the industry felt that Savalas had what it took to be a leading man and was quoted as being "one of the funniest men she'd ever met" by Imogene Coca. Still, producers continued to use Savalas as a supporting bad guy. Even in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), Savalas incurred audience hisses as Pontius Pilate. But the role everyone will remember him for is the charismatic, wisecracking police lieutenant, Theo Kojak a character which first appeared in the TV movie The Marcus-Nelson Murders based on a real-life homicide. The actor's fully rounded interpretation of the sarcastic, incorruptible, lollipop-sucking New York detective earned him a full time TV job as the star of the CBS series "Kojak."

Biography sourced from www.blockbuster.com

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Bonanza Episode:-

"Charles Hackett" Season 6 Episode 29 "To Own the World" 18 April 1965

October 1st 1909 - August 6th 1965

After more than a decade as a stage performer and radio actor (one of the medium's finest, appearing on an estimated 15,000 broadcasts), Sloane went to Hollywood with Orson Welles' Mercury Theater group and made his movie debut in Citizen Kane (1941), playing the excitable Mr. Bernstein. An extremely capable and talented supporting player, Sloane also appeared with Welles in Journey Into Fear (1942), The Lady From Shanghai (1948, as Rita Hayworth's husband), and Prince of Foxes (1949). Perhaps his best part was in Patterns (1956), in which he recreated his performance from the Rod Serling teleplay as a ruthlessly pragmatic business executive. He was active on television, and provided the voice of Dick Tracy for a series of early 1960s TV cartoons.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Colonel Scott" Season 6 Ep 192 "Right Is the Fourth R" 7 March 1965
- "Jeb Drummond" Season 1 Ep 22 "Blood on the Land" 13 February 1960

October 6th 1932 - May 6th 1983

In the mid-Fifties, starlight Fay appeared on in YOU BET YOUR LIFE with Groucho Marx. She also guest starred along side Pernell Roberts in an episode of 'The Detectives', 'House Call'.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Sue Ellen Terry" Season 1 Ep 14 "The Sisters" 12 December 1959

March 29th 1902 - January 5th 1977

Son of character actor Houseley Stevenson, brother of costume designer Edward Stevenson and actor Houseley Stevenson Jr. Highly active from mid-1920s at Pasadena Community Playhouse, where his entire family worked frequently as performers, directors, and teachers. Scored a major success on Broadway in "Stage Door" in 1936. Played many leading roles and even more character parts over the years. Although at first a stalwart and reliable figure in films, in later years his career was adversely affected by alcohol. Nevertheless, he was a familiar and respected performer for many years.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Flint Johnson" Season 1 Ep 12 "The Hanging Posse" 28 November 1959

August 29th 1912 - June 6th 1994

No Biography available at this time

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Dayton Fuller" Season 9 Ep 273 "Judgment at Olympus" 8 October 1967
- "Mark Burdette" Season 1 Ep 2 "Death on Sun Mountain" 19 September 1959

February 8th 1956

Katie Sweet was born in Hollywood, California, USA. She started acting at a very young age and played in a.o. The Lucy Show (1962), Bonanza (1963 and 1964), Wagon Train (1963), The Fugitive (1964), Lassie (1964), My Favorite Martian (1965) and Hank (1965).

She retired from acting at the age of 13 and is now married and has two daughters.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com and tvdads.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

November 11th 1937

On stage, she made her Broadway debut opposite "That Girl" (1966) Ted Bessell in "Same Time, Next Year" in 1975 and later replaced Cleo Laine on Broadway in "The Mystery of Edwin Drood". Honored with the Sarah Siddons award for her title role in "Shirley Valentine" (over 1,000 performances) in Chicago.

Arriving in Hollywood in 1970, Loretta merited some attention by lightening up a number of dramas with her humorous, off-centered performances on such TV fare as "Gunsmoke" (1955), "Mission: Impossible" (1966), "Hawaii Five-O" (1968), "Bonanza" (1972) and "Mannix" (1967). Her star-making role, however, came within two years of moving to the West Coast when she inherited Sally Kellerman's vitriolic "Hot Lips" Houlihan movie character for the TV series version of "M*A*S*H" (1972). She stayed with the show the entire eleven seasons and was Emmy-nominated every season the show was on the air (except the first).

She has remained quite active and provided colorful support in a handful of films including S.O.B. (1981), Beer (1985), Whoops Apocalypse (1988), Forest Warrior (1996) and Beach Movie (1998). She also kept up her TV visibility with episodic appearances and occasional mini-movies, including originating the role of "Chris Cagney" in the TV pilot of "Cagney & Lacey: Pilot (#1.0)" (1981). Returning to singing on occasion, she also inherited the Linda Lavin role in the TV version of the stage musical Superman (1975) (TV).

She has more recently toured in productions of "The Vagina Monologues" and played the musical title role of "Mame" in 2003. Loretta also was a five-season host of the 1992 cable-TV wildlife series "Those Incredible Animals" (1992).

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Ellen Sue Greely" Season 13 Ep 25 "A Visit To Upright" 26 March 1972

T

February 26th, 1907 - October 3rd, 1994

Veteran character actor who was famed for his thick Southern drawl and squat, grizzled appearance. His film career began with an audition for director Frank Capra, who was casting the nutty family in You Can't Take It With You (1938). Capra later described him as "a merry oaf wearing a perpetual infectious grin as big as a sunburst." Taylor played "Dinah" on the xylophone, and Capra cast him on the spot as Ann Miller's husband-keeping the xylophone as part of his "business." He was a semi-regular on "Little House on the Prairie," and a frequent guest star on "Gunsmoke," which featured his son, the Western artist and actor Buck Taylor, as a regular cast member.

Biography sourced from www.imdb & "Great Character Actors"

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Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Luke Calhoun" Season 13 Ep 401 "Easy Come, Easy Go" 12 December 1971
- "Otto" Season 12 Ep 389 "An Earthquake Called Callahan" 11 April 1971
- "Luke Calhoun" Season 11 Ep 359 "The Horse Traders" 5 April 1970
- "Luke Calhoun" Season 11 Ep 342 "Meena" 9 November 1969
- "Simon" Season 9 Ep 283 "The Gold Detector" 24 December 1967
- "Barlow" Season 8 Ep 251 "Ponderosa Explosion" 1 January 1967

RICHARD THOMAS

June 13th 1951

Richard Thomas was seven years old when he made his first Broadway appearance in Sunrise at Campobello (1958). The wide-eyed, mole-cheeked, sensitive-looking Thomas soon found himself very much in demand for television roles. He was seen in the distinguished company of Julie Harris, Christopher Plummer and Hume Cronyn in a 1959 TV presentation of Ibsen's "A Doll's House". He worked as a regular on the daytime soap operas As the World Turns and Flame in the Wind, and co-starred with Today Show announcer Jack Lescoulie in the captivating 1961 Sunday-afternoon "edutainment" series 1-2-3 Go.

While attending Columbia University, Thomas made his theatrical-film debut in Downhill Racer, then settled into a series of unpleasant, psychologically disturbed characters in films like " You'll Like My Mother (1971) and such TV series as Bracken's World. In 1971.

Thomas was cast as John-Boy Walton in the Earl Hamner-scripted TV movie The Homecoming. Though there would be a number of cast changes before The Homecoming metamorphosed into the weekly series "The Waltons" in 1972, Thomas was retained as John-Boy, earning a 1973 Emmy for his performance and remaining in the role until only a few months before the series' cancellation in 1981. During the Waltons years, Thomas starred in several well-mounted TV movies, including the 1979 remake of "All Quiet on the Western Front".

Ever seeking opportunities to expand his range, Thomas has sunk his teeth into such roles as the self-destructive title character in "Living Proof: The Hank Williams Jr. Story" (1983) and the amusingly sanctimonious Rev. Bobby Joe in the satirical "Glory! Glory!". In 1980, Thomas made his first Broadway appearance in over two decades as the paralyzed protagonist of Whose Life is It Anyway. Notable later roles have included a turn as Bill Denbrough in Stephen King's It (1990), an appearance in Curtis Hanson's 2000 drama Wonder Boys .

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com & www.starpulse.com

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Bonanza Credits Include:

- "Billy" Season 12 Ep 3 "The Weary Willies" 27 September 1970

U

V

W

GREGORY WALCOTT

January 13th, 1929 - March 20, 2015

Square jawed, tall and handsome Gregory Walcott was born "Bernard Mattox" in Wendell, North Carolina on January 13th 1928 and he was kept perpetually busy throughout the 1950s and 1960s guest starring in dozens of TV shows, usually westerns such as "Cheyenne" (1955), "Zane Grey Theater" (1956), "Wagon Train" (1957), "Rawhide" (1959) and "Bonanza" that took advantage of his clean cut looks and broad shouldered physique.

Walcott was also seen in feature films such as "Mister Roberts" (1955), "Badman's Country" (1958), "Plan 9 from Outer Space" (1959) and "Prime Cut" (1972). In the 1970's he turned up in roles in a string of Clint Eastwood films, usually getting on the wrong side of the the taciturn Eastwood. Walcott was an inept Western sheriff in "Joe Kidd" (1972), a naive used car salesman falling prey to Jeff Bridges sob story scam in "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" (1974), a wannabe assassin niggling Eastwood in "The Eiger Sanction" (1975) and a pompous police officer on the receiving end of Eastwood's fast fists in "Every Which Way But Loose" (1978). Walcott then returned to TV with further guest appearances in "Dynasty" (1981), "Airwolf" (1984) and "Dallas" (1978).

Most recently Walcott was back on screen as a potential film backer in the Tim Burton ode to Hollywood's director, Ed Wood (1994).

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

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Bonanza credits include:

- "Farmer Perkins", Season 1, Ep 32 "Death At Dawn", 30 April 1960
- "Danny Morgan", Season 4, Ep 16 "Song in the Dark", 13 January 1963
- "Capt. John Fenner, Season 8, Ep 22 "Amigo", 12 February 1967
- "Sherrif Crowley", Season 10, Ep 16 "My Friend, My Enemy", 12 January 1969
- "Wade Turner", Season 11, Ep 10 "A Darker Shadow", 23 November 1969
- "Ed Thornton", Season 12, Ep 8 "Thornton's Account" 1 November 1970
- "Will Cooper", Season 14, Ep 4 "Riot", 3 October 1972

DAWN WELLS

October 18th, 1938

Dawn Elberta Wells was born on October 18, 1938 in Reno, Nevada.
Dawn moved to Hollywood and got roles in several television series like "77 Sunset Strip", "Maverick and "Bonanza after that she got the role of Mary Ann Summers on CBS's "Gilligan's Island" (1964).

After the show ended 40 years ago she has never been out of work. She has performed in over 66 theatrical productions, including the National Touring Company of "They're Playing Our Song!" She has done countless voice-overs, commercials and talk shows. She worked for the Australian news show "Midday" and interviewed such talents as Julia Roberts, Eddie Murphy and Tom Hanks, to name a few.

Dawn has also had great success as a producer and has a number of television movies to her credit. She had a new project in the works for release in 2005

In 1998, she founded the Dawn Wells' Film Actors Boot Camp in Driggs, Idaho. The camp is for the already trained actor looking to make the transition from the amateur to the professional actor. Wells still runs the camp to this day. She also mentors young actors and travels to colleges all across the United States to teach Master Classes.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

Click here for Online Credits & more info

Bonanza Credits Include:

- "Marty Johnson", Season 4 Ep 6 "The Way Station", 28 October 1962
- "Moon Holt", Season 9, Ep 18 "The Burning Sky", 28 January 1968

PETER WHITNEY

May 24, 1916 - March 30, 1972

Peter Whitney, a burly character actor, worked under contract to Warner Bros from 1941 to 1945. During those years, Whitney spent much of the time loaned out, playing a variety of rolls as a half-wit thugs and henchmen.  His greatest success came when he was cast as twins, Mert and Bert Fleagle in the 1944 film classic, Murder He Says.

Partial film credits include: Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970), Savage Wilderness (1956), The Big Heat (1953) and Living Christ Series, The Boyhood and Baptism – Volume 3 (1951)

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

Click here for Online Credits & more info

Bonanza Credits Include:

- Season 2 Ep 34 "The Mission"
- Season 9 Ep 294  "Commitment at Angelus"

- Season 13 Ep 399 "The Iron Butterfly"

August 18th, 1930 - July 28th, 1985

As a child, Williams acted in summer stock productions. After graduation from high school he joined the Air Force for a four-year stint. Then returning to New York, he took acting classes with Lee Strasberg. A few minor Broadway roles followed in parts on some live TV dramas. One of these parts caught the eye of a talent agent and Williams signed with Universal in 1956. Universal put him into several supporting roles most notably as the gas-station stud in "Written on the Wind" (1956) but the high point of his career came when he played the title role in "The Incredible Shrinking Man" (1957). Director Jack Arnold said that Williams gave an Oscar-worthy performance because, in many special-effects scenes, he could only imagine his surroundings and his fellow actors. In 1959 Williams moved over to Warner Brothers which cast him in the "Hawaiian Eye" TV series.

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

Click here for Online Credits & more info

Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Albert 'Patch' Saunders" Season 6 Ep 202 "Patchwork Man" 23 May 1965
- "Tyler" Season 1 Ep 25 "Escape to the Ponderosa" 5 March 1960

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February 6, 1917

Zsa Zsa Gabor, is better known for her many marriages, personal appearances, her "dahlink" catchphrase, her actions, life gossip, and quotations on men, rather than her film career. It is unclear as to Zsa Zsa's birth year: sources vary from 1917 to 1919. Born in Budapest, Hungary, as Sari Gabor, she followed her sister Eva Gabor to Hollywood, California. A radiant, beautiful blonde, Zsa Zsa began appearing on television series and doing odd movies.

Her first film was at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in "Lovely to Look at(1952), co-starring Kathryn Grayson and Red Skelton. She next made a comedy called "We're Not Married! (1952) at 20th Century Fox, with Ginger Rogers. However, it was in 1952 that saw her break into movies big time occurred, with her starring role opposite José Ferrer in "Moulin Rouge" (1952), directed by John Huston.

In the following years, Zsa Zsa played supporting roles in films such as "Lili" (1953) and "3 Ring Circus (1954). Her main period of film work was in the 1950s, with other roles in "Death of a Scoundrel" (1956) with Yvonne De Carlo and "The Man Who Wouldn't Talk" (1958) with Anna Neagle. By the 1960s, Zsa Zsa was appearing more as herself in the movies. She now appeared to follow her own persona around in films such as "Pepe" (1960) and "Jack of Diamonds (1967). This has continued throughout the 1970s decade.

She was very memorable as herself in "The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991), in which she humorously pokes fun at an incident. She was also memorable to British television viewers on "The Ruby Wax Show" (1997).

Biography sourced from www.imdb.com

Click here for Online Credits & more info

Bonanza Episodes:-

- "Madame Marova" Season 8 Ep 33 "Maestro Hoss" 7 May 1967

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LEWIS ALLEN

December 25th, 1905 - January 1, 1986

Lewis Allen moved to Hollywood during World War II after spending several years as a
stage actor and director. Once in Hollywood Allen apprenticed at Paramount Pictures. His first directorial effort at Paramount was "The Uninvited (1943). It was one of the best and most plausible ghost stories ever to come out of an American studio.

Allen directed several Bonanza episodes, including The Witness, Riot, One Ace Too Many, Second Sight, Frenzy, and many more.

Click here for Online Credits & more info

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April 17th, 1909 - May 30th, 2003

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Click here to read Andy Klyde's biography page about Haskell "Buzzy" Boggs.

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November 29th, 1919 - January 1st, 1996

Virgil W. Vogel began his career at Universal in 1940, as an assistant editor. He worked as an editor for many years, although by the mid-50s he had begun to tire of the job and pressed Universal executive Ed Muhl for a shot at directing. Vogel was handed "The Mole People" (1956) with John Agar, and his capable handling of that film led to other assignments at the studio. Vogel later directed many made-for-television movies as well as episodes of TV's "Bonanza, " "Wagon Train, " "M Squad, " "The Six Million Dollar Man, " "Mission: Impossible", "Quantum Leap", "Spenser: For Hire" and many others.

(Biography source: www.imdb.com)

Click here for Online Credits & more info

Bonanza Credits Include:-

"Devil on Her Shoulder", "The Return", "Right Is the Fourth R" and "To Own the World"

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