Before the boom of series on streaming services, NBC launched in 1959 “Bonanza”fiction starring Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker and a young Michael Landon. The show took us to meet the Cartwright family, who with Ben, Adam, Hoss and Joe ran their ranch called La Ponderosa.
Throughout the series, a saying became popular in the plot, which talked about the three women who were the mother of Ben’s children: “Every time one of the Cartwrights was attracted to a woman, she died.”
But with the story – retaining its popularity over the years – few remember or have seen the final chapter of Bonanza, one that divided the public for being short and without giving much context to the fate of the Cartwrights.
The end of “Bonanza”: “The Hunter” (Season 14, Episode 16)
Under the name “The Hunter”, “Bonanza” released its final chapter on January 16, 1973. The installment placed Joe (Landon) doing business. On his journey he meets Colonel Bill Tanner, who turns out to be a war-affected man who enjoys stalking his victims before killing them.
After robbing Joe, he tells him that he will be his last victim and that he intends to finish him off. Without his father or his brothers near him, the youngest of the Cartwright must rely on his wits and intuition to defeat Tanner.
Thanks to his cunning and after an intense fight, Joe manages to capture Tanner and leaves him locked in an abandoned house. In this place, Bill loses his mind, has a heart attack and dies. The next day, the protagonist is found by a man who tells him that he passed by. “Bonanza” thus ends its time on television.
In this way the series was closed, which, for 14 seasons and 430 chapters, gave joy to its viewers. Perhaps for many it was not the conclusion that was expected, but the departure of Pernell Roberts, who played Adam, in 1965 it was only the beginning of the fall of “Bonanza”.
Pernell Roberts played Adam Cartwright. He was alone until season 7 of the series. Photo: NBC
Everything would get worse in 1972, when Dan Blocker, Hoss, has died at the age of 43 of a pulmonary thromboembolism during a routine intervention. This event affected the cast and the fans. The series would culminate in 1973.
Dan Blocker played Hoss, the charismatic son of Ben Cartwright Photo: NBC
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