Cinema Magazine

Bonanza – A Western Legend

Franck Benedittini — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:39:17 +0000

Bonanza is a very famous and successful American western, action TV series, which aired for fourteen seasons continuously (from 1959 till 1973).

This popular TV show followed the Cartwright family on weekly basis, and viewers just couldn’t get enough of their interesting adventures and life changing events. Central figure was Ben Cartwright who had three sons, from three different wives (and unfortunately, they have all passed away). Ben was raising his sons to be honest and kind people and his family included: oldest one - Adam (who worked as urbane architect), Eric whose nickname was Hoss (he was very kind and generous) and the youngest child Joseph also known as the Little Joe. Another important part of the family was Hop Sing, their Chinese cook, who was also one of the most important figures in the show.

Bonanza had a very simple plot, following Ben Cartwright and his three sons, as they deal with everyday problems and try to look after themselves, their friends and neighbours, and of course - their land. Their ranch was called Ponderosa (in Nevada) and it was positioned on the Tahoe Lake. The whole show was taking place on their ranch or at the nearest town – Virginia City, where the family went to see their local Sheriff – Roy and his sidekick deputy Clem Foster.

Actors Lorne Greene (who played Ben), Pernell Roberts (who played Adam), Dan Blocker (in the role of Hoss) and Michael Landon (who portrayed Little Joe) were true superstars at the time. Even the opening credits (at the beginning) were rotated every week, so that each actor’s name comes first the equal amount of times.

As the show was growing and developing, each episode was focused on one or two men from the Cartwright family (while others were just mentioned at the beginning or the end of an episode) which gave actors the opportunity to work on other projects at the same time or at least have some time off. Also, this way, each character had a chance to be fully developed in the show.

At the beginning of this famous show, the character of Ben was recalling each of his three wives, in flashbacks, showing that he was truly in love with each and every one of them, but was left heartbroken every time. First love he had died from a malady, second wife was slain and the last one he loved left him for another man. Every time he had to stay strong for the kids, and every time no matter how hard it was, he managed to pick up the pieces and move on.

Bonanza was a TV show developed by NBC, and one of their first programmes filmed and broadcasted in colour. When the airing started, Bonanza had a strong on screen rival Perry Mason, and first ratings were very disappointing. The show was almost cancelled, when NBC executives gave it another chance, by switching the sponsor (Chevrolet took over) and moving the show to another airing time – Sundays at 9 p.m.

The TV show gained much more audience and soon reached number one rating in the mid sixties. Soon, Bonanza exploded and became a TV show which stayed among five most viewed TV shows for over nine seasons in a row (until 1971, when it eventually fell out of this precious top 5 spot).

During 1972 TV show Bonanza got another airing time – Tuesday, and that was the day when CBS started airing their popular sitcom Maude. This was the first big shock for the viewers, and the second one was death of one of most popular actors Dan Blocker. These two things led to a logical ratings breakdown, but the network decided to go on with the show. David Canary returned to Bonanza, and new character was added – Griff King (portrayed by an actor Tim Matheson). The character of Griff King was added to draw back the younger audience, and he was a man who nearly murdered his over abusive stepdad and ended up on parole, working for Ben Cartwright.

Even this wasn’t enough to save the show from being cancelled so it finally happened in 1973, in January. Fans were devastated but it was more than clear that Dan Blocker couldn’t be replaced and that his character Hoss was the essence of the show.

Bonanza was truly a legendary TV show, and it certainly influenced and changed the perception of TV series in the whole world. Even its main music theme became legendary, and it is (even today) one of the most memorable music themes made and developed for TV. Authors are Jay Livingston and Ray Evans.

Another thing this TV show was known for was the set. The first set (Virginia City) was used till 1970, and was positioned at Paramount studios. Afterwards the crew switched to another shooting location, a cheaper one, placed in Warner Studios. (The show was shot there for 3 years) Nevada set (showing the Ponderosa Ranch) was placed and built in Incline Village, and stayed a real tourist attraction until it was sold in 2004.

Since Bonanza was very famous show all over the world, it was more than suitable for development of various merchandising things. Bonanza merchandise included: folk music albums, a chain of Bonanza inspired restaurants and steakhouses, action figures, plates, novels, posters, magazines, books, clothes, and even lunch boxes and buckets.

Another thing that viewers loved was the costumes used in Bonanza. Every character war the same outfit, in each episode, and became recognized in that clothing combination. For instance Ben was always in his shirt and gray pants, wearing his cream hat and sometimes a scarf (in green). Adam was always in black, looking elegant and a bit upper class, Hoss was in white and brown with a huge hat while Little Joe wore gray and green with leather gloves. They always looked the same and the audience loved it.

Bonanza really set the new standards in the range of TV shows, and is still remembered as one of the most popular series of all times.

Watch All 31 Free Episodes of "Bonanza" on FMO.

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Mary Jane Croft, One of the World's Most Famous Best Friends

Franck Benedittini — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Mary Jane Croft was born in 1916 in Muncie, Indiana. Her career began while she was still a teenager, on the stage at the Muncie Civic Theatre. She then joined the Guild Theatre Company in Cincinnati, going from there to WLW, a radio station/production company that produced many radio programs. She had radio roles in many productions including The Adventures of Sam Spade, Blondie, The Mel Blanc Show and Our Miss Brooks.

While with the radio station, she met and married Jack Zoller and the pair moved to Los Angeles in 1939. Despite her extremely busy schedule with radio and later television, she too time off to have a son, Eric, in 1944.

As radio was brushed aside for the new medium of television, Mary Jane made the transition with ease. She was a guest star in many television shows as well as having a regular role on Our Miss Brooks when it crossed over to television and also as the talkative neighbor, Clara Randolph, on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.

Our Miss Brooks was produced for television by a newly formed production company, Desilu Productions owned by Lucille Ball and her Cuban bandleader husband, Desi Arnaz. The company's first show, I Love Lucy, was America's most popular television series at the time and Mary Jane made her first guest appearance on the show in 1954. She played an old friend of Luci's from high school, Cynthia Harcourt. Mary Jane was to play Luci's friend many more times throughout all the various sitcoms she produced and starred in.

Mary Jane's personal life took a beating during the early fifties as her marriage to Jack Zoller fell apart and two ended up divorcing. By the late fifties, however, she began dating an old friend from the radio days, Elliot Lewis. He was divorced, also, and the two found themselves to have much in common. They married in 1960 and were together until Lewis passed way in 1991. Their marriage was considered by many to be one of the happiest ones in show business. This is probably what helped her through the pain of losing her only son when he was killed in the Vietnam War.

Despite ten years playing in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Mary Jane's longest running role, she is still remembered best for being one of Luci's best friends throughout the 60s. She played neighbor, Betty Ramsey the last season of I Love Lucy but really came into her own as a comedic foil to Lucille Ball's wackiness in The Lucy Show-with Vivian Vance, Lucille Ball, Mary Jane Crof-. Mary Jane played two different characters in that series, actually. During the first half of the show's run, she played Luci and Viv's friend but when the format changed after Vivian Vance left the show in 1965, Mary Jane was brought back as Mary Jane Lewis, Luci's rather ditzy next-door neighbor in California. She continued as Mary Jane in Lucille Ball's next show, Here's Lucy, and played in that role until the show ended in 1974.

Mary Jane continued to act after Here's Lucy, however she didn't have any further outstanding roles and played mostly guest spots. When her beloved husband died in 1991, Mary Jane finally retired from show business and lived a quiet life until she herself passed away in 1999.

Watch Free "The Lucy Show" episodes on FMO

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Gale Gordon, Mr. Mooney Himself

Franck Benedittini — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Born in 1906 as Charles T. Aldrich, Jr., Gale Gordon had show business in his genes. His mother was the English actress Gloria Gordon and his father was Charles Aldrich, a big star of vaudeville. With a background like that and an entertainment atmosphere to grow up in, there is little chance that Gordon would not end up in show business himself.

He began in radio and became highly respected within the industry. His first big role in radio was as Mayor La Trivia on the very popular radio show, Fibber McGee and Molly. Later he played Rumson Bullard on the spin-off radio show, The Great Gildersleeve, but this show never achieved the huge following that the parent show enjoyed.

He played many radio roles through the years before television became the standard in American homes. He was the very first to play Flash Gordon in the first serial with that character in 1935, The Amazing Interplanetary Adventures of Flash Gordon. Gordon worked on The Wonder Show, with Jack Haley and Lucille Ball, from 1938 to 39. He played John Granby in 1950 for the radio show Granby's Green Acres (the inspiration to the 60s sitcom, Green Acres). Gordon became Osgood Conklin, the pompous school principal in Out Miss Brooks and he continued to play that role in television once the show came to that medium.

He had worked with Lucille Ball and her husband, Desi Arnaz, for a time on one of their early shows, My Favorite Husband, and Gordon was their first choice to play the role of the landlord, Fred Mertz, in their new sitcom, I Love Lucy. Unfortunately, he was under contract to Out Miss Brooks and had to turn down the role. He did end up making two guest appearances on the show as Ricky's boss at the Tropicana Club.

Gordon had several guest star and co-starring roles in television shows over the next several years before ending up taking over the role of Mr. Wilson in Dennis the Menace when the original actor died. In 1962, when Lucille Ball developed another series, The Lucy Show, he was again her first choice as a co-star but Gordon was still under contract as Mr. Wilson and had to turn it down. However, when that show ended, Gordon joined the cast of The Lucy Show -with Lucille Ball, Vivian Vance, Mary Jane Crof- as the inimitable Mr. Mooney, the banker employer of Lucille Ball's zany character, Lucy Carmichael.

Gordon stayed with Lucille Ball through the rest of the series and then joined her again with her next series, Here's Lucy. This time Gordon played Lucy's brother-in-law and boss at an employment agency. While the character's name and job changed, the chemistry and bouncing off each other that began with The Lucy Show continued in Here's Lucy.

After Here's Lucy ended, Gordon retired from show business although he did come back for her attempted television series comeback in the 1980s called Life With Lucy. Gale Gordon's entire career intertwined with Lucille Ball in some way as he either guest starred or co-starred in every radio or television series she had done after the 1940s – he is the only actor or actress to have this distinction.

Gordon died in 1995 of lung cancer, just one month after the passing of his wife of over half a century. He has since been inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame and given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Despite all of his roles in radio and television through the years, none made him as famous as the role of Mr. Mooney and that is how he is best remembered today.

Watch Free "The Lucy Show" episodes on FMO

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Vivian Vance, the Quintessential Sidekick

Franck Benedittini — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Born in Cherryvale, Kansas as Vivian Roberta Jones, Vivian was part of a large family with five siblings and a very religious mother. The family moved to Independence, Kansas when she was six, where she grew up. She began to be involved in drama while in high school and she loved acting. However, this was not in line with her mother's strict views and Vivian began to rebel against the restrictions. When she was old enough to leave home, she changed her name to Vance and moved to Oklahoma to pursue an acting career.

She worked in theater extensively throughout her career, particularly in the 30s and 40s. She was in numerous Broadway shows, although never in the lead role, including Anything Goes, Hooray for What!, It Takes Two and The Cradle Will Rock. She was to make the crossover to television in 1951 when director Marc Daniels recommended her to Luci and Desi Arnaz for their new show, I Love Lucy. Daniels had worked with Vance in a theater production and felt she would be perfect for the part of the landlady, Ethel Mertz.

Lucille Ball wasn't sold on the idea of Vance in the part but Daniels took her husband, Desi, to see Vivian Vance perform in The Voice of the Turtle. Desi was convinced that Vance would suit the part after seeing her performance but Luci still wasn't convinced. In the end, when Luci couldn't get the actress she initially wanted she agreed and Vivian Vance became Ethel Mertz, the role that was to project her into the hearts and minds of America and the world.

The series launched Vivian Vance's television career but the show was not without it's problems. Her husband on the show, Fred Mertz, was played by actor William Frawley who was 22 years older than Vance. From the incredible chemistry they shared on screen, you would never guess that they couldn't stand each other in reality. Vivian Vance would complain that Frawley was too old to play her husband and was heard calling him “stubborn-headed little Irishman”. Those who were on the inside tell tales of Frawley taking an almost instant dislike of Vance, as well. She did end up forming a lifelong friendship with Lucille Ball during the show, however.

Vivian Vance was the recipient of the first Emmy Award to be given for Outstanding Supporting Actress when that category was added in 1954. She was nominated but didn't win the award three more times during the run of the I Love Lucy show. She went on to continue working with Lucille Ball in future shows, including several years on The Lucy Show-with Lucille Ball, Gale Gordon, Mary Jane Crof-

Her personal life was rocky, even while her fame increased. She finally married for the fourth time in 1961 and remained married to John Dodds, a literary agent, until her death from bone cancer in 1979. In 1991, Vivian Vance was given a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and also figures prominently in the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center in Luci's hometown of Jamestown, New York.

Watch Free "The Lucy Show" episodes on FMO

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Lucille Ball, Everyone's Favorite Redhead

Franck Benedittini — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:51:01 +0000

Lucille Ball was born in Jamestown, New York on August 6, 1911. Due to her father's job, she moved several times while she was still a toddler. Her mother was pregnant with Lucille's younger brother, Frederick, when her father died of typhoid fever in 1915. Lucille's mother moved in with her parents and so Lucille and her brother were raised by both their mother and their grandparents.

Lucille's grandfather, Fred Hunt, was to be one of the greatest influences on young Lucille as he encouraged her to participate in school plays and to even create her own. He often took the entire family to vaudeville shows, instilling a love for that genre in Lucille from a young age.

When Lucille Ball was 16, she developed an affection for a known gangster's son named Johnny DeVita. Her mother quickly sent her to the John Murray Anderson School for the Dramatic Arts in New York City in an attempt to nip the youthful relationship in the bud. Lucille met Bette Davis while at the school and attended for a short time until her drama coaches informed her that she “had no future at all as a performer”. One has to wonder what those coaches thought as she became so famous later on.

Lucille didn't let their low opinion of her abilities stop her. She returned to New York City two years later determined to make it. She started off as a fashion model but that brief career was halted when she developed rheumatoid arthritis and couldn't work at all for the next two years. When she was better in 1932, she again began working towards her goal of being an actress in New York City. She was a model for the designer, Hattie Carnegie and also became the Chesterfield cigarette girl for a time.

She started in theater on Broadway using the stage name of Diane Belmont but her theater career never did very well. She was hired by Earl Carroll but was fired shortly after. She then was taken on a touring company of Rio Rita by Florenz Ziegfeld – who also fired Lucille. She was hired for the Shubert brothers production of the play, Stepping Stones, but again was let go from the cast. Finally she appeared in Roman Scandals in 1933 as one of the Goldwyn Girls but that was an uncredited role.

At that point, Lucille Ball switched her sights to Hollywood and a film career. She had many small film roles throughout the rest of the decade including movies with the Marx Brothers, Three Stooges and films with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. From those days, Lucille and Ginger struck up a friendship that was to last the rest of their lives.

Lucille was signed to a contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 40s but never managed to become a big star. She did have many lead roles in B-movies such as Five Came Back (1939) and came to be called the “Queen of the B's” for a while in Hollywood circles. In order to supplement her meager income and get some exposure, Lucille started picking up some radio roles. She was regular on The Phil Baker Show in 1937 and when that production ended in 1938, she joining The Wonder Show. The show's announcer was Gale Gordon and that was the beginning of a half century working together on various projects.

Lucille met her future husband, Desi Arnaz, in 1940, while filming Too Many Girls. The pair eloped just a few months later which the media made much over. According to all reports, the couple argued often, particularly over his frequent affairs with other women, but they would always make up afterwards. Unable to serve in the Armed Forces due to a knee injury, Desi instead organized and performed USO shows for the wounded soldiers coming back from the war. Also in 1940, Lucille starred with Henry Fonda in The Big Street, a role that she got good reviews for despite the film not being a big winner.

Lucille split from Desi and filed for divorce in 1944 but the couple reconciled. Lucille had a starring role in My Favorite Husband, a popular radio show for CBS Radio. The show was so successful that CBS asked Lucille to come up with a television version. Lucille and Desi formed their own production company, Desilu Productions, and made a pilot episode with themselves as the stars. CBS hesitated to pick up the show because they feared the reception to a mixed ethnic couple.

This didn't stop Lucille as she knew the potential of the show so she and Desi instead made it into a vaudeville act and took it on the road. The tour was rousing success and CBS decided to put the new show, I Love Lucy, on the air. That was the start of a television career that was to finally make Lucille the star she had always wanted to be. She was part of many firsts in the television industry along the way.

Lucille divorced Desi in 1960 after having two children, Desi Jr and Lucie. She was the first woman to head a production company after she bought out Desi's share of Desilu Productions. She married Gary Morton a year later and they were together until her death. While they didn't have any children together, those who knew the couple well said they had a very happy marriage.

There is obviously only so much that can be covered in one article but in this case, more is left out than included because Lucille Ball had such a long and rich career. When she passed away from an aortic aneurysm in 1989, at the age of 77, the entire world mourned the passing of a television legend. The television series' produced with her name still show in syndication despite being over fifty years old. I Love Lucy -with Vivian Vance, Gale Gordon, Mary Jane Crof- became a household name and also a tribute to the woman who created it. We still love you, Lucy!

Watch Free "The Lucy Show" episodes on FMO

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