Bonanza Brand Episode Guide: Season 10

Season 10 Episode Guide
Episodes 304- 333

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Welcome to the BonanzaBrand Episode Guide!

Episodes appear in order of original air date which may not coincide with when they were actually filmed.

Episode #304
Different Pines, Same Wind
September 15, 1968
An old woman thinks Joe is after her land when he actually wants her out of the hands of a destructive strip miner.
Written by: Suzanne Clauser
Directed by: Leon Benson
Guest Stars: Carrie Picket(Irene Tedrow), Doc(John Randolph), Jason Milburn(Herbert Voland), Jenks(G. D. Spradlin), Marks(George Murdock), Bartender(John Wheeler).

Trivia: This was Irene Tedrow's third of five appearances in the series. Never a regular series player, Tedrow is probably best remembered as the kindly Mrs. Elkins who appeared occasionally on the series "Dennis the Menace."

Episode #305
Child
September 22, 1968
While Hoss is in a remote town on business, he is arrested for murder and robbery.
Written by: Jack B. Sowards
Directed by: Leon Benson
Guest Stars: Child Barnett(Yaphet Kotto), Sheriff Miller(John Marley), Mayor Bringham(Harry Hickox), Charlie Matson(Henry Beckman).

Trivia: This was Yaphet Kotto's first and only appearance in the series. He is the son of a Camaroonian Crown Prince. He turned down the role of Lando Calrissian in 'Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back' (1980). He feared that Lando would be killed in the movie, and that he would be forever typecast.

Episode #306
Salute to Yesterday
September 29, 1968
The Cartwright's and Candy try to hold off Mexican Bandits. Candy discovers his ex-wife is with the group of soldiers.
Written by: John Hawkins
Directed by: Leon Benson
Guest Stars: Captain Harris(Pat Conway), Ann Harris(Sandra Smith), Sergeant Ordy(John Kellogg), Angel Montana(Carlos Rivas), Corporal Jensen(Troy Melton), Rio(Rudy Diaz), Rojo(Pepe Callahan), Trooper Kelly(Richard Lapp).

Trivia: Pat Conway makes his last appearance, this time as Captain Harris, previously seen in "The Lonely Runner" and in "The Gentle Ones". Sandra Smith makes her first appearance, as Candy's ex-wife, now, Mrs. Ann Harris, later seen in "A Darker Shadow".

Episode #307
The Real People of Muddy Creek
October 6, 1968
Ben is in charge of a vicious prisoner and gets no help from the cowardly citizens of the town where he is holding him for trial.
Written by: Alf Harris
Directed by: Leon Benson
Guest Stars: Luke Harper(Joe Don Baker), Lawson(Clifton James), Casey Collins(Jean Hale), Mrs. Walker(Ann Doran), Tommy(Mitch Vogel)

Trivia: Mitch Vogel makes his first appearance on the series, later to return in Season 12 as series regular Jamie Hunter.

Episode #308
The Passing of A King
October 13, 1968
The son of a rancher to whom the Cartwrights are selling a prize bull is trying to get his father ruled mentally incompetant.
Written by: B.W. Sandefur
Directed by: Leon Benson
Guest Stars: Jeremy Roman(Jeremy Slate), Claude Roman(Denver Pyle), Mary Roman(Diana Muldar), Judge Rideout(Dan Tobin), Ballenger(Russ Conway), Harrison(Jack Searl), Sheriff(K. L. Smith), Carver(Larry Ward)

Trivia: This was Denver Pyle's 6th of 8 appearances in the series. He was originally cast to play Matt Dillon on "Gunsmoke" (1955) when James Arness turned down the first request to audition for the role.

Episode #309
The Last Vote
October 20, 1968
Ben sends the boys into town and they learn about an upcoming election. After a hefty bet is made between the two brothers on the outcome , they become campaign managers.
Written by: Robert Vincent Wright
Directed by :Joseph Pevney
Guest Stars: Titus Simpson(Tom Bosley), Phineas Burke(Wally Cox), Judge Clampton(Robert Emhardt), Clem(Bing Russell)

Trivia: This was Wally Cox's second and last appearance in the series. Cox was a childhood friend and sometime roommate of Marlon Brando. Upon his death, Brando was chosen to spread Cox's cremated ashes. Brando took possession of Cox's ashes from his widow in order to scatter them at sea but actually kept them hidden in a closet at his house and frequently talked to them. The Los Angeles Times on September 22, 2004, quoted Brando's son, Miko, to the effect that both his father's and Cox's ashes were scattered at the same time in Death Valley, California, following Brando's death.

Episode #310
Catch As Catch Can
October 27, 1968
Everything goes wrong for the Cartwrights and Candy in the town of Tinbucket, where rumor has it, the Ponderosa is broke.
Written by: David Lang
Directed by: Robert L. Friend
Guest Stars:: Amos Parker(Paul Richards), Sheriff(Slim Pickens), Rice(Robert Yuro), Tingle(Arthur Malet)

Trivia: This was Paul Richards' third and final appearance in the series. This was also Slim Pickens' fourth and final appearance in the series. He was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1982.

Episode #311
Little Girl Lost
November 3, 1968
Life on the ranch is disrupted by the arrival of a young girl who happens to be related to the Cartwrights.
Written by: Michael Fessier
Directed by: Don Richardson
Guest Stars: Samantha Dorcas(Linda Sue Risk), Martha Cartwright Dorcas(Antoinette Bower), Calvin Dorcas(George Mitchell)

Trivia: This was George Mitchell's third and final appearance on the series.

Episode #312
The Survivors
November 10, 1968
A white woman abducted years before by the Paiutes is reunited with her husband, who is less than pleased to learn she has given birth to an Indian baby.
Written by: S. H. Barnett, Colin MacKenzie, John Hawkins
Directed by: Leon Benson
Guest Stars: Alicia Purcell(Mariette Hartley), Wayne Purcell(John Carter), Mayor Anderson(Martin Ashe), Elizabeth Bowan(Harriet Medina)

Trivia: This is Mariette Hartley's second of four appearances in the series. Mariette was not allowed to show her belly button in Gene Roddenberry's "Star Trek" (1966) episode "All Our Yesterdays" (1969) due to censors. But Gene got even: he had Mariette show TWO belly buttons in Genesis II (1973).

Episode #313
The Sound of Drums
November 17, 1968
In the third and final installment of the Rossi family, Georgio Rossi doesn't understand why he cannot allow Indians who have left the reservation to live on his land.
Written by: William F. Leicester
Directed by: Robert L. Friend
Guest Stars: Georgio Rossi(Jack Kruschen), Regina Rossi(Brioni Farrell), Maria Rossi(Penny Santon), Lorenzo Rossi(Michael Stefani)

Trivia: This was the third and last episode featuring the Rossi family. Penny Santon(Maria Rossi) was often cast as the stereotypical Italian mother; she appeared on Broadway in Tennessee Williams' 'The Rose Tattoo.'

Episode #314
Queen High
December 1, 1968
Joe and Candy win a stamping mill in a poker game, but the fact of them not knowing how to run it, is the least of their worries.
Written by: Michael Fessier
Directed by: Leon Benson
Guest Stars: Katie Kelly(Celeste Yarnall) Miles Renfro(Paul Lambert) Ludwig(Sandor Szabo), Ivan Peterson(Dabney Coleman)

Trivia: This is Celeste Yarnall's first and only appearance in the series. Apart from her initial career as model, spokesperson and actress, Celeste has also managed several talented screenwriters, segued into the commercial real estate business, become a championship Tonkinese cat breeder, run her own successful company, hosted a radio show, produced a "How to" video and regularly appears as a speaker/lecturer. In 1964, at the age of 19, Yarnall was voted "Miss Rheingold," the winner of an annual beauty contest voted on by buyers of New York-based Rheingold beer. She was the last elected winner of a contest that had been run since 1942, and represented Rheingold at its pavilion at the 1964 World's Fair.

Episode #315
Yonder Man
December 8, 1968
An army scout Ben once knew comes to the Ponderosa and asks Ben to stake a cattle ranch in Mira Flores, Mexico.
Written by: Milton S. Gelman
Directed by: Leo Penn
Guest Stars: Beaudry(John Vernon), Noreen(Melissa Murphy), Matar(Rodolfo Acosta), Hawkface(Pepper Martin)

Trivia: This was John Vernon's first and only appearance in the series. A long time character actor on televison and movies, he is probably best remembered as Dean Wormer in the 1978 movie 'Animal House.'

Episode #316
Mark of Guilt
December 15, 1968
Hoss becomes Joe's lawyer after Hop Sing tells him they can use the ancient Chinese art of fingerprinting to prove Joe is innocent of murder.
Written by: Ward Hawkins, Frank Telford
Directed by:Leon Benson
Guest Stars: Hop Sing(Victor Sen Yung), Giltner(Dick Foran), Gort(Alan Bergmann), Davis(Michael Vandever), Younger(Sam Greene), Jackson(Lou Frizzell), Judge(Gordon Dilworth)

Trivia: This is Frizzell's first appearance in the series. He would return in Season 12 as recurring character Dusty Rhodes, appearing in seven episodes.

Episode #317
A World Full of Cannibals
December 22, 1968
Candy tells the Cartwrights "they are asking for trouble", by allowing a government witness to take refuge at the Ponderosa.
Written by: Preston Wood
Directed by: Gunnar Hellstrom
Guest Stars: Charles Ball(James Patterson), Harriet Ball(Linda Marsh), Richard Vardeman(Peter Mark Richman), Rodgers(John Milford), Marshal Vern Ludlow(John Archer), District Attorney(Harlan Warde).

Trivia: This was Richman's only appearance in the series. Before he became an actor, Richman played football for two years in a Pennsylvania league called the Eastern Pro Conference. Sidelined by a serious knee injury, he became a registered pharmacist and managed a Rosemont, Pennsylvania, drug store for a year. His interests later turned to acting and he began appearing in stage productions and in live TV out of New York.

Episode #318
Sweet Annie Laurie
January 5, 1969
Hoss comes to the aid of a frightened young woman who is trying to run from her outlaw husband.
Written by: John Hawkins, Kay Lenard, Jess Carneol, Jackson Gillis
Directed by: Don Richardson
Guest Stars: Laurie Adams(Joan Van Ark), Paul Rogers(Lawrence Dane), Kelly Adams(James Olson), Sheriff Coffee(Ray Teal)

Trivia: This is Joan Van Ark's first and only appearance in the series. She is best known for her portrayal of Val Ewing in the CBS series 'Knots Landing.'

Episode #319
My Friend, My Enemy
January 12, 1969
Only the testimony of an Indian wanted for horse theft can clear Candy of murder.
Written by: Jack B. Sowards, Stanley Roberts
Directed by: Leon Benson
Guest Stars: Jocova(John Saxon), Judge Butler(Chick Chandler), Theodore Scott(Woodrow Parfrey), Quinn(Ben Hammer), Hiram(Raymond Guth), Charley-Boy(Sunshine Parker), Firman(Duane Grey), Sheriff Crowley(Gregory Walcott)

Trivia: This was John Saxon's third and last appearance in the series. This was Chick Handler's second of six appearances on the series. A bit actor, his career spanned four decades.

Episode #320
Mrs. Wharton and the Lesser Breeds
January 19, 1969
Candy sets out to help a feisty and elderly British woman recover the jewels stolen from her in a stage holdup.
Written by: Preston Wood
Directed by: Leon Benson
Guest Stars: Mary Elizabeth H. Wharton(Mildred Natwick), Billy Buckman(Oren Stevens), Ed(Jess Pearson), Duane(Jeff Morris), Laura Mae(Chanin Hale)

Trivia: This was Mildred Natwick's first and only appearance in the series. A disarming character lady quite capable of scene-stealing, 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.

Episode #321
Erin
January 26, 1969
Hoss falls in love with Erin O' Donnell, an Irish woman who lives with the Sioux ahd is threatened by a rancher considerably less open-minded than the Cartwrights.
Written by: Sandy Summerhayes
Directed by: Don Richardson

Guest Stars: Erin O' Donnell(Mary Fickett), Mr. Murray(Don Briggs), Bear Hunter(Michael Keep), Mrs. Murray(Joan Tompkins), Doc(Harry Holcombe), Marybeth(Helen Stephens)

Trivia: This is Mary Fickett's first and only appearance in the series. Fickett is best known for her long running role of Ruth Martin on the ABC soap opera 'All My Children.'

Episode #322
Company of Forgotten Men
February 2, 1969
Army veterans, led by a sergeant Candy is friends with, camp on the Ponderosa and plan to rob the US mint in Carson City.
Written by: Kay Lenard, Jess Carneol
Directed by: Leon Benson
Guest Stars: Sergeant Mike Russell(James Gregory), Jeb(Charles Maxwell), Perkins(John Pickard), Gibson(Ken Lynch)

Trivia: This was James Gregory's third and last appearance in the series. The New York-born Gregory gave up a career as a stockbroker for one as an actor, and began on the Broadway stage. He made his film debut in 1948. Gregory specialized in playing loud, brash, tough cops or businessmen. One of his better roles was as the detective out to get Capone in Al Capone (1959). He also played Dean Martin's boss in three of the four cheesy "Matt Helm" spy films.

Episode #323
The Clarion
February 9, 1969
Ben's friend is struggling to keep her newspaper going.
Written by: John Hawkins, Frank Chase
Directed by: Lewis Allen
Guest Stars: Ruth Manning(Phyllis Thaxter), Judge Seth Tabor(Simon Oakland), Mr. Leek(William Jordan), Dobbs(Hamilton Camp)

Trivia: This was Simon Oakland's third and last appearance in the series. A gifted actor, he often accepted roles that were inferior to his acting ability and often played on type rather than talent. He was highly respected by his co-workers as an actor; he died of cancer, one day after his 68th birthday.

Episode #324
The Lady and the Mountain Lion
February 23, 1969
Joe and Hoss are fooled by a magician's twin daughters.
Written by: Larry Markes
Directed by: Joseph Pevney
Guest Stars: Malcolm the Magnificent(Richard Haydn), Janet and Janice(Alyce and Rhae Andrece), Brett Rankin(Michael Keep), Doc Chukett(Dabbs Greer)

Trivia: This was Richard Haydn's only appearance in the series. He is best known for his role of Max Detweiller in the 1965 movie 'The Sound of Music.'

Episode #325
Five Candles
March 2, 1969
The floor of the Virginia City courthouse collapses, trapping Ben in the basement with three other people.
Written by: Ken Trevey
Directed by: Lewis Allen
Guest Stars: Bristol Toby(Don Knight), Jonathan Pike(Scott Thomas), Callie(Tiffany Bolling), Arch Tremayne(Ted Gehring), Banty(Eddie Firestone), Roy Coffee(Ray Teal)

Trivia: This was Don Knight's first of three appearances in the series. He also had a recurring character role in the TV series "It Takes a Thief" (1968) with Robert Wagner.

Episode #326
The Wish
March 9, 1969
Hoss spends his two-month vacation helping a black family get their farm in shape, and dealing with racism in the neighboring town. Michael Landon's favorite episode.
Written by: Michael Landon
Directed by: Michael Landon
Guest Stars: Sam Davis(Ossie Davis), John O. Davis(George Spell), Craig(Roy Jenson), Jesse Davis(Harry Page)

Trivia: This was veteran actor Ossie Davis' only appearance in the series. He was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004, along with Elton John, Joan Sutherland, John Williams, Warren Beatty and wife Ruby Dee. Davis was a featured speaker at the funeral of both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.

Episode #327
The Deserter
March 16, 1969
Candy happens upon a so called army deserter. He and Joe clear his name and cut off production of rifles to be sold to the Indians.
Written by: B.W. Sandefur, John Dunkel
Directed by: Leon Benson
Guest Stars: Sam Bellis(Ben Johnson), Arnholt(Ford Rainey), Nanata(Ellen Davalos), Henderson(Duane Grey)

Trivia: This was Ben Johnson's second of three appearances in the series. Born in Oklahoma, Johnson was a ranch hand and rodeo performer when, in 1940, Howard Hughes hired him to take a load of horses to California. He decided to stick around (the pay was good), and for some years was a stunt man, horse wrangler, and double for such stars as John Wayne, Gary Cooper and James Stewart. His break came when John Ford noticed him and gave him a part in an upcoming film, and eventually a star part in Wagon Master (1950).

Episode #328
Emily
March 23, 1969
Joe is shocked to see his ex-fiancee, Emily Anderson, in Virginia City.
Written by: Preston Wood, Elliot Gilbert
Directed by: Leon Benson
Guest Stars: Emily Anderson-McPhail(Beth Brickell), Wade McPhail(Ron Hayes), Dr. Lewis(Harry Holcombe)

Trivia: This was Beth Brickell's first of two appearances in the series. she starred for two seasons in the popular CBS series, "Gentle Ben" (1967), with Dennis Weaver. Subsequently, she appeared in some 100 TV shows and movies, receiving Emmy consideration for guest roles on "Bonanza"('A Single Pilgrim, Season 12) and "Hawaii Five-O"

Episode #329
The Running Man
March 30, 1969
Joe and Candy travel to Butlerville and learn that one of Ben's closest friends is burning out new settlers.
Written by: Ward Hawkins
Directed by: Leon Benson
Guest Stars: Calvin Butler(Will Geer), Stede Butler(Robert Pine), Jess Parker(Larry Casey), Barbara Parker(Jennifer Douglas)

Trivia: This was Will Geer's first of three appearances in the series. He is probably best remembered for his portrayal of Grandpa Walton on the long running CBS series 'The Waltons.'

Episode #330
The Unwanted
April 6, 1969
Feeling unloved, a Marshal's daughter runs off with a Ponderosa hand her father knows has spent time in prison.
Written by: Thomas Thompson, Suzanne Clauser
Directed by: Herschel Daugherty
Guest Stars: Lorrie Mansfield(Bonnie Bedelia), Rick Miller(Jan-Michael Vincent), Marshal Luke Mansfield(Charles McGraw)

Trivia: This is Bonnie Bedelia's first of two appearances in the series. She is the Aunt of Mccauley Culkin. Currently, she is on the NBC series 'Parenthood.'

Episode #331
Speak No Evil
April 20, 1969
Coley Clayborn, who has always thought his mother abandoned him and his father, thinks she is only after the gold mine he inherited when she recently returned to Virginia City.
Written by: B.W. Sandefur, Norman Katkov
Directed by: Leon Benson
Guest Stars: Margaret Clayborn(Patricia Smith), Caleb Melton(Dana Elcar), Judge Butler(Chick Chandler)

Trivia: This was Dana Elcar's first of two appearances. A popular character actor, he is probably best remembered for his role of Pete Thornton in the ABC series 'MacGyver.'

Episode #332
The Fence
April 27, 1969
On a trip to buy back their mine from their friend, Sam Masters, Ben and Hoss discover he was once in charge of a Confederate prison camp, and is now the target of his former inmates wanting revenge.
Written by: Ward Hawkins, Milton S. Gelman
Directed by: Lewis Allen
Guest Stars: Sam Masters~Thomas Andrews(John Anderson), Colonel Jim Hudson(J. D. Cannon), Will Tyler(Larry Linville)

Trivia: This was Larry Linville's first and only appearance in the series. He is probably best known for his role of Major Frank Burns in the long-running CBS series 'M*A*S*H.'

Episode #333
A Ride In The Sun
May 11, 1969
The Cartwrights are scammed by brother/sister con artists. Joe is determined to catch them.
Written by: John Hawkins, Peter Germano
Directed by: Leon Benson
Guest Stars: John Spain(Anthony Zerbe), Tobias Horn(Robert Hogan), April Horn(Marj Dusay), Harry Bishop(Jack Collins), Dr. Lewis(Harry Holcombe), Roy Coffee(Ray Teal)

Trivia: This was Anthony Zerbe's first and only appearance in the series. A one time Emmy winner, Zerbe has kept busy in Hollywood and on stage since the late 1960s, often playing villainous or untrustworthy characters, with his narrow gaze and unsettling smirk.

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