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Dan Blocker said that introducing Will Cartwright to Bonanza was a mistake
"I think the network is making a big mistake," said the actor.
While there's nothing but love in the Cartwright family, it can feel a little bit crowded at times. Though the Bonanza family began with patriarch Ben Cartwright and his three sons, the cast spent the duration of the series growing and shrinking. New Cartwright men were seemingly lost just as quickly as they were gained. For example, Guy Williams joined the cast of the hit Western show for only one season before his character departed, hand in hand with the former fiancée of Adam Cartwright.
According to Dan Blocker, who played Hoss Cartwright, there was a bit of personality overlap between Williams' character and Little Joe, played by Michael Landon. Every actor has their own niche, a type of character they play better than all the rest. It just so happened that Landon's preferred type of character was shared by Williams. While both were talented actors, it was debatable whether Bonanza was big enough for the two of them.
"Guy Williams is the same type of character that Mike plays," said Blocker during an interview with The Pittsburgh Press. "A swashbuckling leading man type. They'll have to divide the scripts for this kind of character. I know I'd be upset if they brought Alan Hale Jr., for example, into the show, because he's the same kind of character I am. Or if they brought Charles Bickford on the show, Lorne would be upset."
But while there seemed to be a bit of chafing, Blocker clarified that all actors on the set of Bonanza were seasoned professionals and would have no problem working together.
"But this is not an insurmountable problem," said Blocker. "We're intelligent, adult people. We can work it out. I sympathize with Guy Williams. He's stepping into a real ring-tailed thing. I know Guy. I made a couple of Zorros with him, and he's a sweet guy and a fine talent. And he's certainly one of the best-looking men in the business."
However, in Blocker's opinion, there were simply too many Cartwright men. "I think the network is making a big mistake," said the actor of introducing Williams' character into the series. "I think it depreciates one of the characteristics we have over other Westerns - that strong sense of family unity. People are going to wonder where this other Cartwright has been all this time - out in Limbo somewhere."
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