Bonanza guest stars
653 actors have guest-starred in Bonanza across 431 episodes and 14 seasons. The most-credited is Russell Custer, Townsman, Barfly, Deputy in 16 episodes. 253 of them have also guest-starred in five or more of the other shows in this catalogue.
Who came back most
| Actor | Character | Eps |
|---|---|---|
| Russell Custer | Townsman, Barfly, Deputy | 16 |
| Jack Gordon | Townsman, Barfly, Cornerman | 15 |
| Raymond Guth | Al, Bill Cooper, Clyde | 10 |
| Rudy Doucette | Townsman, Juror, Trial Spectator | 9 |
| Bob Miles | Bill Clevenger, Hotel/Party Guest, Man in Saloon | 7 |
| John Harmon | Rider, Frank Thomas, McCray | 7 |
| Bill Clark | 2nd Gunman, Bartender, Bill | 6 |
| Ron Nyman | Townsman, Barfly, Miner | 6 |
| Roy Engel | Dr. Paul Martin, Burt, Doc Tolliver | 6 |
| Stacy Harris | Col. Clinton Wilcox, Harry Teague, Judge Simpson | 6 |
| Robert Sorrells | Charlie, Deputy Sheriff Cyril, Ferguson | 5 |
| Sherwood Price | Carl Miller, Corporal, Eb | 5 |
| Dayton Lummis | Atty. Hiram Wood, Col. Abel Chapin, Judge O'Hara | 4 |
| John George | Townsman, Miner, Roustabout | 4 |
| William Challee | Jake, Mark Twain, Pa Younger | 4 |
| Woodrow Parfrey | Dr. Ingram, Jim Huber, Professor | 4 |
| Betty Endicott | Brunette Party Guest, Collins' Daughter, Townswoman | 3 |
| Charles Sherlock | Townsman, Show Spectator | 3 |
| DeForest Kelley | Tully, Captain Moss Johnson | 3 |
| Denver Pyle | Price Buchanan, Sheriff Tom Stedman, Theodore Hackett | 3 |
| Edward Faulkner | Bank Robber, Bob Stevens, Casey Rollins | 3 |
| Gene Tyburn | Bert, Deputy, Tom Bellows | 3 |
| George Murdock | Floyd, Luis Getty, Marks | 3 |
| Harry Harvey | Bixle, Doc Martin, Sangster | 3 |
| Harvey Stephens | Dr. Randall, Jock McPherson, Uncle Fred Wilson | 3 |
Bonanza guest stars by season
| Season | Guests | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 238 | Bill Clark, Bob Miles, Ron Nyman, Clarke Alexander, Holly Bane, John George, Roy Engel, Tom Greenway, Abel Fernández, Adrienne Hayes, Al Haskell, Alan Hale Jr. and 226 more |
| Season 2 | 96 | Cosmo Sardo, Edgar Buchanan, John George, Roy Engel, Sherwood Price, Adam West, Albert Salmi, Allan Rocky Lane, Barbara Lawrence, Ben Cooper, Bob Miles, Boyd "Red" Morgan and 84 more |
| Season 3 | 76 | Betty Endicott, Selmer Jackson, Ann Benton, Arnold Stang, Bart Carlin, Ben Cooper, Bethel Leslie, Bob Harris, Bobby Jordan, Brooke Hayward, Carl Benton Reid, Charles Maxwell and 64 more |
| Season 4 | 39 | Russell Custer, Charles Sherlock, John Harmon, Rex Holman, Barry Coe, Dawn Wells, Denver Pyle, Dick Cherney, Don Beddoe, Don Kennedy, Don Megowan, Eddy Waller and 27 more |
| Season 5 | 36 | Russell Custer, Raymond Guth, Alice Frost, Anjanette Comer, Butch Patrick, Byron Foulger, Dayton Lummis, Don Dillaway, Doris Dowling, Edward Faulkner, Felix Silla, Gena Rowlands and 24 more |
| Season 6 | 39 | Russell Custer, Rudy Doucette, Henry Jones, Andrew Prine, Austin Green, Barry Kelley, Brenda Scott, Bruce Cabot, Bruce Gordon, Buck Taylor, Cesar Romero, Charles Bronson and 27 more |
| Season 7 | 45 | Jack Gordon, DeForest Kelley, Rod Cameron, Tom Lowell, Adam Williams, Anne Helm, Anne Jeffreys, Brendon Boone, Charles Bateman, Dayton Lummis, Dick Peabody, Douglas Henderson and 33 more |
| Season 8 | 36 | Booth Colman, Dina Merrill, Vincent Beck, Audrey Totter, Dal McKennon, Don "Red" Barry, Ed Begley, Edward Faulkner, Erik Holland, Frank Overton, Frank Puglia, Henry Darrow and 24 more |
| Season 9 | 38 | Andy Devine, Bettye Ackerman, Bill Quinn, Brooke Bundy, Bruce Dern, Clyde Howdy, Dawn Wells, Douglas Henderson, Eve McVeagh, Gerald Mohr, Grandon Rhodes, Harry Harvey and 26 more |
| Season 10 | 29 | John Anderson, Antoinette Bower, Ben Johnson, Charles Dierkop, Clifton James, Diana Muldaur, Dick Cherney, Ellen Davalos, Ford Rainey, Garry Walberg, George Murdock, Gregory Walcott and 17 more |
| Season 11 | 42 | Dub Taylor, John Beck, John Harmon, Robert Donner, Bart La Rue, Billy Green Bush, Bo Hopkins, Bruce Dern, Bruce Kirby, Connie Hines, Dabney Coleman, Dean Stockwell and 30 more |
| Season 12 | 27 | Jerry Gatlin, Anna Navarro, Anthony James, Bruce Kirby, Carmen Zapata, Denver Pyle, George Dunn, George Murdock, Harry Harvey, Jeff Corey, John Schuck, Jonathan Goldsmith and 15 more |
| Season 13 | 45 | Richard Farnsworth, Al Checco, Alan Oppenheimer, Alex Sharp, Allen Garfield, Arthur O'Connell, Buddy Ebsen, Charles H. Gray, Chief Dan George, Claudia Bryar, David S. Cass, Sr., David Sheiner and 33 more |
| Season 14 | 40 | Bonnie Bedelia, Helen Kleeb, James Jeter, John J. Fox, Rudy Doucette, Staats Cotsworth, William Challee, Albert Salmi, Charles Dierkop, Clu Gulager, Dana Elcar, Dennis Robertson and 28 more |
Guest stars you know from somewhere else
The hardest-working character actors in this show's guest cast, ranked by how many other shows in this catalogue they have also guest-starred in. Not the most famous names, the most prolific ones.
| Actor | In Bonanza | Other shows |
|---|---|---|
| James Hong | Hop Sing's #3 Cousin, Number One, Hop Sing's Cousin | 38 |
| Robert Pine | Steed Butler | 36 |
| William Lucking | Gabe Leroy | 22 |
| George Murdock | Floyd, Luis Getty, Marks | 19 |
| Bruce Kirby | Mr. Loomis, Simms | 19 |
| Norman Alden | Poke, Teller | 19 |
| Alan Oppenheimer | Darius Dalrymple | 19 |
| Jonathan Goldsmith | Kyte | 19 |
| Joseph V. Perry | Sheriff Tyson | 18 |
| Lloyd Bochner | Prince Vladimir | 17 |
| Vito Scotti | Pooch | 17 |
| Stefan Gierasch | Grady, Orville Winters | 16 |
| Henry Darrow | Amigo | 16 |
| Herb Vigran | Bartender | 16 |
| Robert Sampson | Bill Winters | 16 |
Played more than one character
| Actor | Characters | Eps |
|---|---|---|
| Raymond Guth | Al, Bill Cooper, Clyde | 10 |
| Bob Miles | Bill Clevenger, Hotel/Party Guest, Man in Saloon | 7 |
| Russell Custer | Townsman, Barfly, Deputy | 16 |
| Jack Gordon | Townsman, Barfly, Cornerman | 15 |
| John Harmon | Rider, Frank Thomas, McCray | 7 |
| Bill Clark | 2nd Gunman, Bartender, Bill | 6 |
| Stacy Harris | Col. Clinton Wilcox, Harry Teague, Judge Simpson | 6 |
| Robert Sorrells | Charlie, Deputy Sheriff Cyril, Ferguson | 5 |
| Sherwood Price | Carl Miller, Corporal, Eb | 5 |
| Roy Engel | Dr. Paul Martin, Burt, Doc Tolliver | 6 |
Shares a cast with
- Bonanza and Perry Mason — 291 shared actors
- Bonanza and Gunsmoke — 197 shared actors
- Bonanza and The Twilight Zone — 155 shared actors
- Bonanza and Mission: Impossible — 121 shared actors
- Bonanza and Hawaii Five-O — 97 shared actors
- Bonanza and Murder, She Wrote — 97 shared actors
- Bonanza and Alfred Hitchcock Presents — 96 shared actors
- Bonanza and Fantasy Island — 81 shared actors
Cast data from TVmaze, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.