RENO, Nev. (AP) – Several pieces of memorabilia from the long-running TV
series "Bonanza" are going up for auction in Nevada, including the branding
iron used in the opening credits.

The family of "Bonanza" star Lorne Greene is selling a number of the deceased
actor’s personal items and much of his memorabilia from the hit Western show
at an auction Saturday in Reno. The sale was arranged by Greene’s son who
lives at Lake Tahoe.

The actor died in 1987. From 1959 to 1973, he played Ben Cartwright, the
patriarch of the family whose sprawling Ponderosa Ranch was set in the high
Sierra between Tahoe and Virginia City.

Auction items include the branding iron that fans of the show will remember
from each week’s opening credits burning up the Old West-style map of the
ranch and surrounding frontier.

Lorne (Lyon Himan) Greene (Jan.12, 1915 – Sep.11, 1987)