John Astin and Emmaline Henry, who back in 1962 played husband and wife in the short-lived sitcom I'm Dickens-He's Fenster, were reunited in the December 21, 1969 Bonanza episode "Abner Willoughby's Return." Astin is cast as ex-miner Abner, who after 17 years at sea comes back to Virginia City to dig up the gold he buried before his departure. Thing of it is, the hiding place is now on the property owned by Widow Sprague (Emmaline Henry) and her son Charlie (Russell Schulman). When Abner tries to persuade the widow to move, he-and most of the Ponderosa men-are forced to remain on the property due to a quarantine. Written by Jack B. Sowards and Leslie McFarland, "Abner Willoughby's Return" was one of several Bonanza episodes which, for a variety of reasons, were withdrawn from the series' original syndication package; it has since been exhumed for cable-TV play.
by Hal Erickson
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