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Variety, TVWeek

Pioneering TV Writer Dead at 86 — You May Know Her Work From ‘Bonanza’ and a String of TV Movies

Apr 15, 2016  •  Post A Comment

A TV writer known for her work on the Western series “Bonanza” and for a series of TV movies during her three-decade career has died. Variety reports that Suzanne Clauser died Monday at her home in Yellow Springs, Ohio. She was 86.

Clauser was a regular writer on “Bonanza” in the 1960s and early 1970s, working on episodes including “Different Pines, Same Wind,” “The Unwanted” and “The Stillness Within.” She was the only female writer among the show’s regular writers, Variety notes.

“Known for her expertise in Western history, Clauser wrote the screenplays for two Western TV movies: ‘Pioneer Woman’ (1973) and ‘Calamity Jane’ (1984),” Variety reports.

She also wrote the 1975 NBC TV movie “A Girl Named Sooner,” based on her 1972 novel, and wrote the teleplay for the 1994 ABC miniseries “Heaven & Hell: North & South, Book III,” among many other projects.

Clauser was honored by the Western Heritage Awards with two “Bronze Wrangler” trophies, for “Pioneer Woman” and “Calamity Jane.”

a girl named sooner suzanne clauser-book cover

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