From 1967 to 1973, David Canary appeared in roughly 80 episodes of Bonanza. Canary appeared as Candy Canaday, a cowboy who became like family to the Cartwright boys after a bit of time.

However, as an actor, Canary was aware of the issues that may befall an actor who tried to join a series that was already in motion. By the time Canary had joined the cast of Bonanza, the series had already been running for roughly eight years.

"It's obviously difficult to come into a group that's been together for nine years as a new and relatively unknown actor," said Canary during an interview with the Intelligencer Journal. "Others have tried before, you may recall, and not succeeded."

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Although audiences were already quite attached to the Cartwright family, Canary felt that a new cast member such as himself would provide a more than welcome change of pace to the long-running series.

"The solidarity of the image of Bonanza is something of an illusion, I think," said the actor. "Although I must say, the show does rely primarily on the stars, not on the guests. It does not change that much. But that is why they brought me into the show, of course, to provide a little change, but not really change the format."

But while Canary was more than welcome to bring something new and fresh to the series, he also appreciated Bonanza, not just as a television show, but as an institution.

"It's astonishing how much impact that show has," said Canary. "Although I had my heart set on films, I saw Bonanza as the best thing I could possibly be doing at this point. I am learning so much, and I'm working so hard, and the guest stars who come on the show are so great. And I feel I'm in a film, even if I'm really not just now. Bonanza is film. It's done exactly the same way, except it's faster so the techniques are a little different."