Pernell Roberts: T.V., Movie, and Stage Actor

Pernell Roberts is probably best known for playing the eldest son, Adam, on Bonanza, but he had many other successful roles not only on television but also on the big screen and on the stage.

Born May 18, 1928, to P.E. and Betty Roberts in Waycross, Georgia, he was christened Pernell Elvin Roberts, Jr.

After flunking out of college, he went to New York to try his hand at acting. Before landing his role on Bonanza, he was in three movies: Desire Under the Elms, The Sheepmen, and Ride Lonesome.

In 1959 he got the role of Adam Cartwright, which he played for six seasons. He often sang on the show and in 1962 recorded an album on the RCA Victor label. The album "Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies", was a collection of folk songs.

At the end of the 1964-1965 season Pernell declined to renew his contact with Bonanza because of creative differences. Pernell thought the characters shallow, the dialogue dull, and the show racist and sexist.

When asked why he left the popular Western, he said, "I had six seasons of playing the eldest son on that show. Six seasons of feeling like a damn idiot, going around...me, like a middle-aged teenager, saying, 'Yes, Pa' 'No, Pa' on cue. It was downright disgusting...such dialogue for a grown man. I felt I wasn't being taken seriously as an actor, and that's like death to one's talent...Stuck as Adam Cartwright, I was only able to use about one-tenth of my ability."

After BonanzaRoberts played King Arthur in Camelot on stage to rave reviews.

He also appeared in two movies: Four Rode Out and Kashmiri Run.

In 1979 Roberts played the lead role in the television series Trapper John, M.D., for which in 1981 he was nominated for an Emmy Award. This series lasted for seven years and was canceled after co-star, Gregory Harrison, decided to leave the show.

The third television show that he had a regular role in was FBI: Untold Stories. This series, however, was short-lived.

Roberts has also had numerous guest roles on popular television shows as well as narrating shows for Discovery Channel.

Pernell Roberts was married three times, the first time in 1951 to Dr. Vera Mowry, a professor at George Washington University. They had one son, Jonathan Christopher, who died in a motorcycle accident at age thirty-eight.

His second wife was an actress, Judith LeBreque, whom he married in 1962.

His third marriage, which lasted twenty-four years, was to Kara Krack. They divorced in 1996.

Pernell Roberts is now retired, having made his last television appearance in 1999.