Pernell Roberts

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Pernell Roberts
Roberts in 1965
Born
Pernell Elven Roberts Jr.

(1928-05-18)May 18, 1928
DiedJanuary 24, 2010(2010-01-24) (aged 81)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • singer
  • activist
Years active1949–2001
Spouses
Vera Mowry
(m. 1951; div. 1959)
(m. 1962; div. 1971)
Kara Knack
(m. 1972; div. 1996)
Eleanor Criswell
(m. 1997)
Children1[1]

Pernell Elven Roberts Jr. (May 18, 1928 – January 24, 2010) was an American stage, film, and television actor, activist, and singer. In addition to guest-starring in over 60 television series, he was best known for his roles as Ben Cartwright's eldest son Adam Cartwright on the Western television series Bonanza (1959–1965), and as chief surgeon Dr. John McIntyre, the title character on Trapper John, M.D. (1979–1986).[2][3]

Roberts was also known for his lifelong activism, which included participation in the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965[2] and pressuring NBC to refrain from hiring White people to portray minority characters.[4]

Early life

Roberts was born in 1928 in

summer stock
.

Professional theatre

In 1949, he made his professional stage debut with

Olney Theatre in Olney, Maryland. Later, he spent eight weeks at the Bryn Mawr College Theatre in Philadelphia, portraying Dan in Emlyn Williams' Night Must Fall and Alfred Doolittle in Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion.[6]

In 1952, Roberts moved to New York City, where he appeared first

.

In 1956, Roberts returned to the Olney Theatre, starring opposite Jan Farrand in

Cheyenne
.

Transition to film and television

Roberts signed a contract with

Zane Grey Theater. Roberts guest-starred as Captain Jacques Chavez on the NBC adventure series Northwest Passage (1958). He appeared with fellow guest star Fay Spain in the 1958 episode "Pick Up the Gun" of Tombstone Territory and played the lead villain Travis in the 31st episode ("Hey Boy's Revenge") of Have Gun – Will Travel, portraying a killer boss exploiter of Chinese coolie laborers.[8]
The episode aired 4/11/1958.

In 1959, Roberts guest-starred in episodes of

One Step Beyond, Bronco, 77 Sunset Strip, The Detectives, and House Call.[8] Also in 1959, he co-starred in the film Ride Lonesome. "If Roberts felt typecast by Westerns, they also provided his finest role in this film, arguably the greatest of the B-movies starring Randolph Scott and directed by Budd Boetticher. Roberts recognized the film's classic structure; his engaging outlaw, Sam Boone, counterpoints Scott's granite-faced Ben Brigade, maintaining the tension of whether they will work together or clash. He similarly played off James Coburn, who was making his film debut as Boone's quiet sidekick, Whit."[9]
The same year, he was cast in Bonanza.

Bonanza

As Adam in the opening credits

Roberts played Ben Cartwright's urbane eldest son Adam, in the Western television series Bonanza. Unlike his brothers, Adam was a university-educated architectural engineer.

Roberts, having largely been "a stage actor, accustomed as he was to a rigorous diet of the classics"[10] and to freely move about from part to part, found the "transition to a television series", playing the same character, "without costume changes", a difficult one.[3] "It was perhaps not surprising that, despite enormous success, he left Bonanza after the 1964–65 season, criticizing the show's simple-minded content and lack of minority actors...".[10] It particularly distressed him that his character, a man in his 30s, had to defer continually to the wishes of his widowed father,[11] and he reportedly disliked the series itself, calling it "junk" television[5] and accusing NBC of "perpetuating banality and contributing to the dehumanization of the industry."[5] The equally self-critical Roberts ("I guess I'll never be satisfied with my own work"[12]), "had long disdained the medium's commercialization of his craft and its mass-production, assembly-line mindset."[13] Frustrated with Bonanza and angry, he told a reporter in 1965, "I feel I'm an aristocrat in my field of endeavor. My being part of Bonanza was like Isaac Stern sitting in with Lawrence Welk".[14]

Pernell Roberts as Adam Cartwright in a publicity still for Bonanza, 1959

In much later interviews, Roberts denied statements about Bonanza attributed to him. "I did not enjoy Bonanza anymore...but I never said those things people said I said."

better source needed
]

Roberts acknowledged reasons for Bonanza's appeal, but pointed to his personal need for story lines with greater social relevance, adult themes, and dialogue. He wanted Bonanza to be "a little more grown up" (

Mike Douglas Show
, 1966). He also noted that he was not suited to the "procedural" and "confining aspect" of series television, another reason for his dissatisfaction, while on the show.(Mike Douglas Show, 1966)

As Adam in "The Hopefuls" (1960)

Roberts had high hopes for what he could contribute to Bonanza and was disappointed with the direction of the show, and the limitations imposed on his Bonanza character and on his acting range. In a newspaper interview, he said, "I haven't grown at all since the series began...I have an impotent role. Wherever I turn there's the father image."[19]

Finally, after disagreements with writers and producers over the quality of the scripts, characterization, and Bonanza's refusal to allow him to perform elsewhere while on contract, Roberts "turned his back on Hollywood wisdom and well-meant advice," and left, largely to return to legitimate theater.[20][21]

Dan Blocker, Michael Landon, Lorne Greene, and Roberts in Bonanza, 1959

Roberts fulfilled, but did not extend his six-year contract for Bonanza, and when he left the series, his character was eliminated with the explanation that Adam had "moved away."[11] Later episodes suggested variously that Adam was "at sea", had moved to Europe, or was on the East Coast, running that end of the family business. The last episode Pernell Roberts worked on was "Dead and Gone", air date April 4, 1965. He appeared in the next two that aired, which were filmed prior to "Dead and Gone" — "A Good Night's Rest", air date April 11, 1965, and "To Own The World", air date April 18, 1965. Adam Cartwright was mentioned on occasion in the series (including a 1967 episode that did not air until April 4, 1971 ("Kingdom of Fear").

Bonanza producer David Dortort described Roberts as "rebellious, outspoken... and aloof," but as one who "could make any scene he was in better...". In a later archive interview, he regretted not having insisted on a "marriage for Adam" and having Roberts continue on the show as a semiregular. He added, "I must confess..I was too hard on him. I did not appreciate him. I knew he was good, but I didn't realize he was that good...none better."[22] In the last two Bonanza movies that aired on NBC in the early 1990s, the story line stated that Adam, now in Australia, had equaled his father's success, dominating the engineering/construction business.

Singing

Roberts in Bonanza, 1961

Roberts was the only accomplished singer of the original cast, though

On the Bonanza box-set albums, Roberts also sings "Early One Morning", "In the Pines", "The New Born King", "The Bold Soldier", "Mary Ann", "They Call the Wind Maria", "Sylvie", "Lily of the West", "The Water is Wide", "Rake and a Ramblin' Boy", "A Quiet Girl", "Shady Grove", "Alberta", and "Empty Pocket Blues".

Mixed theatre, film and television

After Bonanza, Roberts played

summer stock theatre, regional theaters, and episodic TV, which gave him the opportunity to play a wide variety of roles. He toured with musicals such as The King and I, Kiss Me Kate, Camelot, and The Music Man, and dramas such as Tiny Alice. He played Jigger in an ABC television presentation of Carousel
and was featured in a CBS Playhouse production, Dear Friends.

In 1967, Roberts starred in the lavish, but short-lived David Merrick production of Mata Hari, directed by Vincente Minnelli. The show had a much-publicized "chaotic" preview performance due to technical problems stemming from lack of rehearsal time at the National Theatre in Washington, DC, where the preview performance took place. "What was offered the people of Washington was a dress rehearsal. David Merrick spoke to the audience beforehand warning them of this."[25] Problems were corrected by the official opening night, when the show received good reviews for Roberts, musical score and lyrics, stage design, and costumes, but poor reviews for its co-star and other aspects of the production.[26] The show, nevertheless, was thought to have the potential to continue to Broadway. "Mata Hari was a show with a great story, two fascinating characters, and some accessory mess that could have easily been tidied up by anyone but Vincente Minnelli." But Merrick, "instead of bringing someone to clean house closed the production down".[27]

In 1972, Roberts returned to Broadway and toured with Ingrid Bergman in Captain Brassbound's Conversion, in which he played the title role.[28] "Particularly helpful is Pernell Roberts in the acted-upon title role... This actor is a sturdy, not unamusing leading-man type and may his appearance as a Bergman costar be rewarded beyond Bonanza."[29]

In 1973, Roberts was nominated for a

Joseph Jefferson Award for his performance in Welcome Home at the Ivanhoe Theatre in Chicago.[10] The same year, Roberts starred as Rhett Butler opposite Lesley Ann Warren, in another major production, Gone with the Wind, at the Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, again receiving good personal reviews, amidst weak reviews for the rest of the show.[30]

His additional stage credits after Bonanza include

while still playing in Bonanza in 1963.

In television interviews, Roberts said that he would have stayed with Bonanza, had he been allowed to do so on a part-time basis to enable him to return to theater.[31]

Publicity photo of Pernell Roberts, 1972

Roberts played Jim Conrad, the lead role, in the 1971 TV movie that served as a pilot for the series

Around the World in 80 Days. He starred in two cult films, Four Rode Out (1971) and Kashmiri Run (1970), directed by veteran TV director John Peyser, and other feature films, including The Magic of Lassie (1978). He co-starred or was featured in several TV movies, including, The Adventures of Nick Carter, Dead Man on the Run, Assignment Vienna's pilot Assignment: Munich, The Night Rider, The Silent Gun, The Lives of Jenny Dolan, The Deadly Tower, Hot Rod, Desperado, The Bravos, and High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane
.

Trapper John, M.D.

In 1979, Roberts again achieved "superstar" status[

Emmy nomination in 1981; and playing the character twice as long as Wayne Rogers had (1972–1975) on CBS's M*A*S*H series. Roberts told TV Guide in 1979 that he chose to return to weekly television after watching his father age and realizing that it was a vulnerable time to be without financial security. "The show allowed Roberts both to use his dramatic range and to address issues," wrote The Independent
.

In the 1980s and 1990s, playing off his Trapper John M.D. persona, Roberts acted as TV spokesman for

Ecotrin, a brand of analgesic tablets. His roles since included Donor (1990) with Melissa Gilbert and Checkered Flag (1990). He appeared as captain of the CBS teams for Battle of the Network Stars 11 and 12.[citation needed
]

Of the period between series, Roberts said he enjoyed moving around and playing different characters. During that time, he also toured university campuses conducting seminars on play production, acting, and poetry.[32]

Final roles

In 1980, Roberts reunited with his former Bonanza co-star Lorne Greene, for two episodes of Vega$.

In 1988, Roberts co-starred with Milla Jovovich in the TV movie The Night Train to Kathmandu.

He guest-starred as Hezekiah Horn in the powerful Young Riders episode, "Requiem for a Hero", for which he won a Western Heritage Award in 1991.[33]

In interviews, Roberts had described television as a "director's and film cutter's medium,"[34] but he himself was described as a "born television actor........low key."[16]

He narrated documentaries, including the

History Channel
, 1999.

From 1991 to 1993, in his last venture into series television, Roberts lent his distinctive voice to host and narrate the TV anthology series, FBI: The Untold Stories. He made his last TV appearance in 1997 on an episode of Diagnosis: Murder, updating a Mannix character he had portrayed decades before.

In his later life, and after the death of all of his former Bonanza co-stars, Roberts "jokingly referred to himself as, 'Pernell, the last one, Roberts.'"[5] He read Bonanza Gold Magazine, which was like looking at an old family album, he said, and watched reruns of Bonanza when he wanted to see old friends.[35]

Personal life and death

Onstage, 1972

Roberts married four times,[5] first in 1951 to Vera Mowry — a professor of theatre history at Washington State University and subsequently Hunter College, as well as professor emerita of the PhD program in theatre at City University of New York[36] — with whom he had his only child (Jonathan Christopher "Chris" Roberts).[8] Roberts and his first wife later divorced.[37] Chris Roberts attended Franconia College. He died in a motorcycle accident in 1989.[38]

Roberts married Judith Anna LeBrecque on October 15, 1962; they divorced in 1971.[39] He subsequently married Kara Knack in 1972, divorcing in 1996.

At the time of his death from pancreatic cancer on January 24, 2010, Roberts was married to Eleanor Criswell.[5][40]

Selected filmography

Film

  • Desire Under the Elms (1958) - Peter Cabot
  • The Sheepman (1958) - Chocktaw Neal
  • Ride Lonesome (1959) - Sam Boone
  • The Errand Boy (1961) - Adam Cartwright - Cameo (uncredited)
  • The Silent Gun (1969, TV Movie) - Sam Benner
  • Four Rode Out (1970) - U.S. Marshal Ross
  • The Kashmiri Run (1970) - Gregory Nelson
  • The Bravos (1972, TV Movie) - Jackson Buckley
  • Adventures of Nick Carter (1972 TV Movie) - Neal Duncan
  • Assignment: Munich (1972, TV Movie) - C. C. Bryan
  • Dead Man on the Run (1975, TV Movie) - Brock Dillon
  • The Deadly Tower (1975, TV Movie) - Lieutenant Lee
  • The Lives of Jenny Dolan (1975, TV Movie) - Camera Shop Proprietor
  • Paco (1976) - Pompiho
  • Charlie Cobb: Nice Night for a Hanging (1977 TV Movie) - Sheriff Yates
  • The Magic of Lassie (1978) - Jamison
  • The Immigrants (1978, TV Movie) - Anthony Cassala
  • The Night Rider (1979, TV Movie) - Alex Sheridan
  • Hot Rod (1979, TV Movie) - Sheriff Marsden
  • High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane (1980, TV Movie) - Marshal J. D. Ward
  • Incident at Crestridge (1981, TV Movie) - Mayor Hill
  • Desperado (1987, TV Movie) - Marshal Dancey
  • The Night Train to Kathmandu (1988, TV Movie) - Prof. Harry Hadley-Smithe
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star Assassin (1989, TV Movie) - Thatcher Horton
  • Donor (1990, TV Movie) - Dr. Martingale
  • Checkered Flag (1990) - Andrew Valiant

Partial television credits

  • Bonanza (1959–1965) - Adam Cartwright
  • One Step Beyond
    (1959) - Sgt. Vaill
  • Gunsmoke (1967) - Stranger in Town (as hired killer, Dave Reeves)
  • The Big Valley - 2 episodes, Cage of Eagles as Madigan and Run of the Cat as Ed Tanner
  • Hawaii Five-O (1971) - The Grandstand Play - as Lon Phillips (pro baseball player)
  • Cannon (1976) 5x18 The House Of Cards as Sid Cleary / Phil Denton
  • Barnaby Jones (1977) - Testament of Power - as Daniel Matthews
  • Man from Atlantis (1977) - S1/E10 "Shoot-Out At Land's End" - as Clint Hollister
  • Vegas (1978–1980) - 3 episodes
  • Mannix (TV series) (1973) - “Little Lost Girl” as George Fallon
  • Hawkins (TV series) (1974) - “Candidate for Murder"
  • Centennial (1978) - series 1, episodes 4, 5 - as Gen. Asher
  • Trapper John, M.D. (1979–1986) - Trapper John McIntyre
  • The Love Boat (1980) - The Mallory Quest
  • Diagnosis: Murder (1994–1997) - George Fallon / Dr. Elliott Valin (final appearance)

References

46. Demetria Fulton previewed Roberts in Barnaby Jones; episode titled, “Testament of Power”(01/20/1977).

  1. ^ Bergan, Ronald (January 26, 2010). "Pernell Roberts Obituary". The Guardian. London. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Dobuzinskis, Alex (January 25, 2010). ""Bonanza" Star Pernell Roberts Dies At 81". Reuters. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  3. ^ a b Duke, Alan (January 26, 2010). "Pernell Roberts, 'Bonanza' and 'Trapper John' star, dies". CNN. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  4. ^ "'Bonanza' star Pernell Roberts dead at age 81". Today. January 25, 2010. Archived from the original on January 28, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2020 – via MSNBC.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Pernell Roberts, Star of TV's 'Bonanza,' Dies at 81 The New York Times via Internet Archive. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  6. ^ "Roberts Has Busy Time" The Washington Post. September 24, 1950; Page L2.
  7. ^ Coe, Richard L. "Big Season On For Shakespeare", The Washington Post and Times-Herald; July 8, 1956, pg, H3.
  8. ^ a b c "Pernell Roberts". Bonanza.dcanary.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2010.
  9. ^ Carlson, Michael (February 1, 2010). "Pernell Roberts: Versatile actor best known as Adam Cartwright of 'Bonanza'". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022.
  10. ^ a b c Simonson, Robert (January 26, 2010). "Pernell Roberts, Serious-Minded Actor of Stage and Television, Dies at 81". Playbill. Archived from the original on January 29, 2010.
  11. ^ a b "Pernell Roberts, TV actor". The Philadelphia Inquirer. January 26, 2009.
  12. ^ Temple, Wick. "Bonanza's Adam Now in Camelot". Chicago Tribune; August 19, 1965, p.A2.
  13. ^ Prince, Jeff (January 26, 2010). "Pernell Roberts Ghost Rides In Sky". Fort Worth Weekly.
  14. ^ "Ponderosa Gold Under A Painted Sky," Joanne Stang, p. 305 in "Popular Culture," by David Manning, 1975
  15. ^ Holsopple, Barbara (July 8, 1979). "Trapper John: 30 Years After 'MASH'". The Pittsburgh Press.
  16. ^ a b c Whitney, Dwight (October 30, 1982). "What makes Pernell Roberts so angry?". TV Guide. p. 37.
  17. ^ The Washington Post, January 25, 2010
  18. ^ Mike Douglas Show, 1966[when?]
  19. ^ Laurent, Lawrence. "This Time Pernell Won't Need a Tuba", The Washington Post. May 1, 1963.
  20. Mike Douglas Show
    ,
    1965, 1966
  21. ^ Henry Darrow archival interview; USA Today, January 25, 2010)
  22. ^ (Archive Interview 2002; Bonanza, The Official First Season, Volume 1, Feature, CBS/Paramount, 2009)
  23. ^ Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies. Accessed October 28, 2008.
  24. ^ Bear Family boxed set Accessed November 7, 2008
  25. .
  26. ^ "Old Fashioned Mata Hari Opens". The Washington Post and Times-Herald. November 22, 1967. p. B6.
  27. .
  28. ^ Beaufort, John (March 17, 1972). "Miss Bergman on Stage". The Christian Science Monitor. p. 4.
  29. ^ Coe, Richard L. (March 14, 1972). "Dated 'Captain Brassbound'". The Washington Post. p. B1.
  30. ^ Lewis, Dan (August 30, 1973). "The Confederacy Falls At the Pavilion". Los Angeles Times.
  31. Mike Douglas Show
    , 1966.
  32. ^ Lewis, Dan (September 17, 1979). "Monday". Waycross Journal-Herald.
  33. ^ "Western Heritage Awards". National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Archived from the original on March 5, 2005.
  34. ^ Leonard, Vince. "Cartwrights Meant Cartwheels", The Pittsburgh Press; April 28, 1967.
  35. ^ Bonanza Gold Magazine, 2005.
  36. ^ "Vera Mowry Roberts Chair in American Theatre Announced at 90th Birthday Celebration" (Press release). City University of New York. December 2003. Archived from the original on September 9, 2006.
  37. ^ "Pernell Roberts FAQ". Archived from the original on October 28, 2009. Retrieved May 5, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  38. ^ "The Big List of Names". Franconia College. Archived from the original on January 25, 2010. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
  39. ^ Johnson, Milt. TV Radio Mirror 1963
  40. ^ Woo, Elaine (January 25, 2010). "Pernell Roberts, Adam Cartwright on "Bonanza," dead at 81". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 25, 2010.

External links