MovieChat Forums > Bonanza (1959) Discussion > PERNELL ROBERTS

PERNELL ROBERTS

posted 7 years ago by HijodelCid
7 replies | jump to latest

B was never the same after the departure of Roberts. Of the four Cartwrights, PR was the best actor--the sharpest and most vigorous of the four.

God is subtle, but He is not malicious. (Albert Einstein)

[–] firstnamejane 7 years ago

Great character, great actor, but from everything I've heard Pernell Roberts was a pest in that ensemble cast. His character was so important to the show but I don't know how the producers handled his complaints for 6 years.

[–] sjbradford 7 years ago

Lee Majors on Pernell Roberts:

Unfortunately, Pernell was an okay guy when we were working together, but he was not really very nice with the crew. He was a little bit belligerent and demanding. And so comes the last day of shooting, where he and I meet in the street for the gun duel. There was a note from the crew in my trailer when I came in. It said, “Please use a real bullet.” [Laughs.] I never told Pernell that! Oh, and David Carradine was in that. I got along great with David. Pernell was kind of off to himself. But he was the bad guy. Maybe he was just staying in character. Who knows? I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.

[–] memphis-19091 7 years ago

I'm not replying to sjbradford per se, I just don't know how to make an independent post
and don't want to learn :-) because I seldom post (I
prefer the forums where I simply up vote a comment).

My family didn't often watch Bonanza when it originally aired. Two reasons:
1. it aired on NBC and the reception was flaky because of the distance from the
transmitter. 2. CBS aired the programs the family preferred (Perry Mason
opposite Bonanza, then Wanted Dead or Alive, Mr. Lucky, Have Gun - Will Travel,
then Gunsmoke)so mostly all I know about Bonanza is what I see on the episodes
currently aired on MeTV. I mentally groan when I see that it is an episode
with Pernell Roberts as Adam. Don't know why, but I just couldn't stand
Roberts (as Adam). He was tolerable on Trapper John, MD (or maybe Gregory
Harrison and the rest of the show made watching Roberts tolerable).
Sorry about the poor spacing after post in the first sentence. Don't know how to correct that.

[–] HijodelCid 7 years ago

TRAPPER JOHN, MD, inspired my half sister to study medicine, and she now works as a nurse practitioner with an specialty in geriatrics.

God is subtle, but He is not malicious. (Albert Einstein)

[–] flanagan-eng 7 years ago

I'm puzzled by some of the trivia on his IMDB page that says he loved the other cast members and was sorry to leave them. Well, not according to Michael Landon, who, in his biography is directly quoted as saying that Roberts was a pain in the *** with his constant complaining and criticism of the show and that he ignored Landon and never spoke to him during his time on the show and was not missed by anyone when he left.

[–] firstnamejane 7 years ago

I'm puzzled by some of the trivia on his IMDB page that says he loved the other cast members and was sorry to leave them. Well, not according to Michael Landon, who, in his biography is directly quoted as saying that Roberts was a pain in the *** with his constant complaining and criticism of the show and that he ignored Landon and never spoke to him during his time on the show and was not missed by anyone when he left.

I have no doubt that Pernell Roberts was a "pain in the ***" to work with, he didn't like the show and made a lot of negative comments about the show. Who would "miss" being rid of that negative energy at work? They probably didn't miss him, his absence probably made the set an easier place to be.

As for PR's quote about loving the other cast members, I guess he couldn't say that he loved them, except for Michael, so he just said he loved them and was sorry to leave them. I think he was closer to Dan Blocker and Lorne Greene and even Victor Sen Yung. He paid for Victor's funeral when the man died.

One of the stories that I read was that Pernell Roberts criticized Michael's acting, and Michael was offended by that, and from that time on, he didn't have much to say that was good about Pernell.

There are plenty of old behind the scenes photos that show Pernell interacting with all the cast, so maybe Michael just meant they didn't have a personal relationship where they talked one on one.

There's another story I found online, it's about Michael seeing Pernell at work on "Trapper John M.D." in 1981. Michael was visiting his mother at a hospital where Pernell was filming and they had a great reunion, embraced and talked for a long time. So, I think Michael's comments in that biography don't really tell the whole story, and I have a feeling that Michael may have resented the fact that Pernell left the show along with resenting the comments Pernell made about his acting, and that's why he seemed dismissive about Pernell in interviews and in that biography.

For all Michael's shows and writing about kindness and family and friendship I think Michael was a troubled man who was extremely sensitive and held a grudge.

[–] coloradotex (769) 7 years ago

I concur