Pernell Roberts, who became famous as Adam Cartwright on "Bonanza," then left the show at the height of its popularity, has died of cancer at 81, reports the Los Angeles Times.
After six years, when "Bonanza" was at the top of the ratings, Roberts left the series over disagreements about scripts. On of his complaints regarded the way the relationship the Cartwright sons had with their father.
"Doesn't it seem a bit silly for three adult males to get Father's permission for everything they do?," he said in an interview.
He later went on to renewed fame as the lead actor on "Trapper John, M.D.," a spinoff from "M*A*S*H." The series put the Trapper John character on the staff of a San Francisco hospital. It ran for seven years.
"Bonanza" was a great series, still wonderful to watch today. There are many DVD collections because many of the episodes are in public domain (with the theme music omitted, unfortunately.) The most comprehensive of these is "The Best of Bonanza," from Mill Creek Entertainment, which contains 34 episodes at a bargain prices. (The episodes are not remastered, and do show flaws.) Paramount has an official release of the first season in a two volume boxed set.
"Trapper John, M.D." is not available on DVD as of yet.
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Comments
Pernell was such a great actor, and will be missed by many, but his works will be viewed for years to come.
One of the best episodes of Bonanza was entitled the Crucible,it co-starred Lee Marvin, the story line was about how much the human spirit could take, it's featured on the double dvd entitled the Best of Bonanza.
It's great that season one of Bonanza is on dvd, hopefully season two is soon to follow.
R.i.p. Adam Cartwright.
Pernell Roberts was a great actor. Onscreen he conveyed a sense of intelligence, quiet humour and humanity. Echo Allan's comment about the Crucible episode .
We said goodbye to another great this time last year, Patrick McGoohan.
RIP Pernell Roberts.
My favorite show when I was 5. Little Joe and Adam were my faves.
This past week has seen many tributes in Britain to Pernell Roberts. It's been an eye opener to realise just how much he has been appreciated over here. In today's BBC Radio 4 in memoriam programme, "Last Word", Sir Christopher Frayling covered his career in a fulsome tribute. He finished with a recording of Pernell singing a madrigal in a beautifully rich, deep voice.
Bonanza was always one of my favorite shows. I was sad to read of Pernell's passing. I purchased the official release of the first season and hope they continue to release the other seasons as well. However, I've been disappointed that there has been relatively little publicity over the release of this wonderful show on DVD. It is available to purchase from online retailers like Amazon.com, but I've yet to see it for sale in an actual store.
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