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Pernell Roberts found himself in a television drought after he left the cast of Bonanza
"I didn't regret my decision then, and I haven't regretted it since," he said.
It seems like leaving is always hard to do, but for Pernell Roberts, leaving Bonanza was one of the easiest decisions he'd ever made. When pressed about the series years later, Roberts affirmed that he thought he made the correct choice in leaving. "I can't image anyone still being interested in such ancient history," he said. "Do I have any regrets? Hell no, I don't have any regrets, other than I wished I would have left that show long before I did."
Still, Roberts was aware that his departure earned himself a reputation in the industry, though it didn't bother him too much.
"I know that I became some sort of example of supposed dim-wittedness and that producers would remind rebellious actors that if they didn't shape up, they would find themselves in the same sorry condition that Pernell Roberts was in, but that was all too long ago to waste time on," he said. "I didn't regret my decision then, and I haven't regretted it since, though it did lead to some very lean years."
The "lean years" Roberts was referring to was a bit of a drought in his career until he signed on for Trapper John, M.D.
Roberts spoke of his new series in an interview with the Gannett News Service, where he admitted that he hadn't faced such an opportunity in quite a while.
"Frankly, since I left Bonanza, I haven't been faced with the question of whether I would agree to do another series because the opportunity for offers simply never arose."
Of course, by the time Roberts signed on for Trapper John, M.D., it had been years since he had worn his cowboy hat, and the actor had grown and matured since then.
"A person can survive the bad times," he said. "And there have been some difficult times, there has been a lot of stuff that has gone down very painfully. But you hang in and try not to be afraid. You tell yourself, 'Hey, I've been here before and it hurts, but I'll make it through. And you do."
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Robert Culp he insisted scripts be better. On the other hand, thats why the Adam oriented
episodes are stronger than most, plus he was by far the best actor of the four.
According to David Greenland's most excellent Bonanza book, he would have stayed if NBC had
agreed to Adam marrying a Black woman to open up civil rights issues on the show but the
network feared loosing its affiliates in the south.
Roberts had a wonderful singing voice.
Author David Greenland also says Dortort tried to appease Roberts. It seems Roberts did, as you
say, stick to his convictions and be a pain, but I admire people like that, there was more the
artist in his makeup than the actor there just for the loot.
Anyone interested in Bonanza should seek out Greenland's book. Dortort gave him access to
out takes and bloopers that have never been shown. I shared one or two small items with
Greenland and he sent me a copy of the out takes which I should really have transferred from tape
one of these days.
By the way, I thought David Canary was excellent as a sort of "replacement" for Roberts and
I never understood why they didn't keep him long term. He had a real chemistry with the cast.
He did a couple of Big Valley episodes also.
He was terrific with Randolph Scott in 1959's "Ride Lonesome", it's a shame he
didn't do more movies like that. Western fans, that movie is a gem, if you are looking
for something to watch check it out.
