Parnell roberts biography

Pernell Elven Roberts Jr. (May 18, 1928 – January 24, 2010) was an American stage, film and television actor, as well as a 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 TV series Bonanza (1959–1965), and as chief surgeon Dr. John McIntyre, the title character on the hit CBS-TV series Trapper John, M.D. (1979–1986).

He was also known for his lifelong activism, which included participation in the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965 and pressuring NBC to refrain from hiring whites to portray minority characters.

Career[]

Role as Adam Cartwright on "Bonanza"[]

Roberts played Ben Cartwright's urbane eldest son Adam. Unlike his brothers, Adam was a university educated architectural engineer.

Roberts had had high hopes for what he could contribute to Bonanza, and was disappointed with the direction of the show, the l

Pernell Roberts (May 18, 1928 - January 24, 2010) was an American actor.

Career

Early in his career, Roberts got a small role in the film Desire Under the Elms (1958) with Sophia Loren and Anthony Perkins.

He worked in the western film starring Glenn Ford, The Sheepman (1958).

In 1959, Roberts got a co-star role in the western film Ride Lonesome, with Randolph Scott.

In 1959, he contracted with Lorne Greene, Michael Landon and Dan Blocker to star in the NBC television series Bonanza. Roberts played Adam Cartwright, the eldest son of Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene).

Roberts left the show after starring in 202 episodes between 1959 and 1965

In the 1970s he starred in westerns such as Four Rode Out (1970) and TV Western The Bravos (1972) with George Peppard. He also starred in the television western High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane (1980) with Lee Majors.

His other success in television was in the series Trapper John, M.D. (1979-1986). He played the doctor John McIntyre.

For this series, Pernell Roberts was nominated for an Emmy in 1981.

Roberts was a special guest star in many TV shows like Tombstone Territory (1958), Zane Grey Theater (1958), The Detectives starring Robert Taylor (1960), Jim West, Gunsmoke (1967), Mission Impossible (1967-1973), Banacek (1972), Mannix (1973), Police Story (1974-1975), The Six Million Dollar Man (1976), Baretta (1977), Vega$ (1980) and Diagnosis Murder (1994-1997).

Other websites

American actor (1928–2010)

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 John McIntyre, the title character on Trapper John, M.D. (1979–1986).

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

Early life

Roberts was born in 1928 in Waycross, Georgia, the only child of Pernell Elven Roberts Sr., a Dr Pepper salesman, and Minnie (Betty) Myrtle Morgan Roberts. During his high-school years, Pernell played the horn, acted in school and church plays, and sang in local USO shows. He attended, but did not graduate from, Georgia Tech. Enlisting in 1946, he served for two years in the United States Marine Corps. He played the tuba and horn in the Marine Corps Band, and he was also skilled at playing the sousaphone and percussion. He later attended, also without graduating, the University of M