Pernell Elvin Roberts (born May 18, 1928 in Waycross, Georgia) is an American television actor and singer. He's better known for his roles as Ben Cartwright's eldest son, Adam Cartwright, on Bonanza (a role he played from 1959 to 1965), and as chief surgeon, Dr. Trapper John MacIntyre, the title character on Trapper John, M.D. He is also known for his activism, which included participation in the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965, and pressuring NBC to refrain from hiring Caucasians to portray minority characters.
He began his acting career in off-Broadway and Broadway theatre in New York City.
He came to prominence playing Adam, Ben Cartwright's urbane eldest son, in the TV series Bonanza. Despite the show’s success and his own popularity, he left the series after the sixth season in 1965 due to disagreements with the writers and a desire to return to the stage to perform legitimate theatre. Among other complaints, Roberts argued that a 34-year-old educated, Eastern-born Adam would not be calling his father "Pa". The writers tacitly agreed not to exceed three "Pa" references per episode. According to producer David Dortort in the February 2006 "Bonanza Gold" issue, Roberts wanted to quit wearing his toupee. Since, in real life, there were fewer than thirteen years of age between Roberts and Lorne Greene, the bald Adam would not translate well on screen. "Bonanza" continued without Roberts for another eight seasons.
Roberts continued to do guest shots on TV shows such as, The Big Valley, Mission: Impossible, The Wild Wild West, Gunsmoke, Mannix, The Odd Couple,, Hawaii Five-O, and "The Hardy Boys". Roberts' rich baritone voice was displayed when he played Jigger in the ABC Television presentation of Carousel and Rhett Butler in the Los Angeles production of Scarlett. He regained star status in the early 1980s when he starred in the long-running television series Trapper John, M.D. (1979-86). Roberts played the character almost twice as long as Wayne Rogers played him on the CBS M*A*S*H series (1972–1975). In 1988, he co-starred with Milla Jovovich in the TV movie, The Night Train to Kathmandu. A guest appearance by Roberts as Hezekiah Horn in the Young Riders episode "Requiem for a Hero", won a Western Heritage Award in 1991.
He hosted FBI: The Untold Stories in 1991 and is now retired, the lone surviving original cast member of "Bonanza." Roberts made his last TV appearance (to date) on a 2001 Diagnosis Murder, updating a Mannix character he had performed decades before.
In the 1980s and '90s, playing off his Trapper John M.D. persona, Roberts was a TV spokesman for Ecotrin, a brand of analgesic tablets.
Roberts married three times. His first marriage was to Vera Mowry in 1951 with whom he had his only child (Jonathan Christopher Roberts); they later separated and divorced. He later married Judith Anna LeBreque on October 15, 1962; they divorced in 1971. His last marriage was to Kara Knack, whom he married in 1972; they divorced in 1996.
Roberts' only child, Jonathan Christopher Roberts, died in a motorcycle accident at 38 years of age. (b.1951 - d.1989)
