Actor Pernell Roberts dies at his Malibu, California, home on Sunday, January 24 of pancreatic cancer. He was 81.
Roberts, a television actor and singer was best known for his roles as Adam Cartwright, on the western series “Bonanza” in 1959 and as chief surgeon, Dr. John Macintyre on “Trapper John, M.D.,” a 1979 medical drama aired on CBS for 7 years.
He was singing in the local USO shows while still in high school. He eventually decided to give acting a chance and supported himself as a butcher, forest ranger, and railroad riveter during the lean years while pursuing his craft.
He made his Broadway debut in 1955 with “Tonight in Samarkind” and that same year won the “Best Actor” Drama Desk Award for his performance in “Macbeth”.
His fine baritone voice was put to use frequently on stage in a number of musicals including “The King and I,” “The Music Man,” “Kiss Me Kate,” “Camelot” and “The Sound of Music”. He played Rhett Butler in a short-lived 1973 musical version of “Gone with the Wind”.
His last regular TV job was in 1991 when he was host of the short-lived ABS police anthology “FBI: The Untold Stories.”
Roberts was also an avid civil rights advocate who took part and marched with Martin Luther King in the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965. He pressured NBC to refrain from hiring all white crews and guest stars to portray minority characters on the set of “Bonanza”.
Roberts was married four times. He had his only child (Jonathan Christopher Roberts) with first wife, Vera Mowry. Jonathan Roberts died in a motorcycle accident in 1989 at age 38.
His fourth wife, Eleanor Criswill, was by his side when he died Sunday, the family said.
