Not everybody is cut out for starring in a beloved and long-lasting television Western. That’s just the nature of the beast. We can’t all be Dan Blocker or James Arness. Those actors, and the shows they’re on, are special for a reason. They were made to bring our cowboy dreams to the silver screen. But sometimes, even great actors aren’t cut out for saddles and tumbleweeds.
Anybody familiar with the Cartwright family saga on Bonanza will doubtlessly remember that they lost a son partway through the series. After the show’s sixth season, Pernell Roberts, who played eldest son Adam, left the series. Unlike similar departures in other shows, Roberts’ exit was less-than-amicable.
In 1986, Roberts shared the details of his resignation with The Washington Post.
“I was in the series for six years,” said Roberts. “I fought with the powers about the scripts, character development, and other things. It got so I was upset the minute I arrived for work. that’s no way to live.
“I don’t have the psychological stamina to last under artistic compromises over a prolonged period of time. I get hostile and vindictive. It wears me down.”
Whereas most actors leaving a series might remain vague in their reasoning, towing the company line and delivering publicist-approved answers for tough questions, Roberts was honest and scathing in his indictment of Bonanza and its creative team.
“Isn’t it a bit silly for three adult males to get father’s permission for everything they do?” he asked. “I have an impotent role. Everywhere I turn, there’s the father image.”
The father in question, of course, was Lorne Greene. Greene famously approached his father-figure role seriously. In this paternal mode, he advised Roberts against vacating his seat at the Bonanza table. Green told Roberts to “stay with the series a few more years, and you’ll be able to build your own theater. And you will be able to hire Tennessee Williams— or anyone else— to write a play for you.”
Roberts would go on to play Trapper John McIntyre on CBS’ hospital saga. Ironically, that character had also exited the associated series early, when Wayne Rogers left M*A*S*H after that show’s fourth season.