How was "Adam" Pernall Roberts (RIP) written out of Bonanza?

[Mangosteen]

Was there a story line written for Adam leaving the show or did the writers just ignore his disappearance?

[JeffB]

Basically, he just moved away.

[wedgehed]

I seem to recall it mentioned that he went off to sea, Merchant Marine or something. Adam was the son of Ben's New England wife, so I guess the sea was in his blood.

[Two Many Cats]

Originally Posted by Mangosteen

Was there a story line written for Adam leaving the show or did the writers just ignore his disappearance?

There were a few throwaway lines about his departure from the Ponderosa. I believe Ben once mentioned needing to write to him, and there was some reference to his traveling the planet. Australia I think was mentioned once.

There was an inside joke on one show, in that Hoss was practicing Shakespeare for a show in Virginia City that went something like:

Hoss: I gotta practice my lines. 'To be or not to be...'
Little Joe: Naw, we got rid of him...


Joe, or Michael if you will, was referring to Pernell's literary pretentiousness which was a sore point all around.


But other than that, yes, they mostly ignored his absence. They nearly did the same thing to Hoss after Dan Blocker died. A strange show in many ways, but I liked it.

[kunilou]

IIRC he went to sea.

Which brings me to one of my favorite minirants. Originally, Roberts was going to leave the cast of Bonanza at the end of Season 5. The producers knew about it, and planned for it by bringing in a love interest for Adam (Laura Dayton, played by Kathie Browne), so they could get married and move away. Adam even started building a house for them. The producers also introduced a replacement, Will Cartwright (Guy Williams), nephew of Ben and cousin of Adam, Hoss and Joe.

Then Roberts decided to hang around for one more season. Abruptly, Laura discovered she was actually in love with Will, and the two of them rode off, never to be mentioned again.

So Pernell Roberts did one more season of Bonanza and Guy Williams wound up with Lost in Space.

[carnivorousplant]

I thought Adam was attending college in England.

[wedgehed]

I remember an episode, maybe the season after Roberts left, where Ben comes home & finds someone in seagoing garb in the house. Ben, seeing the person from behind, exclaims, "Adam!". It turns out to be someone who has sailed with Adam. That might be the last time Adam was mentioned on Bonanza.

[Sampiro]

I read an interview with him back when TRAPPER JOHN was on and had replenished his coffers to a degree and he's one of the few actors ever to admit regret on letting his political convictions and conscience get the better of him.

Many of the things he did back in the 60s were admirable, and especially from a guy with a solid flyover fanbase and born and raised in Waycross Georgia: he was a major supporter (in presence and with money) of the civil rights movement, marched with MLK, and spoke out against the lack of minorities in show biz (particularly when Mexican actors were used to play Indians), but being an actor it didn't end there. He became, by his own admission, a jerk to the writers for not pushing the envelope more (on BONANZA of all shows) and to the co-stars who were less vocal in their support of liberal causes, he wanted Adam to marry an American Indian played by an A.I. actress (Sasheen Littlefeather?) and episodes about slavery and the KKK. (Bonanza was in a time warp- sometimes Lincoln was president, sometimes the Civil War happened long before, sometimes it was the 1870s and sometimes the 1860s, and it didn't really matter which season it was.)
Ultimately he left by mutual decision: he was fed up with the show and they were fed up with him.

Then he did next to nothing other than the occasional guest appearance for a long time. He did regional theater (including the 70s abomination- dinner theater) and lost his house and money due to divorce and not working as often or as lucratively and by the late 1970s he was considering leaving the business altogether when he got TRAPPER JOHN.

So, he actually said something to the effect of (my words, not his, but the Lorne Greene quote was at least that blunt) "This is an insane business and the money is as crazy as the business itself. I told Lorne I was quitting the show and he told me I was insane. I said "the writing was dreadful' and he said "I agree, I wouldn't wipe my ass with most of the scripts they give me, but they're also giving me $40,000 a week, and when this show is over I'll have residuals and money in the bank and can sit on my ass or become a rabbi or go perform King Lear in a fish cannery if that's what I want to do and not have to worry about how to keep my kids in college or the pool heated!"
Roberts said "I should have listened, you have no idea how much I should have listened. So my advice to actors, if you're raking in the big money, keep raking it in til it's gone. When it's gone go shoot your mouth off about anything you want to talk about. And don't have a lifestyle you can't support if your income nosedives."

[Sampiro]

Damn. Check out this "We like ourselves, don't we?" comment by Roberts in a 1965 interview:

"I feel I am an aristocrat in my field of endeavor... My being part of 'Bonanza' was like Isaac Stern sitting in with Lawrence Welk."

Sherwood Schwarz once said that if Robert Reed "bombed in Hamlet he'd blame the poor writing". Sounds like a similar thing. Though I'll give Reed that Schwarz was probably the worst writer in Hollywood between Ed Wood and Tyler Perry.

[Two Many Cats]

Originally Posted by Sampiro

So, he actually said something to the effect of (my words, not his, but the Lorne Greene quote was at least that blunt) "This is an insane business and the money is as crazy as the business itself. I told Lorne I was quitting the show and he told me I was insane. I said "the writing was dreadful' and he said "I agree, I wouldn't wipe my ass with most of the scripts they give me, but they're also giving me $40,000 a week, and when this show is over I'll have residuals and money in the bank and can sit on my ass or become a rabbi or go perform King Lear in a fish cannery if that's what I want to do and not have to worry about how to keep my kids in college or the pool heated!"
Roberts said "I should have listened, you have no idea how much I should have listened. So my advice to actors, if you're raking in the big money, keep raking it in til it's gone. When it's gone go shoot your mouth off about anything you want to talk about. And don't have a lifestyle you can't support if your income nosedives."

See? If Bonanza taught us anything, it was always, ALWAYS, listen to Ben Cartwright!

[Sampiro]

Originally Posted by Two Many Cats

See? If Bonanza taught us anything, it was always, ALWAYS, listen to Ben Cartwright!

The Holy War comes in whether to listen to Adama as well, and then a second Holy War on whether it's just Lorne Greene's Adama or Olmos as well.

[RealityChuck]

Originally Posted by carnivorousplant

I thought Adam was attending college in England.

That was the explanation I remember, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were others. No one cared about continuity then.

[Bricker]

Originally Posted by Sampiro

Damn. Check out this "We like ourselves, don't we?" comment by Roberts in a 1965 interview:



Sherwood Schwarz once said that if Robert Reed "bombed in Hamlet he'd blame the poor writing". Sounds like a similar thing. Though I'll give Reed that Schwarz was probably the worst writer in Hollywood between Ed Wood and Tyler Perry.

Sure. That explains Schwartz's miserable commercial failures like Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch.

You write for the cash customers, not for the critics. if the cash customers are forking over the cash, you're doing your job just fine.

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by Bricker

Sure. That explains Schwartz's miserable commercial failures like Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch.

And Dusty's Trail! Don't forget Dusty's Trail!

(Anyone noticing a naming convention? )

[BobLibDem]

He ran off with Chuck Cunningham.

[Sampiro]

Originally Posted by Bricker

Sure. That explains Schwartz's miserable commercial failures like Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch.

You write for the cash customers, not for the critics. if the cash customers are forking over the cash, you're doing your job just fine.

I'm not sure he wrote them so much as the cast made them up as they went along after having been given a general "You're running from a monkey or something... work in something about an island" instruction.

[TV time]

Originally Posted by kunilou

IIRC he went to sea.

Which brings me to one of my favorite minirants. Originally, Roberts was going to leave the cast of Bonanza at the end of Season 5. The producers knew about it, and planned for it by bringing in a love interest for Adam (Laura Dayton, played by Kathie Browne), so they could get married and move away. Adam even started building a house for them. The producers also introduced a replacement, Will Cartwright (Guy Williams), nephew of Ben and cousin of Adam, Hoss and Joe.

Then Roberts decided to hang around for one more season. Abruptly, Laura discovered she was actually in love with Will, and the two of them rode off, never to be mentioned again.

So Pernell Roberts did one more season of Bonanza and Guy Williams wound up with Lost in Space.

I thought Williams got Zorro first and then a ways down the road he got Lost in Space.

As for Roberts, I seem to remember Adam was first in San Francisco representing the family (that was when there was still hope Roberts would still come back), then at sea and finally doing something in England.

[Earl Snake-Hips Tucker]

Originally Posted by Johnny L.A.

And Dusty's Trail! Don't forget Dusty's Trail!

And my favorite bunch of castaways in It's About Time. The wiki includes a link to a youtube of the catchy title song.

[LateComer]

Originally Posted by Sampiro

He became, by his own admission, a jerk to the writers for not pushing the envelope more (on BONANZA of all shows) and to the co-stars who were less vocal in their support of liberal causes, he wanted Adam to marry an American Indian played by an A.I. actress (Sasheen Littlefeather?) and episodes about slavery and the KKK. (Bonanza was in a time warp- sometimes Lincoln was president, sometimes the Civil War happened long before, sometimes it was the 1870s and sometimes the 1860s, and it didn't really matter which season it was.)

That's really interesting. I recently saw an episode which centered around the Dred Scott decision (so definitely pre-Civil War). I was sort of shocked that the show would tackle an issue like that.

[aceplace57]

Historically, Virginia City dates from 1859. You'd expect the Cartwright's to settle in the area then. Wouldn't the Cartwright sons be young kids then? Seems like the show should have been placed around 1870.

I guess continuity really didn't matter back then.

Virginia City is one of the oldest established communities in Nevada. Like many cities and towns in the state, Virginia City was a mining boomtown; in fact it is one of the most famous boomtowns in the Old West, as it virtually appeared overnight as a result of the Comstock Lode silver strike of 1859. During its peak, Virginia City had a population of nearly 30,000 residents.[1] Famed madame Julia Bulette was one of the notable residents. During the 20 years following the Comstock success "about $400 million was taken out of the ground"[2]. When the Comstock Lode ended in 1898, the city's population declined sharply.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_City,_Nevada

[kunilou]

Originally Posted by TV time

I thought Williams got Zorro first and then a ways down the road he got Lost in Space.

As for Roberts, I seem to remember Adam was first in San Francisco representing the family (that was when there was still hope Roberts would still come back), then at sea and finally doing something in England.

You're exactly right on the timeline. Williams was in Zorro from about 1957-1962, then he went to Europe and made a couple of bad movies, came back to the U.S. and played Will Cartwright during the latter part of the 1963-1964 season. Lost in Space came along in 1965.

[Sampiro]

They brought in some kid in the last season also, I suppose to take the place of Hoss (not that this was possible- the show died when Hoss died). Does anybody remember his name? I know that the actor who played him was later on LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE for a few episodes.

Dan Blocker's lookalike son Dirk was also on LHOP, though neither Lorne Greene nor Pernell Roberts ever were. There were also some episodes of LHOP that were extremely similar to eps of BONANZA (I assume because either Landon or another writer worked on both and had a deadline to meet). Greene and Landon later reunited on an episode of HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN but to my knowledge neither ever worked with Roberts again.

Trivia: Rob Zombie lives in Dan Blocker's former house and claims (though probaby tongue in cheek) that he's encountered his ghost there. Blocker was a major owner of the BONANZA steakhouse chain (in which I think other cast members also had interests) and was particularly close friends with Sen Yung who played Hop Sing on the series. The same year Blocker died, Sen Yung was seriously injured in a skyjacking which forced his retirement from acting (wiki cite).

[Two Many Cats]

Originally Posted by Sampiro

Damn. Check out this "We like ourselves, don't we?" comment by Roberts in a 1965 interview:

I wonder if Isaac Stern ever picked his nose on camera the way Pernell Roberts did in "The Auld Sod" episode of Bonanza?

[Two Many Cats]

Originally Posted by Sampiro

They brought in some kid in the last season also, I suppose to take the place of Hoss (not that this was possible- the show died when Hoss died). Does anybody remember his name? I know that the actor who played him was later on LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE for a few episodes.

The kid's name's was Jamie who was adopted by Ben. He was played by Mitch Vogel and was certainly not brought on board to replace Hoss as Dan Blocker was very much alive when his character was introduced. In fact, there was I believe two seasons separating the two events.

[carnivorousplant]

What purpose did Candy serve?

[aceplace57]

Originally Posted by carnivorousplant

What purpose did Candy serve?

He was my favorite character. IIRC he was Little Joe's buddy. Candy always seemed to have more gunfights and action scenes. He was impulsive and hot tempered.

[carnivorousplant]

Originally Posted by aceplace57

Candy always seemed to have more gunfights and action scenes. He was impulsive and hot tempered.

Hell yes. He didn't have a Daddy refusing to let him go into town and have a beer by imself even though he was thirty years old.

[wedgehed]

Tim Matheson had the unenviable task of "replacing" Dan Blocker.

[digs]

So, wait. Guy Williams went from playing Will Cartwright to being the TV dad of Will Robinson and Angela Cartwright?


See, this is why people believe in That Which Transcends Beliefableness...

[ElvisL1ves]

Originally Posted by Sampiro

They brought in some kid in the last season also

It's a cliche that bringing in a kid is the surest sign a show's on life support, but was Bonanza the first?

[carnivorousplant]

Originally Posted by ElvisL1ves

It's a cliche that bringing in a kid is the surest sign a show's on life support, but was Bonanza the first?

When you bring in a kid on Bonanza, his mama will marry Little Joe and die...

[notfrommensa]

Originally Posted by ElvisL1ves

It's a cliche that bringing in a kid is the surest sign a show's on life support, but was Bonanza the first?

Lucy and Ricky had "Little Ricky." I would bet that TV show was one the earliest ones to bring in a kid.

[kunilou]

Originally Posted by Sampiro

Sherwood Schwarz once said that if Robert Reed "bombed in Hamlet he'd blame the poor writing". Sounds like a similar thing. Though I'll give Reed that Schwarz was probably the worst writer in Hollywood between Ed Wood and Tyler Perry.

Irving Gaynor Neiman, who wrote for Plahouse 90, Robert Montgomery Presents and other live TV drama programs, said Dame Judith Anderson (who did her share of TV drama) once shook a script at him and said "Oh, my God, who wrote this?" To which Neiman looked her in the eye and said, "Shakespeare."

[Two Many Cats]

Originally Posted by kunilou

Irving Gaynor Neiman, who wrote for Plahouse 90, Robert Montgomery Presents and other live TV drama programs, said Dame Judith Anderson (who did her share of TV drama) once shook a script at him and said "Oh, my God, who wrote this?" To which Neiman looked her in the eye and said, "Shakespeare."

Perhaps the play was Titus Andronicus?

[Susanann]

Originally Posted by Two Many Cats

A strange show in many ways, but I liked it.

Yeah, like none of them ever had any bullets............check it out. Look at their gun belts.

I got turned off from Bonanza when I found out that Lorne Greene was afraid of both horses and guns. It just wasnt the same after we knew that and seeing their empty gunbelts with no bullets just was a constant reminder.

[carnivorousplant]

Originally Posted by Susanann

Yeah, like none of them ever had any bullets............check it out. Look at their gun belts.

I remember Little Joe using a cap and ball speed loader...he changed cylinders. They didn't have brass cartridges ( bullet is the lead projectile) in that episode, they had paper wrapped cartridges with a firing cap on the back of the cylinder chamber.

[YWalker]

Originally Posted by notfrommensa

Lucy and Ricky had "Little Ricky." I would bet that TV show was one the earliest ones to bring in a kid.

Yeah, but in that case, it was a necessity rather than a contrived plot twist. The title character was very noticeably pregnant during filming of the series. They couldn't exactly come back the following season without a baby. They didn't have "very special episodes" of sit-coms dealing with infant death at that time.