Pernell Roberts, the last surviving main actor of the famed TV show “Bonanza,” died this week. Most of the younger generation probably does not know anything about the Cartwright clan and their 14-year run on television, but I have fond memories of watching “Bonanza” reruns after school when I should have been doing homework.
With all of the remakes of classic television shows, it is amazing nobody has tried to remake “Bonanza.” Its plot was fairly simple and believable: Set in the 1880s, a guy named Ben Cartwright owns a huge ranch in Nevada called the Ponderosa, and he runs it with his three sons from three different wives — all of whom died shortly after their sons were born.
When I was a kid, I did not know many men with three kids by three different women — at least not three kids that lived with them — so that kind of confused me.
Ben Cartwright proved that men do not need wives to raise three obedient boys; they just need a giant ranch with a bunch of cowhands. Ben also proved that if you do not have a woman to cook meals you can always hire a Chinese cook named Hop Sing. It was obvious that Hop Sing did not speak very good English, so it is possible he was the first illegal immigrant in television history.
Hop Sing was more than just a cook or an illegal alien; he was a pioneer in forensic science. In one episode, Hop Sing introduces fingerprint evidence — which he calls “chops” — to clear Little Joe of murder.
Pernell Roberts played Adam, the oldest son of Ben Cartwright. Adam always wore black and seemed to be the most stable of the three brothers. Hoss was the obese one and Little Joe was the heartthrob; but in a Bonanza TV movie in 1988, it turned out Hoss fathered an illegitimate son, proving the heartthrob does not always get the girl.
Roberts was the first of the main characters to leave the show. The only explanation given was that he left the Ponderosa to become a seaman like his grandfather. Why anybody would leave a 1,000-square-mile ranch to go on a boat in the 1880s is a mystery, but they could not have him leave over a contract dispute. I watched the shows in rerun, so an episode with Adam was special since he left mid-way through the series.
Roberts showed up later on network television as Trapper John MD, based on a character from another one of my favorite shows, “M.A.S.H.” At first, I had a hard time watching the show because the Trapper John form in “M.A.S.H.” had blonde curly hair, a high voice, drank a lot and was a womanizer. The Pernell Roberts Trapper John was bald with a gray and black beard, had a low voice and did not chase women or get drunk. It was still a great show.
Many people probably have never heard of Pernell Roberts, and in some ways, that is what made him a great actor. His simple but enjoyable characters made for some great TV, the kind they have not made in a long time.
Thom Jennings lives in Albion. For comments, write to holly.toal@journal-register.com. The Real Deal from Orleans County is now available as an audio podcast on iTunes.
