NBC’s hit Western series, Bonanza, ran from 1959 to 1973 — but not everyone from the main cast stayed with the show the entire time. Pernell Roberts played Adam Cartwright, and he infamously didn’t get along with the writers, thus exiting the series. Later, Michael Landon made fun of Roberts for leaving the show.
Why did Pernell Roberts leave ‘Bonanza’?
Pernell Roberts played Adam Cartwright on Bonanza from 1959 to 1965. Adam was more serious than some of the other Cartwrights, including Little Joe Cartwright played by the young Michael Landon. And when Roberts left the role, he didn’t have much good to say.
“I was in the series for six years,” he said a year after he left, according to The Washington Post. “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.”
The publication notes Roberts grew tired of hearing about how he left Bonanza, as he had a wealth of other work that fans could focus on. Additionally, he stated he “didn’t leave the show in pursuit of a particular goal. I left for my own good.”
Michael Landon joked about Pernell Roberts hating ‘Bonanza’ — and it got awkward
By the time Pernell Roberts left Bonanza, fans knew he didn’t leave the series on a high note. It became well-known knowledge that Roberts had had enough of the series. His co-star, Michael Landon, also frequently mentioned it during interviews.
Landon visited The Tonight Show in 1973. While there, he took fan questions — and during the Q&A segment, he joked about Roberts hating the show.
“Were there any hard feelings when Pernell Roberts left the show?” a fan asked.
“No, I really didn’t remember when he left,” Landon joked, which struck a chord with the crowd. Many crowd members reacted with a mixture of laughter and noises of disbelief. The host of the segment also laughed awkwardly before grabbing onto Landon. “No, I think a guy has to do what he wants to do, you know. A lot of families split up.” The host then quickly finished the segment and announced a commercial break.
Was Michael Landon friends with Pernell Roberts?
With the joke about Pernell Roberts leaving Bonanza, what was their relationship like on the show? Rumors swirled that Landon and Roberts didn’t get along. But Betty Endicott, a fellow Bonanza cast member, recalled a story showing how Landon and Roberts were actually very close.
Endicott said she worked with Roberts on Trapper John, M.D., when Landon happened to show up at the hospital the show used to film. “I turn around and there’s Michael Landon,” she wrote, according to Facebook. “I said, ‘Michael, what are you doing here?’ And he shushed me and told me to be quiet. He was there to see his mother but wanted to surprise Pernell.”
Endicott then explained Landon snuck up on Pernell and tapped him on the shoulder. In response, Pernell jumped up and tightly embraced Landon. “It did my heart good that other people could now see that there wasn’t this animosity,” she continued. “These kinds of things don’t happen when you hate somebody or resent somebody. The two of them sat down and had a nice long visit. I wasn’t involved — it wasn’t my party–but I observed from afar. They spent a great deal of time just laughing and talking and having a big time.”