Few Western television shows had the lasting power as NBC’s Bonanza. An impressive series about a rancher and his three sons, the horse opera was a breath of fresh air for many who were used to stories about traveling guns for hire or stagnant town lawmen. But for audiences who tuned into Bonanza each week for the 14 seasons the show was on the air, there may have been some confusion around the midpoint of the series when, all of a sudden, Ben Cartwright’s (Lorne Greene) eldest son, Adam (Pernell Roberts), had essentially vanished without a trace. Why did Roberts leave the show? Well, it turns out that he had his own off-screen issues with the Ponderosa.
Pernell Roberts Grew Disillusioned With the ‘Bonanza’ Brand
The most morally upright of the three Cartwright brothers, Adam was a driving force of the series for its first six seasons. He was the Ponderosa’s second-in-command, always ready to enact his father’s will, so long as he agreed. But when Season 7 premiered in 1965, the eldest Cartwright heir had moved on from their Nevada home. Behind-the-scenes, Roberts had become disillusioned with the NBC program. After six years of playing Adam Cartwright, he had, in his mind, done all he could with the character. In fact, Roberts ultimately quit the show due to what he perceived as false advertising on the part of the producers. “They told me the four characters [the Cartwrights] would be carefully defined, and the scripts carefully prepared,” he complained to the Associated Press in 1964, as recorded by The Philadelphia Inquirer. “None of it ever happened.” For Roberts, Adam Cartwright just wasn’t interesting enough for him.
Various reports note that Roberts felt unchallenged by his time on Bonanza. The Western star had grown increasingly frustrated that Adam, a man well into his 30s, would still take orders from his father, often without question. More than that, Roberts, perhaps controversially, believed that Bonanza had become mediocre over time. Despite the show’s clear commitment to blending more traditional values and progressive ideals, Roberts was insistent that the NBC program was too focused on playing it safe to say anything particularly interesting. “Junk TV,” he famously called the program, as reported by the New York Times, adding that the network was “perpetuating banality and contributing to the dehumanization of the industry.” The actor had little positive to say about his time on the show.
While on set, Roberts was quite open about his discontent on the program, ultimately deeming himself above it. “I know they think I’m a troublemaker,” Roberts once told The Dayton Daily News, according to MeTV. “Well, maybe I do rock the boat when I don’t like the way it’s sailing.” In fact, series creator David Dortort once recalled a blow-up he had with Roberts one night on set. When speaking with the Television Academy, the producer explained that Roberts came to him frustrated that he was never appreciated on set. When he asked Roberts what he really wanted, the actor explained that he wanted off the show. Dortort let him go from Bonanza right then and there, though the network would later negotiate with Roberts’ agent to finish out the season, ultimately leaving Bonanza behind in search of a bigger career.
How Did ‘Bonanza’ Explain Adam’s Absence from the Ponderosa?
Given the basic Bonanza premise, it’s a wonder that Adam Cartwright was written out of the show at all. After all, Ben Cartwright always had something of a firm grip on his three sons, all born from different mothers who have since passed on. But the classic Western’s fifth season offered Adam an out through the character of Laura Dayton, played by Kathie Browne, a widow who quickly caught the elder Cartwright’s eye. For a while, it seemed as if Adam and Laura were going to make it. The pair got engaged and planned to soon marry, giving Adam an out from under the Ponderosa. He even planned to build her a house. But when Adam’s cousin, the newly introduced Will Cartwright (Guy Williams), began to fancy Laura, he swept her away and married her instead. Pernell Roberts stuck with the show for another season, thus ruining a perfect ending for the character.
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So, when Adam was nowhere to be found in Season 7’s “The Debt,” it was a bit of a shock to those who didn’t know that Roberts was leaving the program. Bonanza never made a fuss about Adam’s absence though. In that season’s third episode, “The Brass Box,” Ben notes that Adam is “away,” and future episodes add that he sends letters back to his father and brothers. Other episodes note that he settled in Boston, while, on one occasion, Michael Landon‘s “Little Joe” reveals that Adam is wintering in Paris. One theory is that Adam traveled throughout Europe. “Home from the Sea” introduces a supposed shipmate of Adam’s, further lending weight to that theory.
However, it’s not until the made-for-TV movie, Bonanza: The Return, that longtime fans discover Adam’s final whereabouts. As it turns out, the eldest Cartwright son settled in Australia where he ran his own successful mining business. His son, Adam “A.C.” Cartwright, Jr. (Alistair MacDougall), returns to the U.S. on his behalf, as Adam contracted malaria down under.
‘Bonanza’ Ran for Nearly Another 10 Years After Roberts’ Exit From the Western
Despite Pernell Roberts’ exit, Bonanza continued to thrive for another eight years on television, barely skipping a beat in the process. The show refocused itself on Ben and his two remaining sons, Joe and Hoss (Dan Blocker), adding new characters to the roster, such as “Candy” Canaday (David Canary), the adopted Jamie Cartwright (Mitch Vogel), and Griff King (Tim Matheson), to deal with Adam’s absence. But, really, Adam’s absence wasn’t much of a problem. While Roberts may have felt that he was ultimately above the iconic Western drama, Bonanza proved that it could effortlessly continue without him.
