Pernell Roberts attended, but did not graduate from, Georgia Tech.
43 Facts About Pernell Roberts
2.
Pernell Roberts played the tuba and horn in the Marine Corps Band, and he was skilled at playing the sousaphone and percussion.
3.
Pernell Roberts later attended, without graduating, the University of Maryland, where he had his first exposure to acting in classical theatre.
4.
Pernell Roberts appeared in four productions while a student, including Othello and Antigone, but left school to act in summer stock.
5.
In 1952, Pernell Roberts moved to New York City, where he appeared first off-Broadway in one-act operas and ballets with the North American Lyric Theatre, with the Shakespearewrights, at the Equity Library Theatre, and later on Broadway with performances in Tonight in Samarkand, The Lovers opposite Joanne Woodward, and A Clearing in the Woods with Robert Culp and Kim Stanley.
6.
Pernell Roberts won a Drama Desk Award in 1955 for his performance in an off-Broadway rendition of Macbeth, which was followed by the role of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet.
7.
Pernell Roberts performed in Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice, Dr Faustus, and The Taming of the Shrew at the American Shakespeare Festival, and later on Broadway.
8.
Pernell Roberts performed in St Joan, Down in the Valley, The Duchess of Malfi, Measure for Measure, and King John.
9.
In 1956, Pernell Roberts returned to the Olney Theatre, starring opposite Jan Farrand in Much Ado About Nothing with the Players, Inc group.
10.
Pernell Roberts signed a contract with Columbia Pictures in 1957, and made his film debut a year later as one of Burl Ives' contentious sons in Desire Under the Elms.
11.
Pernell Roberts landed a character role in The Sheepman, opposite Glenn Ford and Shirley MacLaine, and continued to guest-star on television shows such as episodes of Shirley Temple Storybook Theater, the live-broadcast Matinee Theater, where he starred again in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, and in The Heart's Desire.
12.
Pernell Roberts guest-starred as Captain Jacques Chavez on the NBC adventure series Northwest Passage.
13.
In 1959, Pernell Roberts guest-starred in episodes of General Electric Theater, Cimarron City, Sugarfoot, Lawman, One Step Beyond, Bronco, 77 Sunset Strip, The Detectives, and House Call.
14.
Pernell Roberts recognized the film's classic structure; his engaging outlaw, Sam Boone, counterpoints Scott's granite-faced Ben Brigade, maintaining the tension of whether they will work together or clash.
15.
Pernell Roberts similarly played off James Coburn, who was making his film debut as Boone's quiet sidekick, Whit.
16.
Pernell Roberts played Ben Cartwright's urbane eldest son Adam, in the Western television series Bonanza.
17.
In much later interviews, Pernell Roberts denied statements about Bonanza attributed to him.
18.
Pernell Roberts acknowledged reasons for Bonanza's appeal, but pointed to his personal need for story lines with greater social relevance, adult themes, and dialogue.
19.
Pernell Roberts wanted Bonanza to be "a little more grown up".
20.
Pernell Roberts noted that he was not suited to the "procedural" and "confining aspect" of series television, another reason for his dissatisfaction, while on the show.
21.
Pernell Roberts had high hopes for what he could contribute to Bonanza and was disappointed with the direction of the show, and the limitations imposed on his Bonanza character and on his acting range.
22.
Finally, after disagreements with writers and producers over the quality of the scripts, characterization, and Bonanza's refusal to allow him to perform elsewhere while on contract, Pernell Roberts "turned his back on Hollywood wisdom and well-meant advice," and left, largely to return to legitimate theater.
23.
The last episode Pernell Roberts worked on was "Dead and Gone", air date April 4,1965.
24.
Pernell Roberts was the only accomplished singer of the original cast, though David Canary, who joined Bonanza in 1967, had a background in voice and performed on Broadway.
25.
Pernell Roberts toured with musicals such as The King and I, Kiss Me Kate, Camelot, and The Music Man, and dramas such as Tiny Alice.
26.
Pernell Roberts played Jigger in an ABC television presentation of Carousel and was featured in a CBS Playhouse production, Dear Friends.
27.
In 1967, Pernell Roberts starred in the lavish, but short-lived David Merrick production of Mata Hari, directed by Vincente Minnelli.
28.
In 1972, Pernell Roberts returned to Broadway and toured with Ingrid Bergman in Captain Brassbound's Conversion, in which he played the title role.
29.
In 1973, Pernell Roberts was nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award for his performance in Welcome Home at the Ivanhoe Theatre in Chicago.
30.
Pernell Roberts did The Night of the Iguana while still playing in Bonanza in 1963.
31.
Pernell Roberts played Jim Conrad, the lead role, in the 1971 TV movie that served as a pilot for the series San Francisco International Airport, though the role was played by Lloyd Bridges in the actual episodes of the series.
32.
Pernell Roberts starred in two cult films, Four Rode Out and Kashmiri Run, directed by veteran TV director John Peyser, and other feature films, including The Magic of Lassie.
33.
Pernell Roberts co-starred or was featured in several TV movies, including, The Adventures of Nick Carter, Dead Man on the Run, Assignment Vienna's pilot Assignment: Munich, The Night Rider, The Silent Gun, The Lives of Jenny Dolan, The Deadly Tower, Hot Rod, Desperado, The Bravos, and High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane.
34.
Pernell Roberts told TV Guide in 1979 that he chose to return to weekly television after watching his father age and realizing that it was a vulnerable time to be without financial security.
35.
In 1980, Pernell Roberts reunited with his former Bonanza co-star Lorne Greene, for two episodes of Vega$.
36.
In 1988, Pernell Roberts co-starred with Milla Jovovich in the TV movie The Night Train to Kathmandu.
37.
Pernell Roberts guest-starred as Hezekiah Horn in the powerful Young Riders episode, "Requiem for a Hero", for which he won a Western Heritage Award in 1991.
38.
Pernell Roberts appeared as captain of the CBS teams for Battle of the Network Stars 11 and 12.
39.
From 1991 to 1993, in his last venture into series television, Pernell Roberts lent his distinctive voice to host and narrate the TV anthology series, FBI: The Untold Stories.
40.
Pernell Roberts made his last TV appearance in 1997 on an episode of Diagnosis: Murder, updating a Mannix character he had portrayed decades before.
41.
Pernell Roberts married Judith Anna LeBrecque on October 15,1962; they divorced in 1971.
42.
Pernell Roberts subsequently married Kara Knack in 1972, divorcing in 1996.
43.
At the time of his death from pancreatic cancer on January 24,2010, Pernell Roberts was married to Eleanor Criswell.