Just Before His Final Breath, Pernell Roberts Made a Chilling Confession—Revealing the 5 Famous Actors He Secretly Des-pised the Most, and the Truth Is More Explosive Than Anyone Imagined

In the golden age of television, when Westerns ruled the airwaves and heroes were stoic, honorable, and unwavering, Pernell Roberts galloped into American living rooms as Adam Cartwright on NBC’s blockbuster hit, “Bonanza.” With his chiseled good looks, commanding presence, and the thoughtful, educated demeanor of the eldest Cartwright son, Roberts quickly became a fan favorite. But behind the façade of the idyllic Ponderosa Ranch, a storm was brewing. The man who embodied the principled Adam Cartwright was, in reality, a deeply complex and often conflicted individual—a classically trained actor who felt trapped in a role he considered shallow, a passionate activist who refused to stay silent in an industry that preferred its stars to be seen and not heard, and a man who, according to those who knew him, harbored a deep-seated animosity for some of Hollywood’s biggest names.

This is the story of the man behind Adam Cartwright, a man who walked away from fame and fortune in search of something more, and the five actors he reportedly couldn’t stand to work with.

The Golden Cage of “Bonanza”

When “Bonanza” premiered in 1959, it was an instant sensation. The saga of the Cartwright family, led by the patriarchal Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene) and his three sons, Adam (Roberts), Hoss (Dan Blocker), and Little Joe (Michael Landon), captivated audiences with its tales of adventure, family values, and life in the Old West. For Roberts, however, the show’s phenomenal success was a double-edged sword. A graduate of the University of Maryland and a veteran of the stage, he had a deep respect for the craft of acting and yearned for roles with depth and nuance. In “Bonanza,” he found himself playing a character he felt was one-dimensional, in storylines that were often simplistic and predictable.

He famously quipped that he spent his years on the show feeling like he was perpetually taking off his hat and saying, “Yes, Pa.” This frustration grew with each passing season. Roberts saw the potential for “Bonanza” to be more than just escapist entertainment. He believed it could be a platform to explore complex social issues, to challenge viewers, and to tell stories that mattered. But the show’s producers were content with the formula that had made it a ratings powerhouse, and Roberts’ pleas for more meaningful scripts fell on deaf ears. This creative dissatisfaction was the fertile ground in which his infamous feuds would take root.

The Feuds That Defined a Career

While Roberts’ professional frustrations were well-known, the extent of his personal animosities was a closely guarded secret. But as the years went by, stories began to emerge of a man whose integrity was as unyielding as his temper was fierce.

1. Michael Landon: The Ambitious Brother

On-screen, Adam and Little Joe were the quintessential brothers—squabbling one moment, fiercely loyal the next. Off-screen, the relationship between Pernell Roberts and Michael Landon was far more fraught. Landon, young, ambitious, and undeniably charismatic, quickly became the show’s breakout star. As his popularity soared, so too did his influence on set. Roberts, however, saw Landon’s ambition as a destructive force. He accused Landon of being a master manipulator, of rewriting scenes to give himself more screen time and better lines, often at the expense of his co-stars. Roberts reportedly confronted Landon, telling him, “You’re not trying to make the show better, you’re trying to make yourself bigger.” He saw Landon’s “perfectionist attitude” as a mask for a deep-seated insecurity and a hunger for fame that Roberts found distasteful.

2. Dan Blocker: The Heartbroken Friendship

The feud with Dan Blocker was, perhaps, the most tragic of them all. Blocker, who played the gentle giant Hoss, was, like Roberts, a classically trained actor with a passion for his craft. The two men started as friends, bonding over their shared love of theater and their mutual desire for more challenging work. But as Roberts’ clashes with the show’s producers intensified, Blocker began to distance himself. Roberts saw this as a profound betrayal. He had expected Blocker to stand with him, to use his own considerable influence to push for better writing and to support Roberts’ criticisms of the show’s often simplistic and racially insensitive portrayal of Native Americans. Instead, Blocker chose the path of least resistance, playing the role of peacemaker. For Roberts, this was unforgivable. In a moment of bitter disappointment, he once remarked, “Dan had the heart but not the spine; he chose comfort over conscience.”

3. Lorne Greene: The Patriarchal Prison

The most well-known of Roberts’ feuds was with his on-screen father, Lorne Greene. The father-son dynamic that was so beloved by viewers was, for Roberts, a source of constant frustration. He felt that the relationship between Adam and Ben was suffocating, a portrayal of blind obedience that he found both unrealistic and personally offensive. Roberts despised Greene’s easy acceptance of the show’s shallow storylines and conservative values. He yearned for more conflict, for more depth, for a relationship that felt real. He saw Greene’s diplomacy with the producers as a “betrayal of art” and believed that Greene viewed him as a threat for daring to question the status quo. The on-screen patriarchy had become an off-screen prison, and Roberts was desperate to escape.

4. Chuck Connors: The Clash of Egos

Roberts’ disdain for Chuck Connors, the star of “The Rifleman,” stemmed from an incident at a charity event. Roberts reportedly witnessed Connors berating a young assistant, a display of arrogance and cruelty that he found utterly unacceptable. Roberts, a man who prided himself on his integrity and his commitment to treating everyone with respect, confronted Connors backstage. A heated argument ensued, with Roberts accusing Connors of being a “fraud” and Connors retaliating by calling Roberts a “bitter quitter.” From that moment on, Roberts privately referred to Connors as “all hat, no soul,” a man who was so consumed with his own image that he had forgotten how to be a decent human being.

5. James Drury: The Ideological Divide

The conflict with James Drury, the star of “The Virginian,” was not about ego or ambition, but about deeply held beliefs. Roberts was a passionate and outspoken activist, a man who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma and who used his platform to speak out against racism and the Vietnam War. Drury, on the other hand, was a staunch conservative who believed that politics had no place in entertainment. Their ideological differences came to a head during a panel discussion in the 1970s, when Roberts criticized the television networks for ignoring the pressing social issues of the day. Drury responded that the public wanted “escape, not sermons.” For Roberts, this was the ultimate abdication of responsibility. He later commented that Drury was “a mouthpiece for the status quo” and that he hated his silence on the great moral issues of their time.

A Man of Unwavering Principle

In 1965, after six seasons, Pernell Roberts did the unthinkable. He walked away from “Bonanza,” from the fame, the fortune, and the security of a hit television show. He returned to the theater, where he could sink his teeth into the complex, challenging roles he had always craved. He continued his activism, using his voice to fight for social justice and to challenge the injustices he saw in the world. He may have been a difficult man, a man who refused to compromise, a man who made powerful enemies. But he was also a man of unwavering principle, a man who believed that art should be more than just entertainment, that it should be a force for change. In the end, Pernell Roberts was a man who was willing to sacrifice everything for his beliefs. And that is a legacy far more enduring than any television show.