Best remembered as Adam, the dark, often black-clad eldest son of Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene) on the hit TV series "Bonanza". Tall and trim, with a hint of 1950s rebelliousness behind his responsible facade, Roberts provided an interesting counterpoint to his screen brothers, Dan Blocker's hulking, genial Hoss and Michael Landon's engagingly callow Little Joe. His contract ended after six years (1959-1965) and he opted not to renew. Adam was written out of the show and "Bonanza" continued for eight years without him.
Roberts had worked extensively in regional theater and off-Broadway before Paramount Studios brought him to Hollywood to play a major supporting role in "Desire Under the Elms" (1957). He followed up with performances in "The Sheepman" (1958) and "Ride Lonesome" (1959) and had become quite a familiar sight on the small screen before he was cast on "Bonanza". After that show, he continued to work regularly on stage and TV, landing in the spotlight again for a seven-year run as the title character of "Trapper John, M.D." (CBS, 1979-86), a medical series spun off rather tenuously from "M*A*S*H."
- Born:
May 18, 1928 in Waycross, Georgia
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Job Titles:
Actor, Singer, TV camera operator, Theater usher, Deliveryman, Hotel room clerk
Family
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Son: Christopher Roberts.
Significant Others
Education
Milestones
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1944 Worked briefly as an apprentice with the Atlantic Coastline Railroad after graduating from high school (date approximate)
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1952 Worked with several off-Broadway theatres in New York, including the American Lyric Theatre and the Equity Library Theatre
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1954 Had two-year career slump; worked as a theatre usher, deliveryman, hotel room clerk and TV camera operator; career picked up with his role in "Twelfth Night" and "The Merchant of Venice" with New York's Shakespearewrights Company (date approximate)
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1955 Made Broadway debut in "Tonight in Samarkand"
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1957 Brought to Hollywood by Paramount Studios; made feature film debut with a sizable supporting role in "Desire Under the Elms"
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1991 Hosted TV series, "FBI: The Untold Stories"
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Enlisted in the US Marine Corps; served two years as a musician with the Marine Corps band at Quantico VA
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Joined the newly formed Arena Stage in Washington DC; acted in 18 productions in a two-year period
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Made professional stage debut with Moss Hart and Kitty Carlisle in "The Man Who Came to Dinner" at the Olney Theatre in Maryland
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Played stalwart Adam Cartwright on the TV Western series "Bonanza"
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Played the title role in the CBS-TV series, "Trapper John M.D."