PASSED: Pernell Roberts (pancreatic cancer)

Pernell Roberts Jr, who played the introspective eldest son of wealthy rancher Ben Cartwright on the hit TV western “Bonanza” and went on to star in medical drama “Trapper John, M.D.,” has died. He was 81.

Roberts was known for his activism, which included participation in the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965 with Martin Luther King Jr in a campaign for voting rights for blacks; and pressuring NBC to refrain from hiring whites to portray minority characters.

Articles:

‘Bonanza’ Star Pernell Roberts Dies at 81

Pernell Roberts, last star of TV’s ‘Bonanza,’ dies

Wikipedia, Pernell Roberts

Pernell Roberts, 1928 – 2010

Tags: Pernell Roberts Jr

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 10:14 am and is filed under Cancer, Fallen Warriors, anger, sadness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.