Pernell's Palace

A very happy heavenly birthday to our favorite man in black who would have been 98 today. 🖤

Howdy, all. I'm in the process of writing astrological biographies for our four amazing guys, Lorne, Pernell, Dan and Michael. I have birth times for Lorne and Michael, but not Pernell and Dan. Do any of our mega-fans, out there, have information that could assist? Many thanks!

...Pernell bears a remarkable resemblance to Cary Grant! Just imagine Pernell in The Awful Truth, Bringing up Baby, The Philadelphia Story, The Front Page, To Catch a Thief, North by Northwest, and Charade! What would you have wanted to see Pernell in? Mind out of the gutter,ladies!

When perusing my phone for other performances of the Bonanza guys, I saw that Lorne, Dan, and Mike took part a lot of variety shows and talk shows. However, I cannot find any for Pernell. With that singing voice, I would think he was in high demand.

Pernell played the victim in this Perry Mason TV movie from 1989. He played Thatcher Horton, a sports magnate in Denver.

First of all, this is a really good episode, and Pernell's character, Dave Reeves, is a hired gun, a villain shaded in gray. He is hired by a man from Dodge to kill his business partner, who happens to be the love interest of Dave's former wife, who left him years ago and subsequently gave birth to the son he knew nothing about. (Oh what a tangled web we weave...) R. G. Armstrong ("The Philip Deidesheimer Story," et. al.) plays the unsuspecting partner, and in something I read recently he alluded to this episode and the fight scene he did with Pernell. According to RGA, it took two days to lay it out and shoot it because it was complicated, had a lot of movement. He said…

Anne Helm plays the Sleeping Beauty. Alexander Scoursby, Julia Billette's killer and other lover John Millain, is the King. Nancy Marchand, Mrs Pynchon in Lou Grant, is the Queen. Judith Evelyn is the Black Fairy. Olive Deering, the first Mrs. Leo Penn and one-time sister-in-law of Kim Stanley is the fairy who modifies the bad spell. Last but not least. Pernell is one of Sleeping Beauty's suitors.

Hi, all. So, I may be nuts (well, let me rephrase... I AM nuts, but that's a general state. I'm referring specifically to the topic of this post. <grin>) but I would swear on a stack of bibles that somewhere, somehow I can remember hearing Pernell speaking about growing up in Waycross. How he was called "Junior" and he used the most hilarious accent - "Jooooooon-YER!" LMAO - telling of his memories running around with his cousins, and fond memories about a specific Auntie something (I want to say it was "Aunt Sis" or sounded something like that) ... how he could remember running like the dickens away from whoever was wielding a switch when they were nau…

How many murder mystery shows did Pernell appear in? I can think of three. He appeared in an Ellery Queen mystery in the 1970's. I can't say anything more without being a spoilsport. He played a victim in a Perry Mason TV movie: The Case of the All-Star Assassin. He was also in two episodes of Diadnosis Murder. Any more?

To Kill A Cop: You'll have to dig to find this one on Amazon Prime and the quality is not that great, but Pernell plays a guy who wants to Kill a Cop. He wore a really awful toupe in this one, but I think the powers that be were trying to make him look like Humphrey Bogart.

Pernell as you have never seen him! No, sorry he does not play the Emporer so we do not get to see him sans clothing. However, he does play Count Despard, one of the Emporer's butt-kissing advisors. The episode is hysterically funny. The cinematograpraphy is exquisite. The show does not talk down to kids. Sebastian Cabot is the Emporer. Richard Haydn plays the Prime Minister. Mr. Haydn and Pernell are so funny together: I am sorry they never worked together again. Eli Wallach is one of the tailors. Trivia for today: Barbara Lord, who plays the princess, is the real-life mother of Patrick Warburton who played Jeff Putty on Seinfeld.

I know, of course, Pernell Roberts wanted Bonanza to be a little bit more grown-up and did not like some of the dialogue or having to ask for permission to do anything, but...I have a different take. We all have known people who seem different at work than at home or vice versa. I don't mean a split personality or Jekyll and Hyde. Adam has a college degree and seen more of the world than most people had at that time. There is no doubt he is sophisticated and something of a ladies' man, but he is also a daddy's boy and emotionally still a teenager.

Pernell played a police officer in two episodes of Police Story. In Chief(my favorite of the two), he played a married cop with five kids. His mistress kills herself with his Police revolver in the bathroom of the hotel where they are trysting. John Forsyth plays the Police chief. In the other episode, he and Alex Cord.are investigating hotel thefts.

Ellery Queen was a mystery writer, who lived with his widowed father Inspector Richard Queen of the NYPD and helped him solve crimes. Pernell guest starred in the episode, The Mystery of Colonel Niven's Memoirs. Jim Hutton, father of Timothy Hutton, played Ellery Queen. Sadly, Jim Hutton died of cancer at age 45. David Wayne played Inspector Queen. Pernell played the Butler/manager at a men's club. Robert Loggia played a Russian diplomat. Rene Auberjonis played a photographer. (Man, those guys looked like babies in this episode!) Ellery Queen was the cookie that sparked my lifelong addiction to detective novels and true crime! Now, if I may ask a favor: could someone pl…

My favorite song: They Call The Wind Mariah It is from his only CD. But I like all his songs. It's difficult to decide. They are beautiful to hear with his warm voice.

In honor of Armistice/Remembrance/Veterans Day . . . Front:

The Sheepman (air date 1958) Here's the full movie on Youtube if anyone would like to watch it. It's been a while since I've seen it and Pernell isn't in it much except toward the end (time stamp 1:05 - 1 hour, 5 minutes). He plays an outlaw hired to kill the Sheepman. The movie is full of well-known actors - some of them just getting started when this movie was made. It has some good humor in it. I found it fun to watch. Post here your thoughts on Pernell's character.

Timothy Busfield talks honestly about PR at 1:06:00. Here is the link: https://youtu.be/eMuSnpXsN3o?si=GZI6_-RPtGjQeMjb

Gone too soon, for sure, but still dearly loved. Your legacy is a long one, you dear man. The kindnesses you performed, asking not to be acknowledged. Just doing the right thing. Living by your code. Gotta love that. May you be strumming a guitar, kissing your Mama, hugging your Dad and Chris, and doing what you always did in life… easing someone else’s path.

I snagged, for an amazingly low price, a copy of the 1950 University of Maryland, College Park yearbook, the Terrapin, and I'm hoping to get some better scans of the images in them. These photos of Pernell in the theatre department are all over the net, but the images are so muddy. I'm going to do my best to get some better resolution, cleaned up versions. Is it permissible to post them here on Brand, as they are not Bonanza images?

Pernell Roberts should be in the Tombstone Territory episode Pick Up the Gun from 1958 to be broadcast on the Grit Network March 18 (10:00am my time zone).

Just finished The Silent Gun. I'm not going to say if Pernell was a good guy, bad guy, or played the middle. I'm, also, not going to say if he lived or died or if he got hurt in any way. I'll let you find for yourselves. You won't see him until about 30 minutes into the movie. https://youtu.be/_ouTSQR08k4?si=YH9zjs7AXsy9lE29

I came across this old video today. It's got some good scenes of his powerful acting. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/StQWNHMkx1k?si=iCQyGDxSolpuV9JN