Obituaries--Pernell Roberts

The last of the Bonanza Cartwright clan, Pernell Roberts, who played Adam on the longrunning series, has died at the age of 81. He died yesterday of cancer, according to his wife.

Roberts was known to fans as the handsome and smart eldest son of the Cartwright clan, Adam. He played the role from its inception in 1959, but tired of the role after six years and left the show to act in films and resume a stage career that had brought him a 1955 Drama Desk Award for best actor in a production of "Macbeth." In 1979, he returned to series television in the popular "Trapper John, M.D.," playing the title character, Dr. John McIntyre, for the show's entire seven seasons.

It seems more and more of the classic television figures I grew up with are dying off.