TODAY'S 'MAIN FEATURE':

Yesterday late afternoon, I read that Pernell Roberts had passed away over the weekend...

I already had posted my blog for the day earlier in the morning, and did not have time to post a rememberance blog post that evening.

So I'm posting this blog today about my thoughts on the veteran actor Pernell Roberts. I first recall seeing him on one of my favorite shows titled 'Bonanza'.

And yeah that was a long time ago. But during the late 1950's to mid 1960's TV Westerns were something that I liked to watch and also collect in comic books that were published by both Dell and Gold Key Comics. 

However, I had not kept up with what Pernell was doing after his retiring from show business in the late 1990's.

From what I gather, Pernell died at his Malibu home this past Sunday, January 24th of 2010.  The LA Times was told by his wife Eleanor Criswell, that Pernell had lost his battle with cancer at the age of 81.

Pernell had risen to fame in the role of eldest son 'Adam Cartwright' on the long-running TV western 'Bonanza'.  However, he left the show to pursue a film career after only six seasons, while the show went on for a total of fourteen seasons.  I couldn't understand that move at the time, and indeed even Entertainment Weekly recently counted that move among the '50 Worst TV blunders Of All Time'.

Being a fan of TV, I did see him in other shows as a guest star, but it was only after 15 years out of being in the limelight, that he took on the starring role of 'Trapper John, MD,' for all seven seasons of its run on TV.  I was newly married at the time, and we didn't watch that show, except for a few episodes.

I hadn't kept up with his works through the late 1990's, but definitely remember him on one of my favorite TV Westerns Shows of all time.  Thanks Pernell for the hours of entertainment you provided me during my formative years!

My condolences to Pernell's wife and friends...

Pernell is the last of the original four actors to play the four lead roles on 'Bonanza'.

Dan Blocker (December 10, 1928 – May 13, 1972), was the first of the actors to pass away.  I really liked his role on Bonanza.

His real name on the show was 'Eric Cartwright', but we all knew him as 'Hoss'.

Lorne Greene (February 12, 1915– September 11, 1987), was the 'stage name' of Lyon Himan Green, Canadian actor.

Lorne's television roles included playing Ben Cartwright on the long-running western Bonanza,. I truly found him to be an actor that I respected.  I have a picture card of him that I recevived from him as a kid, and actually still have it, something that I haven't sold!

Lorne later played the role of Commander Adama in the original science fiction TV Series Battlestar Galactica. Even though it was short-lived, he was perfect for the role of leader, in my opinion.

Lorne later worked on the award-winning Canadian television nature documentary series "Lorne Greene's New Wilderness".

Michael Landon (October 31, 1936 – July 1, 1991), was an American actor, writer, director, and producer at different times in his life.

He actually stayed on the NBC Network for three decades.  He started as Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza (1959-1973).

Then he went on to play Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie (1974-1983).

Then he followed up by playing the role of Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven (1984-1989).

And yeah, I did watch all three of those TV Series.  Well, most of the episodes for sure!

So as you can see by the above paragraphs, I truly enjoyed watching the actors from 'Bonanza' on that show and their later works for the most part.

All have passed on now... This blog post is dedicated to all of them for giving me the hours of television watching pleasure.

PLUS: My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts! We usually blog on a daily basis during the 'work week' on comic book creators, comic book reviews, comic cons, book signings, and other pop culture news and events, such as the one blogged about here today.

Join us again soon, as we publish another 'Main Feature'.  And don't forget to check out the 'Featurette' shown below this article!