“Delete Them All”: Pernell Roberts’ Secret $50,000 Confession – Why He Left Bonanza at Its Peak, the Racism He Could No Longer Ignore, and the People He Never Forgave
In 2008, documentary filmmaker Marcus Webb received an unusual proposal.
Pernell Roberts — the actor who had walked away from Bonanza at the absolute peak of its success — wanted to sit for a series of interviews. Six hours. No topic restrictions. Complete honesty.
There was only one condition.
After the interviews were finished, after Roberts had said everything he needed to say, Webb had to destroy the tapes. All of them. Immediately.
“I don’t want this released while I’m alive,” Roberts told him. “And I don’t want it released after I die. I want it destroyed. Erased. Gone. As if it never existed.”
Webb agreed. He needed the money. Roberts paid him $50,000 for six hours of interviews that were supposedly never meant to be heard by anyone.
They filmed at Roberts’ Malibu home over two weeks. Roberts was 80 years old and dying of pancreatic cancer. He knew he had months, not years.
He wanted to talk about Bonanza. About Hollywood. About the five people who had made his life hell for standing on principle.
Webb recorded everything. Roberts held nothing back.
When the sessions ended, Roberts looked at the six digital files — his entire final confession, his last statement to the world.
“Delete them,” he said.
Webb deleted the files right there in front of him, emptied the trash, and formatted the drives.
Roberts nodded, satisfied. “Thank you.”
Webb left, drove home, and immediately recovered the files from his backup drive.
Because Marcus Webb was a documentarian. And documentarians do not destroy history — even when they are paid to.
He kept the tapes secret for 14 years. He told no one. Not until Roberts died in 2010. Not until every other major figure from Bonanza had also passed. Not until it finally felt safe.
In 2024, Webb released portions of the interviews. Not everything — just the parts about the five people Pernell Roberts never forgave.
This is what he said.
The words he paid $50,000 to silence.
The confession he wanted erased forever.
The Man Who Walked Away from the Number Two Show in America
- NBC launches Bonanza, a Western about a Nevada ranch family called the Cartwrights. Lorne Greene as the wise patriarch Ben. Dan Blocker as the gentle giant Hoss. Michael Landon as the hot-headed Little Joe. And Pernell Roberts as Adam, the intellectual eldest son.
The show became a phenomenon. By 1961 it was number one in America. By 1964, 60 million people watched every week — the biggest television show in the world.
Pernell Roberts left in 1965 after six seasons — while the show was still ranked number two in the ratings, while his salary had reached $100,000 per episode (roughly $900,000 today).
He just walked away.
Hollywood was stunned. Fans were furious. NBC threatened to blacklist him. His co-stars felt betrayed.
On the tapes, Roberts’ voice is rough with age and long-held anger.
“People ask if I regret leaving Bonanza. If I’d do it differently knowing what I know now. The answer is no. I don’t regret it. I’d do it again exactly the same way. Not because it was smart — it wasn’t. Not because it worked out — it didn’t. But because I was right and they were wrong. And sometimes being right is all you have.”
The Racism He Could No Longer Stomach
Roberts did not leave for money, ego, or a feud with the cast.
He left because Bonanza was, in his words, “a comfortable, profitable, popular lie” — and he could no longer be part of it.
The scripts were racist. Native Americans were portrayed as savages. Mexicans as lazy or cowardly. Chinese characters as jokes. Every week the show reinforced harmful stereotypes to 60 million viewers.
Roberts fought it for six years.
He argued with producers. He refused certain scripts. He demanded changes.
They ignored him. The network told him to shut up and act. His co-stars called him difficult.
So he walked away from fame, fortune, and the most successful show on television.
The Five People He Never Forgave
Roberts named five individuals and groups who made sure he paid for his principles. He never forgave any of them.
Lorne Greene – The Gentle Enabler
“America’s father.” The moral, wise patriarch everyone loved. Roberts called him a coward disguised as a gentleman. Every time Roberts raised concerns about a racist script, he asked Greene — the biggest star — to use his power and stand with him. Greene always refused. “I don’t want to make waves.” “It’s not my place.” Roberts: “Lauren wasn’t a good man. He was a comfortable man. And comfortable men never fight.”
David Dortort – The Creator Who Sold Out
The man who created Bonanza and promised a show about real issues — racism, morality, complex choices. Roberts believed him. When the network pushed back, Dortort folded immediately and rewrote the scripts to be safer and more profitable. Roberts confronted him: “You’re choosing money over integrity.” Dortort’s reply: “I have a mortgage. I have bills. I have a career to protect.”
NBC Executives – The Machine The suits who ran the network. When Roberts announced he was leaving, they summoned him to a meeting and made it clear: if he walked away from their most valuable property, they would make sure he never worked in television again. They kept their promise. Roberts was blackballed for 14 years.
Dan Blocker – The Best Friend Who Turned Away
Hoss Cartwright. Roberts’ closest friend on set. They ate lunch together daily, discussed politics, civil rights, and the problems with the show. When Roberts told Blocker he was leaving, Blocker was devastated — and furious. “You’re abandoning us.” They never spoke again. Blocker died in 1972. Roberts went to the funeral but was told by Michael Landon he wasn’t welcome.
Michael Landon – The One Who Played the Game and Won
Little Joe. The heartthrob who stayed, learned the business, and built an empire. Landon told Roberts directly: “Nobody cares about your principles. I’m going to stay, learn everything, and create my own show.” He did exactly that — Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven made him rich and beloved. Roberts: “I hated Michael Landon. Not because he was wrong — because he was right. He understood Hollywood better than I did.”
The Fans – The Most Unforgiving of All The real hatred came from the audience. When Roberts left, he received death threats. People spit on him in public. Old women screamed at him in restaurants. Even decades later, fans still confronted him: “Why did you leave us?” Roberts: “The fans didn’t care about the racism. They cared that I left. They thought they owned me. And when I took myself back, they never forgave it.”
The Final Reflection
At the end of the tapes, Roberts sits alone. His voice is quieter now.
“I’m 80 years old, dying. A few months left, maybe less. And I’m still defending a decision I made 45 years ago. Still explaining. Still wondering if anyone will ever understand.”
He pauses.
“I was right. And they were wrong. And sometimes being right is all you have.”
Pernell Roberts died in 2010 at age 81.
Marcus Webb waited until 2024 — long after Roberts and the rest of the Bonanza cast were gone — and released portions of the interviews.
Because some truths are too important to stay buried, even if the man who spoke them paid $50,000 to have them destroyed.
Roberts was right about the racism. History eventually proved it. But being right didn’t save his career. It didn’t heal his friendships. It didn’t stop the hatred from the fans. It didn’t give him back the 14 years NBC took from him.
It just made him right.
Alone. Broke. Bitter. But right.
And for Pernell Roberts, that had to be enough.
