Pernell Roberts

Pernell Elven Roberts, Jr. was an American stage, film and television actor, as well as a singer. In addition to guest starring in over 60 television series, he was best known for his roles as Ben Cartwrights eldest son Adam Cartwright on the Western TV series Bonanza , and as chief surgeon Dr. John McIntyre, the title character on Trapper John, M.D. .

Roberts was born in 1928 in Waycross, Georgia, the only child of Pernell Elven Roberts, Sr. , a Dr Pepper salesman, and Minnie Myrtle Morgan Roberts . During his high school years, Pernell played the horn, acted in school and church plays and sang in local USO shows. He attended, but did not graduate from, Georgia Tech. Enlisting in 1946, he served for two years in the United States Marine Corps. He played the tuba and horn in the Marine Corps Band, and he was also skilled at playing the sousaphone and percussion. He later attended, also without graduating, the University of Maryland, where he had his first exposure to acting in classical theatre. He appeared in four productions while a student, including Othello and Antigone, but left school to act in summer stock.

Source: Wikipedia