Adam Cartwright is the oldest child of Ben Cartwright on the 1960s television show Bonanza. Adam Cartwright was played by Pernell Roberts.
Mini Biography
- Adam Cartwright was born in 1830, the first son of Ben Cartwright and Elizabeth Cartwright in New England. Adam's maternal family hailed from New England.
- Adam is the oldest and smartest Cartwright son, the only to attend college. He became an engineer/architect and built the Ponderosa ranch house as well as some Nevada mines.
- When actor Pernell Roberts left the show in 1965, it was explained briefly that Adam left the Ponderosa to become a seaman (a profession held by his maternal grandfather and once held by his father Ben before marrying Elizabeth).
- Adam would later have a son named A.C. who would appear in the 1995 Bonanza TV movie Bonanza: Under Attack.
- Adam as a young man would be played by Matthew Carmody in the prequel television series Ponderosa, which ran for twenty episodes in 2001.
