The decades-old rumor that Bonanza star Pernell Roberts once branded a co-star a “child of Satan” has finally been laid to rest, and the truth is far more surprising than the Hollywood gossip machine ever imagined.
For years, fans of the classic Western believed that Roberts, who played the stoic eldest son Adam Cartwright, directed that venomous insult at his on-screen brother Michael Landon. The rumor became a staple of television lore, a dark footnote to the show’s golden era. Now, new testimony from a fellow cast member has shattered that myth, revealing that the two actors shared a bond of genuine affection, not hatred.
The revelation comes from Betty Endicott, a Bonanza supporting actress who later worked with Roberts on the television series Trapper John, M. D. In a recently unearthed interview, Endicott described a visit that Landon made to the set of Roberts’ show years after Bonanza ended.
Landon arrived without fanfare, sneaking up behind Roberts and tapping him on the shoulder. Instead of a cold stare or a curse, Roberts jumped up and embraced Landon in a tight, emotional hug.
“It warmed my heart,” Endicott recalled. “Those kinds of close reactions simply do not happen when people hate each other.” The two old friends then spent hours laughing and talking, proving that the supposed feud was nothing more than a ghost story cooked up by a hungry rumor mill.
The original insult—Roberts allegedly calling a co-star a “child of the devil” or “child of Satan”—has been attributed to the actor’s frustrations with the show’s creative direction. Roberts was a classically trained stage actor who chafed at the repetitive scripts and lack of minority representation on Bonanza. He famously walked away from the hit series after the 1964-1965 season, calling the show’s formula “adolescent” and refusing to extend his contract.
But that anger was aimed at network executives and producers, not at his fellow actors. In fact, Roberts often praised Landon’s talent. Landon himself played along with the feud rumors, once joking on The Tonight Show that he “didn’t even remember when Roberts left.”
But the joke masked a deep respect. Endicott’s story confirms what many close to the production always suspected: the two men were not enemies, but brothers in spirit.
The myth of the “child of Satan” insult has persisted for decades, fueled by the dramatic exit of Roberts from the Ponderosa Ranch. Network executives at NBC desperately tried to bury the behind-the-scenes tension, but the media seized on every scrap of gossip. Now, with Endicott’s firsthand account, the truth is out.
The feud was a fabrication, and the bond between Pernell Roberts and Michael Landon was real.
This revelation comes as a relief to fans who have long wondered about the dark backstage dynamics of one of television’s most beloved families. Bonanza ran for 14 seasons and 440 episodes, becoming the second-longest-running Western in broadcast history. The show’s legacy is secure, but its most famous backstage rumor has finally been put to rest.
Roberts, who died in 2010, never publicly denied the specific “child of Satan” quote, though he softened his stance on Bonanza in later years. Landon, who passed away in 1991, always maintained a sense of humor about the gossip. But as Endicott’s story shows, the real story is one of friendship, not bitterness.
The lesson is clear: Hollywood’s rumor mill can be as dangerous as a Wyoming prairie fire. But sometimes, the truth is kinder than the legend. And for fans of the Cartwright family, that truth is a welcome resolution to a mystery that has lingered for more than half a century.
