TMZ reports that actor Edward Herrmann has passed away from cancer at age 71.
In St. Elsewhere's finest episode(s), the fourth season two-parter "Time Heals", we meet the hospital's founder, an Irish Catholic priest from Southie named Father Joseph McCabe, played by Edward Herrmann. McCabe re-appeared in the fifth season opener, "Where There's Hope, There's Crosby", returning from Arizona (with Herrmann in old-age makeup) suffering from ALS. For that appearance, Herrmann was nominated for an Emmy award for Outstanding Performance by a Guest Actor.
According to a report from TMZ, Herrmann had been battling brain cancer and had been in the ICU for the past three and half weeks. He was taken off life support and passed away this morning at the age of 71.
Herrmann was more recently known for his role on Gilmore Girls, and he assembled a long list of credits dating back to the early seventies. To 80s kids like me, he was the King of the Vampires in The Lost Boys.
Follow this link to a YouTube playlist to enjoy Edward Herrmann's performance in "Time Heals".
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Happy 100th Birthday, Norman Lloyd!
Hollywood legend and St. Elsewhere star Norman Lloyd celebrates his 100th birthday today, and tributes have been pouring in.
The St. Elsewhere Experience wishes Norman Lloyd, who played Dr. Daniel Auschlander for six seasons of St. Elsewhere, a happy 100th birthday. In honor of this occasion, today has been declared "Norman Lloyd Day" in the city of Los Angeles.
Check out the accolades Lloyd has received from around the web, and learn more about the living legend who is one of Hollywood's greatest storytellers. Lloyd has slowed down a bit at the century mark: he has only one film due out for release at the moment, and only plays tennis twice a week.
The first article was written by Jim Longworth, who produced On Call: The St. Elsewhere Appreciation Club Newsletter in the nineties.
YES! Weekly - Happy 100th to Norman Lloyd: The Ultimate Pro
Variety - Norman Lloyd at 100: Hollywood's Living Memory
ABC 7 Los Angeles - Veteran Actor Norman Lloyd Celebrated by Los Angeles City Council
The Hollywood Reporter - Norman Lloyd at 100: THR's Todd McCarthy on a Legend's Staying Power
Fishbowl NY - Peter Bart Pays Norman Lloyd the Highest Hollywood Compliment
Birthday wishes also go out to Alfre Woodard, St. Elsewhere's Dr. Roxanne Turner, who turns 62 today.
Update, August 12, 2015 -- Here's a clip of L.A. City Council celebrating an early 100th birthday for the Hollywood legend:
The St. Elsewhere Experience wishes Norman Lloyd, who played Dr. Daniel Auschlander for six seasons of St. Elsewhere, a happy 100th birthday. In honor of this occasion, today has been declared "Norman Lloyd Day" in the city of Los Angeles.
Check out the accolades Lloyd has received from around the web, and learn more about the living legend who is one of Hollywood's greatest storytellers. Lloyd has slowed down a bit at the century mark: he has only one film due out for release at the moment, and only plays tennis twice a week.
The first article was written by Jim Longworth, who produced On Call: The St. Elsewhere Appreciation Club Newsletter in the nineties.
YES! Weekly - Happy 100th to Norman Lloyd: The Ultimate Pro
Variety - Norman Lloyd at 100: Hollywood's Living Memory
ABC 7 Los Angeles - Veteran Actor Norman Lloyd Celebrated by Los Angeles City Council
The Hollywood Reporter - Norman Lloyd at 100: THR's Todd McCarthy on a Legend's Staying Power
Fishbowl NY - Peter Bart Pays Norman Lloyd the Highest Hollywood Compliment
Birthday wishes also go out to Alfre Woodard, St. Elsewhere's Dr. Roxanne Turner, who turns 62 today.
Update, August 12, 2015 -- Here's a clip of L.A. City Council celebrating an early 100th birthday for the Hollywood legend:
Thursday, October 2, 2014
On Call, Vol. 3, No. 1 - From the Hospital Security Camera Department: The Photography of St. Elsewhere "The Amazing Gunters"
From On Call: The Official Newsletter of the St. Elsewhere Appreciation Club, volume 3, number 1, June, 1999.
Go back and watch re-runs of most TV shows produced prior to 1982 and you'll notice something missing...camera movement. It was the great irony of television, a medium designed to replace radio with "moving images", became reliant on and complacent with generally static images edited together, or scenes switched live using a series of static cameras. To a large extent, St. Elsewhere helped to change all of that, and pave the way for the now expected, continuous handheld shot sequences, such as we see on ER. The story of how this change evolved is due in no small part to one particular family.
* * * * *
Rick Gunter served as the camera operator on St. Elsewhere from the very beginning, and continued in one capacity or another throughout the entire run of the series. At first he worked under Director of Photography, John McPherson. McPherson brought years of experience to the set, and worked well with the young Rick.
Marvin, Rick - 1983 |
* * * * *
Rick Gunter served as the camera operator on St. Elsewhere from the very beginning, and continued in one capacity or another throughout the entire run of the series. At first he worked under Director of Photography, John McPherson. McPherson brought years of experience to the set, and worked well with the young Rick.
On Call, Vol. 3, No. 1 - News of Cast and Crew
From On Call: The Official Newsletter of the St. Elsewhere Appreciation Club, volume 3, number 1, June, 1999.
ED BEGLEY just completed a run of two new David Mamet plays in L.A., and several appearances on the WB's Seventh Heaven.
BILL & BONNIE DANIELS' characters tied the knot on the season finale of Boy Meets World, and will return to the ABC show this Fall.
TOM FONTANA along with partner Barry Levinson is bringing two new series to television: Hardwood, a basketball drama for Showtime, and The Beat, for the UPN. Tom also participated in a seminar at the Museum of Television and Radio in New York in May. Joining him on the panel were Dick Wolf, Steven Bochco, David Kelley, Marshall Herskovitz, and Edward Zwick. ON CALL publisher Jim Longworth was also on hand to do research for his new book which will include chapters on the six participants. Many thanks to MTR president Robert Batscha and David Bushman for an historic two days.
STEPHEN FURST is performing voice-overs for Disney including for The Little Mermaid, Part 2. He is also set to direct a sci-fi film Yogsuth. Stephen's son Nathan just completed scoring the film Baby Huey.
SAGAN LEWIS ... ends her Arizona sabbatical where she has been raising her son, and is returning to L.A. to be available for acting work. Welcome back!
ELLEN BRY MASIUS, a supermom herself, just participated in the 600 mile California Aids Ride which last year raised $10 million. FYI - John Tinker's wife Lori Mezullo also participated in the charity event. Ellen is also ready to dedicate some of her time to more acting duties.
JOHN MASIUS's new hit NBC show Providence is a shoe-in for an Emmy nomination.
DAVID MORSE will appear with Tom Hanks in Stephen King's thriller The Green Mile, slated for release this Fall.
CHRISTINA PICKLES has landed a spot on Fox's new family drama Get Real, in which she plays her favorite role - a Mom! The new series is getting great notices from early previews.
JOHN TINKER and his staff participated in an historic event. Earlier this year, Chicago Hope became the first CBS drama to shoot an episode in HDTV.
ED BEGLEY just completed a run of two new David Mamet plays in L.A., and several appearances on the WB's Seventh Heaven.
BILL & BONNIE DANIELS' characters tied the knot on the season finale of Boy Meets World, and will return to the ABC show this Fall.
Fontana, ON CALL publisher Longworth |
STEPHEN FURST is performing voice-overs for Disney including for The Little Mermaid, Part 2. He is also set to direct a sci-fi film Yogsuth. Stephen's son Nathan just completed scoring the film Baby Huey.
SAGAN LEWIS ... ends her Arizona sabbatical where she has been raising her son, and is returning to L.A. to be available for acting work. Welcome back!
ELLEN BRY MASIUS, a supermom herself, just participated in the 600 mile California Aids Ride which last year raised $10 million. FYI - John Tinker's wife Lori Mezullo also participated in the charity event. Ellen is also ready to dedicate some of her time to more acting duties.
JOHN MASIUS's new hit NBC show Providence is a shoe-in for an Emmy nomination.
DAVID MORSE will appear with Tom Hanks in Stephen King's thriller The Green Mile, slated for release this Fall.
CHRISTINA PICKLES has landed a spot on Fox's new family drama Get Real, in which she plays her favorite role - a Mom! The new series is getting great notices from early previews.
JOHN TINKER and his staff participated in an historic event. Earlier this year, Chicago Hope became the first CBS drama to shoot an episode in HDTV.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Howie Mandel recalls St. Elsewhere on David Letterman
Video of Howie Mandel, a.k.a. Dr. Wayne Fiscus, discussing St. Elsewhere on a recent episode of The Late Show with David Letterman.
Check it out--on Howie Mandel's recent appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman (I didn't see it, but from the date of the video, it was probably Monday night), Dave brings up how Howie broke through as a television actor. After guessing "Hill House Blues", Howie reminds him that the show was St. Elsewhere, and that he played a doctor, not a cop. He mentions how Denzel Washington got his start on the program, and then launches into an impressive recollection of the E.R. treatment for a gunshot wound to the chest:
Check it out--on Howie Mandel's recent appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman (I didn't see it, but from the date of the video, it was probably Monday night), Dave brings up how Howie broke through as a television actor. After guessing "Hill House Blues", Howie reminds him that the show was St. Elsewhere, and that he played a doctor, not a cop. He mentions how Denzel Washington got his start on the program, and then launches into an impressive recollection of the E.R. treatment for a gunshot wound to the chest:
Thursday, August 7, 2014
On Call, Vol. 3, No. 1 - Personnel Profile: Howie Mandel - "Prankster and Pathfinder"
From On Call: The Official Newsletter of the St. Elsewhere Appreciation Club, volume 3, number 1, June, 1999.
"YUCK, YUCK, CANUCK"
Canadian Ham Mandel |
Howie Mandel was born in Toronto, Canada to Albert and Evy Mandel. His father, now deceased, was a lighting salesman and his mom a real estate agent. He has a brother Steve who is three years his junior.
HOWIE MANDEL ... "I had a great upbringing, a normal, middle-class, Canadian suburban upbringing. Once a year we would drive down to Florida and I would sit for three days of driving, and my parents would sit things between me and my brother so we wouldn't smack each other. And that was the extent of our family outings."
Unfortunately, Howie's parents couldn't monitor his actions 24 hours a day, and, as a result, his career as a student turned prankster was legendary, with his having attended (and subsequently been asked to leave) a myriad of schools, including Don Mills Collegiate, North View Heights, and York Mills Collegiate where he once hired a contractor over the phone to build an addition onto the school library. The contractor showed up and commenced work until halted by an irate Principal.
Sunday, April 20, 2014
St. Elsewhere featured in PBS's Pioneers of TV: Doctors and Nurses
St. Elsewhere gets a nod in a PBS retrospective on medical dramas airing Tuesday, April 22.
Fans of classic TV medical dramas are in for a treat this week. PBS.org's page on the upcoming program Doctors and Nurses includes a few paragraphs on St. Elsewhere. Check it out!
There's a video preview there as well, but I have to assume that it is only viewable in the United States (where I do not live). If it contains any bits on St. Elsewhere, feel free to remark upon it in the comments thread.
Richard Chamberlain on the set of Dr. Kildare. |
There's a video preview there as well, but I have to assume that it is only viewable in the United States (where I do not live). If it contains any bits on St. Elsewhere, feel free to remark upon it in the comments thread.
Monday, March 24, 2014
On Call, Vol. 3, No. 1 - From the Hospital Review Board: Romance, Nepotism and Fraternization at St. Elsewhere
From On Call: The Official Newsletter of the St. Elsewhere Appreciation Club, volume 3, number 1, June, 1999.
From the early days of soap operas, hospitals have provided the perfect venue for the art of love, with doctors and nurses proving that they really could "operate" while on duty. In the 1960's, Dr. Kildare and Ben Casey prescribed raging hormones for prime time, and they were followed by '70s hunks Chad Everett (Medical Center) and James Brolin (Marcus Welby). Today, love in the TV hospital is commonplace, as romantic relationships offer us a more rounded view of characters in shows like Chicago Hope and ER.
But it was St. Elsewhere in the 1980s that elevated medical drama libidos to a new high. Nearly every member of the St. Elsewhere ensemble became romantically involved, and many did so several times. The irony is that St. Elsewhere was and still is the model for how television dramas deal with serious, topical issues, and the model for how those issues are advanced primarily inside the four walls of a hospital. Christina Pickles used to hear from fans that St. Elsewhere was "only good when the characters stayed in the hospital." Yet, Tom Fontana, John Masius and the gang managed to fill each season with sex (either direct or implied) that helped to better define the characters and give them deeper meaning to the motivations behind their actions. Speaking with ON CALL publisher Jim Longworth for his upcoming book, Above the Line: Conversations with TV's Top Producers, Tom Fontana explained his approach to character development.
TOM FONTANA ... "Every character that I create, I create three parts to him or her. One is the mind, one is the heart, and one is (for lack of a better word) the genitalia. In other words, what do they think about? What makes them weep and laugh, and what makes them want to make love? That is universal whether they're doctors, cops, criminals, or my Aunt Tilly."
Monday, February 3, 2014
The Ski Mask Rapist, Parts 1 & 2
St. Elsewhere got nice and dark with this season two storyline--a serial rapist stalks St. Eligius.
In my previous video post, Peter White's Downfall, the disgraced doctor (Terence Knox) had been censured--stripped of his license to prescribe drugs after being bamboozled by an undercover police officer in the E.R. His testimony protected Nurse Shirley Daniels (Ellen Bry) from punishment, but the price he paid was stiff: he's been transferred to pathology, his career prospects have been curtailed, and his permanent record is forever marred.
The season two episode "Drama Center" (aired February 15, 1984) opens in the St. Eligius parking lot. A woman is having trouble starting her car in the cold weather when a man in a ski mask appears at her window, offering to help. She declines, but he reappears at the other window and smashes it.
The woman, Roxanne Reid (Allyn Ann McLerie), enters the E.R. reporting a broken wrist. When Dr. Wayne Fiscus (Howie Mandel) tries to take her for x-rays, she confides that she was raped as well, and Dr. Annie Cavanero (Cynthia Sikes) examines her. As she recovers and is visited by a social worker (Jenny O'Hara), she seems to be handling the ordeal remarkably well, despite her husband's discomfort. But at night, she is plagued by nightmares of the assault. Ms. Reid benefits from a therapy session where she works through her trauma.
Elsewhere, Dr. Peter White visits the emergency room and snaps into action when an unconscious man is carried in. While Dr. Wendy Armstrong (Kim Miyori) and Nurse Daniels treat the patient, Peter, the former E.R. physician, pitches in to help, even though he's not allowed to. When they remind him of his restricted status, he grabs Shirley's arm, angry over being stuck in the morgue, and reminds her of the favor he did for her. Later, Peter's friend, Dr. Jack Morrison (David Morse), visits him in his new digs. Peter is bitter, and not appreciative of the support. And he has resumed his addiction to painkillers.
Dr. Victor Ehrlich (Ed Begley, Jr.) returns from his honeymoon and is shocked to learn from Nurse Lucy Papandrao (Jennifer Savidge) that a woman was raped in the parking lot and another was grabbed on the way to the elevated train, but got away. Later, a young candy-striper (Amy Resnick) nervously approaches Nurse Helen Rosenthal (Christina Pickles) and breaks into tears as she describes how a man lured her into a supply closet--the ski-mask rapist has struck again.
Director of Medicine Dr. Donald Westphall (Ed Flanders) orders the hospital locked down and hires extra security to interrogate visitors like City official Joan Halloran (Nancy Stafford), who wants to hire undercover cops to pose as orderlies. In the cafeteria, Rosenthal, Dr. Jackie Wade (Sagan Lewis), and Dr. Wendy Armstrong (Kim Miyori) debate whether they should fight back if attacked. Wade has seen too many women beaten up for resisting, while Armstrong wants to fight back, as she has read that women who fight back are less likely to be depressed afterwards. Rosenthal doesn't want to rearrange her life and give away her power.
The female staff are treated to a rape prevention meeting from the security consultant, who advises the women not to "get hysterical". They are not assured by his statistics about the unlikeliness of being murdered or the airhorns he hands out to them for protection. Cathy Martin, on the other hand, feels that her aura will protect her--rapists seek out victims, and she doesn't project a "victim aura".
Dr. Wayne Fiscus tries to help out by organizing an escort service for the women at the hospital, but Dr. Annie Cavanero points out the flaw in the plan--"how do you know you haven't signed up the rapist?"
Nurse Shirley Daniels has obtained a license to carry a can of mace for self-protection. When she enters a secure prescription drug storage room, she hears noises and springs into action when a man rushes at her from the shadows. The attacker, however, turns out to be merely a thief who picked the wrong drug closet on the wrong day, and he is charged only with criminal trespassing, to Shirley's dismay.
Meanwhile, Dr. Peter White is not having a good night. We join him as he fails to perform with a prostitute at a seedy motel, and he explains that it was the night of his wedding anniversary, and he and Myra were all set to go out and have a good time when their kids started acting up, triggering the same fight they always have--Myra feels Peter is too lenient on the children and he feels she's too hard on them. He expresses his frustration with family life and leaves.
Back at St. Eligius, Dr. Cathy Martin is at work in the morgue when a ski-masked face appears at the window. The assailant enters, and despite Cathy's aura, he advances on her. In the struggle, she pulls off the ski mask and reveals the identity of the rapist--Dr. Peter White. The clip cuts off the ending, but after she pulls off the mask, he threatens, "If you tell anyone, I'll kill you." Roll credits.
Dr. Peter White (Terence Knox) lends an unwanted hand to Nurse Shirley Daniels (Ellen Bry). |
The season two episode "Drama Center" (aired February 15, 1984) opens in the St. Eligius parking lot. A woman is having trouble starting her car in the cold weather when a man in a ski mask appears at her window, offering to help. She declines, but he reappears at the other window and smashes it.
The woman, Roxanne Reid (Allyn Ann McLerie), enters the E.R. reporting a broken wrist. When Dr. Wayne Fiscus (Howie Mandel) tries to take her for x-rays, she confides that she was raped as well, and Dr. Annie Cavanero (Cynthia Sikes) examines her. As she recovers and is visited by a social worker (Jenny O'Hara), she seems to be handling the ordeal remarkably well, despite her husband's discomfort. But at night, she is plagued by nightmares of the assault. Ms. Reid benefits from a therapy session where she works through her trauma.
Elsewhere, Dr. Peter White visits the emergency room and snaps into action when an unconscious man is carried in. While Dr. Wendy Armstrong (Kim Miyori) and Nurse Daniels treat the patient, Peter, the former E.R. physician, pitches in to help, even though he's not allowed to. When they remind him of his restricted status, he grabs Shirley's arm, angry over being stuck in the morgue, and reminds her of the favor he did for her. Later, Peter's friend, Dr. Jack Morrison (David Morse), visits him in his new digs. Peter is bitter, and not appreciative of the support. And he has resumed his addiction to painkillers.
- This episode was included in the VHS collection The Very Best of St. Elsewhere.
- For me, I will always identify Allyn Ann McLerie with her role as Carmen Carlson, wife of General Manager Arthur Carlson on WKRP in Cincinnati. I've been a fan of Jenny O'Hara since her role on Beverly Hills 90210 as the grieving mother of accidental suicide victim Scott Scanlan.
- Jack asks Peter for the Spelling autopsy.
Dr. Victor Ehrlich (Ed Begley, Jr.) returns from his honeymoon and is shocked to learn from Nurse Lucy Papandrao (Jennifer Savidge) that a woman was raped in the parking lot and another was grabbed on the way to the elevated train, but got away. Later, a young candy-striper (Amy Resnick) nervously approaches Nurse Helen Rosenthal (Christina Pickles) and breaks into tears as she describes how a man lured her into a supply closet--the ski-mask rapist has struck again.
The ski mask rapist picks his moment. |
The female staff are treated to a rape prevention meeting from the security consultant, who advises the women not to "get hysterical". They are not assured by his statistics about the unlikeliness of being murdered or the airhorns he hands out to them for protection. Cathy Martin, on the other hand, feels that her aura will protect her--rapists seek out victims, and she doesn't project a "victim aura".
Dr. Wayne Fiscus tries to help out by organizing an escort service for the women at the hospital, but Dr. Annie Cavanero points out the flaw in the plan--"how do you know you haven't signed up the rapist?"
Nurse Shirley Daniels has obtained a license to carry a can of mace for self-protection. When she enters a secure prescription drug storage room, she hears noises and springs into action when a man rushes at her from the shadows. The attacker, however, turns out to be merely a thief who picked the wrong drug closet on the wrong day, and he is charged only with criminal trespassing, to Shirley's dismay.
Meanwhile, Dr. Peter White is not having a good night. We join him as he fails to perform with a prostitute at a seedy motel, and he explains that it was the night of his wedding anniversary, and he and Myra were all set to go out and have a good time when their kids started acting up, triggering the same fight they always have--Myra feels Peter is too lenient on the children and he feels she's too hard on them. He expresses his frustration with family life and leaves.
Back at St. Eligius, Dr. Cathy Martin is at work in the morgue when a ski-masked face appears at the window. The assailant enters, and despite Cathy's aura, he advances on her. In the struggle, she pulls off the ski mask and reveals the identity of the rapist--Dr. Peter White. The clip cuts off the ending, but after she pulls off the mask, he threatens, "If you tell anyone, I'll kill you." Roll credits.
- To keep the clips shorter, I decided not to include the "red herring" storyline. In "Drama Center", Dr. Annie Cavanero is dating Dr. Christopher Rant (Michael Goodwin), the moonlighting physician who dumped an indigent patient on St. Eligius in "A Pig Too Far". At Annie's place, Chris won't take no for an answer, and Annie has to fight him off with a face slap. In "Attack", we see Annie enter the rape prevention seminar--she has just had one last fight with Chris, who was getting grabby again, and left with a "to hell with you." Goodwin has a similar build and height to Terence Knox, and both characters kept grabbing women forcefully, so the guy in the ski mask looked like it could have been either of them.
- "That's why lions sleep in trees." I always enjoyed the show's dark humor. I hope rape prevention lectures are delivered with a bit more sensitivity nowadays.
- Wendy intends to fight back because she's heard that victims are less depressed afterwards if they resist. This is some pretty brutal foreshadowing, as we shall see.
- Some even more brutal and amazing foreshadowing--Wayne says to Jack about the panic that has gripped the women at St. Eligius, "I guess we'll never know what the women are going through." In season four, Jack gets raped while doing community outreach work at a prison, and is then stalked by the assailant after he is released in season five.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Classic 1980s TV: Cynthia Sikes vs. Heather Locklear on Battle of the Network Stars
Video of Cynthia Sikes, who played St. Elsewhere's Dr. Annie Cavanero, taking on Heather Locklear on Battle of the Network Stars in 1983.
Here's some quintessential 1970s-80s nostalgia--remember Battle of the Network Stars? Television stars from CBS, ABC and NBC would compete for network television supremacy in physical challenges. Someone has graciously preserved several clips of these contests on YouTube.
St. Elsewhere is represented in the following video clip by Cynthia Sikes, who played Dr. Annie Cavanero in the show's first three seasons. She takes on a young Heather Locklear in the obstacle course, with a play-by-play and post-contest interview conducted by legendary ABC sportscaster Howard Cosell:
Cynthia Sikes, Heather Locklear, and Howard Cosell |
St. Elsewhere is represented in the following video clip by Cynthia Sikes, who played Dr. Annie Cavanero in the show's first three seasons. She takes on a young Heather Locklear in the obstacle course, with a play-by-play and post-contest interview conducted by legendary ABC sportscaster Howard Cosell:
Sikes falls behind after the monkey bars, but Locklear, then 22 and starring on T.J. Hooker, stumbles after clearing the wall and loses her lead. Sikes pulls away after this misstep, and Locklear can't compete with Sikes's long, graceful stride. Victory to NBC!
And as a bonus, here are two clips of Mark Harmon, Dr. Bobby Caldwell himself, representing his pre-St. Elsewhere series, the prime-time soap Flamingo Road (which also featured Sikes in a recurring role). In both clips, Harmon, the former starter on UCLA's football team, demonstrates his prowess on the obstacle course. In December 1981, he dominates against Falcon Crest's Lorenzo Lamas, and in the second, from May 1982, he sets an event record against Dynasty's John James. Cosell is in fine form, especially in describing the agony of Lamas, who injures himself.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
New Videos - Peter White's Downfall
The St. Elsewhere Experience presents a series of videos chronicling the show's most controversial storyline.
If the Emmy Awards were ever to hand out a Special Jury Prize for audacity like they did at Cannes in 1996 for David Cronenberg's Crash, they would be hard-pressed to top the 1983-84 season of St. Elsewhere.
Terence Knox's Dr. Peter White was originally supposed to get killed off early in the first season since he was such a screw-up, but Knox proved compelling enough to earn quite a bit of screen time as he cheated on his wife with multiple partners, separated from her, and got himself hooked on painkillers.
At the end of season one, he had hit rock bottom, but when season two (miraculously) rolled around, it looked like Peter was getting his groove back. He reunited with his wife, kicked his drug habit, and began developing a talent for diagnosis. But nothing stays good for too long at St. Eligius. Especially when the writers decide to push the envelope...
Yes--for the first and possibly only time in network television history, St. Elsewhere made a regular character a serial rapist. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)
I am posting these videos for a few reasons. For one, I want people to be able to comment on this one. A popular sentiment I've heard is that the writers went too far on this one, and it's just not believable that a character would do something like this. I would imagine that nowadays, a story like this would be grounded in a deeper understanding of the psychology behind sexual assault. So feel free to tear this one apart!
Another reason--I found Peter White utterly fascinating. Like a train wreck. One that takes out three main characters. I wouldn't be surprised if NBC execs felt the opening credits were too long and they wanted the producers to thin the herd. Or if they wanted to themselves. (Sounds like the Sword of Damocles hung over every actor's head, unless the producers liked them... you can tell which ones, because they stuck around, got screen time, and didn't get raped in prison.)
So I'm starting the series with a pair of videos that set the scene for Peter's dark descent.
Peter's good fortune comes to an end in the seventh episode of season two, "Entrapment":
His poor judgment lands he and Nurse Shirley Daniels (Ellen Bry), his unwitting accomplice, before the Medical Review Board for dispensing prescription drugs without a license in the season's twelfth episode, "Hearing":
For me, Dr. Peter White is one of the worst bad guys ever to appear in the opening credits of a network television series; probably the nastiest villain of the decade. Knox is very effective at making Peter downright awful, yet strangely watchable.
I also enjoy Conrad Janis as Ralph Tanney, who, judging from his courtroom skills here and in upcoming episodes, is possibly the single greatest lawyer in the history of the world.
By the way, there are a few more articles left from On Call: The Official Newsletter of the St. Elsewhere Appreciation Club. Those are coming (they're long!). I also plan on resuming episode recaps after the newsletter is fully preserved online.
Dr. Peter White (Terence Knox) breaks down after learning he has lost his drug-prescription privileges. |
Terence Knox's Dr. Peter White was originally supposed to get killed off early in the first season since he was such a screw-up, but Knox proved compelling enough to earn quite a bit of screen time as he cheated on his wife with multiple partners, separated from her, and got himself hooked on painkillers.
At the end of season one, he had hit rock bottom, but when season two (miraculously) rolled around, it looked like Peter was getting his groove back. He reunited with his wife, kicked his drug habit, and began developing a talent for diagnosis. But nothing stays good for too long at St. Eligius. Especially when the writers decide to push the envelope...
Yes--for the first and possibly only time in network television history, St. Elsewhere made a regular character a serial rapist. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)
I am posting these videos for a few reasons. For one, I want people to be able to comment on this one. A popular sentiment I've heard is that the writers went too far on this one, and it's just not believable that a character would do something like this. I would imagine that nowadays, a story like this would be grounded in a deeper understanding of the psychology behind sexual assault. So feel free to tear this one apart!
Another reason--I found Peter White utterly fascinating. Like a train wreck. One that takes out three main characters. I wouldn't be surprised if NBC execs felt the opening credits were too long and they wanted the producers to thin the herd. Or if they wanted to themselves. (Sounds like the Sword of Damocles hung over every actor's head, unless the producers liked them... you can tell which ones, because they stuck around, got screen time, and didn't get raped in prison.)
So I'm starting the series with a pair of videos that set the scene for Peter's dark descent.
Peter's good fortune comes to an end in the seventh episode of season two, "Entrapment":
His poor judgment lands he and Nurse Shirley Daniels (Ellen Bry), his unwitting accomplice, before the Medical Review Board for dispensing prescription drugs without a license in the season's twelfth episode, "Hearing":
For me, Dr. Peter White is one of the worst bad guys ever to appear in the opening credits of a network television series; probably the nastiest villain of the decade. Knox is very effective at making Peter downright awful, yet strangely watchable.
I also enjoy Conrad Janis as Ralph Tanney, who, judging from his courtroom skills here and in upcoming episodes, is possibly the single greatest lawyer in the history of the world.
By the way, there are a few more articles left from On Call: The Official Newsletter of the St. Elsewhere Appreciation Club. Those are coming (they're long!). I also plan on resuming episode recaps after the newsletter is fully preserved online.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
On Call, Vol. 2, No. 3 - Hospital Directory
From On Call: The Official Newsletter of the St. Elsewhere Appreciation Club, volume 2, number 3, December, 1998.
As promised, ON CALL has compiled a list of folks who had anything to do with St. Elsewhere. Where possible, we have contacted crew members and performers to update their careers and/or credits. The first item of each entry refers to the person's position on St. Elsewhere. If you know of anyone we left out, please let us hear from you.*
(*From the Webmaster of The St. Elsewhere Experience: No, please don't.)
Video: Dr. Auschlander Tries Medical Marijuana
St. Elsewhere broke ground with this story about using medical marijuana to treat chemotherapy symptoms in 1984.
This is one of the many reasons Norman Lloyd is awesome--his comedic chops and pathos in this episode from February 3, 1984. His character, Dr. Daniel Auschlander, fights a battle with liver cancer throughout the entire run of St. Elsewhere. He was originally slated to die off after four episodes, but Lloyd proved to be too good to jettison so early, so his cancer went into what Lloyd has described as "the longest remission in television history".
Auschlander's recurrent chemo cycles affect his ability to do his job, and by the middle of season two, he's feeling particularly beaten. In the season's twelfth episode, "Hearing", his oncologist, Dr. Morton Chegley (Arthur Taxier), suggests several options for relieving his patient's pain, and laments that he is not legally permitted to prescribe THC caplets, which, he hears, are quite effective.
Auschlander is not warm to the idea of circumventing the law, but his symptoms push him to take action. He spots Dr. Wayne Fiscus (Howie Mandel) in the cafeteria, and asks if the young doctor might be able to point him in the right direction. Wayne, delighted by the notion of the septuagenarian taking a walk on the wild side, has no luck with his old connection, but enlists the help of orderly Luther Hawkins (Eric Laneuville), to whom Wayne must admit he approached because he assumed that an African-American ghetto-dweller would be able to score some dope.
His assumption was correct, and soon after, Fiscus and Hawkins are supervising the elderly experimenter on a trip to a convenience store, to find the ideal munchies for the occasion. They have some serious explaining to do to a skeptical police officer when it becomes clear that the test subject can't handle his smoke.
The next day, Dr. Auschlander confides to Dr. Fiscus that the whole experience--the undignified behaviour, the night of sleep lost to hallucinations, and the ill effects of a junk-food-munchie-binge--was not worth repeating, and that he'll endure his chemo symptoms without chemical enhancement.
Enjoy the clip!
Dr. Daniel Auschlander (Norman Lloyd) sees "what all the fuss is" about cannabis. |
Auschlander's recurrent chemo cycles affect his ability to do his job, and by the middle of season two, he's feeling particularly beaten. In the season's twelfth episode, "Hearing", his oncologist, Dr. Morton Chegley (Arthur Taxier), suggests several options for relieving his patient's pain, and laments that he is not legally permitted to prescribe THC caplets, which, he hears, are quite effective.
Auschlander is not warm to the idea of circumventing the law, but his symptoms push him to take action. He spots Dr. Wayne Fiscus (Howie Mandel) in the cafeteria, and asks if the young doctor might be able to point him in the right direction. Wayne, delighted by the notion of the septuagenarian taking a walk on the wild side, has no luck with his old connection, but enlists the help of orderly Luther Hawkins (Eric Laneuville), to whom Wayne must admit he approached because he assumed that an African-American ghetto-dweller would be able to score some dope.
His assumption was correct, and soon after, Fiscus and Hawkins are supervising the elderly experimenter on a trip to a convenience store, to find the ideal munchies for the occasion. They have some serious explaining to do to a skeptical police officer when it becomes clear that the test subject can't handle his smoke.
The next day, Dr. Auschlander confides to Dr. Fiscus that the whole experience--the undignified behaviour, the night of sleep lost to hallucinations, and the ill effects of a junk-food-munchie-binge--was not worth repeating, and that he'll endure his chemo symptoms without chemical enhancement.
Enjoy the clip!
- I don't know if this was the first "medical marijuana" storyline on network television, but it certainly brought up the issue long before there was such a thing as the "medical marijuana industry".
- A lot of TV shows have done the "pot" episode, where the joke is that the characters get high and act stupid. For me, this is one of the better ones. Credit that to the writers (Mark Tinker, John Masius, Steve Bello, Robert Daniels), director Charles Braverman, and, of course, the great Norman Lloyd.
- When the police officer asks Dr. Auschlander for "his story", Auschlander relates that when he was a boy, his father used to take him to the Metropolitan Opera House. This is the same story, almost word for word, that he tells Dr. Westphall at the end of the series' third episode, "Down's Syndrome".
Sunday, January 12, 2014
On Call, Vol. 2, No. 3 - From the Personnel Department - Profile: Mark Tinker - Wise Guy With a Heart
From On Call: The Official Newsletter of the St. Elsewhere Appreciation Club, volume 2, number 3, December 1998.
He was born into television royalty, yet had to make his own success. His work is very public, yet he maintains a low profile. He is boisterous, yet quiet, and sardonic yet sensitive. These and other incongruities are why John Tinker lovingly boasts of his brother, "There's nobody like Mark."
Grant's Gang - Jodie, Mike, Mark, John |
Mark Tinker was born in 1951 to mother, Ruth, and legendary television genius Grant Tinker. The oldest of four children, Mark and his siblings: Mike (born 1952), Jodie (1954), and baby brother John (1958) grew up in Darian, Connecticut not far from New York City on Long Island Sound.
RUTH TINKER FRICKE ... "Mark always had a good work ethic, I never had to tell him to do his homework."
JODIE TINKER DeLELLA ... "He was really good in school, he got good grades."
RUTH TINKER FRICKE ... "He watched Howdy Doody and Soupy Sales, but he would not sit there like the kids do today and watch cartoons. We would watch cartoons during supper, because it made the kids eat faster (laughs)."
And the faster they ate, the faster they could get back to the family pastime - sports.
JOHN TINKER ... "Mark played Little League and Babe Ruth when he was very young. I remember swimming. All of us swam on the swim team. And I remember Mark as a very good swimmer. He was very slight, I mean, a good gust of wind would put him across the field."
RUTH TINKER FRICKE ... "He loved athletics, he played baseball, but not football because he was too skinny."
And though skinny, Mark overcame his size to excel in many sports. What he couldn't quite overcome, though, was the divorce of his parents.
GRANT TINKER ... "We lived in Connecticut and I worked in New York - the commuting wasn't very good for the marriage (or the kids). It meant that I left early in the morning before they were up, and got home at night frequently after they had gone to bed. So I had far too little time with them, and I feel like I was sort of an absentee father. I used to spend far too much time working and far too little time doing the more valuable things."
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