Ben Casey

Ben Casey is a medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its iconic opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, *, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaffe intoned, "Man, woman, birth, death, infinity." Pioneering neurosurgeon Joseph Ransohoff was a medical consultant for the show and may have influenced the personality of the title character.

Synopsis

The series starred Vince Edwards as medical doctor Ben Casey, a young, intense but idealistic surgeon at County General Hospital. His mentor was Doctor David Zorba, played by Sam Jaffe. At the beginning of the 1965 season, Jaffe left the show and Franchot Tone replaced Zorba as new Chief of Surgery, Doctor Daniel Niles Freeland. The show began running multi-episode stories and Casey developed a romantic relationship with Jane Hancock (Stella Stevens), who had just emerged from a coma after thirteen years.

Production notes

Ben Casey had several directors including Irvin Kershner and Academy Award-winning director Sydney Pollack. Its theme song was written by David Raksin; a version performed by pianist Valjean was a Top 40 hit in the United States.

Guest stars included Tyler McVey and John M. Pickard.

The show was a Bing Crosby Production, who also created and produced other programs such as Hogan's Heroes , and Slattery's People .

Ben Casey was filmed at the famous Desilu Studios.

Adaptations

There was both a comic strip and a comic book based on the television series. The strip was written and drawn by Neal Adams. The daily strip began on November 26, 1962 and the Sunday strip debuted on September 20, 1964. Both ended on July 31, 1966 (a Sunday). The half page format was regarded as the best Sunday format, and one effect by Neal Adams can only be appreciated in the half page—a globe in one panel is a continuation of Ben Casey's head in a lower panel. The daily strip was reprinted in the Menomonee Falls Gazette . The comic book was published by Dell Comics for 10 issues from 1962 to 1964. All had photocovers, except for the final issue which was drawn by John Tartaglione.

In 1962 the series inspired a semi-comic rock song, "Callin' Dr. Casey," written and performed by soon-to-be-renowned songwriter John D. Loudermilk. In the song, Loudermilk refers to the TV doctor's wide-ranging medical abilities and asks whether Casey has any cure for heartbreak.

In its early run, Ben Casey dominated its time slot. In the 1962-1963 season, it swamped Loretta Young's return to weekly television in her family sitcom The New Loretta Young Show on CBS. In 1963, it moved to Wednesdays as the preceding program for ABC's drama about college life, Channing starring Jason Evers and Henry Jones. However, due to the overwhelming combination of CBS' The Beverly Hillbillies and The Dick Van Dyke Show , Ben Casey returned to its original Monday night time slot in the fall of 1964, remaining there until its cancellation in March 1966. Daytime repeats of the series also aired on ABC's weekday schedule from 1965 through 1967.

In 1988, a television movie, The Return of Ben Casey , also starring Vince Edwards, aired in syndication.

References

1. ^ Ben Casey IMDb credits
2. ^ "Vince Edwards, 67, the Doctor In the Hit TV Series 'Ben Casey'". New York Times . 1996-03-16 . http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D01E1D81639F930A25750C0A960958260 . Retrieved 2008-01-10 .  

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