My favorite guest star on Medical Center
kenoltingDennis Cole Is the best.He elevates anything he is on.
Believe it or not, my favorite guest star was O. J. Simpson.
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MovieChat Forums > Medical Center (1969) Discussion > My favorite guest star on Medical Center
My favorite guest star on this marvelous series--Well they were all uniformly
great, but here are a few that particularly stand out in my memory:
1.Lois Nettleton: She portrayed a lesbian doctor. Way ahead of it's time--
2.Julie Adams and Catherine Burns: They portrayed a mother and daughter in a
particularly memorable episode about deeply disturbed almost homicidal girl.
(She (Catherine Burns)threw acid on guest star Kathryn Walker!)
3.Robert Reed: Who can ever forget this episode about a man who wanted to
change his sex. Groundbreaking and still controversial.
4.Sheree North: A two-part episode entitled "Shock" in which she portrayed a nurse who "helped" patients by giving them overdoses of insulin.
5.Jack Carter: A man with a mental disorder that he could not control.
6.George Maharis: He portrayed a "doctor" practicing without a license, yet
many of his diagnoses were quite accurate. You felt for him, although you
knew what he was doing was illegal and potentially harmful to patients.
7.Herbert Edelman: He appeared in a number of episodes as a police lieutenant
who would interrogate Joe Gannon about something he considered not quite
"by the book" he was doing with and/or for one of his patients.
8.Gary Lockwood: Portrayed a hip, young doctor (Doctor Webster? Webson?) who
just aggravated another older doctor (the great character actor Pat Hingle)
Gary told to Pat to "hang loose" (Remember that expression?)Gary's character
rode a motorcycle! Doctor's didn't ride motorcycles in those days (not on
television anyway!)
9.Pamela Franklin: She portrayed a girl who was thought to be "retarded" but
Dr. Gannon discovered that she was wrongly diagnosed as an infant and was
actually of normal intelligence.
10.Bradford Dillman: An episode where he portrayed a man dealing with male
impotence. (I learned so much from this series!)
11. Monte Markham: He portrays a corvette driving doctor who has it all, but
feels he "needs to get back to his roots" and work in a small community.
12. Dyan Cannon: She portrayed a mother who abused her child. This was the
first time that I remember a television series dealing with child abuse.
13. Meredith Baxter: She portrayed a manipulative girl who fooled Joe Gannon
into thinking that she was just a helpless girl who just needed love.
14. Michael Douglas in a rare television guest starring role. He portrayed a
developmentally disabled young man in a beautiful and sensitive way.
Well, those are just a few "off the top of my head," but as I said before, all
the guest stars were great.
Hello - I was wondering about the episode "Shock!" Was Vera Miles in this too? I am a huge fan of hers and was thinking of trying to buy that season but only if she is in it. Sounds like Sheree North was the star, what role did Vera play? Thanks!
Remcat
RE your #8: Actually, there was a very famous TV doctor who did, indeed, ride a motorcycle. James Brolin's "Dr. Steven Kiley" even rode his bike in the opening title sequence of "Marcus Welby, M.D."
RE #12: Three episodes of Jack Webb-produced TV series' dealt with child abuse the season before the October 1969 "Victim" episode of "Medical Center" that starred Dyan Cannon.
One was the September 1968 episode of "Adam-12" titled "Log 141: The Color TV Bandit," part of which featured a mother (played by Cloris Leachman, a few years before the veteran actress achieved her greatest fame playing "Phyllis Lindstrom" on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show") who neglected her chidren to score drugs. The second was the very specific February 1968 "Dragnet" episode titled "The Big Little Victim." Webb's righteously indignant monologue in that episode is unforgettable. The third was a March 1969 episode of "Adam-12" titled "He Was Trying To Kill Me," which reveals a surprising perperator in a child abuse case.
But you are correct these episodes of "Medical Center" were generally well-acted and well-written. One of the most notorious was certainly that episode with Robert Reed as a physician who underwent male-to-female transsexual surgeries. It was quite a contrast after Reed had played a perfect TV dad on the fairly one-note sitcom "The Brady Bunch."
I really enjoyed reading your post. I still remember the Lois Nettleton episode from its first airing.
shareI loved this show as well. Didn't Tyne Daly guest once or twice? She played quirky characters so well in the seventies; I seem to recall her in a Medical Center episode that I thoroughly enjoyed but right now can't remember what it was about. Any help?
shareDear himan-5:
According to Tyne's credit list in the IMDB, she appeared on "Medical Center"
at least four times, one time playing a character named Jennifer Lochner. Since
Tyne's father, actor James Daly had the series regular role of Dr. Paul Lochner, I
presume the character of Jennifer was Paul's daughter. Interesting casting, no?
Tyne's brother is the great actor Timothy Daly (the television series "Wings"
among others). His IMDB credit list does not include an appearance on his
father Paul's "Medical Center." I wonder if he ever appeared on that show, only
as a walk-on or small uncredited role? Tyne appeared with Timothy on "Wings"
and Timothy appeared with Tyne at least once on her marvelous television series
"Cagney and Lacey."
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I'm sorry, but I don't remember Mr. Martin's episode (and I do remember a great
many episodes of this series). I remember him fondly from the series "The
Fantastic Journey."
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Just about anybody who was or was to be anybody was a guest star! IE: Richard Hatch (Battlestar Galactica); Michael Douglas; Erik Estrada. There were 173 episodes in all...Gosh I miss it.
shareRobert Reed.
shareMine is Vera Miles. I just discovered Medical Center episodes on Youtube and first watched one with Suzanne Pleshette and Leslie Nielsen (two favorites of mine). In the margin was "The Clash" with Vera Miles. I remember this episode from when I was 10 yrs. old! What I remember is how gorgeous she was. She is the rare woman (like Suzanne Pleshette) who started out beautiful and got even more so as she went along.
Along with Ms. Miles beauty was that incredible performance. She could be cool and professional, and then turn into a ferocious lioness. It was mezmorizing and I wanted to be just like her when I grew up.
Viewing it now as an adult, I am amazed at how well crafted they were, especially this one (and many others, I'm sure). Just in this one episode they dealt with abortion, discrimination against women (both the Vera Miles character and the students who had had abortions), Vera Miles relationship to her husband, and Dr. Gannon's commitment to changing student health to keep in step with the changing times.
They should have submitted this episode at Emmy time, and won the Emmys for Vera Miles, Chad Everett, and best drama. I also liked the actor who played her husband. Very subtle, very believable, effortless - like they weren't acting at all. They all seemed to be the real deal. Oh, and the Emmy for best writing as well!
Thanks so much to AZJetFox for posting those episodes on Youtube!
Mine is Vera Miles and Diane Baker.
Thanks tonner4, from AZJetFox, for your comments, I hope posting more episodes on Youtube.
Robert Reed. After being stifled in the inane "Brady Bunch" he loses his johnson to a sex change operation in "Medical Center". They even had a scene showing him in drag after the big switch.
shareMy favorite actor was Peter Strauss. During this time anything Peter Strauss was in was my favorite! This show was ground breaking. I'm glad it's been posted on Youtube. I'm trying to purchase dvd's right now.
shareQuoting from another user:
9.Pamela Franklin: She portrayed a girl who was thought to be "retarded" but
Dr. Gannon discovered that she was wrongly diagnosed as an infant and was
actually of normal intelligence."
I liked Inga Swenson who played the mother.
I'm surprised that Shirley Knight's turn in the "Tainted Lady" episode from 1974 hasn't been mentioned. One of the first TV shows to deal with breast cancer that I can recall. She was excellent.
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