''Dr. Kildare'' is an NBC

medical drama A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic programming go beyond the events pertaining to the chara ...

television series which originally ran from September 28, 1961, until August 30, 1966,Newcomb, Horace, ed. ''Encyclopedia of Television'' (2nd ed.).
Routledge (Taylor & Francis), 2013, p. 756–757. . for a total of 191 episodes over five seasons. Produced by

MGM Television MGM Television Worldwide Group and Digital (alternatively Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television Group and Digital, commonly known as MGM Television and then-known as MGM/UA Television; common metonym: Lion) is an American television production/dis ...

, it was based on fictional doctor characters originally created by author

Max Brand Frederick Schiller Faust (May 29, 1892 – May 12, 1944) was an American writer known primarily for his Western stories using the pseudonym Max Brand. He (as Max Brand) also created the popular fictional character of young medical intern D ...

in the 1930s and previously used by

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

in a popular film series and

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

. The TV series quickly achieved success, and made a star of

Richard Chamberlain George Richard Chamberlain (born March 31, 1934) is an American actor and singer, who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show ''Dr. Kildare'' (1961–1966). He subsequently appeared in several TV mini-series, such as ''Shōg ...

, who played the title role. ''Dr. Kildare'' (along with an

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

medical drama, '' Ben Casey'', which premiered at the same time) inspired or influenced many later TV shows dealing with the medical field.LaFollette, Marcel Chotkowski. ''Science on American Television: A History.''
Univ. of Chicago Press, 2013, p. 65–67. . ''Dr. Kildare'' aired on NBC

affiliate stations Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation platfo ...

on Thursday nights at 8:30–9:30 p.m. until September 1965, when the timeslot was changed to Monday and Tuesday nights at 8:30–9:00 p.m. through the end of the show's run.Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh
''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present'' (9th ed.)
Ballantine Books (Random House), 2007, pp. 371, 1584–1589. .

Plot

Like the earlier

film series (1938–1942), the TV series initially told the story of young intern Dr. James Kildare (

) working at the fictional large metropolitan "Blair General Hospital" and trying to learn his profession, deal with patients' problems, and win the respect of the senior Dr. Leonard Gillespie (

Raymond Massey Raymond Hart Massey (August 30, 1896 – July 29, 1983) was a Canadian actor, known for his commanding, stage-trained voice. For his lead role in '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' (1940), Massey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Amo ...

). In the series' third episode, "Shining Image", Gillespie tells the earnest Kildare, "Our work is to keep people alive. We can't tell them how to live any more than how to die." Kildare ignores the advice, which provides the basis for stories over the next four seasons, many with a

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

touch. By the third season, Dr. Kildare was promoted to resident and episodes began to focus less on him and his medical colleagues, and more on the stories of individual patients and their families. In order to create realistic scripts, the series' first writer, E. Jack Neuman, spent several months working alongside interns in a large hospital. Episodes frequently highlighted diseases or medical conditions that had not been widely discussed on television, including drug addiction, sickle cell anemia and

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

. Episodes about

venereal disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral se ...

(personally requested by President Lyndon B. Johnson) and the birth control pill were written, but never produced due to network objections.Stempel, Tom. ''Storytellers to the Nation: A History of American Television Writing.''
Syracuse Univ. Press, 1996, p. 90-91. . Technical advice was provided by the

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is a professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. Founded in 1847, it is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was approximately 240,000 in 2016. The AMA's state ...

, whose name appeared in the end credits of each episode. The series was initially formatted as self-contained one-hour episodes, aired once per week. In later seasons, a trend towards serialized drama, inspired by the success of the

prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

soap opera '' Peyton Place'', caused the network to develop some ''Dr. Kildare'' storylines over multiple episodes and, in the final season, to air two separate half-hour episodes each week instead of a single one-hour episode.

Cast

Richard Chamberlain Daniela Bianchi Raymond Massey Dr Kildare 1964

An unsold and unaired pilot, directed by

John Newland John Newland (November 23, 1917 – January 10, 2000) was an American director, actor, television producer, and screenwriter. Early life and career Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Newland began his career in vaudeville while still in his teens. Aft ...

, was shot in 1960 featuring

Lew Ayres Lewis Frederick Ayres III (December 28, 1908 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor whose film and television career spanned 65 years. He is best known for starring as German soldier Paul Bäumer in the film '' All Quiet on the Western Fr ...

as Dr. Kildare and (Joseph) Joe Cronin as Dr. Grayson.Terrace, Vincent
''Encyclopedia of Television Pilots, 1937–2012''
McFarland & Co., 2013, p. 77. . As a younger man, Ayres had played the role of Kildare for many years in the earlier MGM film and radio series. Later, a second, successful pilot was made with

as Kildare and

as Gillespie. Before the little-known Chamberlain was cast, the Kildare role was offered to

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

and James Franciscus, who both turned it down.Shatner, William, with David Fisher. ''Up Till Now: The Autobiography.''
Thomas Dunne Books (St. Martin's Press), 2008, p. 94-95. . The role catapulted Chamberlain to fame."Artists' Biographies - Richard Chamberlain (MGM),"
Billboard, June 9, 1962, p. 36. In 2006, Chamberlain reprised the Kildare role in a parody of '' Grey's Anatomy'' (along with other famous TV doctors from '' Julia'', ''

St. Elsewhere ''St. Elsewhere'' was an American medical drama television series created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey, that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982, to May 25, 1988. The series stars Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd, and William Daniels as ...

'', ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. The ...

'' and '' The Love Boat'') on the ''2006

TV Land Awards The TV Land Icon Awards was an American television awards ceremony that generally commemorates shows now off the air, rather than in current production as with the Emmys. Created by Executive Producer Michael Levitt, the awards were hosted and broa ...

''. Massey accepted the role of Dr. Gillespie thinking that it would last only one season, leaving him time to accept feature film roles. Instead, the time demands of appearing in a multiple-season hit series prevented Massey from appearing in any films for the duration of the series' run.

Supporting cast

Supporting cast members with recurring roles included

Ken Berry Kenneth Ronald Berry (November 3, 1933 – December 1, 2018) was an American actor, dancer, and singer. Berry starred on the television series ''F Troop'', ''The Andy Griffith Show'', ''Mayberry R.F.D.'' and ''Mama's Family''. He also appea ...

as Dr. John Kapish, Jean Inness as Nurse Beatrice Fain, Eddie Ryder as Dr. Simon Agurski, Jud Taylor (who also directed several episodes) as Dr. Thomas Gerson, Steve Bell as Dr. Quint Lowry,

Clegg Hoyt Clegg Hoyt (December 10, 1910 – October 6, 1967) was an American film and television actor. He appeared in over 100 films and television programs, and was perhaps best known for his silent role as the Sportscaster's sidekick, George, in the 19 ...

as Mac,

Sam Reese Sammy Pharr Reese (September 11, 1930 – September 11, 1985 or September 12, 1985 (sources differ) ) was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing the role of the "Clerk" in the 1967 film '' In the Heat of the Night''. ...

as Dr. Dan Shanks (first season),

Jo Helton Jo Helton (born Joan Jeter; June 7, 1933 – March 26, 2021) was an American actress on stage, film, and television and a social worker. Early years Helton was born Joan Jeter in Jackson, Tennessee, on June 7, 1933, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W ...

as Nurse Conant, and Lee Kurty as Nurse Zoe Lawton.

Guest cast

Over the years, numerous well-known or soon-to-be well-known actors appeared as guest stars, including: * Eddie Albert * Jack Albertson * Fred Astaire * Ed Asner * Mary Astor *

Lauren Bacall Lauren Bacall (; born Betty Joan Perske; September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and received an Academy Honorary Aw ...

* Barbara Barrie *

Anne Baxter Anne Baxter (May 7, 1923 – December 12, 1985) was an American actress, star of Hollywood films, Broadway productions, and television series. She won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, and was nominated for an Emmy. A granddaughter of Fra ...

Ed Begley Edward James Begley Sr. (March 25, 1901 – April 28, 1970) was an American actor of theatre, radio, film, and television. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film ''Sweet Bird of Youth'' (1962) an ...

Fred Beir Frederick Edwin Beir (September 21, 1927 – June 3, 1980) was an American film and television actor. Born in Niagara Falls, New York, Beir began his career in 1950, appearing in the television series ''The Philco Television Playhouse''. He als ...

Russ Bender Russ Bender (January 1, 1910 – August 16, 1969) was an American actor. Career Before becoming an actor, Bender wrote detective stories for magazines. That part of his life was interrupted when he joined the Army. By the time he returned to c ...

* Charles Bickford * Joan Blondell * Tom Bosley *

Hank Brandt Hank Brandt (born Henry William Haar Jr.; June 4, 1934 – December 4, 2004) was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing Leonard Waggedorn in the American sitcom television series ''Julia'' from 1968 to 1971. Brandt was ...

Beau Bridges Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III (born December 9, 1941) is an American actor and director. He is a three-time Emmy, two-time Golden Globe and one-time Grammy Award winner, as well as a two-time Screen Actors Guild Award nominee. Bridges was a ...

Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and war ...

Robert Burton Robert Burton (8 February 1577 – 25 January 1640) was an English author and fellow of Oxford University, who wrote the encyclopedic tome ''The Anatomy of Melancholy''. Born in 1577 to a comfortably well-off family of the landed gentry, Burt ...

* James Caan * Conlan Carter * Lawrence P. Casey * John Cassavetes *

John Cliff John Cliff (7 March 1883 – 18 October 1977) was the first Assistant General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union and later a prominent London Transport board member. Cliff was born in Leeds in 1883, the son of John Cliff and ...

Sidney Clute Sidney Richard Clute (April 21, 1916 – October 2, 1985) was an American film and television actor. He was notable for playing Detective Paul La Guardia on 57 episodes of the American police procedural drama ''Cagney & Lacey'' (1982–85). He ...

* Marian Collier *

Noreen Corcoran Noreen Margaret Corcoran (October 20, 1943 – January 15, 2016) was an American film and television actress. She is best known for playing Kelly Gregg in the American sitcom television series '' Bachelor Father''. Early years Corcoran was born ...

* Joseph Cotten * Robert Culp * Ossie Davis *

Ruby Dee Ruby Dee (October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014) was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and civil rights activist. She originated the role of "Ruth Younger" in the stage and film versions of ''A Raisin in the Sun'' (19 ...

Angie Dickinson Angeline Dickinson (née Brown; born September 30, 1931) is an American actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough role in ''Gun the Man Down'' (1956) wit ...

Don Dubbins Donald Gene Dubbins (June 28, 1928 – August 17, 1991) was an American film, stage and television actor. Life and career Born in Brooklyn, New York. Dubbins began his career in 1953, appeariing in the television series '' The Doctor''. He also ...

Olympia Dukakis Olympia Dukakis (June 20, 1931 – May 1, 2021) was an American actress. She performed in more than 130 stage productions, more than 60 films and in 50 television series. Best known as a screen actress, she started her career in theater. Not lon ...

* Barbara Eden *

Linda Evans Linda Evans (born Linda Evenstad; November 18, 1942) is an American actress known primarily for her roles on television. In the 1960s she played Audra Barkley, the daughter of Victoria Barkley (played by Barbara Stanwyck) in the Western tel ...

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr., (December 9, 1909 – May 7, 2000) was an American actor, producer and decorated naval officer of World War II. He is best known for starring in such films as ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937), ''Gunga Din'' (1939) a ...

Peter Falk Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the long-running television series ''Columbo'' (1968–1978, 1989–2003), for which he ...

* Beverly Garland *

Thomas Gomez Thomas Gomez (July 10, 1905 – June 18, 1971) was an American actor. Life and career Born Sabino Tomás Gómez, Jr., in New York City, Gomez began his acting career in theater in 1923, studying under actor Walter Hampden in a production of Cy ...

* Harold Gould *

Herman Hack Herman H. Hackenjos (June 15, 1899 – October 19, 1967) was an American film and television actor who appeared in over 500 films. Hack was born in Panola, Illinois. His screen debut was in the 1925 film ''The Big Parade'', which starred Joh ...

Peter Helm Peter John Helm Jr. (born December 22, 1941) is a Canadian-American film and television actor. Helm was born in Toronto, Ontario. Helm began his acting career in 1959, appearing in the television sitcom ''Too Young to Go Steady''. In 1960 he ap ...

* Tim Herbert * Bern Hoffman * Celeste Holm *

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...

* Clark Howat *

Rodolfo Hoyos Jr. Rodolfo Hoyos Jr. (March 14, 1916 – April 15, 1983) was a Mexican-American film and television actor. He was known for playing the role of "Rafael Rosillo" in the 1956 film '' The Brave One''. Hoyos died in April 1983 from a stroke in Los Ang ...

Gary Hunley Gary Hunley (born May 22, 1948) is an American film and television actor. He is known for playing Mickey in the final season of the American western television series ''Sky King''. Hunley was born in Los Angeles, California. In 1954 he appeared ...

Kim Hunter Kim Hunter (born Janet Cole; November 11, 1922 – September 11, 2002) was an American theatre, film, and television actress. She achieved prominence for portraying Stella Kowalski in the original production of Tennessee Williams' ''A Streetcar N ...

Carolyn Jones Carolyn Sue Jones (April 28, 1930 – August 3, 1983) was an American actress of television and film. Jones began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy ...

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...

Victor Jory Victor Jory (November 23, 1902 – February 12, 1982) was a Canadian-American actor of stage, film, and television. He initially played romantic leads, but later was mostly cast in villainous or sinister roles, such as Oberon in ''A Midsummer N ...

* Brian Keith *

Ray Kellogg Edgar Ray Kellogg (November 15, 1905 – July 5, 1976) was an American special effects artist and film director from Iowa. Career During World War II, Kellogg was a US Navy Lieutenant with the O.S.S. Field Photographing Branch where he beca ...

Jess Kirkpatrick Jesse Bertram Kirkpatrick (October 2, 1897 – August 9, 1976) was an American film and television actor. Life and career Kirkpatrick was born in Champaign County, Illinois. He attended the University of Illinois, where he played as a halfb ...

* Ted Knight * Harvey Korman *

Otto Kruger Otto Kruger (September 6, 1885 – September 6, 1974) was an American actor, originally a Broadway matinee idol, who established a niche as a charming villain in films, such as Hitchcock's ''Saboteur''. He also appeared in CBS's ''Perry Mason'' a ...

John Lasell John Whitin Lasell Jr. (born November 6, 1928) is an American film and television actor. He is known for playing Dr. Peter Guthrie in the American soap opera television series ''Dark Shadows''. Lasell was born in Williamstown, Vermont. He began ...

* Cloris Leachman * William Leslie *

Jack Lord John Joseph Patrick Ryan (December 30, 1920 – January 21, 1998), best known by his stage name, Jack Lord, was an American television, film and Broadway actor, director and producer. He starred as Steve McGarrett in the CBS television progra ...

Dorothy Malone Dorothy Malone (born Mary Dorothy Maloney; January 29, 1924 – January 19, 2018) was an American actress. Her film career began in 1943, and in her early years, she played small roles, mainly in B-movies, with the exception of a supporting role ...

* Lee Marvin *

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...

Walter Matthau Walter Matthau (; born Walter John Matthow; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, comedian and film director. He is best known for his film roles in '' A Face in the Crowd'' (1957), ''King Creole'' (1958) and as a coach of a ...

* Ken Mayer * Mercedes McCambridge *

Gavin McLeod Gavin MacLeod () (born Allan George See; February 28, 1931 – May 29, 2021) was an American actor best known for his roles as news writer Murray Slaughter on ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' and ship's captain Merrill Stubing on ABC's ''The Love B ...

* Yvette Mimieux *

Sal Mineo Salvatore Mineo Jr. (January 10, 1939 – February 12, 1976) was an American actor, singer, and director. He is best known for his role as John "Plato" Crawford in the drama film ''Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955), which earned him a nomination f ...

* Ricardo Montalbán * Harry Morgan * Jack Nicholson *

Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the ''Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, then ...

* Ramon Novarro * Margaret O'Brien *

Richard O'Brien Richard Timothy Smith. known professionally as Richard O'Brien, is a British-New Zealand actor, writer, musician, composer, and television presenter. He wrote the musical stage show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' in 1973, which has remained in conti ...

* Carroll O'Connor *

Susan Oliver Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...

* Robert Phillips * Walter Pidgeon *

Suzanne Pleshette Suzanne Pleshette (January 31, 1937 – January 19, 2008) was an American theatre, film, television, and voice actress. Pleshette started her career in the theatre and began appearing in films in the late 1950s and later appeared in prominent ...

Joe Ploski Joseph Henry Ploski (April 16, 1904 – May 17, 1993) was a Polish-American film and television actor. He was known for his appearance in the 1953 film ''Stalag 17'', which starred William Holden, Don Taylor and Otto Preminger. Ploski Was born ...

* John Qualen *

Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man'' (1933), he appeared in such highly regarded films as '' ...

Basil Rathbone Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was a South African-born English actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume ...

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Robert Reed Robert Reed (born John Robert Rietz Jr.; October 19, 1932 – May 12, 1992) was an American actor. He played Kenneth Preston on the legal drama '' The Defenders'' from 1961 to 1965 alongside E. G. Marshall, and is best known for his role as the ...

Cyril Ritchard Cyril Joseph Trimnell-Ritchard (1 December 1898 – 18 December 1977), known professionally as Cyril Ritchard, was an Australian stage, screen and television actor, and director. He is best remembered today for his performance as Captain Hook in ...

* Cesar Romero *

Gena Rowlands Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands (born June 19, 1930) is an American retired actress, whose career in film, stage, and television has spanned seven decades. A four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner, she is known for her collaborations ...

* Penny Santon *

Joseph Schildkraut Joseph Schildkraut (22 March 1896 – 21 January 1964) was an Austrian-American actor. He won an Oscar for his performance as Captain Alfred Dreyfus in the film ''The Life of Emile Zola'' (1937); later, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for h ...

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* Jean Stapleton * Gloria Swanson * Kelly Thordsen *

Rip Torn Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn Jr. (February 6, 1931 – July 9, 2019) was an American actor whose career spanned more than 60 years. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his part as Marsh Turner in '' Cross Creek'' ...

* Paul Trinka * Diane Varsi * Lesley Ann Warren * Sam Waterston * Dennis Weaver * Robert Young

Reception

Beverly Garland Richard Chamberlain Raymond Massey Dr

The series quickly became a top ten hit in its first season, and remained in the top 20 during its second and third seasons, drawing as many as 12,000 fan letters each week. Its success spawned a number of merchandising

tie-in A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prope ...

s featuring the likeness or endorsement of Chamberlain as Kildare, including

novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

, toys and games, candy bars, and records of Chamberlain singing songs featured on the show. Chamberlain had a hit single, "

Theme from Dr. Kildare (Three Stars Will Shine Tonight) "Theme From ''Dr. Kildare'' (Three Stars Will Shine Tonight)" is a song written by Jerry Goldsmith, Pete Rugolo with lyrics by Hal Winn. The song was the theme for the television series ''Dr. Kildare''. The series' lead actor, Richard Chamberlai ...

," in which he sang romantic lyrics set to the music from the show's familiar opening theme. Largely as a result of the show, Chamberlain became a teen idol during the 1960s. The show's influence was so great that viewers would sometimes write to Chamberlain asking "Dr. Kildare" for medical advice. According to Mort Fleischmann, a former promotions executive for NBC, at one point the network promoted the show by having "Dr. Kildare" paged as if he were a real doctor on the public announcement system in airports, train stations, and bus stations across the United States. In the later seasons of the series, a decline in ratings (possibly coupled with a high asking price for sponsor advertisements) led to the series' cancellation in 1966. Despite its cancellation, the ''Dr. Kildare'' series continued to influence many later television medical dramas.

Home media

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

has released all five seasons on DVD-R in Region 1 via their

Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

. These are Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) releases, available via WBShop.com & Amazon.com. The unaired 1960 pilot episode starring Lew Ayres was also released on DVD by Warners as an extra included with the DVD release of their "Dr. Kildare Movie Collection" (compiling all the MGM Kildare films) via Warner Archive Collection in 2014. The DVD release of "Dr. Kildare: The Complete First Season" included, as an extra, the original never-aired pilot episode for the 1962 psychiatric medical drama series '' The Eleventh Hour'', in which Dr. Kildare (Chamberlain) and Dr. Gillespie (Massey) appear assisting "Dr. Theodore Bassett" (a psychiatrist character played by Wendell Corey) in diagnosing patient Ann Costigan (played by guest star

Vera Miles Vera June Miles (née Ralston, born August 23, 1929) is an American retired actress who worked closely with Alfred Hitchcock, most notably as Lila Crane in the classic 1960 film '' Psycho'', reprising the role in the 1983 sequel '' Psycho II''. ...

).ComicMix Staff, "Never-Aired Pilot Highlights Dr. Kildare The Complete First Season."
Comicmix.com, April 17, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2015. The episode was initially meant to air as an episode of ''Dr. Kildare'', but was instead reworked to cut out Chamberlain and Massey's parts and remove all Kildare and Gillespie references before airing on October 3, 1962 as the debut episode of '' The Eleventh Hour'' TV series, entitled "Ann Costigan: A Duel on a Field of White."

Music

The series theme was composed by

Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the Rambo (franchise) ...

(credited here as Jerrald Goldsmith). In 2009 Film Score Monthly released a three-disc set of original music from the series, featuring Goldsmith's theme and his scores for the pilot and four season one episodes, plus further scores by

Harry Sukman Harry Sukman (December 2, 1912 – December 2, 1984) was an American film and television composer. Life and career Sukman was born in Chicago in 1912. He started his musical career in the 1920s, when he was a teenager. He composed music scores f ...

(the series' most frequent composer),

Richard Markowitz Richard Allen Markowitz (September 3, 1926 in Santa Monica, California – December 6, 1994 in Santa Monica, California) was an American film and television composer. He was the father of singer Kate Markowitz. Biography As a Santa Monica High Sch ...

, Morton Stevens,

Lalo Schifrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Latin American musical elemen ...

and John Green. (Stevens' represented work includes his music for the three-part "Rome Will Never Leave You," which incorporates an original song composed by

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

.) The album also includes music from the original unaired 1960 pilot adapted by

Alexander Courage Alexander Mair Courage Jr. (December 10, 1919May 15, 2008) familiarly known as "Sandy" Courage, was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film. He is best known as the composer of the theme musi ...

from Bronislau Kaper's theme for ''

The Power and the Prize ''The Power and the Prize'' is a 1956 drama film directed by Henry Koster, written by Robert Ardrey, starring Robert Taylor and Burl Ives. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1957 for costume design. Plot Although he is scheduled to wed hi ...

'', and Richard Chamberlain's recording of "Three Stars Will Shine Tonight."

Related series

A second television series, titled '' Young Dr. Kildare'', premiered in first-run syndication in 1972. Starring Mark Jenkins as Dr. Kildare and Gary Merrill as Dr. Gillespie, it lasted for only one season of 24 episodes.

References

External links

* (1961 television series) *
Dr. Kildare
' (1961 television series) a
TV.com
* (1972 television series) {{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor Kildare 1961 American television series debuts 1966 American television series endings 1960s American drama television series 1960s American medical television series Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows NBC original programming Television series by MGM Television