''The Nurses'' is a serialized

primetime 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 ...

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 ...

that was broadcast in the United States on CBS from September 27, 1962, to May 11, 1965. For the third and final season, the title was expanded to ''The Doctors and the Nurses'' and it ran until 1965, when it was transformed into a half-hour daytime soap opera. The soap opera, also called ''The Nurses'', ran on ABC from 1965 to 1967.

Synopsis

The series is set in Alden General Hospital (patterned after Roosevelt Hospital) in New York, and the primetime program starred Zina Bethune as Gail Lucas, the young nurse, and

Shirl Conway Shirl Conway (born Shirley Elizabeth Crosman, June 13, 1916 – May 7, 2007) was an American television and Broadway actress. Early years A great-niece of actress Henrietta Crosman, Conway graduated from the University of Michigan in 1938 with a ...

as Liz Thorpe, her older nurse mentor. Unlike most television dramas of the era, save for ABC's police drama '' Naked City'' (1958–1963) and the sitcom '' The Patty Duke Show'' (1963–1966), the series was filmed in New York and not Hollywood. The show was mainly filmed at the Filmways and Pathe Studios in Manhattan. The program was nominated for five

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

.Primetime Emmy nominations 1963–1964
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Cast

* Zina Bethune as Gail Lucas *

as Liz Thorpe * Michael Tolan as Dr. Alex Tazinski (1964–1965) * Joseph Campanella as Dr. Ted Steffen (1964–1965) Other performers who appeared in episodes were Billie Allen, Margaret Barker, John Beal, Lane Bradbury, Michael Conrad,

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 ...

, Ivan Dixon, Dana Elcar, Elizabeth Frazier, Robert Gerringer, Arlene Golonka American actress, George Grizzard, Vincent Guardino, Larry Haines, Barbara Harris, Joey Heatherton, William Hickey, Dustin Hoffman, Ellen Holly, Bernard Hughes,

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 ...

Diana Hyland Diana Hyland (born Diane Gentner; January 25, 1936 – March 27, 1977) was an American stage, film and television actress. Early years Hyland was born Diane Gentner to John Theodore and Mary (Gorman) Gentner in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Sh ...

, Albert Grant, Lee Grant, Judson Laire, John Lasell, Linda Lavin,

Joeseph Leon Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

Vivica Lindfors Vivica or Vivika are female given names. Notable people with these names include: *Vivica Bandler (1917–2004), Finnish theater director *Vivica A. Fox (born 1964), US actress *Vivica Genaux (born 1969), US singer *Otto and Vivika Heino, US cerami ...

, Clifton James, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Jan Miner, Kermit Murdock, Peg Murray,

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), ...

Estelle Parsons Estelle Margaret Parsons (born November 20, 1927) is an American actress, singer and stage director. After studying law, Parsons became a singer before deciding to pursue a career in acting. She worked for the television program ''Today'' and ...

,Jane Rose, Polly Rowles, Diana Sands, Zackary Scott, Fran Sharon, William Shatner, Martin Sheen, Joe Silver, Hilda Simms, Paul Stevens, Inger Stevens, Elaine Stritch, Florence Stanley, Michael Strong, and Dolph Sweet.

Episodes

Season 1 (1962–63)

Season 2 (1963–64)

Season 3: The Doctors and the Nurses (1964–65)

ABC TV series

''The Nurses'' is an American

daytime 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 b ...

that aired on ABC from September 27, 1965 to March 31, 1967. The show was a continuation of the CBS primetime drama. The setting was Alden General Hospital and the main characters included Mary Fickett as Liz Thorpe, R. N, and Melinda Cordell as the younger and less experienced Gail Lucas, R. N., along with

Arthur Franz Arthur Sofield Franz (February 29, 1920 – June 17, 2006) was an American actor whose most notable feature film role was as Lieutenant, Junior Grade, H. Paynter Jr. in ''The Caine Mutiny (film), The Caine Mutiny'' (1954). Early life Franz ...

as Hugh McCloud, Valerie French as Helen Cox, Judson Laire as Jamie McCloud, Lee Patterson as Brad Kirnan,

Nicholas Pryor Nicholas Pryor (born Nicholas David Probst; January 28, 1935) is an American actor. He has appeared in various television series, films, and stage productions. Life and career Pryor was born Nicholas David Probst in Baltimore, Maryland, the son ...

as Ken Alexander, Polly Rowles as Miss Grassberg, Paul Stevens as Dr. Paul Fuller, and Lesley Woods as Vivian Gentry.

Production

Richard Holland and Gordon Russell were the

head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...

s. The

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

was Doris Quinlan, who later produced ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

'', ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...

'' and '' The Doctors. Several of the performers on this show were later on ''One Life to Live'' and ''

''. The music for the series was composed by

Frank Lewin Frank Lewin (March 27, 1925 – January 18, 2008) was an American composer and teacher. Biography Frank Lewin was born March 27, 1925, in Breslau, Germany. He and his family escaped from Germany in 1939, spent a year in Cuba, and came to ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nurses, The (Tv series) 1962 American television series debuts 1965 American television series endings 1965 American television series debuts 1967 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming 1960s American medical television series American television soap operas CBS original programming Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows Serial drama television series Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in New York City Works about nursing Works set in hospitals