''Doctors' Private Lives'' is a 1978 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

starring

John Gavin John Gavin (born Juan Vincent Apablasa; April 8, 1931 – February 9, 2018) was an American actor and diplomat who was the president of the Screen Actors Guild (1971–1973), and the United States Ambassador to Mexico (1981–1986). Among the fil ...

Donna Mills Donna Mills (born Donna Jean Miller; December 11, 1940) is an American actress. She began her television career in 1966 with a recurring role on ''The Secret Storm'', and in the same year appeared on Broadway in Woody Allen's comedy '' Don't ...

Ed Nelson Edwin Stafford Nelson (December 21, 1928 – August 9, 2014) was an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Michael Rossi in the television series ''Peyton Place (TV series), Peyton Place''. Nelson appeared in episodes of many TV p ...

, Barbara Anderson, and directed by Steven Stern. It was broadcast on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

on March 20, 1978. It was a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

for a short-lived television series of the same name that aired for four episodes from April 5 to April 26, 1979.

Cast

as Dr. Jeffrey Latimer *

as Dr. Beth Demery *

as Dr. Mike Wise * Barbara Anderson as Frances Latimer *William Kerwin as Dr. George Bana *

Bettye Ackerman Bettye Louise Ackerman (February 28, 1924 – November 1, 2006) was an American actress primarily known for her work on television. Early years Ackerman was born in Cottageville, South Carolina (another source says she was born in Williston, S ...

as Sylvia * John Randolph as Irv *

Randolph Powell Randolph Powell (born April 14, 1950) is an American actor, best known for his roles on television. He was a leading cast member of the science fiction series ''Logan's Run'', also being known for the role of Alan Beam in the soap opera ''Dallas ...

as Dr. Rick Calder *Fawne Harriman as Phyllis *

Leigh McCloskey Leigh Joseph McCloskey (born June 21, 1955) is an American actor, artist, author, and philosopher. Throughout his acting career, McCloskey appeared in numerous television series and movies, including the popular American soap opera ''Dallas'' an ...

as Kenny * Kim Hamilton as Kitty *

Elinor Donahue Elinor Donahue (born Mary Eleanor Donahue; April 19, 1937) is an American retired actress known for playing the role of Betty Anderson, the eldest child of Jim and Margaret Anderson, on the 1950s American sitcom ''Father Knows Best''. Early li ...

as Mona Wise

Reception

The ''Los Angeles Times'' called the film "lively but ludicrous and verges on self parody." It ranked 86th out of 114 shows airing that season, with an average 14.1/26 rating/share.https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/79-OCR/BC-1979-06-18-OCR-Page-0056.pdf#search=%22rounding%20up%20the%20ratings%22

TV miniseries

One year after the TV movie's network premiere, a four-episode

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

was produced and directed by Edward M. Abroms,

Richard Benedict Richard "Pepe" Benedict (born Riccardo Benedetto, January 8, 1920 – April 29, 1984) was an Italian-American television and film actor and director. He was born in Palermo, Italy. Career He appeared in dozens of television programs and movies ...

and Marc Daniels.

and

reprised their respective roles from the 1978 TV movie. The miniseries focused on the personal and professional crises of two heart surgeons: Chief Surgeon Dr. Michael Wise and cardiovascular Unit Chief Dr. Jeffrey Latimer.

Cast

as Dr. Michael Wise *

as Dr. Jeffrey Latimer *

as Dr. Rick Calder *Phil Levien as Kenny Wise *Gwen Humble as Sheila Castle * Eddie Benton as Nurse Diane Cooper

Episodes

References

External links

* * 1978 television films 1978 films 1978 drama films American Broadcasting Company original films Films directed by Steven Hilliard Stern Columbia Pictures films 1979 American television series debuts 1979 American television series endings 1970s American television miniseries Films scored by Richard Markowitz Television films as pilots Television shows set in Los Angeles American drama television films 1970s American films American Broadcasting Company television dramas {{US-tv-drama-film-stub