Ben Casey

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

Synopsis

Reception and broadcast history

However, due to the 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.

Production notes

Filmed at the Desilu Studios, the series was produced by Bing Crosby Productions.

Adaptations

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.

From 1962 through 1963, the paperback publisher Lancer Books also issued four original novels based on the series. They were Ben Casey by William Johnston, A Rage for Justice by Norman Daniels, The Strength of His Hands by Sam Elkin and The Fire Within, again by Daniels, small-print standard mass-market size paperbacks of 128 or 144 pages each, typical of tie-ins of the period. Though Elkin was, even at the time, a relatively obscure author, Johnston and Daniels were unusually prolific even for career pulpsmiths, Johnston being unusually artful as well, and all four books are accurate and entertaining pastiches of the show, given their authorship in that pre-VCR era when tie-in accuracy was not always the rule. But then, there weren't many regular characters to juggle and the personae of the leads were a study in strong personalities and stark contrast. Johnston's novel is notable in particular for never internalizing Casey's thoughts; he's absolutely the lead character, yet he is only seen in action or through the eyes of others. This allows Johnston to maintain the literary equivalent of Casey's essential dichotomy: a balance of passionate, sometimes furious devotion with an emotionally impenetrable demeanor -- a "romantic lead" who is still an enigma. Though the first three novels feature photos of Vince Edwards on their covers (the second book even offering a "free" 7X10" black and white, "autographed" pin-up headshot of him as Casey), the final book features a drawn rendering (artist unknown) of Edwards as Casey in scrubs, glancing up from his clipboard toward the direction over his shoulder -- where behind him an interested looking nurse looks at him, seemingly distracted from the operation being performed by two masked doctors just behind her.

In 1988, the television movie, The Return of Ben Casey, with Vince Edwards reprising his role as Casey, aired in syndication. The pilot was not picked up by the major networks to bring the series back.

References

External links

Category:1961 television series debuts Category:1966 television series endings Category:1960s American television series Category:American Broadcasting Company network shows Category:American drama television series Category:Black-and-white television programs Category:Comic strips started in the 1960s Category:Dell Comics titles Category:English-language television series Category:Fictional doctors Category:Fictional surgeons Category:Fictional American people of Irish descent Category:Medical television series Category:Television series by CBS Paramount Television