RIP, Randolph Mantooth, who will forever be Johnny Gage on “Emergency.” My favorite show growing up.
Tonight Dad, my stepmother and I watched the pilot and second episode of “Emergency” in honor of Mantooth. There were a few wince lines for 1972 and especially 2026 among the doctors.
Mantooth and Kevin Tighe helped create a whole generation of paramedics at a time when the program was just getting started. That saved lives. Lots of lives. Not a bad legacy for an actor.
And I will tell you something else I love about this show now: There’s a black ER doctor, a black nurse and a black cop. Speaking roles. And two black state legislators. Plus creator Jack Webb cast his ex-wife Julie London as nurse Dixie Webb and her husband, Bobby Troup, as Dr. Joe Early. Seems like Webb was sending a number of messages about the world he wanted to see.
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