Dr. James Kildare is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
, the primary character in a series of
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
theatrical
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
s in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s
radioRadio is the transmission of signals by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
series, a 1960s
televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
series of the same name and a
comic bookA comic book is a magazine made up of narrative artwork, often accompanied by dialog and often including brief descriptive prose...
based on the TV show. The character was invented by the author
Frederick Schiller FaustFrederick Faust, aka Max Brand|thumb|rightFrederick Schiller Faust was an American author known primarily for his thoughtful and literary Westerns. Faust wrote mostly under pen names, but today is primarily known by only one, Max Brand...
(aka Max Brand).
Films
The character begins the film series as a medical intern; after becoming a
doctorA physician — also known as medical practitioner, doctor of medicine, medical doctor, or simply doctor — practices the ancient profession of medicine, which is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease or injury...
, he is mentored by an older physician, Dr. Leonard Gillespie. After the first ten films, the series eliminated the character of Kildare and focused instead on Gillespie.
Lew AyresLew Ayres, born Lewis Frederick Ayres III was an American actor.-Career:Ayres was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and reared in San Diego, California, Ayres began acting in bit player roles in films in 1927...
, who had played the young doctor beginning in the second movie, was a
conscientious objectorA conscientious objector is an individual who, on religious, moral or ethical grounds, refuses to participate as a combatant in war or, in some cases, to take any role that would support a combatant organization armed forces. In the first case, conscientious objectors may be willing to accept...
and then a Medical Corpsman serving during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was replaced in the series by
Van JohnsonVan Johnson was an American film and television actor and dancer who was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during and after World War II....
and
Keye LukeKeye Luke was a Chinese-born American actor.-Background:Luke was born in Guangzhou, China to a father who owned an art shop, but grew up in Seattle. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1944...
, portraying young interns. Previously, Luke had become well known as Number One Son in the Fox Film Corporation
Charlie ChanCharlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers in 1923 for a novel published in 1925. Biggers conceived of the character as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes; unlike such villains as Fu Manchu, Chan is portrayed as non-threatening and benevolent...
series, and he later became even more famous as Master Po in the TV series
Kung FuKung Fu is an American television series which starred David Carradine. It was created by Ed Spielman, directed and produced by Jerry Thorpe, and developed by Herman Miller, who was also a writer for, and co-producer of, the series...
.
- Internes Can't Take Money
Internes Can't Take Money released in the UK as You Can't Take Money, is a drama film starring Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea. McCrea portrayed Dr. Kildare in the character's first screen appearance. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer continued the Dr...
(1937The year 1937 in film involved some significant events.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US.*May 7 - Shall We Dance premieres in the US.-Top grossing films:#Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs#Maytime#Saratoga...
), starring Joel McCreaJoel Albert McCrea, was an American actor and film star whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
as Kildare
- Young Dr. Kildare
Young Dr. Kildare is a 1938 film starring Lew Ayres as an idealistic but somewhat immature young medical doctor, who benefits greatly from the wise counsel of his mentor, Dr. Gillespie, a seasoned older physician. This was the second of a total of ten Dr...
(1938The year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
), which introduced Lew Ayres in the Kildare role, and Lionel BarrymoreLionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, radio and film. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul .-Early life:...
as Dr. Gillespie
Later films without Kildare
Radio
In the summer of 1949, MGM reunited Lew Ayres and Lionel Barrymore to record the radio series,
The Story of Dr. Kildare, scripted by Les Crutchfield, Jean Holloway and others. After broadcasts on WMGM New York from February 1, 1950 to August 3, 1951, the series was syndicated to other stations during the 1950s. The supporting cast included Ted Osborne as hospital administrator Dr. Carough, Jane Webb as nurse Mary Lamont and Virginia Gregg as Nurse Parker, labeled "Nosy Parker" by Gillespie, with appearances by William Conrad, Stacy Harris, Jay Novello, Isabel Jewell and Jack Webb.
Television
Dr. Kildare is an
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
medical dramaA medical drama is a television drama in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. While not as popular as legal/crime drama, it is still easily identifiable occupational based drama....
television series which ran from September 27, 1961 until April 5, 1966, encompassing a total of 190 episodes. The show, which premiered at the same time as an
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
medical drama,
Ben CaseyBen Casey is a medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its iconic opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, *, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaffe intoned, "Man, woman, birth, death, infinity." Pioneering neurosurgeon...
, quickly achieved success and helped spark a number of new shows dealing with the medical field.
Kildare told the story of a young intern, Dr. James Kildare (
Richard ChamberlainRichard Chamberlain is an American actor of stage and screen who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show Dr. Kildare .-Early life:...
), working in a fictional large metropolitan hospital (Blair General) whilst trying to learn his profession, dealing with the problems of the patients, and winning the respect of the senior doctor, Dr. Leonard Gillespie (
Raymond MasseyRaymond Hart Massey was a Canadian-born American actor.-Early life:Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company...
).
In the series' first episode, Gillespie tells the earnest Kildare, "Our job is to keep people alive, not to tell them how to live." Kildare ignores the advice, which provides the basis for stories over the next four seasons, many with a
soap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on television or radio. The name "soap opera" stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble,...
touch. The series was largely responsible for making Chamberlain, who beat 35 other contenders for the role, a teen idol in the 1960s. He also recorded a song, "Three Stars Will Shine Tonight," with the music from the show's familiar opening theme. In 2006 Chamberlain reprised the role in a parody of
Grey's AnatomyGrey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series. It follows the lives of five surgical interns, later residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital in Seattle, Washington. The pilot episode, "A Hard Day's Night" premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC...
(along with other famous TV doctors from
JuliaJulia is an American sitcom best remembered as being one of the first weekly series to depict an African American woman in a non-stereotypical role. Previous television series featured African American lead characters, but the characters were usually servants...
,
St. ElsewhereSt. Elsewhere is a U.S. drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood. The hospital's nickname, "St...
,
M*A*S*HM*A*S*H is an American television series developed by Larry Gelbart, adapted from the 1970 feature film MASH . The series is a medical drama/black comedy that was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for CBS...
and
The Love BoatThe Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24, 1977 until May 24, 1986. The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain, who encourages his customers to find romance...
) on the
2006 TV Land AwardsA TV Land Award is an American television award that generally commemorates shows now off the air, rather than in current production as with awards such as the Emmys. It is presented in a manner that spoofs other entertainment award ceremonies...
.
Comics
Dell ComicsDell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium...
' short-lived comic book based on the television show lasted nine issues from 1962 to 1965. The first two issues were part of the
Four Color ComicsFour Color, also known as Four Color Comics and One Shots, was an extremely prolific American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962...
line.
Ken BaldKenneth Bruce Bald is an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for the Judd Saxon, Dr. Kildare and Dark Shadows newspaper comic strips. Due to contractual obligations, he is credited as "K...
drew the
Dr. Kildare comic strip for 21 years (1962-1983).
Satires
- The doctor was parodied from time to time in Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. (also known as Warner Bros. Pictures, or simply Warner Bros.—the shortened form of the former official, sometimes still used, formal corporate name: Warner Brothers
cartoons of the 1940s, such as Patient PorkyPatient Porky is a Warner Brothers Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon, starring Porky Pig. It was directed by Bob Clampett, written by Warren Foster, and scored by Carl W. Stalling. Patient Porky was released on September 14, 1940...
("Dr. Chilled Air") and Hare TonicHare Tonic is a 1945 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Looney Tunes series, directed by Chuck Jones, and it is also one of the last cartoons Tedd Pierce writes for Jones for almost another ten full years. It stars Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. Voice characterizations are by Mel Blanc and Arthur Q...
("Dr. Killpatient").
- In The Bullwinkle Show, Bullwinkle says he watches Dr. Kilbare and The Game of the Week.
- In Blazing Saddles
Blazing Saddles is a satirical Western comedy film directed by Mel Brooks. Starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, it was written by Brooks, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Al Uger, and was based on Bergman's story and draft...
, One of Boris the Hangman's "clients" is an elderly man in a wheelchair referred to as the perpetrator of "the Doctor Gillespie killings.".