Ben Casey (1961–1966)

Gritty realistic hospital drama featuring manly Dr. Casey against the medical establishment, at first under the watchful eye of Dr. Zorba and later under the thumb of Chief of Surgery Dr. Freeland.

Creator:

James E. Moser

Stars:

Vince Edwards, Sam Jaffe, Jeanne Bates

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 14 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Vince Edwards	...	Dr. Ben Casey (153 episodes, 1961-1966)
Sam Jaffe	...	Dr. David Zorba (127 episodes, 1961-1965)

Storyline

Gritty realistic hospital drama featuring manly Dr. Casey against the medical establishment, at first under the watchful eye of Dr. Zorba and later under the thumb of Chief of Surgery Dr. Freeland.

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Plot Keywords:

medical | character name in title

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 October 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Doktorlar

Filming Locations:

Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bing Crosby Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (153 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The five symbols written on the blackboard at the start of each episode represent man, woman, birth, death and infinity.

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Quotes

[Opening narration.]
Narrator: Man... woman... birth... death... infinity.

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Connections

Referenced in The O'Reilly Factor: Episode dated 8 July 2008 (2008)

User Reviews

Ben Casey: the Ur Doctor

Ben Casey was the greatest exemplar on TV of sixties confrontational characters. A dynamic professional above and beyond normal standards. If you were going to use him as a role model for your own career, you'd better be as brilliant as he was. You also have to have a brilliant mentor like Dr. Zorba who fully understands how brilliant you are and sees your career as virtually indispensable to the profession. I agree with the other member who compared him to Capt. Kirk. Kirk was in a more professionally secure place as captain of his own ship. If they served together, Ben might have physically intimidated him since he dominated scenes with such great actors as George C. Scott. Spock would have had a much better relationship with Casey than he did with McCoy. Neither of them suffered fools gladly. Casey would have known Vulcan, Klingon and Romulan physiology and psychology enough to impress Spock. Spock and Kirk would seek his advice on more than just medical matters.