| Ben Casey | |
|---|---|
 Vince Edwards as Ben Casey and guest starKathleen Nolan, 1964 | |
| Created by | James E. Moser |
| Starring | Vince Edwards Sam Jaffe Bettye Ackerman Nick Dennis Jeanne Bates Don Spruance Franchot Tone John Zaremba Ben Piazza Jim McMullan Gregory Morton Stella Stevens Marlyn Mason Harry Landers Linda Lawson |
| Theme music composer | David Raksin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 153(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Bing Crosby Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | October 2, 1961 (1961-10-02) – March 21, 1966 (1966-03-21) |
| Related | |
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Ben Casey is an Americanmedical drama television series that aired 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 memberSam Jaffe said "Man, woman, birth, death, infinity."[1] NeurosurgeonJoseph Ransohoff served as a medical consultant for the show.
The series starsVince Edwards as medical doctor Ben Casey, the young, intense, and idealisticneurosurgeon at County General Hospital. His mentor is chief of neurosurgery Doctor David Zorba, played bySam Jaffe, who, in the pilot episode, tells a colleague that Casey is "the best chief resident this place has known in 20 years." In its first season, the series and Vince Edwards were nominated for Emmy awards. Additional nominations at the14th Primetime Emmy Awards on May 22, 1962 went to Sam Jaffe,Jeanne Cooper (for the episode "But Linda Only Smiled"),Joan Hackett (for the episode "A Certain Time, a Certain Darkness"), andGeorge C. Scott (for the episode "I Remember a Lemon Tree"). In its second season, the series garnered several more Emmy nominations, withGlenda Farrell andKim Stanley both winning for the episode "A Cardinal Act of Mercy". The show began running multi-episode stories, starting with the first five episodes of season four; Casey developed a romantic relationship with Jane Hancock (Stella Stevens), who had emerged from a coma after 15 years. At the beginning of season five (the last season), Jaffe left the show, andFranchot Tone replaced Zorba as the new chief of neurosurgery
Creator James E. Moser based the character of Ben Casey on Dr. Allan Max Warner,[1] a neurosurgeon whom Moser met while researchingBen Casey. Warner served as the program's original technical advisor in 1961. According to an article inTV Guide (September 30 – October 6, 1961), he worked with the actors to show them how to handle medical instruments,
Ben Casey had several directors, includingIrvin Kershner andSydney Pollack. Its theme music was written byDavid Raksin, and it is played in 5/4 time signature; a version performed by pianistValjean was aBillboard Top 40 hit in the United States, peaking at number 28 on 23 June 1962.
Filmed at theDesilu Studios, the series was produced byBing Crosby Productions.
Vince Edwards appeared on the television seriesBreaking Point as Ben Casey. The episode was "Solo for B-Flat Clarinet" and debuted 16 September 1963. BothBen Casey andBreaking Point were produced by Bing Crosby Productions.[2][3][4] Cast members ofBreaking Point also had guest roles onBen Casey.
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 32 | October 2, 1961 (1961-10-02) | May 28, 1962 (1962-05-28) | |
| 2 | 31 | October 1, 1962 (1962-10-01) | May 13, 1963 (1963-05-13) | |
| 3 | 33 | September 9, 1963 (1963-09-09) | April 22, 1964 (1964-04-22) | |
| 4 | 31 | September 14, 1964 (1964-09-14) | May 17, 1965 (1965-05-17) | |
| 5 | 26 | September 13, 1965 (1965-09-13) | March 21, 1966 (1966-03-21) | |
The most frequent time slot for the series is inbold text.
On October 9, 2019, CBS Home Entertainment released the first season on DVD in 2 volume sets.[5][6]
| DVD name | No. of episodes | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Season 1, Volume 1 | 16 | October 9, 2019 |
| Season 1, Volume 2 | 16 | October 9, 2019 |
Due to the combination ofThe Beverly Hillbillies andThe 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 aired on ABC's weekday schedule from 1965 through 1967.
NOTE: The highest average rating for the series is inbold text.
| Season | Rank | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1) 1961–1962 | #18 | 23.7 |
| 2) 1962–1963 | #7 | 28.7 (tied withThe Danny Thomas Show) |
| 3) 1963–1964 | not in the top 30 | |
| 4) 1964–1965 | ||
| 5) 1965–1966 | ||
Both a comic strip and a comic book were based on the television series. The strip was developed and written by Jerry Capp (né Caplin) and drawn byNeal Adams.[7][8] The daily comic strip began on November 26, 1962, and the Sunday strip debuted on September 20, 1964. Both ended on July 31, 1966 (a Sunday).[citation needed] The daily strip was reprinted inThe Menomonee Falls Gazette.[citation needed] The comic book was published byDell Comics for 10 issues from 1962 to 1964. All had photo covers, except for that of the final issue, which was drawn byJohn Tartaglione.[citation needed]
From 1962 through 1963, the paperback publisherLancer Books issued four original novels based on the series. They wereBen Casey byWilliam Johnston,[9]A Rage for Justice byNorman Daniels,[10]The Strength of His Hands by Sam Elkin,[11] andThe Fire Within, again by Daniels,[12] small-print standard mass-market size paperbacks of 128 or 144 pages each.[citation needed] The covers of the books featured photographs of Edwards as Casey, or in the case of the third novel, a drawing of a doctor with Edwards' appearance.[13]
In 1988, the TV movieThe Return of Ben Casey, with Vince Edwards reprising his role as Casey,[14][15] aired in syndication.Harry Landers was the only other original cast member to reprise his role (as Dr. Ted Hoffman). The film was directed byJoseph L. Scanlan.[14][15] The pilot was not picked up by the major networks to bring the series back.[16]
In 1962, the series inspired the semicomic rock song "Callin' Dr. Casey", written and performed by songwriterJohn 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. The song reached number 83 on theBillboard Hot 100 chart.[17]
During the Vietnam War, the term "Ben Casey" was used by American troops as slang for a medic.[18][19]
In the popular Japanese medical dramaDoctor-X: Surgeon Michiko Daimon the office cat is named Ben Casey.
There is a street named Ben Casey Drive in San Antonio, Texas.[20]
Cleveland, Ohio's late-night movie programTheHoolihan and Big Chuck Show and its successor programTheBig Chuck and Lil' John Show regularly aired comedy skits under the title "Ben Crazy" that parodiedBen Casey. The skits opened with a spoof of the chalkboard sequence, adding one more symbol at the end — a dollar sign ($), accompanied by a laugh track. "Big Chuck" Schodowski, one of the hosts of the show, said that the skits continued to air for so many years after the 1966 cancellation ofBen Casey that younger viewers probably did not recognize the opening and that real-life doctors would send in ideas for skits, some of which were used on the show.[21][22]
Dickie Goodman released anovelty song in 1962 titled "Ben Crazy" that parodied Ben Casey as "Ben Crazy" and Dr. Zorba as "Dr. Smorba", and it parodiedDr. Kildare, the main character onanother popular 1960s medical drama series. Goodman's recording used his "break-in" technique of sampling lines from then-popular songs to "answer" comedic questions; it sampled theBen Casey title sequence and theme. The record reached number 44 on theBillboard Hot 100.[23][24]
The Flintstones featured several parodies of Ben Casey:
In "My Husband Is Not a Drunk", a 1962 episode ofThe Dick Van Dyke Show, a hypnotized Rob addresses the bald Mel Cooley as "Dr. Zorba", a rare instance of the show referencing another TV series.[citation needed]
The veterinarian inThe Simpsons, first introduced in the episode "Dog of Death" performing surgery onSanta's Little Helper, was based on Ben Casey.[27] In addition, the Springfield Hospital motif played at the start of a Hospital-based scene is based on the opening of the Ben Casey musical theme.
In his song "One Hippopotomi", a parody of "What Kind of Fool Am I?" byAnthony Newley,Allan Sherman sings the lyrics: "When Ben Casey meets Kildare, that's called a paradox."[citation needed]
In the 1966Batman episode “Rats Like Cheese”, the Dynamic Duo are brought to a hospital because Mr. Freeze froze them solid. Chief O’Hara refers to the Ben Casey-lookalike doctor as Vince. Dr. Vince yells back in Ben Casey fashion that he’s doing all he can.[citation needed]
