In the 1960s Television had become what movies had been in the early years.
There were many programs and ‘Prime Time’ ran from about 7 – 11 every night.
New Shows kept popping up, a number getting a huge share of the audience. The characters caught the eye, and the actors who played these characters were the cynosure.
They exploded on the Tee Vee scene. And like explosions, they were big, loud, and then, just rubble.
Vince Edwards had been in show business since 1956. He’d appeared in a few flicks and one off television programs and never was noticed.
Until he got the role playing Ben Casey in 1961.
At the time, the major T.V. stations in America, CBS, NBC and ABC were in direct competition so if one station had a doctor show, the other station had a doctor show.
Ben Casey aired on ABC from 1961 until 1966.
Proving he was no nice guy he called rival actor Richard Chamberlain, who was the star of Dr. Kildare, which aired on NBC , “a hack” adding he “couldn’t act his way out of a paper bag”.
In 1964, Edwards threw his ice cream cone onto Chamberlain’s suit.
This is just to show you the nature of this guy. He was not pleasant or lovable.
When the Ben Casey television series ended, Edwards went into motion pictures but never recaptured the attention he had owned.
He died of pancreatic cancer in 1996, all but unremembered.
BTW; Richard Chamberlain went on to play many roles, he was the first Bourne in the Bourne Identity, he played the lead in Shogun and the Thorn Birds.
At the same time, one of the most popular shows on television was “Mr Novak” which ran from 1963 to 1965.
It starred James Franciscus as a kind of hip teacher whom everyone liked.
This was the perfect family show, and had a mixed cast and many people watched it and loved Mr. Novak.
The show had a future, so did Franciscus.
He decided to leave television and made his jump into movies a bit too early, and went directly into oblivion.
You can probably Google him and find a few other roles he played, for he did go from show to show, from movie to movie, although no one can remember him or recalls having watched the offerings.
He died in 1991.
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Doctor Ben Casey versus Doctor Kildare? I only watched Ben Casey because it was on TV. By comparison, I looked forward to watching episodes of Doctor Kildare. Richard Chamberlain was a dreamboat! As for James Franciscus? I rather liked him but you're right. His career didn't really go anywhere.
I loved Dr. Kildare; Casey... nah. When you do research and learn how this Vince Edwards went after Chamberlain... crazy. Pure Crazy.
Mr. Novak was a show that Fransicus could have grown old with. He could have stayed in the role, and maybe did a touch of moonlighting in movies, but he sank himself.
excuse a lot of people remember james franciscus. he was a very popular actor on tv screens during the 1960's and 1970's. if you grew up in that era you would easily have seen him very often. your review on him is insulting.
as for richard chamberlain and vince edwards they are only really known for as tv doctors. as for james franciscus he became known for such tv classics as naked city, mr. novak and longstreet as well as in films such as beneath the planet of the apes. a handsome blonde great actor who could play many different roles. to say he is not remembered is a total insult to him and to his fans. franciscus is very well remebered and you need to get some education next time you write a article on a actor's career.
I remember James Franciscus I had a crush on him...wow...dreamy and a wonderful actor! He was so underrated! My favorite is still Longstreet series deserved a longer run! James deserved a Emmy for his role as Mike Longstreet and as Mr. Novak!
I was shocked to read that Vince Edwards threw an ice cream cone at Richard Chamberlain and onto his suit. What was Edwards' problem? I mean I have read that the guy was difficult and had a temper . . . but what would have provoked that?