‘Emergency!’: Which Cast Members of the ’70s TV Show Are Still Alive?
These days, you can’t turn around without finding a new medical drama on TV. Shows like New Amsterdam and 911 follow doctors, firefighters, and emergency service workers as they try to rescue patients and unsuspecting victims from tragedy. But before this overload of medical dramas, one show paved the way for firefighters and paramedics: Emergency! If you watched this show during its original run, you might wonder which Emergency! cast members are still alive.
What was ‘Emergency!’ about?
Set in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the 1970s action-adventure medical drama follows rescuers working as paramedics and firefighters. The show debuted as a midseason replacement in 1972, and IMDb lists the series run at 122 episodes in seven seasons and six two-hour TV movies until 1979.
Series creators previously worked on Dragnet and Adam-12, both about policing. With this new show, they wanted to highlight firefighters and their daring rescues but weren’t sure they’d have enough content. To make it work, they added paramedics into the fold. At the time, the paramedic profession was relatively new, with only a handful of teaching programs nationwide.
Today, Emergency! is credited with acknowledging and popularizing the EMS profession. The creators were diligent in that scenes on the show were technically correct. They employed a leading EMS adviser and required the main cast to receive paramedic training.
Which ‘Emergency!’ cast members are still alive?
Emergency! followed two paramedics on the medical rescue team Squad 51. They worked with staff from Rampart General Hospital. The show featured an ensemble cast that solidified its place in ’70s TV history. But where are the Emergency! cast members now?
Kevin Tighe (Roy DeSoto)
Actor Kevin Tighe played one-half of the main paramedic duo. Though he’d had a handful of roles in the ’60s, portraying DeSoto garnered him the most attention. Since the show ended, Tighe has appeared in episodes of Lost, Murder One, and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.
Randolph Mantooth (John Gage)
Before playing the other leading paramedic, John Gage, actor Randolph Mantooth had built an impressive resumé in the theater and TV dramas. Since Emergency! ended, he’s appeared in many supporting roles and worked primarily in soap operas in the 1990s and 2000s. He’s also stayed close to the theater with regular working productions.
Robert Fuller (Dr. Brackett)
Robert Fuller was known for his raspy voice and resident gunslinger in Western programs. Do You Remember reports that Fuller was reluctant to take the role of no-nonsense physician Dr. Brackett, but the creators of Emergency! reminded him that Westerns were on the way out. Today, Fuller spends his time on his ranch and is retired from acting.
Ron Pinkard (Dr. Mike Morton)
Ron Pinkard played a young medical intern on Emergency! He also starred in Adam-12 and Dragnet, shows by the same creators. After the series ended, Pinkard had a handful of acting jobs until the ’90s. He’s now a retired commander of the U.S. Navy Reserve.
What about other ‘Emergency’ cast members?
Most of the main Emergency! cast members are in their late 70s and 80s, but not all are still alive. Actor Bobby Troup played Dr. Joe Early, the calm to Dr. Brackett’s abrasiveness. He helped produce castmate Julie London’s hit song “Cry Me a River.” Troup died in 1999.
Though Julie London played nurse Dixie McCall on Emergency!, she was best known for her singing career. She recorded over 30 jazz and pop albums between the ’50s and ’60s. Castmate Bobby Troup, who helped produce her famous hit, was also her husband until he died in 1999. London died in 2000 from cardiac arrest due to lung cancer complications.
