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Following its debut on January 15, 1972, Emergency! aired for six seasons on Saturday night at 8 p.m. on NBC. The show centered on the professional and personal lives of paramedics, firefighters, and medical personnel at Los Angeles County Fire Station 51, and Rampart Emergency Hospital.
Each week this top-rated action/drama series followed paramedics “John Gage” (Randolph Mantooth), and “Roy DeSoto” (Kevin Tighe), as they responded, in Squad 51, to accidents and dangerous rescues. Accompanying the paramedics in Engine 51 were, “Captain Hank Stanley” (Michael Norell), Firefighter/Engineer Mike Stoker, (as himself), and firefighters Marco Lopez (as himself) and “Chet Kelly” (Tim Donnelly).
Squad 51, an emergency room on wheels, was outfitted with advanced medical equipment. Paramedics “Gage” and “DeSoto” received instructions via radio from the doctors and nurses at Rampart hospital, “Dr. Kelly Brackett” (Robert Fuller), “Dr. Joe Early” (Bobby Troup), “Dr. Mike Morton” (Ron Pinkard) and “Nurse Dixie McCall” (Julie London). At the direction of the medical personnel, “Gage” and “DeSoto” performed on-site Advanced Lifesaving Techniques (ALS) to stabilize patients before transporting them to the hospital. Emergency! would then switch its focus to the doctors and nurses at Rampart Emergency as they treated the patient, while Station 51 waited for its next emergency call.
Emergency! aired 122 episodes and seven two hour movies reaching a national audience that averaged 30 million viewers each week. Emergency! helped educate those 30 million viewers on the emerging concept of Emergency Medical Services (EMS). A concept that was having a hard time getting off the ground in the early 1970’s.
Soon after Emergency!’s debut, viewers were demanding the on-site medical treatment that they were seeing on television. The result was dramatic. Thousands of young men and women, inspired by Emergency!, began to enter the developing field of Emergency Medical Services, thus advancing EMS by ten years.
When Emergency! first aired there were only 12 paramedic rescue units in the United States. By the end of Emergency!’s seven year run, half of all Americans were within ten minutes of a paramedic rescue unit.
The
pilot episode of Emergency! was centered around a fictitious Los Angeles
County Fire Department station designated "51" and the
establishment of the real Wedworth-Townsend Act
that created the first paramedic program in the State of California,
which was then used as one of the models for other programs around the
country.
The television scenes that took place at fictitious “Station 51” were actually filmed at Station 127 in Carson, California. Station 127 is still a working fire station today. Both the interior and exterior look very much like it did during the filming of Emergency! In 1985, Station 127 was named The Robert A. Cinader Memorial Fire Station in memory and in honor of Emergency!’s creator and Executive Producer. There is currently an active Station 51 located at Universal Studios, Hollywood, California.
In 1997, TVLand began airing reruns of Emergency! renewing the interest of fans that grew up with the show, and creating a new generation of fans among the younger viewers.
In 1999, Project 51, a non-profit public benefit corporation, was formed to promote awareness of the 30th anniversary (in 2000) of Emergency Medical Services in the United States and to document how the television series Emergency! changed the face of healthcare forever. Project 51 featured a very successful cross country series of events that featured Emergency! cast members. The tour also included the original fully refurbished Squad 51 along with the original medical equipment and wardrobe used on the show.
On May 14, 2000 the cast and crew of Emergency! received a private tour of the West Wing of the White House in honor of their efforts in the advancement of Emergency Medical Services. Two days later the original medical equipment (biophone, defibrillator, and drug box) and original wardrobe (turnout coats, paramedic shirts, and helmets) from Emergency! were accepted by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. The Smithsonian’s acceptance of these life-saving medical devices reinforces the historical significance of Emergency! and the vital role it played in introducing the American Public to Emergency Medical Services.
Emergency! Cast:
Station 51
Johnny Gage: Randolph Mantooth
Roy DeSoto: Kevin Tighe
Captain Dick Hammer As himself (1st season only)
Captain Hank Stanley Michael Norell
Mike Stoker, Engineer: As himself
Chet Kelly: Tim Donnelly
Marco Lopez: As himself
Sam Lanier: As himself (LACoFD dispatcher)
Rampart Emergency
Dr. Kelly Brackett: Robert Fuller
Nurse Dixie McCall: Julie London
Dr. Joe Early: Bobby Troup
Dr. Mike Morton: Ron Pinkard Other
Recurring Roles
James McEachin: Detective/Lt. Crockett (PD)
Vince Howard: As himself (PD)
Famous Emergency! Guest Stars
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Robert Alda
Dick Butkus
Ruth Buzzi
Jackie Coogan
Cathy Lee Crosby
Gary Crosby
Larry Csonka
Tony Dow
Erik Estrada
Jamie Farr
Melissa Gilbert
Sharon Gless
Linda Gray
Deidre Hall
Mark Harmon
Mariette Hartley
Anne Lockhart
Kent McCord
Patty McCormack
Martin Milner
Donny Most
Nick Nolte
Marion Ross
Bobby Sherman
Vic Tayback
John Travolta
Cicely Tyson
Dick Van Patten
Adam West
Joanne Worley
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