The Story of Dr. Kildare:
The Complete 1950s Medical
Drama Radio Series
This article is an excerpt
from RUSC Member's Area
Dr. Kildare, the radio program, came to the air in 1950 following the late 1930's/1940's MGM film series. It was a medical drama starring Lew Ayres as the young, idealistic doctor who worked at Blair General Hospital. Lionel Barrymore was cast as the sometimes grumpy, but always endearing, Dr. Leonard Gillespie. The series also starred Jane Webb, Ted Osborne, and Virginia Gregg as the talkative fusspot Nurse Parker.
Blair General Hospital was described as, “a clump of gray-white buildings planted deep in the heart of New York, where life begins, where life ends, where life goes on.” Dr. Kildare wandered through the acclaimed hospital, fighting with hospital administrators, arguing with stupid patients and trying to get through each day of drama, death and bureaucracy.
The character of Dr. Kildare was invented by author, Max Brand, and after the movie and radio series, the show was morphed into a television series and a comic book. Some of the early film titles included The Secret of Dr. Kildare, Dr. Kildare’s Strange Case and Dr. Kildare’s Wedding Day.
Kildare’s Hippocratic Oath was very important to him and his idealism sometimes got in the way of hospital administration. He was always butting heads with Dr. Carew, the hospital’s administrator, and somewhat crazy – not to mention Nurse Parker, who drove Dr. Gillespie crazy with her incessant chattering, though deep down there was a mutual respect and affection between them.
Lew Ayres, who played Dr. Kildare on the radio was an American actor who had actually studied medicine at the University of Arizona before beginning his career in radio and later movies and television. When he landed the title role in Young Dr. Kildare in 1938, the handsome and charming Ayres became a matinee idol.
Ayres played a starring role opposite Greta Garbo in The Kiss and also starred in All Quiet on the Western Front, which was the role that catapulted him into stardom. Another famous movie at the time starred Ayres along with James Stewart and Joan Crawford in The Ice Follies of 1939.
Lionel Barrymore, Ayres’ co-star in the Dr. Kildare radio series, was also an American actor who had won an Academy Award for Best Actor in, A Free Soul. He later won fame for his role as the evil Henry Potter in Frank Capra's It’s a Wonderful Life. Besides his success in films and in the Dr. Kildare series, Barrymore played the title role in the 1940s radio series, Mayor of the Town.
Before The Story of Dr Kildare appeared on radio Lew Ayres and Lionel Barrymore both made a guest appearance on the Good News of 1938 Show on 13th October 1938.
Other actors who appeared in The Story of Dr. Kildare's radio series include Georgis Ellis, Paul Frees, Jack Webb, and Ed Max.
There are 60 episodes of Dr. Kildare extant from its two-year run as the show was a transcribed syndication, which meant it was recorded. We have four more to add to RUSC over the weekend to complete the collection.
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