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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBorn, on this day, September 19, 1945: Randy Mantooth
Last edited Thu Sep 19, 2019, 12:24 PM - Edit history (1)
He played Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedic John Gage on Emergency!
Randolph Mantooth (born Randy DeRoy Mantooth, September 19, 1945), is an American actor who has worked in television, documentaries, theater, and film for more than 40 years. A graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, he was discovered in New York by a Universal Studios talent agent while performing the lead in the play Philadelphia, Here I Come. After signing with Universal and moving to California, he slowly built up his resume with work on such dramatic series as Adam-12 (1968), Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969), McCloud (1970) and Alias Smith and Jones (1971).
He was chosen to play a lead role as paramedic John Gage in the 1970s medical drama, Emergency! (opposite Robert Fuller as Dr. Kelly Brackett, Julie London as Nurse Dixie McCall, Bobby Troup as Dr. Joe Early and Kevin Tighe as Roy DeSoto). The show aired six seasons (129 episodes) and six two-hour television movie specials. Randolph Mantooth has spoken regularly at Firefighter and EMS conferences and symposia across the United States, while maintaining an active acting career. He is a spokesperson for both the International Association of Firefighters [IAFF] and the International Association of Fire Chiefs [IAFC] for fire fighter health and safety, and honored over the years with numerous awards and recognition.
Mantooth has appeared in numerous films and television series in lead and supportive roles including miniseries adaptations of Testimony of Two Men (1977) and a starring role as Abraham Kent in The Seekers (197980). Through the 1990s and 2000s, he appeared in daytime soap operas, earning him four Soap Opera Digest Award nominations. He frequently returns to performing in theatrical productions. He serves as an associate artist at Jeff Daniels' Purple Rose Theatre. His performances includes Mark Kaufman's Evil Little Thoughts, Black Elk Speaks, Carey Crim's Morning after Grace, Lanford Wilson's Rain Dance, and innumerable works by Native American playwrights including William S. Yellow Robe, Jr.
Release
Original network: NBC
Original release: January 15, 1972 May 28, 1977
Emergency! is an American television series that combines the medical drama and action-adventure genres. It was a joint production of Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. It debuted on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing the two short-lived series The Partners and The Good Life, and ran until May 28, 1977, with six additional two-hour television films during the next two years.
The series stars Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe as two rescuers, who work jointly as paramedics and firefighters in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The duo form Squad 51, a medical and rescue crew of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. They work in concert with the fictional Rampart General Hospital medical staff (portrayed by Robert Fuller, Julie London and Bobby Troup), and with the firefighter engine company at Station 51.
Emergency! was created and produced by Jack Webb and Robert A. Cinader, who had also created the police dramas Adam-12 and Dragnet. Harold Jack Bloom is also credited as a creator; Webb does not receive screen credit as a creator. In the show's original TV-movie pilot, Webb was credited only as its director. The series aimed to be a realistic portrayal of the emergency medical services (EMS). Pioneering EMS leader James O. Page served as a technical advisor, and the two main actors underwent some paramedic training.
The series aired at a time when ambulance coverage in the United States was rapidly expanding and changing, and the role of a paramedic was emerging as a medical profession. The series is credited with popularizing the concepts of EMS and paramedics in American society, and even inspiring other states and municipalities to expand the service.
Nearly 30 years after Emergency! debuted, the Smithsonian Institution accepted Emergency! memorabilia into its National Museum of American History's public-service section, including the firefighters' helmets, turnouts, biophone, and defibrillator. The vehicles of Station 51 are a part of the collection of the Los Angeles County Fire Museum.
Randy Mantooth was Emergency!'s heartthrob. Emergency! is constantly re-run on MeTV or COZI, I can't remember which. I caught "Welcome to Santa Rosa County," Episode 10 from Season 6 (1976-1977) a few weeks back. John and Roy had gone out fishing in remote Santa Rosa County. As luck would have it....
And here it is:
Emergency (1972) Season 6 Episode 10
164,947 viewsPublished on Nov 13, 2016
Thomas Lowry
2.75K subscribers
Dennis Donovan
(18,770 posts)Loved that show!
mahatmakanejeeves
(57,393 posts)Edited: it's on COZI:
EMERGENCY!
Jack Webb, the creator of Dragnet and Adam-12, was inspired by the emergence of EMTs and paramedic units in the 60s to launch Emergency! That exclamation mark is well deserved these rescue stories can get intense. Home base was Station 51 of the L.A. County Fire Department, where Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe starred as paramedics John Gage and Roy DeSoto. Jack Webb cast his ex-wife, Julie London, as nurse Dixie McCall, and Dragnet regular Bobby Troupe as Dr. Joe Earl. The series ran from 1972 to 1978 and inspired thousands to train to become EMTs, among them one-time guest star, Bobby Sherman.
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MontanaMama
(23,307 posts)I was thinking about Randolph Mantooth just this morning! I turned on my tv/roku to tune into Stephanie Miller and there was an advertisement for some show called 911...anyway my mind went immediately to the 70s and Emergency...I had such a crush on him back then...oh my.
mahatmakanejeeves
(57,393 posts)Make sure to watch the video I posted.
MontanaMama
(23,307 posts)later today.
pnwest
(3,266 posts)show. They were always so dramatic when ripping open the shirts of male heart attack victims...but I always wondered why no women ever had heart attacks, and if they did, how could they do that heart jump start thing for them, since they couldnt possibly rip open a womans shirt in public! What would they do?! LOL, it was quite concerning!
woodsprite
(11,911 posts)I love that he is a spokesperson for firefighters health and safety (my dad was a volunteer firefighter and ambulance attendee all his life). I still follow Randy on Facebook.
GoCubsGo
(32,079 posts)I still have a crush on him. He got more handsome as he got older.
He's also on Instagram, although he doesn't post there very often: https://www.instagram.com/randymantoothofficial/
Aristus
(66,316 posts)But for me, the reason was Julie London as nurse Dixie McCall.
Even when I was just seven, I thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world...
And Bobby Troupe was just about the luckiest man in the world...
Boomerproud
(7,951 posts)nt
rsdsharp
(9,165 posts)And Robert Fuller on how he (reluctantly) got the part of Dr. Brackett.
Archae
(46,318 posts)cwydro
(51,308 posts)Great escape TV.
Its replaced CNN for me.
nolabear
(41,959 posts)It's a miracle we were birthed by the same mother.
Guy Whitey Corngood
(26,500 posts)WhiskeyGrinder
(22,326 posts)mahatmakanejeeves
(57,393 posts)Nothing like a lunch of PB&J, Kool-Aid, and deep contemplation of the often razor-thin margin between life and death.
Link to tweet
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)Aaron Pereira
(383 posts)Really nice guy!