Who’s Still Alive From the Medical Drama ‘Emergency!’?
When I was a kid in the ’70s, no TV show thrilled — or terrorized — me more than my parents’ Saturday night staple, Emergency! Credited with helping to build America’s paramedic program, the hourlong drama, which ran from 1972 to 1977, centered on the lives of early first responders and ER doctors at the fictional Fire Station 51 and Rampart General Hospital in Los Angeles County. The performances, especially on behalf of the guest stars, could be a little melodramatic, but the Emergency!’s writers and creators painstakingly ensured that the actual emergency scenes were electrifying and technically correct.
Multiple other elements added to Emergency‘s wide-ranging appeal. The brotherly chemistry between actors Kevin Tighe, who played level headed firefighter/paramedic Roy DeSoto, and Randolph Mantooth, as DeSoto’s sexy, single and sometimes screwball partner Johnny Gage, proved irresistible. Same went for real-life marrieds Julie London and Bobby Troup as lead R.N. Dixie McCall and surgeon Dr. Joe Early. Throw in a guest roster of celebrities and future stars — from John Travolta and Wolfman Jack to Dick Butkus and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — and you got yourself a show that is still a nostalgia- and streaming channel mainstay.
So which cast members from this lifesaving series are still alive? Read on.
Randolph Mantooth (79)
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images; Everett Collection
Still tall, dark and handsome as he heads toward his 80s, Mantooth prefers theater these days. The former (and disastrous) Tonight Show page was cast in Emergency! after series creator Robert Cinader spotted him in a particularly rending episode of The Bold Ones. Monique James, Mantooth’s agent at the time, recognized the significance of the role. But the young actor balked, determined to preserve his shiny, shoulder-length locks which he knew would not work on a fireman. Mantooth relented and the rest is TV history.
In addition to theater, Mantooth also serves as a longtime spokesperson for the International Association of Firefighters and makes regular appearances at EMT-related conferences and events.
Kevin Tighe (80)
Everett Collection
Mantooth recalls feeling instant relief when the everyman Tighe walked into Emergency! producer Jack Webb’s office. The pair were surrounded by their castmates London, Troup and Robert Fuller, all of whom left Mantooth starstruck. A seasoned theater actor who had performed alongside Dame Maggie Smith, Tighe kept his cool, and an instant, lifelong friendship was formed. Tighe and Mantooth went through paramedic classes and ride-alongs with the L..A. County fire department together, and happily shared the same on-set trailer for the length of the series.
Tighe last appeared onscreen in a 2016 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and now spends his time behind the camera producing documentaries. He and Mantooth teamed up to make 2023’s Into the Unknown: The Paramedic’s Journey.
Robert Fuller (91)
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images; Martin Mills/TV Guide/courtesy Everett Collection
Don’t let the internet tell you differently: Fuller is still very much alive. The ruggedly handsome actor with flinty eyes, lush dark waves, and a voice that brings to mind bourbon and leather played Dr. Kelly Brackett, sometime-love interest of Nurse Dixie McCall.
An avowed rancher (even though he was born in New York), Brackett preferred cowboy roles to a white coat and stethoscope. But when Webb saw Fuller play a Vietnam Vet turned biker in 1971’s The Hard Ride, he persuaded Fuller to play Brackett alongside his good pals London and Troup. “I had known Julie and Bobby for a long, long time, and we just got along great,” Troup said. “I tell you what, it was a lot of fun to go to work every morning while we were shooting it.” Fuller now spends his days with his wife, St. Elsewhere actress Jennifer Savidge, enjoying their sprawling Texas ranch.
Ron Pinkard (84)
It was sometimes hard not to feel for Pinkard, whose Dr. Mike Morton always seem to be annoyingly short-tempered with his patients. Before he became an actor, the Denver-born Pinkard — who briefly studied medicine in real life — served as a lieutenant commander in the United States Navy Reserve, retiring as a full commander. A veteran of the era’s long roster of cop and action shows, including Dragnet, Mission: Impossible and Adam-12, Pinkard also guested on the medical dramas Medical Center, Marcus Welby M.D. Quincy M.E. and Trapper John, M.D.
Pinkard retired from television in 1992 and returned to Colorado, where he served on the Denver Film Commission from 1991 to 2003.
> What Happened in the Final Episode of ‘Emergency!’?
Marco Lopez (89)
One of two Emergency! actors whose characters shared their names, Lopez never really said too much. Fireman Marco Lopez generally commented on his Station 51 mates’ (mostly lousy) cooking or delivered a deliciously dry zinger. In the kitchen, the others had it coming. Lopez often used the set’s working kitchen to feed his cast mates. Working mostly uncredited roles before he was cast in Emergency! — including a stint as Elvis’ Love Me Tender stand-in — Lopez went on to guest star on popular shows including MacGuyver and Murder, She Wrote. Lopez retired from acting in the early 2000s and taught the craft for a while.
Mike Stoker (82)
Stoker’s character was also named Mike Stoker — and like his castmate Marco Lopez, Firefighter Engineer Stoker didn’t say a lot. But he was still a standout on the Emergency! set: The blandly handsome Stoker actually was a Los Angeles County Fire Department engineer. According to MeTV, he didn’t let it get in the way of his lifesaving duties. “I was involved in two major fires [while doing the series],” Stoker reportedly said. “I was absolutely filthy dirty, black from head to foot. I reported for work at Universal, cleaned up and did one scene, then went home and caved in.”
After Emergency!, Stoker never acted again, but remained with the L.A. fire department for more than 30 years.
Emergency! currently airs on over-the-air channels MeTV, fetv, and streams on Peacock, Apple TV, and Prime Video.
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