Marcus Welby MD
The kindly man from Father Knows Best swapped his pipe
for a stethoscope and became one of TV's favourite doctors, Marcus
Welby.
With the help of his trusted aide, Dr Steven Kiley, the good
doctor tackled an extensive range of ailments for a suburban GP -
anything from anaemia to LSD side effects . . .
Marcus Welby, MD portrayed the cases of the veteran
general practitioner in Santa Monica, California, whose
thoroughness and dedication involved him in the lives of all sorts
of patients.
His young assistant, Kiley, was contracted to work with Welby
for one year before resuming his training as a neurologist. He
ultimately stayed with Dr Welby for the duration of the series.
Thus the inevitable tension between youth and experience was
established, but in this case Welby tended to be the more
unorthodox of the two, often confounding the dedicated but
textbook-oriented Kiley with his psychiatric approach to medicine.
Dr Welby treated the whole patient (including their
temperament, fears, and family environment) as well as the
physical ailments.
A love interest was provided for Welby during the first season
by Myra Sherwood, but this role was soon dropped.
The only other suggestion that Welby might have a life of his
own came in the last season, when his married daughter (Sandy) and
his six-year-old grandson (Phil) were occasionally seen. There was
no Mrs. Welby. The only other regulars over the years, in fact,
were nurses Consuelo Lopez and Kathleen Faverty
Although romance eluded Dr. Welby it did finally come to young
Dr Kiley, in the shape of Janet Blake, PR Director of Hope
Memorial Hospital. They were married on the telecast of 21 October
1975.
ABCs biggest hit at the time, Marcus Welby was hailed by
the medical profession for its realistic depiction of an MD's
life.
|
