Marcus Welby M.D.
| Marcus Welby, M.D. | |
|---|---|
Marcus Welby, M.D. title card
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| Created by | David Victor |
| Starring |
Robert Young James Brolin |
| Theme music composer | Leonard Rosenman |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 169 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | David Victor |
| Producer(s) | David J. O'Connell Allen Secher |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Distributor |
Universal Television NBCUniversal Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | September 23, 1969 – July 29, 1976 |
Marcus Welby, M.D. was an American medical drama television program that aired Tuesdays at 10:00–11:00 p.m. (EST) on ABC from September 23, 1969 to July 29, 1976. It starred Robert Young as the title character, a family practitioner with a kind bedside manner, who was on a first name basis with many of his patients (and who also made house-calls), James Brolin, as Steve Kiley, M.D, a younger doctor who played Welby's partner, and Elena Verdugo, who played Welby and Kiley's dedicated and loving nurse and office manager, Consuelo Lopez. Marcus Welby, M.D., was produced by David Victor and David J. O'Connell. The pilot, A Matter of Humanities, had aired as an ABC Movie of the Week on March 26, 1969.
As with most medical dramas of the day, the plots often concerned a professional conflict between well-meaning physicians. Here, Dr. Welby's unorthodox way of treating patients was pitted against the more strait-laced methods of Dr. Steven Kiley (James Brolin). The catch with this particular program was that the roles were reversed in that Dr. Kiley was much younger than Dr. Welby. The opening credits of each episode reminded viewers of the generation gap between the two doctors, Welby driving his sedan and Kiley riding a motorcycle. Welby had served in the US Navy as a doctor during the war, and was a widower. He owned a sail boat and enjoyed the ocean. In an early example of product placement on television, Dr. Welby consumed many bottles of high-gravity malt liquor below deck and would, at times, gather inspiration for his novel treatments after one of these nautical benders.
The doctors worked alongside each other in their private practice in Santa Monica, California, regularly working in conjunction with the nearby Lang Memorial Hospital. (This was later revealed in exterior shots to be the real-life St. John's Hospital and Health Center in Santa Monica, California). At the office, their loyal secretary-nurse and friend was Consuelo Lopez (Elena Verdugo). Other characters that appeared throughout the years included Dr. Welby's frequent girlfriend Myra Sherwood (Anne Baxter), his daughter Sandy and her son Phil (first Christine Belford, then Anne Schedeen, as Sandy and Gavin Brendan as Phil), and Kathleen Faverty (Sharon Gless), as assistant program director at the hospital, who worked closely with Welby & Kiley. Dr. Kiley met and married public relations director Janet Blake, (played by Pamela Hensley) in 1975, at the beginning of the show's last season on the air.
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