Dr. Kildare

The Story of Dr. Kildare follows the adventures of the title character, a young doctor at Blair General Hospital, a fictional teaching hospital in New York City. In each half-hour episode, Dr. Kildare, with the guidance and assistance of his friend and mentor, Dr. Gillespie, deal with medical mysteries, troubled patients, and occasional interfering hospital administrators. It's a show in which generally well-intentioned people deal with bad situations, rather than with bad guys, the type of show often described as "heartwarming."

Dr. Kildare first appeared in a series of stories and novels by Max Brand. MGM acquired the movie rights and produced a popular series of movies in the late 1930s and early 1940s, starring Lew Ayres as Kildare and Lionel Barrymore as Gillespie. Ayres and Barrymore reprise their roles in the radio series, which was produced by MGM for syndication in the early 1950s.

(Ayres was blacklisted from entertainment industry in 1942 because he sought conscientious objector status and permission serve as a medic, rather than as a combatant, in World War II. During his service, he was decorated for bravery under fire, leading to his being allowed to resume his Hollywood career.)

The character of Dr. Kildare demonstrated longevity. In the 1960s, Richard Chamberlain starred in an immensely popular NBC television series, but subsequent attempts to revive the character have seen little success.

For more information, see Wikipedia.

Series description provided by Frank Bell.