Poseidon Quickies: Joe Gannon, Just What the Doctor Ordered!

Over the last year or two, we've enjoyed decompressing with various editions of "Comfort TV;" programming that takes us back to simpler times or which otherwise helps to soothe the rough edges that the times we're currently living in make so raw. Speaking of edging (ha!), I give you the star of the popular hospital drama Medical Center, which ran from 1969-1976, Mr. Chad Everett as Dr. Joe Gannon. 

Everett had been busily employed as a Warner Brothers contract player in the early-1960s and was put through his paces on their carousel of hit shows such as Maverick, Lawman, Bronco, Surfside 6, 77 Sunset Strip and Hawaiian Eye. He also was granted small roles in movies like Claudelle Inglish (1961), Rome Adventure (1962) and The Chapman Report (1962) before starring in a show of his own called The Dakotas. This led to a half-dozen years of costarring in a variety of light romances (like Made in Paris, 1966, opposite Ann-Margret) and westerns (Like The Last Challenge, 1967, opposite Angie Dickinson) until he returned to TV once more with Center.

Now with much experience under his belt, he could take on the role of earnest, passionately dedicated and (usually) progressive surgeon Joe Gannon. Faced with an assortment of established guests stars, there was no shortage of drama at the center. (And surely I will be turning my attention to some of these stars in a future post. But like everything else, it's slow in coming...!) During that first season, Everett's blue eyes jumped off the screen, the taupe and brown clothing he favored only enhanced the effect, as seen here. 

Set on a university campus, Everett was all business at the hospital, but in his free time wore mod get-ups like this belted leather jacket (there was also a blue leather coat as well.) The hip sunglasses and red convertible completed the look...!

His off-duty clothing was often eye-popping, but never more so than in the episode in which he went to Mexico for a long overdue vacation and wound up falling for the hotel's activity director. The gal was played by his real-life wife (of 45 years!) Shelby Grant.

I dearly love this shirt he's sporting in this scene. And it does take a special person to be able to wear pull off the pants he's wearing in the inset.

Needless to say, the chemistry between Everett and Grant was effortless (and equally needless to say, her character was stricken with a serious illness!) This ep was a rare chance to see some really far out duds on Mr. E. It was also a treat to see him in some swim trunks, something not very common, at least in early seasons of the show.

Be sure to note the football-lace closure on the front of these (very!) clingy trousers... If gents wandered around in outfits like these in 1969/70, I was definitely born too late!

He looked good coming and going.

This other installment featured another crazy get-up. Now at first glance, there doesn't seem to be anything amiss about this chocolate brown, zip-up deal with a wide collar...

...until you realize that it's a "one-sie!" The only thing missing are built-in feet and a trap door in back. LOL Meant to be something comfy to slip into for quiet nights and a brandy at home, it actually looks quite UN-comfortable, riding up in the back and probably pinching his undercarriage at times. (The male cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation often bellyached about their first season costumes, which were like this!)

The well-groomed, smartly-dressed Everett was easy on the eyes as is. But in The Underworld we like our men clad more scantily whenever possible.

Take this instance, in which we spy Everett coming out of the O/R changing room showers wearing nothing but a towel.

I was too young to have seen this when it aired, but I sure remember the impact of Gregory Harrison taking a shower in front of Pernell Roberts in the pilot for Trapper John, M.D.! So I can well imagine how many little hearts showed blips on their EKGs with this episode came on. 

 

I couldn't help noticing (let's face it, in scenes like this, I notice everything!) how much care Everett took when sitting down to avoid an under-the-towel flash. We wish in this instance he'd been less considerate! Ha ha!

 

For a millisecond, as he's getting up to leave, we catch a teensy glimpse of bare flank where his towel meets! He likely had on some flesh-tone undies or some other modesty item like a dance belt, but it's still fun to speculate. (And how we gasped when it was demonstrated in the Starsky & Hutch pilot that David Soul was truly nude under his towel...)

True fans of Medical Center will tell you, though, that the most eye-popping action was not in the slacks or swim trunks or even towels. It was in Everett's legendary surgical scrubs...! 

Rare is the episode that doesn't feature our fearless doctor bopping around the center in his famous blue/seas green scrubs.

Must see TV before the term "Must See TV" was coined...!

If you can try to direct your eyes to them (and I assure you, they are in the pics), he also wore the cutest little clogs, which were surely the then state-of-the-art footwear for surgeons. (That's guest stat George Grizzard in these pics. You may remember him as the deceased George Devereaux on The Golden Girls?)

Loving closeups are nice and all, but often during this show one waits with bated breath for another of those long walks down a hospital corridor, with the camera pulled back enough to show everything...

 

...and I do mean everything! With that, I'm ready to be admitted (or is it committed?!) Till next time.