Ben Casey
Ben Casey is an American medical drama television series that aired on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, ✳, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaffe uttered, "Man, woman, birth, death, infinity."[1] Neurosurgeon Joseph Ransohoff served as a medical consultant for the show.
Ben Casey
James Moser
United States
English
5
153 (list of episodes)
60 minutes
Bing Crosby Productions
October 2, 1961 –
March 21, 1966
The most frequent time slot for the series is in bold text.
Television series tie-ins[edit]
Comics[edit]
Both a comic strip and a comic book were based on the television series. The strip was developed and written by Jerry Capp (né Caplin) and drawn by Neal Adams.[7][8] The daily comic strip began on November 26, 1962, and the Sunday strip debuted on September 20, 1964. Both ended on July 31, 1966 (a Sunday). The daily strip was reprinted in The Menomonee Falls Gazette. The comic book was published by Dell Comics for 10 issues from 1962 to 1964. All had photo covers, except for that of the final issue, which was drawn by John Tartaglione.
Novels[edit]
From 1962 through 1963, the paperback publisher Lancer Books also issued four original novels based on the series. They were Ben Casey by William Johnston,[9] A Rage for Justice by Norman Daniels,[10] The Strength of His Hands by Sam Elkin,[11] and The Fire Within, again by Daniels,[12] small-print standard mass-market size paperbacks of 128 or 144 pages each. The covers of the books featured photographs of Edwards as Casey, or in the case of the last novel, a drawing of a doctor with Edwards' appearance.
1988 television film The Return of Ben Casey[edit]
In 1988, the made-for-TV-movie The Return of Ben Casey, with Vince Edwards reprising his role as Casey,[13][14] aired in syndication. Harry Landers was the only other original cast member to reprise his role (as Dr. Ted Hoffman). The film was directed by Joseph L. Scanlan.[13][14] The pilot was not picked up by the major networks to bring the series back.[15]