St. Elsewhere/Trivia

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• Actor Allusion: Many.
• Adored by the Network: St. Elsewhere was NBC executive Brandon Tartikoff's favorite show, a fact which saved it from cancellation a couple of times.
• Billing Displacement: Denzel Washington is front and center on the DVD box, despite being a supporting player, arguably a more minor character than fellow residents Jack Morrison, Victor Erhlich or Wayne Fiscus.
• The Danza: Florence Hufnagel and Murray Robbin have the same first name of their actor/actress.
• Directed by Cast Member: Eric Laneuville (Luther Hawkins) frequently stepped behind the camera starting in Season 2. William Daniels and David Morse also directed a few episodes.
• Executive Meddling: A rare example with positive results. As noted above, NBC executive Brandon Tartikoff was a huge fan of the show. His favorite character was Dr. Morrison, and he would frequently return scripts to the writers with "More Boomer!" written across them. This led to some of the most emotionally powerful moments on the show (see: Butt Monkey and It Got Worse).
• Hey, It's That Guy! (with a side of Retroactive Recognition):
  • Denzel Washington's first major role.
  • ...also where Ed Begley, Jr., David Morse, and Howie Mandel first got noticed
  • Larraine Newman was a mental patient in a first-season Story Arc.
  • William Daniels, Terence Knox, Mark Harmon, David Birney, Stephen Furst, Alfre Woodard, Bruce Greenwood, France Nuyen, and Norman Lloyd all had regular roles as doctors.
  • Florence Halop had a recurring role as a grouchy old lady patient.
  • Patricia Wettig and Helen Hunt both played characters Dr. Morrison was romantically involved with.
  • Ray Charles guest stars as a blind homeless blues man.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: Only the first of the show's six seasons has been released on DVD, and that was quite a while ago.
• Life Imitates Art: In the episode "Fathers and Sons", the moving man for Dr. Westphall says "Dad says we're on the cusp of a complete monetary disaster. The problem with the banks and corporations is they got debts up the wazoo, no way they're ever gonna pay it off. If you think '29 was a mess says Dad, wait till you see the sidewalks of Wall Street in two years tops." This episode aired September 25, 1985. Black Monday was October 19, 1987, so he was off by less than a month.
• Name's the Same: Searching on YouTube for St Elsewhere videos often leads you to recordings of a song by Gnarls Barkley, which has nothing to do with the show.
• Real Life Relative: William Daniels playing opposite his wife Bonnie Bartlett.
• Science Marches On / Technology Marches On: The series ended in 1988. Medicine and technology have both marched on quite a bit since then!
• Written by Cast Member: Sagan Lewis (Dr. Jackie Wade) is credited for the story of Season 6's "Their Town" as S.J. Lewis.