Chad Everett R.I.P.

Chad Everett, perhaps best known as Dr. Joe Gannon on the television series Medical Centre, died on 24 July 2012 at the age of 75. The cause was lung cancer.

Chad Everett was Raymond Lee Cramton born on 11 June 1936 in South Bend, Indiana. He grew up in Dearborn, Michigan. It was there while in high school that he became interested in the theatre. He attended Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. After graduating from college, he went to Hollywood to pursue a career in acting. It was legendary agent Henry Wilson (whose clients included such notable personalities as Rock Hudson, Robert Wagner, Guy Madison, and others) who gave him the stage name, "Chad Everett." Mr. Everett signed a contract with Warner Brothers. 

Mr. Everett made his television debut on an episode of Maverick in 1961. He went onto guest star on several other television series produced by Warner Brothers, including Lawman, 77 Sunset Strip, Cheyenne, Bronco, Surfside 6, and Hawaiian Eye. It was in 1963 that he played one of the lead characters, Deputy Del Stark, on the short lived series The Dakotas. In the Sixties he went on to guest star on such shows as Route 66, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Branded, Combat, The Lieutenant, and The F.B.I. It was in 1969 that Medical Centre debuted, featuring Chad Everett as Dr. Joe Gannon. The show proved to be a hit and ran seven years. For a time it was the longest running medical drama on television. He also appeared in movies in the Sixties. He made his film debut in Claudette Inglish in 1961. He went onto appear in such films as Red Nightmare (1962), Rome Adventure (1962), The Chapman Report (1962), Get Yourself a College Girl (1964), The Singing Nun (1966), Journey to Midnight  (1968), and The Impossible Years (1968),

In the Seventies, in addition to continuing on Medical Centre, Chad Everett appeared on such shows as The Red Skelton Hour and Police Story. He appeared in the mini-series Centennial and played the lead role in the short lived series Hagen. He also appeared in the films The Firechasers (1971) and Give Me My Money (1977). In the Eighties Mr. Everett played the lead on the short lived series The Rousters. He guest starred on such shows as Hotel, The Highwayman, and Murder She Wrote. He appeared in the films Airplane II: The Sequel (1982),  Fever Pitch (1985), Heroes Stand Alone (1989), and The Jigsaw Murders (1989).

In the Nineties Mr. Everett played lead roles in the short lived series McKenna and Manhattan A-Z. He appeared on such shows as Cyblll, Touched by an Angel, Diagnosis Murder, Melrose Place, and The Nanny. He appeared in such films as Psycho (1998) and Free Fall (1999). In the Naughts Chad Everett appeared in such films as Mulholland Dr. (2001), View from the Top (2003) and Tiptoes (2003). He appeared on such shows as Without a Trace, Cold Case, Supernatural, and Castle. He was a regular on the series Chemistry.

Chad Everett was one of a number of handsome, generally dark haired, leading man types to emerge in the late Fifties and early Sixties (Robert Conrad and William Shatner were other examples). He would play many roles besides the action TV series in which such types were generally cast. Indeed, he played the villain in Airplane II: The Sequel and would later play a closeted gay police officer on Cold Case. Although best known as Dr. Joe Gannon, Mr. Everett was versatile enough to play many other sorts of roles.