Dreamily handsome Richard Chamberlain (1935–) was a heartthrob of young teenage girls in the 1960s when he starred on the hit medical drama, Dr. Kildare (1961–66). Chamberlain's character, James Kildare, was a young intern learning his profession at Blair General Hospital, a large urban medical facility. Young Kildare, whose specialty was internal medicine, stood in contrast to older Dr. Leonard Gillespie, played by Raymond Massey (1896–1983). Dr. Gillespie was Kildare's tough, seasoned mentor and the hospital's senior staff physician. Kildare was constantly attempting to win the fatherly Gillespie's respect while mastering the basics of good doctoring and grappling with the problems of his patients and the responsibilities of his profession. Although tame by the standards of contemporary TV medical shows, Dr. Kildare did offer a realistic view of life inside a hospital and the everyday stresses and dilemmas faced by doctors and patients.

The show was based on a...