''The Nurses'' is a serialized

primetime Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

medical drama A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical dramatic programming go beyond the events pertaining to the characters' jobs and portray som ...

that was broadcast in the United States on CBS from September 27, 1962, to May 11, 1965. For the third and final season, the title was expanded to ''The Doctors and the Nurses'' and it ran until 1965, when it was transformed into a half-hour daytime soap opera. The soap opera, also called ''The Nurses'', ran on ABC from 1965 to 1967.

Synopsis

The series is set in Alden General Hospital (patterned after

Roosevelt Hospital Mount Sinai West, opened in 1871 as Roosevelt Hospital, is affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Mount Sinai Health System. The 514-bed facility is located in the Midtown West neighborhood of New York City. The fac ...

) in New York, and the primetime program starred

Zina Bethune Zina Bianca Bethune (February 17, 1945 – February 12, 2012) was an American actress, dancer, and choreographer. Early years Bethune was born on Staten Island, the daughter of Ivy ( Vigder), a Russian-born (Sevastopol, present-day Ukraine) act ...

as Gail Lucas, the young nurse, and Shirl Conway as Liz Thorpe, her older nurse mentor. Unlike most television dramas of the era, save for ABC's police drama '' Naked City'' (1958–1963) and the sitcom ''

The Patty Duke Show ''The Patty Duke Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Sidney Sheldon and William Asher. The series ran on ABC from September 18, 1963, to April 27, 1966. The series was developed as a vehicle for teenage star Patty Duke, who h ...

'' (1963–1966), the series was filmed in New York and not Hollywood. The show was mainly filmed at the Filmways and Pathe Studios in Manhattan. The program was nominated for five

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

.Primetime Emmy nominations 1963–1964
/ref>

Cast

as Gail Lucas * Shirl Conway as Liz Thorpe * Michael Tolan as Dr. Alex Tazinski (1964–1965) *

Joseph Campanella Joseph Anthony Campanella (November 21, 1924 – May 16, 2018) was an American character actor. He appeared in more than 200 television and film roles from the early 1950s to 2009. Campanella was best remembered for his roles as Joe Turino on ' ...

as Dr. Ted Steffen (1964–1965) Other performers who appeared in episodes were Billie Allen, Margaret Barker, John Beal,

Lane Bradbury Janette Lane Bradbury (born June 17, 1938) is an American actress and writer. Biography Lane Bradbury was born in Buckhead, Morgan County, Georgia, near Atlanta. She studied ballet as a young girl. In the 1950s, she moved to New York City, and ...

, Michael Conrad,

Ruby Dee Ruby Dee (October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014) was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and civil rights activist. She originated the role of "Ruth Younger" in the stage and film versions of '' A Raisin in the Sun'' (1 ...

, Ivan Dixon, Dana Elcar, Elizabeth Frazier, Robert Gerringer, Arlene Golonka American actress, George Grizzard, Vincent Guardino,

Larry Haines Larry Haines (born Larry Hecht; August 3, 1918 – July 17, 2008) was an American actor. Early years Haines was born on August 3, 1918 in Mount Vernon, New York. (Some sources say August 18, 1918, in the same city). He had been active in dramati ...

, Barbara Harris, Joey Heatherton, William Hickey,

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is th ...

, Ellen Holly, Bernard Hughes,

Kim Hunter Kim Hunter (born Janet Cole; November 11, 1922 – September 11, 2002) was an American theatre, film, and television actress. She achieved prominence for portraying Stella Kowalski in the original production of Tennessee Williams' ''A Streetcar ...

, Diana Hyland, Albert Grant,

Lee Grant Lee Grant (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal; October 31, during the mid-1920s) is an American actress, documentarian, and director. She made her film debut in 1951 as a young shoplifter in William Wyler's '' Detective Story'', co-starring Kirk Doug ...

Judson Laire Judson Laire (August 3, 1902 – July 5, 1979) was an American film, stage, and television actor best known for starring as Lars Hansen in the early CBS television series, ''Mama'' from 1949 to 1957, as well as several daytime soap operas includin ...

, John Lasell, Linda Lavin, Joeseph Leon, Vivica Lindfors, Clifton James,

Lincoln Kilpatrick Lincoln Kilpatrick (February 12, 1932 – May 18, 2004) was an American film, television, and stage actor. Biography Career Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Kilpatrick attended Lincoln University and earned a degree in drama before he began acting. ...

, Jan Miner, Kermit Murdock, Peg Murray, Susan Oliver,

Estelle Parsons Estelle Margaret Parsons (born November 20, 1927) is an American actress, singer and stage director. After studying law, Parsons became a singer before deciding to pursue a career in acting. She worked for the television program '' Today'' and ...

,Jane Rose, Polly Rowles, Diana Sands, Zackary Scott, Fran Sharon,

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship ''Enterpris ...

, Martin Sheen, Joe Silver, Hilda Simms, Paul Stevens, Inger Stevens, Elaine Stritch,

Florence Stanley Florence Stanley (born Florence Schwartz; July 1, 1924 – October 3, 2003) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. She is best known for her roles in ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1977) and its spinoff ''Fish'' (1977-1978), ''My T ...

, Michael Strong, and Dolph Sweet.

Episodes

Season 1 (1962–63)

Season 2 (1963–64)

Season 3: The Doctors and the Nurses (1964–65)

ABC TV series

''The Nurses'' is an American daytime soap opera that aired on ABC from September 27, 1965 to March 31, 1967. The show was a continuation of the CBS primetime drama. The setting was Alden General Hospital and the main characters included Mary Fickett as Liz Thorpe, R. N, and Melinda Cordell as the younger and less experienced Gail Lucas, R. N., along with

Arthur Franz Arthur Sofield Franz (February 29, 1920 – June 17, 2006) was an American actor whose most notable feature film role was as Lieutenant, Junior Grade, H. Paynter Jr. in ''The Caine Mutiny'' (1954). Early life Franz was born in Perth Amboy, ...

as Hugh McCloud, Valerie French as Helen Cox,

as Jamie McCloud, Lee Patterson as Brad Kirnan,

Nicholas Pryor Nicholas Pryor (born Nicholas David Probst; January 28, 1935) is an American actor. He has appeared in various television series, films, and stage productions. Life and career Pryor was born Nicholas David Probst in Baltimore, Maryland, the son ...

as Ken Alexander, Polly Rowles as Miss Grassberg, Paul Stevens as Dr. Paul Fuller, and

Lesley Woods Lesley Woods (August 22, 1910 – August 2, 2003) was an American radio, stage and television actress. She was a graduate of the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago. Personal life Woods was married to actor Richard McMurray. Sam McMurray is her s ...

as Vivian Gentry.

Production

Richard Holland and Gordon Russell were the

head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...

s. The

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...

was Doris Quinlan, who later produced ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

'', ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and ...

'' and '' The Doctors. Several of the performers on this show were later on ''One Life to Live'' and ''

''. The music for the series was composed by

Frank Lewin Frank Lewin (March 27, 1925 – January 18, 2008) was an United States of America, American composer and teacher. Biography Frank Lewin was born March 27, 1925, in Breslau, Germany. He and his family escaped from Germany in 1939, spent a yea ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nurses, The (Tv series) 1962 American television series debuts 1965 American television series endings 1965 American television series debuts 1967 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming 1960s American medical television series American television soap operas CBS original programming Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows Serial drama television series Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in New York City Works about nursing Works set in hospitals