Whatever Happened To The Cast Of St. Elsewhere?

A handsome and likable actor, David Birney became known to audiences in the early 1970s sitcom "Bridget Loves Bernie," starring alongside his first wife Meredith Baxter to form an interfaith married couple. Birney appeared on Broadway starting in the late 1960s and had guest-starring roles on such 1970s TV programs as "The Streets of San Francisco" and "Fantasy Island," as well as the title role in a short-lived series based on the 1973 Al Pacino film "Serpico." Birney played Dr. Ben Samuels on "St. Elsewhere" during its first season and could not return due to a Broadway commitment, per Variety.

Birney and Baxter divorced in 1989 after 15 years of marriage. In her 2011 book "Untied: A Memoir of Family, Fame and Floundering," Baxter accused Birney of being abusive during their marriage, something Birney strongly denied, calling her claims "an appalling abuse of the truth," per People (via Today). Birney's final years were sadly marked by Alzheimer's disease, which the actor succumbed to on April 27, 2022 at age 83, according to his partner Michele Roberge, per The New York Times.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

A wacky stand-up comedian and notorious germaphobe, Howie Mandel's role as Dr. Wayne Fiscus was not at all comical. In one episode, Fiscus fights for his life after an enraged wife trying to kill her husband mistakenly shoots him (per The New York Times). Mandel was not the first choice for the part. David Paymer, who would go on to receive an Oscar nomination for Billy Crystal's "Mr. Saturday Night," played the role in the unaired pilot, per People. Mandel said he found it "challenging to be doing comedy and that at the same time."

While on "St. Elsewhere," Mandel had a thatch of curly black hair, ironic since he is now known for his bald head. Mandel started shaving his head by choice. "This feels so streamlined and so clean," he told ABC News' "20/20" of his shiny crown. Mandel's diagnosis with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is what he attributes his bald look to, as well as his refusal to shake hands (although he will fist-bump). "As much as I shave my face, I shave my head," Mandel said regarding the frequency with which he shaves, on his son Alex's vlog.

Mandel, who would later gain success as host of the primetime game show "Deal or No Deal" and judge on "America's Got Talent," wrote a book in 2009 about his struggles with OCD and ADHD called "Here's the Deal: Don't Touch Me."

An award-winning stage and TV actor, Ed Flanders guest-starred on many television series starting in the 1970s, perhaps most memorably in a 1972 episode of "M*A*S*H" where he played a director making a documentary about the 4077, only to give up on the project when sabotaged by Hawkeye and Trapper John. He won a Tony award in 1974 for the Broadway revival of Eugene O'Neill's "A Moon for the Misbegotten" and later an Emmy award for the same role in the 1976 TV production. 

Flanders was best known, however, for playing Dr. Donald Westphall on "St. Elsewhere," one of the senior doctors who not only has to handle the daily grind of St. Eligius, but also is a single father to a young autistic son (Chad Allen). Flanders left the show in 1987 to pursue other projects but returned for two episodes, including the series finale. On his final outing as a regular, he improvised a rambling speech about death and memorably mooned his new boss (Ronny Cox), which aired despite some hand-wringing from NBC executives, per the AP. Clearly a nod to Flanders' stage work, the Season 6 episode was titled "A Moon for the Misbegotten."

Flanders sadly dealt with many demons in his personal life. He had been divorced three times, was a recluse who suffered from depression, consumed a lot of alcohol, and was in constant back pain from a 1988 auto accident near his ranch in Denny, California. He died by suicide on February 22, 1995, per People. He was 60.

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If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

William Daniels won two Emmys playing the curmudgeonly Dr. Mark Craig, a brilliant but acerbic heart surgeon. Daniels' real-life wife of over 70 years Bonnie Bartlett played his wife on the show. Of his fellow cast members, Daniels told the Television Academy Foundation, "I loved them all ... I was not aware of any problems of one actor with another ... They all were just happy to be on the show." Daniels also voiced the car KITT on "Knight Rider" during his time on "St. Elsewhere."

Daniels portrayed Dustin Hoffman's father in 1967's "The Graduate" (although Daniels is only ten years older than Hoffman). A Broadway veteran, he originated the role of John Adams in the 1969 Broadway musical "1776" and reprised the role for the 1972 film version. From 1999 to 2001, Daniels served as president of the Screen Actors Guild. The esteemed actor earned a new generation of fans as Mr. Feeny on the 1990s sitcom "Boy Meets World." When asked what the secret was for being married for over 70 years, Daniels told Forbes, "A lack of imagination [laughs]. No, we're a solid couple, you know. We love each other. We've never been jealous about the other's work, or success. Rather, we take pride in each other's accomplishments."

Bonnie Bartlett played Ellen Craig on "St. Elsewhere," wife of the acid-tongued Dr. Mark Craig, played by Bartlett's real-life husband of over 70 years, Williams Daniels. "We probably got married so we could have sex," Bartlett half-joked in 2017 when telling Salon about her long marriage. "Because in those days, you know, you just couldn't do that." The couple have some particularly volatile scenes in "St. Elsewhere" when the death of their son in a car accident causes a rift in their marriage and they separate. "Bill hated it and I think the audience hated it," Bartlett told the Television Academy Foundation, noting that Daniels had a certain amount of jealousy toward the actor Bartlett's character was having an affair with.

Like her husband, Bartlett won two Emmys for her role on the show. In 1986, the couple both won on the same night. "When she won, we came out and there were photographers and everything," Daniels remembered for Salon. "They were taking pictures and they said 'Mr. Bartlett, would you step aside please, while we get a single?'" Bartlett had a memorable guest role on a 1988 episode of "The Golden Girls" in which she played a snooty author who befriends Bea Arthur's Dorothy, much to the chagrin of Dorothy's neglected roommates. She appeared in five episodes of her husband's 1990s sitcom "Boy Meets World" as Dean Lila Bolander. Bartlett and Daniels are both in their 90s and retired (her last role was in 2017 in two episodes of AMC's "Better Call Saul").

Stephen Furst was known for his role as the forlorn frat boy Flounder in the hit 1978 film "Animal House." Starting out with a small part in Season 2, he added a touch of comic relief to "St. Elsewhere" as Dr. Elliot Axelrod and became a series regular. From 1994 to 1998, he played Vir Cotto on "Babylon 5."

Sadly, at age 16 he lost both of his parents to diabetes complications. Furst himself was diagnosed with diabetes soon after and had struggled with his health and weight for much of his adult life. In 2001, he lost more than 100 pounds. "Like most severely overweight people, I had to hit a rock-hard bottom before I'd take responsibility for the consequences of neglecting my own health," he told USA Today. The actor became a national spokesperson for the American Heart Association and a representative for the American Diabetes Association. 

He directed a number of projects in the '90s and 2000s and told IGN in a lengthy interview, "My company is called Curmudgeon Films, and my logo says, 'Why grow up when you can make movies?' I always keep it a fun thing to do. We're not solving world peace here." Furst died on June 16, 2017, at age 63 from complications of diabetes, per The Hollywood Reporter. He was survived by his wife Lorraine and sons Griff, an actor, and Nathan, a composer.

Chad Allen had a recurring role on "St. Elsewhere" beginning in Season 2 as Tommy, the autistic son of Dr. Donald Westphall (Ed Flanders). His character is responsible for baffling many viewers due to his role in the last scene of the show's final episode, in which Tommy stares into a snowglobe. Dr. Westphall, looking more like a construction worker than a doctor, laments, "He sits there all day long in his own world staring at that toy." When the camera zooms into the globe for the last shot, what we see inside is St. Eligius Hospital, leading many to wonder if the whole series was just in Tommy's imagination. "I tell you, the last episode, I never bought it," Norman Lloyd told Entertainment Weekly of the ending, adding, "...I thought it was a letdown."

Allen was a regular cast member on "Our House," "My Two Dads," and "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," making him something of a teen heartthrob. He is retired from acting and is a LGBTQ advocate. In 2009, the GLAAD Media Awards presented Allen with the Davidson/Valenti award, which goes to "an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for our community," per the San Francisco Sentinel. Allen is a licensed psychologist, having graduated from the Psy.D. Program in Clinical Psychology at Antioch University in New England in 2020.