Ed Flanders (December 29 1934 – February 22 1995) was an American actor best known for his Emmy Award-winning role as Dr. Donald Westphall in the television series St. Elsewhere.

Biography

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on December 29 1934, Flanders began his acting career on Broadway before moving on to guest parts in television series. From 1967 through 1975, Flanders appeared in more than a dozen American TV shows, including six appearances on Hawaii Five-O (as six different characters). During this time, he was also prolific in TV movies. He also married actress Ellen Geer during this time; they later divorced.

In the late 1970s, Flanders moved away from small TV roles to take major credits in both TV and feature films. In 1982, he commenced his role in St. Elsewhere, which was to earn him four Emmy nominations as Outstanding Lead Actor in a TV Series. He won this award in 1983.

Flanders continued working in telemovies in the early 1990s, but was suffering from depression, particularly after his 1992 divorce from his second wife. He took his own life by a self-inflicted gunshot wound on February 22 1995 age 60 in Denny, California.

Significant Roles

In addition to his six-year role as Dr. Donald Westphall, Flanders is noted as the actor who has played President Harry Truman more times, and in more separate productions, than any other. He portrayed Truman, who was President from April 1945 until January 1953, across the end of World War II and most of the Korean War, in:

• Truman at Potsdam (1976 TV movie))
• Harry S Truman: Plain Speaking (1976 TV movie)
• MacArthur (1977 feature film).

In the latter, Flanders, once again portraying Harry Truman, had second billing to Gregory Peck's lead as General Douglas MacArthur.

One of Flanders' best-remembered TV guest roles was in the first season M* A* S* H episode Yankee Doodle Doctor, playing film director Duane William Bricker. Bricker, commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Special Services, is making a documentary about M* A* S* H units and comes to the 4077th on the recommendation of General Clayton. When Hawkeye and Trapper react to Bricker's filmmaking by destroying the negatives, Bricker abandons the project and leaves. Hawkeye takes over the making of the film which, instead of a serious documentary, becomes a farce in the style of the Marx Brothers.

Awards

Flanders had a total of seven Emmy nominations in acting categories, winning three awards.

Nominated four times (1983, 1985, 1986, 1987) for his role as Dr. Donald Westphall, Flanders won his third Emmy in 1983 as Outstanding Lead Actor in a TV Series.

Earlier, Flanders had won -

• 1977 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama or Comedy Special for his role as President Harry Truman in Harry S Truman: Plain Speaking
• 1976 Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama Special for his role as Phil Hogan in A Moon for the Misbegotten

His other nomination came in 1979 for his supporting role as President Calvin Coolidge in the second episode of the four-part miniseries Backstairs at the White House. (Flanders is one of a very short list of actors, including Jason Robards and Anthony Hopkins, who have portrayed two different Presidents. See also this list of actors who played Presidents).

In 1974, Flanders won the Tony Award for Best Supporting or Featured Actor in a Dramatic Presentation for A Moon for the Misbegotten.

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