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Vince Edwards

Highest Rated: 100% Murder by Contract (1958)

Lowest Rated: 0% Return to Horror High (1987)

Birthday: Jul 9, 1928

Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, USA

Stiffly handsome leading man of some 50s features, but mostly remembered as Dr. Ben Casey, neurosurgeon, on "Ben Casey," an ABC series which aired from 1961-66, Vince Edwards spent his post-Casey career fighting off the image of the brooding, caring doctor who broke a minor TV taboo when he unbuttoned his frock and revealed a forest of chest hair. Edwards had originally dreamed of swimming in the Olympics, but when an appendectomy put a damper on those dreams he turned to acting. He made his Broadway debut in 1947 in "High Button Shoes." By 1951, he was under contract to Paramount in Hollywood and made his debut in a low-budget programmer, "Mr. Universe," playing a wrestler being groomed as the "new find." Hollywood casting practices put him in a version of the Native American legend "Hiawatha" (1952). But his subsequent film roles were of the supporting variety in the 50s, including a small one in "The Three Faces of Eve" (1957). Having begun appearing on TV dramas in the mid-50s, including "Ford Theatre" (1955), Edwards was ripe for a series when "Ben Casey" came his way in 1961. He had been picked by the show's executive producer and owner, Bing Crosby. The same year ABC premiered "Casey," NBC premiered the TV version of "Dr. Kildare" and viewers debated their preference for the five years both were on the air. "Ben Casey" was often grittier, dealing with the poignancy of life and death. Edwards also became one of the first TV stars to step behind the cameras, directing about 20 of the 154 "Ben Casey" episodes produced. And he used the show to launch a singing career, recording six albums, including "Vince Edwards Sings," and playing Las Vegas. But the demise of the series temporarily stymied his career, as if often the case as the audience searches for a new face. In 1964, Edwards appeared in the first 20 minutes of Carl Foreman's oddly-structured feature "The Victors," and in 1968, he was helping William Holden create a commando force in "The Devil's Brigade," but the period in between roles increased. Edwards turned back to TV in 1970 playing a hip psychiatrist working with teens in the one-season series "Matt Lincoln." He also made his TV movie debut in "Sole Survivor" for ABC. In 1973, he directed the CBS TV movie "Maneater" and he had strong roles in two TV movies of the decade, "The Rhinemann Exchange," in which he was a general gathering information from a spying Stephen Collins (NBC, 1977), and "Evening in Byzantium" (1978), one of the first syndicated TV movies. But Edwards found himself less in demand in the 80s. An old friend, manager-producer Jay Bernstein, hired Edwards to co-star in the 1986 TV movie "The Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer" and Edwards went on to direct episodes of the "Mike Hammer" series for CBS as well as episodes of "Fantasy Island," "Police Story," and "In The Heat of the Night." In 1988, he made the syndicated TV movie "The Return of Ben Casey," playing the stalwart doctor as having been in Vietnam, married and divorced. He died of pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles on March 13, 1996.

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Highest rated movies

100% 80% Murder by Contract
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96% 92% The Killing
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57% 68% The Devil's Brigade
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20% 78% The Victors
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10% 19% Deal of the Century
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0% 17% Return to Horror High
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The Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer
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Island Women
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The Cliff
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80% Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack
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Filmography

Movies

Credit
No Score Yet 26% The Fear Uncle Pete (Character) - 1995
No Score Yet No Score Yet Jailbreakers Mr. Norton (Character) - 1994
No Score Yet 33% Dillinger Hoover (Character) - 1991
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Gumshoe Kid Ben Sherman (Character) - 1990
No Score Yet No Score Yet Wrong Number General Daniel T. Donovan (Character) - 1989
No Score Yet 27% Cellar Dweller Norman Meshelski (Character) - 1988
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Return of Ben Casey Dr. Ben Casey (Character) - 1988
No Score Yet 30% The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission Sgt. Holt (Character) - 1987
0% 17% Return to Horror High Richard Birnbaum (Character) - 1987
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer FBI Agent Frank Walker (Character) - 1986
No Score Yet No Score Yet Sno-Line Steve King (Character) - 1985
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Fix Frank Lane (Character) - 1985
No Score Yet 22% Space Raiders Hawk (Character) - 1983
10% 19% Deal of the Century Frank Stryker (Character) - 1983
No Score Yet 46% The Seduction Maxwell (Character) - 1982
No Score Yet No Score Yet Knight Rider Fred Wilson (Character) - 1982
No Score Yet 80% Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack Director - 1979
No Score Yet No Score Yet Evening in Byzantium Bret Easton (Character) - 1979
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Narc Walt Abrams (Character) - 1978
No Score Yet No Score Yet A Chance to Live Walt Abrams (Character) - 1978
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Courage and the Passion Col. Joe Agajanian (Character) - 1978
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Living Legend Director - 1978
No Score Yet No Score Yet Cover Girls Bradner (Character) - 1977
No Score Yet No Score Yet Death Stalk Jack Trahey (Character) - 1975
No Score Yet 20% Firehouse Spike Ryerson (Character) - 1973
No Score Yet No Score Yet Maneater Director - 1973
No Score Yet 32% The Mad Bomber Lieutenant Geronimo Minneli (Character) - 1972
No Score Yet No Score Yet Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate Mal Weston (Character) - 1971
No Score Yet No Score Yet Remember Unknown (Character) - 1970
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Cliff Matt Lincoln (Character) - 1970
No Score Yet No Score Yet Dial Hot Line David Leopold (Character) - 1970
No Score Yet 27% The Desperados David Galt (Character) - 1969
No Score Yet No Score Yet Sole Survivor Maj. Michael Devlin (Character) - 1969
No Score Yet No Score Yet Hammerhead Charles Hood (Character) - 1968
57% 68% The Devil's Brigade Maj. Cliff Bricker (Character) - 1968
20% 78% The Victors Unknown (Character) - 1963
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Scavengers Stuart Allison (Character) - 1959
No Score Yet 38% City of Fear Vince Ryker (Character) - 1959
No Score Yet No Score Yet Island Women Mike (Character) - 1958
100% 80% Murder by Contract Claude (Character) - 1958
No Score Yet No Score Yet Ride Out for Revenge Chief Little Wolf (Character) - 1957
No Score Yet 67% Hit and Run Frank (Character) - 1957
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Hired Gun Kell Beldon (Character) - 1957
No Score Yet 43% Serenade Marco Roselli (Character) - 1956
96% 92% The Killing Val Cannon (Character) - 1956
No Score Yet 40% The Night Holds Terror Victor Gosset (Character) - 1955
No Score Yet 36% Rogue Cop Joey Langley (Character) - 1954
No Score Yet 69% Sailor Beware Blayden (Character) - 1952

TV

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet Nurses Unknown (Guest Star) 1993
No Score Yet No Score Yet In the Heat of the Night Director 1990
No Score Yet No Score Yet 1st & Ten Carlyle Trent (Guest Star) 1989
No Score Yet 89% Murder, She Wrote Harry Dial (Guest Star) 1989
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Fall Guy Director 1982
No Score Yet 80% Knight Rider Fred Wilson (Guest Star) 1982
No Score Yet No Score Yet Fantasy Island Director 1980
No Score Yet No Score Yet B.J. and the Bear Director 1979
43% 83% Battlestar Galactica Director 1978
No Score Yet No Score Yet Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries Director 1978
No Score Yet No Score Yet Police Story Walt Abrams (Character) 1978
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Carol Burnett Show Guest 1969
No Score Yet No Score Yet Ben Casey Dr. Ben Casey (Character) 1961-1966
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Deputy Unknown (Guest Star) 1960
No Score Yet No Score Yet Laramie Gil Craig (Guest Star) 1960
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Untouchables Unknown (Guest Star) 1959
No Score Yet 87% Alfred Hitchcock Presents Tex (Character) 1957
No Score Yet No Score Yet G.E. Theater Sgt. Lawrence Hancock (Character) 1957
No Score Yet No Score Yet The 20th Century-Fox Hour Unknown (Character) 1956