I don't normally focus my blogs on one person, but I was so impressed by what I read of Randolph Mantooth (John Gage from Emergency-1972) that I decided to write about him this week.
Randy Deroy Mantooth was born in Sacremento California in 1945 and was the oldest of 4 children. He is of Seminole,Cherokee,Potawatomi, Scottish and German descent. In fact, his mother was German, and his father was from Oklahoma. Mantooth lived in 24 states due to his father's job in the construction industry, finally settling in Santa Barbara California where he grew up.
He attended San Marcos High School where he participated in school plays there as well.Randy followed that up by studying at Santa Barbara City College. He chose his stage name as Randolph but kept his last name Mantooth as a symbol of pride of his Indian heritage.
His performance as "Gar" in the play "Philadelphia Here I Come" earned him the Charles Jehlenger Award for Best Actor. This was also an award he shared with late actor Brad Davis (Midnight Express portrayed real life person Billy Hayes) Mantooth earlier jobs included work as an elevator operator and as a page at NBC Studios.
Randolph Mantooth became an American Actor who has worked in television, documentaries, theater, and film for over 40 years now. Mantooth was originally discovered in New York by a Universal Studios Talent Agent as a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He slowly built up his resume with work on such dramatic series as Adam-12,Marcus Welby MD, and McCloud. Due to his hard work and early success, he was chosen for the lead role as fireman/paramedic John Gage in the 1970 medical drama "Emergency."This was an important show that aired six seasons (129 episodes) and six-two hour television movie specials.
He and fellow actor Kevin Tighe as Firefighter/paramedic Roy Desoto were part of an elite paramedic team assigned to Squad51 of the L.A.County Fire Dept. They would respond to accidents or dangerous rescues in an "Emergency Room on Wheels."There they received directions via a biophone from trained medical personnel at the hospital. The paramedic performed Advance Life Saving techniques to stabilize injured, ill and dying patients before transporting them to a medical facility.
Mantooth and Tighe actually sat in on paramedic classes (no written exams) but rode out on extensive ride-a-longs with the L.A.County FD. Mantooth said the producers wanted them training so they appeared to look what they knew they were doing on camera. The show became an instant ratings hit, reeling in 30 million viewers per week at that time.
Emergency, had become an important chapter in television history. In 1972 there were only 12 paramedic units in North America when the show broadcasted. By 1982, more than half of all Americans were within 10 minutes of a paramedic rescue or ambulance unit due to the popular influence of the show's episodes. The show had introduced audiences from all over the world to the concept of pre-hospital care, along with the fire prevention concepts, along with CPR.Since his experience, Randy has spoken regularly at Firefighter along with EMS conferences and symposia across the United States, while maintaining an active acting career.
He is a spokesperson for both the International Association of Firefighters and the International Association of Fire Chiefs. He continues to campaign for fire fighter health and safety and has been honored over the years with numerous awards and recognition.
Nearly 30 years after Emergency debuted, the Smithsonian Institute accepted their memorabilia into its American History Museum in the public service division but not entertainment on May 16,2000
Among these items inducted included their uniforms,scripts, helmets, turnouts, biophone and defibrillator. In addition to that Project 51 was created to raise funds for a children's burn fund charity plus show the restored squad around the country. Mantooth along with fellow actors from the show Marco Lopez, Tim Donnelly, Ron Pinkard and Mike Stoker embarked on a 10-city tour with the squad to raise funds for charity on their way to Washington with their final destination being the Smithsonian. Soon thereafter Project 51 folded after the equipment was inducted into the Smithsonian and the funds were distributed to burn centers, fire education projects and local museums in the surrounding area.
Randolph Mantooth has remained an advocate of firefighters, paramedics, EMT's and other medical providers. He continually makes speeches, and personal appearances each year at events across North America. Among his topics are the inside story of the television series Emergency! and its impact on the EMS system developments. having worked quite closely with the nation's first certified firefighter/paramedics who served as technical advisors on the set of Emergency. His perspective and insight into the early startup and history of pre-hospital treatment in the field is second to none. Randolph Mantooth is one of our strongest reminders of how North America turned the dedicated delivery of basic emergency care into a systematic approach to EMS and Advanced Life Support.
He is also a strong voice for the health and safety of firefighters and educating them on the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning along with secondary effects of low-level CO poisoning.
In association with Masimo Corporation,he speaks on carbon monoxide poisoning nationwide. In fact, this corporation funded a video narrated by Mantooth, regarding that same subject to educate firefighters all over the United States and Canada.
His continued work as an advocate for firefighters and EMT extend to the First Nations Peoples. In May 2102 he filmed an Emergency Preparedness video to be distributed to tribal leaders at the Mille Lacs Ojibwe Reservation in Minnesota.
In 2015 he revealed on his facebook profile that he had been diagnosed with cancer and had completed treatment, heading towards a recovery.
Randolph Mantooth dedication to promoting and advocating for the fire service and EMS is shown through his personal reason as well. Mantooth references his own life being saved from carbon monoxide poisoning at his home during the six-year run while filming Emergency. In addition to that, paramedics and a flight nurse saved his sister's life after she was involved in a car accident.
In conclusion Randolph Mantooth is a guy that took his role as a firefighter/paramedic back in the 1970's to a whole new level for the remainder of his life. He walks the walk, and talks the talk. I am proud to have done a blog on such a fine man.
Now sit back and read another wonderful excerpt from my first book Temporary Satisfaction.Enjoy and have another great week!
After that day, I became very adept at running home from school because for reasons I couldn’t understand; only a certain group of kids became my enemies. Quite often they threatened me in class, stating they would kick the crap out of me after I left for home when school got over. I learned to run home real fast and always cut through many homeowner's backyards to get home safely. I recall a classmate I associated with Bo Harkle thought he could beat me up, along with his pal Todd Windermill.Actually,those two had planned to jump me, as I walked home from school one day, but this time I had other ideas regarding that. When I finished running about three quarters of the way home, just a block from my house, I decided I wasn’t going to run anymore, but confront my attackers instead. My brother Chuck, had just walked up behind me and witnessed the whole event, and boy was he surprised. Bo and Todd caught up with me, and said they were now going to lay a beating on me!
Later that evening, my brother Chuck told my Mom that “Brian just had a rangy on Bo Harkle that day”.
He explained to her that I was all fists, two legs, and put Bo in the scissors, so I was squeezing the life out him so intensely to the point, He started turning blue but Bo had learned his lesson in messing with me that day.
There was a real odd and daily occurrence going on as well, while I was participating in Grade five at Hillcrest Public School too. My hormones were now waking up to the “wonderful world of girls.” I remember this skinny sunny blonde haired girl who had a real crush on me. I simply can’t forget Camilla Ramilton and her side kick Rosanne Cobillard.
Now, the craziest thing about our little romance was Cam, as I called her, would offer me money, to chase her and Rosanne around the schoolyard at recess! We’re not talking ten or 25 cents either; it usually amounted to $5.00 a shot per recess, which was just crazy right? On Fridays it was always ten dollars that would be put in my hands to do the sexy deed.
I guess it was because I accepted it and chased her along with Rosanne all around the school yard, so Cam Ramilton might be considered another one of my girlfriends. Either that or it was my first time prostituting myself? I mean we did hold hands and she would give me the odd kiss at recess usually when nobody was looking at us, so that meant we were boyfriend and girlfriend.
Speaking of crushes, I have to mention this now as it will become rather significant in Book#3 “Road History” when I am in my late 30’s. At that time, my Dad would drive us up to Tecumseh, near Windsor, Ontario, mostly on the weekends. We did this on a regular basis as my Dad had become best friends with an employee he worked with at T.R.S. Foods in Woodstock. He had long left King Seagrave and was now in the “Vending and Catering Business”, plus he was very successful at it too.
Quite often we would ride up there in my Dad’s 1959 Black Ford 2-door Thunderbird. He bought this beautiful rare car when he was just 19 years old, but due to time and lack of money it needed to look like it had just come from the showroom floor. However, my Dad was now working longer hours in his new job and the extra money he made, restored that classic beast, pretty much back into its original condition.
So there we were riding up to Windsor visiting his best friend Bert and his wife Karen Weleven and their three kids in it. There was Ryan, a real high strung short kid who was a true outdoors type, Katy a slender blonde with coke bottle glasses who had developed extremely large breasts for her young age of ten. And there was Roselyn, a cute little blonde haired-blue eyed six year old fireball.
We enjoyed activities with the Welevens too; camping at Wildwood, going to the Sandhills at Turkey Point, The London Fair and outings such as African Lion Safari, near Hamilton, Ontario.The absolute best thing I recall so fondly were all of us canoeing down that dirty “Little River” in Tecumseh. We were extremely close to the Welevens and I stayed in touch with their kids until I left the town of Woodstock when I was 19. Little did I know I left a young girl who had really true aspirations of becoming the future Mrs. Brian Wade? That person will be definitely mentioned in more detail towards my third book “Road History” in this series on my life, moreover such chapters would make for a good reality show!
Now, do you remember the poster age and black lights? Yup they were in my bedroom at the time as well. I was also a big Elvis Presley Fan when I was a teenager at that time too. I even had a poster of him pinned up from his “Blue Hawaii Tour”, plus a provocative poster like Olivia Newton John dressed up in that tight leather black pantsuit from the movie Grease. I’m sure you remember that and every teenage boy, including myself had Farrah Fawcett sporting the red bathing suit and smiling only at you right?
How about all those quirky TV Shows we watched in that era as well? There was the Brady Bunch, Leave It to Beaver, The Munsters, and the ever riskay’, Three’s Company starring blonde bombshell Suzanne Summers. Our weekly evening lineup was also, Emergency 51, One Adam 12, The Incredible Hulk, Love Boat and Saturday Night Live. There were no computers in that period and if there were, they cost over a thousand dollars then.
I remember collecting hockey cards and disappearing down to our basement rec-room. It was there that I would create two teams from these cards placed on the carpet in their different positions. Just like a real hockey game setup, a goalie, two defensemen, right, and left wings along with a center. I used a button as a puck and would shoot this thing back and forth at the goalie hockey cards, which were propped up, with another hockey card behind it. I was very creative with this, and entertained myself for hours with this little pastime of mine.
When I was 12 yrs old, I started seeing a psychiatrist named Dr. Cudealack.If you ever seen that shrink on the Simpsons that was what my new analyst looked like. Every other Friday, my mom would have a cab pick me up at school around three ‘clock in the afternoon. We played chess pretty much every time I would see him. He always had this little exercise that helped to stimulate my mind and ignite the thinking mode. Following that, I would glance at shapes of cards presented before me and say the first thing that popped into my mind. I also acted on memory games with rectangles, squares and diamonds on playing cards too. From what I understand a good deal of what was going on in my prepubescent head was that of a sexual nature!
In addition, I was told I definitely had anger management issues to deal with as well. It was explained to me that I had to learn how to deal with my sudden anger or I would find myself in jail in the future. From that moment on, that was kind of a wakeup call for me, so I started to expand my horizons to get involved with a club or something.
So it was at this time in my life, I started my earliest radio announcing beginnings, of what would be my first real career. I made a memo of my voice on one of those ancient push button tape recorders I had inherited from my Grandpa Wade after he passed away. Well it wasn’t mine exactly; nobody ever used it, so I kind of claimed it as my own cassette device. There I was in my bedroom playing my record player, and after each song finished I would start the tape recorder and record my voice.
It went something like this “That was Nazareth on F.U.C.K. and Hair of the Dog! This is Paul Do Love You All” comin at ya, in Woodstock this Evening.
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