Vince Edward's series Ben Casey was the E.R. of its time. Running from 1961-66 on ABC, the series was a pioneer of the 'real-life hospital' school of drama. (The show's opening lines -- "Man, Woman, Birth, Death, Infinity" -- became a pop culture mantra .) Edwards's dashing neurosurgeon Casey competed more or less head-to-head with Richard Chamberlain's dashing Dr. Kildare on rival network NBC. Edwards had a long acting career after Casey, but it remained his signature role.
Born: Jul 07, 1928 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York
Died: Mar 11, 1996
Occupation: Actor, Director
Active: '50s-'90s
Major Genres: Drama, Crime
Career Highlights: The Killing, City of Fear, The Victors
First Major Screen Credit: Mr. Universe (1951)
Biography
The youngest of the seven children of a Brooklyn contractor, Vince Edwards left vocational school when he won an athletic scholarship to Ohio State University. He subsequently gave up college to attend New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After working as a chorus boy in the Broadway musical High Button Shoes, Edwards fell under the spell of the then-fashionable "Method" school of acting: "whoever had the dirtiest outfit was top man on Broadway," he would later comment. Edwards tended to be cast on the basis of his physique rather than his acting ability in such films as Mr. Universe (1951) and Hiawatha (1952). After ten years of film roles of varying quality, Edwards was starred in the television series Ben Casey (1961-66), rapidly developing a reputation as "TV's surly surgeon." Toward the end of the Casey run, Edwards began dabbling in directing, an activity that he has pursued ever since. Later projects involving Vince Edwards have included the brief 1970 TV series Matt Lincoln, an attempt to establish himself as a nightclub singer, and a voiceover stint for the TV cartoon daily The Centurions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Edwards was born Vincent Edward Zoine III in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Julia and Vincento Zoine (a bricklayer), immigrants from Italy. He had a twin brother and was the youngest of seven children.[2] He was a standout on his high school swim team and went on to study at Ohio State University on an athletic scholarship. There, he was part of the university's swim team that won the United States National Championships.
Career
Zoine studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and in 1950, he was signed to a contract by Paramount Pictures, making his film debut as "Vince Edwards" in 1951's Mr. Universe then played the lead next year in Hiawatha. Although he had major or lead roles in several films, including the 1958 film noir, Murder by Contract, it was not until he starred as the title character on the highly successful Ben Caseytelevision series that he achieved a real level of stardom. The medicaldrama show, which he occasionally directed, ran from 1961 to 1966 and as a result of his popularity, Edwards released several music albums that met with reasonable success. Vince was represented by one of Hollywood's first "Super Agents", Abbey Greshler of Diamond Artists in Hollywood.
When the television series ended, Edwards returned to acting in motion pictures with a major role in the 1968 war drama, The Devil's Brigade. He continued to act in film as well as in guest spots on television plus. He directed a number of episodes in a variety of television series including the original Battlestar Galactica. Edwards made his last film in 1995, after which he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
