Trivia: You just have to see this to believe it. When Roy and Johnny walk into Brackett's office with him, to listen to the tape of 110's rescue, as soon as they stand around the desk, while Brackett is talking, Johnny puts his hand around a golden smallish object on Brackett's desk, pulls it close to him, palms the item and very quickly stashes it in his klepto pocket. Randolph Mantooth pulled off a beauty here without breaking character, and no retake of the scene. So enjoyable to watch. (00:08:55)
Trivia: It's in this episode that the Heimlich Maneuver is used for the first time by the paramedics. At the USC game, when a guy is choking on a hot dog, John and Roy are called, and John uses the Heimlich. Up until season 6 we've seen the guys use other methods, such as the ChokeSaver which look like huge white tweezers, to remove obstructions in an airway, as seen in 4x9, "Foreign Trade."
Trivia: On May 16, 2000, 28 years after the debut of "Emergency!" on television, due to the profound impact "Emergency!" had on the American EMS system, key props and memorabilia from the show were inducted into the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, Division of Cultural History - the Public Service sector, located in Washington, D.C. Some of the items included: Original scripts, Biophone, trauma boxes, defibrillators, monitor, radios, turnout gear, helmets, and Roy's and Johnny's uniforms.
Trivia: A plaque that honors Bob Cinader is mounted on Station 127's wall, outside beside the apparatus bay door. The plaque reads: "Robert A. Cinader's Involvement with the Los Angeles County Fire Department began in 1971 when he filmed a pilot television movie about the county's fledgling paramedic program."Emergency!" aired in 1972 and ran as a prime time show for five years with a weekly audience of 13 million people. The show brought attention and acclaim to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. More importantly, it showed public officials across the nation that lives could be saved by local paramedic programs. As a result, Bob Cinader can be credited for making significant contributions to improving Emergency Medical Services. His Involvement and commitment was so intense, and his study of emergency services so thorough, he became an expert in the field. In 1975, he was appointed to the county's Emergency Medical Services Commission, where he served until his death in 1982. In recognition of his extraordinary public service, on May 28,1985, the board of supervisors voted unanimously to pay special tribute to Bob Cinader by naming Fire Station 127 in Carson, which was used in the filming of "Emergency!", in his honor." Fire Station 127 is named the Robert A. Cinader Memorial Fire Station.
The Promise - S3-E11
Trivia: During Richard's rescue from the ledge at Rampart, the snorkel that Roy and Brackett climb onto is Truck 127, from Station 127 aka Station 51. Truck 127 is used in many episodes requiring a snorkel, including 1x6, "Dealer's Wild" and 3x16, "Fools." There's a particularly nice shot at the end of this episode, when Engine 51 and Squad 51 are parked parallel to each other, and when Johnny responds to dispatch that Squad 51 is available, Truck 127 drives away between 51's vehicles. Nice touch.
Trivia: Keep your eyes peeled for the big sheepdog who runs right into the patio door in the background, when Roy and Johnny are with the sitter who's hyperventilating, due to three very obnoxious boys she's been babysitting, and then the look on Johnny's face as he tries not to break character when he turns to Roy and says "Dumb dog." Also, a few moments later you'll see Roy and his imaginary watch. Absolutely priceless.
How Green Was My Thumb? - S3-E17
Trivia: In addition to Randolph Mantooth's brother Donald appearing in this episode, while Roy and John are in Mrs. Johnson's apartment, when Roy's telling John some of the plants' names, John picks up a plant from the table and asks Roy what its name is. And when Roy answers, "Sadie", John smiles at the plant and says, "Hey, Sadie, how you doing?" Sadie is Mantooth's mother's name.
Trivia: While Roy is seriously considering the promotion to engineer, he climbs into Engine 51's driver's seat, which is a very poignant moment for the show, and it's the only time during the run of the series that we ever see anyone sitting in the Ward LaFrance driver's seat other than Mike Stoker, who was a real FD engineer, or the other real FD engineers who drove the rig on screen.
Trivia: The producers had Kevin Tighe and Randolph Mantooth sit in on paramedic classes (with students who were to be future paramedics), and they also went on extensive ride-a-longs with the Los Angeles County Fire Dept, in order for the two actors to have a realistic appearance, and give a believable performance during the scenes. However, the two actors did not take the written exams. They have never been real certified paramedics.
Trivia: Throughout the run of the series, when there's a closeup of Squad 51's Motorola two-way radio unit, notice the spelling mistake on the self-adhesive label that reads "Resue Unit No. 51."
Trivia: When 'Emergency!' originally began, its Executive Producer/creator Bob Cinader stipulated that the show's writers use real-life rescues, that had been logged in real fire stations' logbooks, as the basis for the rescues they depict in their scripts. Cinadar told them that they may use logbooks from any city in the States, not just LA, or LA County, as long as the rescue comes from a fire station's logbook, and is based on reality. In addition, the rescues/stories in the scripts had to conform to the protocols of the LA County Fire Dept, within the environment of Los Angeles. (According to a blog by Randolph Mantooth).
Camera Bug - S4-E10
Trivia: After Brackett asks Dix if she'd like to go to lunch, it cuts to a shot of Johnny balancing himself above Roy, between the engine and squad, while snapping Roy's picture, and when Johnny jumps down right beside Roy's head, Roy quickly flinches back and Johnny giggles an apology. Later, after Johnny snaps Captain Stanley's picture, Cap tells John, "You blinded me you twit," and when Johnny removes the camera from around his neck he smacks the camera right into Roy's face, and Johnny gently pats Roy's head. Good unscripted moments between Roy and John. (00:21:45 - 00:41:10)
Trivia: The rattlesnake that bites Johnny in this episode is a real defanged rattler. Randolph Mantooth wore a protective layer around his leg, under his pants, and had to shake his leg to taunt the rattlesnake to strike him. When the rattler did strike his leg, it was higher than they anticipated, above his protective layer, and it got snagged on his pants so he had to shake his leg to get it off him.
Trivia: Blink and you'll miss it. At Rampart, when Art walks away from the nurses' station, much to Dixie's relief, he heads toward the waiting room and then Roy and Johnny follow him. Pay attention to the guys in the background as they're nearing the waiting room, Johnny quickly pokes the nurse in her side, as he passes her. (00:13:05)
Trivia: At the start of this episode, Station 51 and other FD companies are at the training center, to find the best way to deal with sulfur trioxide. Notice the tanker in the background, which contains the sulfur trioxide, particularly after 18's guy falls into the trench, when they all work on helping him. It should look familiar. It's this setting that was used in the newer Emergency! intro that is shown at the start of each episode, where we see Roy and John in turnouts, treating the man dressed in blue who's lying on the ground between them. The specific rescue we see in the intro is not actually from any of the episodes.
Trivia: When the pickup truck, and later both Engine 51 and Squad 51, drive down the street before turning into the gas station lot, we can see the Pickwick Recreation Center entrance on the left, which is where Station 51 will be dispatched to for an 'unknown type rescue' at the skating rink, later in the episode. And later, when the guys drive down the street before turning into the Pickwick lot, we can see that gas station on the right in the background. It's the unusual looking building between the gas station and the Pickwick entrance that makes this more noticeable.
Trivia: During the scene with the pregnant gunshot victim, the husband is played by Mark Spitz, who won 7 golds at the infamous '72 summer Olympics. Notice the logo on the red polo shirt that he's wearing is the USA Olympic shield logo.
Heavyweight - S3-E5
Trivia: Worth a look. After John sees Morton about the pulled deltoid muscle, when John and Roy leave the ER they pass another paramedic who's bringing in an electric shock victim, and the paramedic makes a crack about John being a little out of shape. As the camera follows the stretcher, pay attention to the background as Roy and John exit, because it looks as if John is giving the finger to flip off that paramedic who made the crack.
Trivia: At the end, when Johnny's tape recorder idea doesn't quite work out the way he and Roy had hoped, Johnny gets very flustered and frustrated with the recorder, and sets it down on the table, then Johnny looks right up into the camera lens and gives viewers an indescribable look, thereby "breaking the fourth wall."
Trivia: After John gets his paycheck with a salary overpayment of $5,365, when he starts walking out of the kitchen he mumbles the amount completely perplexed, then turns and looks directly at the camera, and gives a bewildered look to the TV audience, thus "breaking the fourth wall."
Answer: I believe you are speaking of the old man, Mr. Wilson. He's played by J. Pat O'Malley.
Bishop73
Correct, it was J. Pat O'Malley...he also played the grandfather with his grandson when their rocket exploded, and also played "Old Bill" in the episode with Ann Prentiss, where Gage saves the little girl from the burning tree house, and her mother falls in love with him.