Whatever Happened To...Chad Allen

I loved St. Elsewhere. A lot. In fact, I consider myself more than just a common fan of the show.

Truth is, I really did love it. Every episode. The show, which ran on NBC from 1982 through 1988 was brilliant; it combined very human stories with a unique visual presentation, excellent writing that helped the show feel authentic and a cast of talented actors who seemed to do their best individual work while being part of a large ensemble.

Anyone remember Denzel Washington?

I think what I loved most about St. Elsewhere was how a show about a bunch of medical professionals in big-city Boston's St. Eligius Hospital could make this then-teen-aged country boy from rural West Virginia feel like family.

Not a distant cousin or some type of in-law, but real family. The kind you don't feel obligated to pull out good china for when I visit. The sort of family you get excited to see, and love to spend time with. St. Elsewhere made me feel part of something unique, something special.

Until Chad Allen, and "The Last One."

For years, Allen played Tommy Westphall, the young son of Dr. Donald Westphall. Dr. Westphall was wise, but flawed. There was a sense of sadness about him, as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. But, he carried it quietly, and with dignity. That dignity was evident when he provided medical care to patients, when he taught medical students completing residency at St. Eligius and when he parented Tommy, who happened to have autism.

For six years I visited my family at St. Elsewhere, watching Dr. Morrison (David Morse) become as good a human being as he was a doctor, hoping Dr. Ehrlich (Ed Begley, Jr.) would soon stop being a kiss-ass and crossing my fingers that Dr. Axelrod (Stephen Furst) would begin to develop some confidence.

Until Chad Allen, and "The Last One."

The final episode of St. Elsewhere, titled "The Last One" ended with Ed Flanders (wearing clothes that identified him not as a doctor, but as a construction worker) walking into a small apartment. In a chair sat Norman Lloyd-- known to viewers for years as Dr. Auschlander--dressed casually, and quickly revealed to be the father of the Construction-Man Donald Westphall.

Sitting quietly in the floor, staring intently into a snow globe was Tommy.

Westphall paused, looks at Auschlander and said: "I don't understand this autism. I talk to my boy, but...I'm not even sure if he ever hears me...Tommy's locked inside his own world. Staring at that toy all day long. What does he think about?"


It was all a fantasy! My beloved characters--Wayne Fiscus, Peter White, Jack Morrison and Elliott Axelrod--each simply a fantasy conjured up by a kid staring at a snow globe!

I was crushed, and angry. So much so that I boycotted the episodes of Highway to Heaven, The Wonder Years and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman that featured Chad Allen as a guest star. I stayed away from his guest star turns on NYPD Blue, Cold Case and Charmed. I did see him recently, though, in a small role in TV's Criminal Minds.

Maybe it's time for a healing, after all...