The History of Harrington Hospital

 

 

 

The 1950's

 

When Harrington Hospital debuted on September 2, 1956 we met Dr. McAlister Harrington a no nonsense man’s man who a head surgeon at the newly built Harrington Hospital. Though his father Orville Harrington paid for it McAlister (or "Mick” to his friends) wanted nothing to do with the family fortune and only desired to be the best knee surgeon he could be. It was Nurse Alice Moore who had caught his heart and attention.

 

Enter Blake Dumont, a rugged man’s man who was the new pediatric doctor and also had feelings for Alice. Alice could not admit she had feelings for Blake as she desired to be the wife of the world’s most foremost expert on knees.

Blake and Mick had several confrontations over martini's about Alice Dumont and who was best for her.

 

However one day Orville had suffered a major heart attack and was rushed to Harrington Hospital. Mick was in surgery working on the knee of a circus clown when he got the news. His father wanted him to operate on him but Mick was a knee surgeon. He grappled with this conflict until Blake stepped in to finish the surgery on the clown and Mick operated on his father.

 

Orville died on the table due to Mick’s lack of knowledge about the heart. Afterwards, he concluded that since he could not operate on the heart he could not trust his own heart, and told Blake to marry Alice and be happy.

 

Alice heartbroken, but still a woman in the 1950’s, agreed to marry Blake Dumont. They wed on April 12, 1958 and had a child Ashley Dumont. 

 

Mick left medicine to run the family affairs now that his father had passed and his own mother died several years ago in a baking accident.

 

The next couple of years saw Mick grow harder and meaner as he denied having a heart at all. Blake and Alice divorced because Blake fell in love with a receptionist at the hospital named Carol Caroline.

 

The 1960's

 

Radical changes in Harrington happened as Isaac Black came into town, marking the first African American on daytime soaps. (We think we are not sure because we did not bother to check the facts).  The 60’s also brought in Grant Appleton, a hip but serious doctor, who was a swinger and not afraid to get his hands dirty, even if it meant he would to elevate to Head Surgeon at the hospital.

 

Isaac was a talented surgeon, who did not want to be treated different because of his skin. Most of the staff had no idea what he was talking about as the show was still shot in Black and White. It was not until 1965 when the show moved to color did everyone get it. Isaac knew he was surrounded by idiots but played along anyway. Mick had married Vanessa Livleyhood and they had a son named Clyde Harrington.

 

Grant played every dirty trick he could to discredit the other doctors so that he could take the head surgeon job. When he wasn’t working he would go to the dive bars on the waterfront, in particular The Swallow. There he met a waitress names Julie Cassidy. He could not get enough of the modern girl and wanted to marry her. Julie was already married and Grant mentioned an idea to kill her husband Lance, so the two could be together. Julie was hesitant about the plan.

 

Blake went back to Alice, after his wife Carol was killed by a gorilla who had escaped from a New York zoo and threw her off a building. Alice, now with modern sensibilities rejected Blake and decided to leave Harrington for a hippie commune. Blake ended up drinking himself to death.

 

Isaac became suspicious of Grant and followed him one day to the Swallow and discovered his murderous plan. Julie after weeks of talking and sex decided to go forward with Grants plan to kill her husband. Finally in the end, it was Isaac who caught Grant and Julie and got them arrested for attempted murder.

 

When Isaac returned to the hospital he found out it was being shut down due, mostly to the fact the Grant had discredited most of the doctors and they had no staff.

 

Cancelled

 In 1970 Harrington Hospital was cancelled, but due to a letter writing campaign they came back in the summer of 1973.

 

 

The 1970's

 

Disco was king and a revamped Harrington Hospital hit the airwaves bringing some old favorites and a slew of young talent.

 

Clyde Harrington was now the patriarch of the family. He and his wife Tiffany were busy raising their young daughter, Elizabeth, meanwhile Clyde had set his sights on owning the waterfront property to turn it into a parking lot.

 

Enter Brick Matterson, a brilliant neuro surgeon who trained in Germany and New Jersey. He took the town by storm with his worldly knowledge and dashing good looks. It seemed as though Brick was hiding a secret.

 

Meet Jody Wallflower, a housewife was living with an abusive drunken husband and three children. She had always wanted more out of life, but circumstances were never in her favor.

 

One day a new discotic opened in town, The Crystal Spit, run by Kyle Hillcrest. He was smooth-talking, con man who brought all of the kids in, and served them drinks, no matter what age they were. This made him very popular.

 

Clyde was angered when the disco opened, as it was on the waterfront. Clyde sent some goons to rough Kyle up but it was Kyle who beat them off.

 

Brick found love off and on in the nurse’s station, but nothing would ever stick. He made a point of attending the annual Harrington Barbeque and paid an unusual amount of attention to Tiffany Harrington.

 

 Clyde did not like the attention Brick was given her and a fight broke out at the event.  That is when Brick revealed himself to be Ashley Dumont, who had a sex change operation in Germany and returned to Harrington get revenge on the Harringtons,  because he was in fact the love child of Mick and Alice though he was a Dumont by marriage, he was a Harrington by blood.

 

Jody knew she had to get her and her children away from her drunken husband, so she got a job at the disco. Kyle took an instant liking to her and tried to get to know her better. She tried to ignore his advances, but it had been so long since she had felt any affection she could not resist him.

 

Brick hired a lawyer to tried and stake his claim in the Harrington fortune, Clyde did his best to thwart him at every turn. Tiffany, feeling bad for him talked to him from time to time.

 

Elizabeth knew her mother was up to no good, but didn’t care she was more interested in what her father did. Business and money suited her just fine.

One day at the disco Jody’s husband raged in after the place was closed, and caught Jody and Kyle kissing on the dance floor. Enraged, he took a chair and hit Kyle with it. After a lengthy battle, Kyle ended up punching Jody’s husband out the second story window. Jody relieved and saddened, ran to her husband who said as he died: "I sold our children to gypsies for booze you shall never see them again." Distraught she took comfort in Kyle's arms as the police arrived and cleaned up the mess.

 

Brick had discovered documents of how Clyde had sent men to terrorize the waterfront so he could buy it at lower prices. Brick confronted Clyde about this and, as Elizabeth was watching Clyde he drew a gun. Kyle acted fast and attacked Clyde the two struggled and the gun went off. Kyle rose as the victor and Clyde was seriously injured, and rushed to the hospital. Elizabeth looked at Brick and swore a hatred for the Dumont’s on that day.

 

 

The 1980's

 

 

 

Clyde was to spend the rest of his life on a ventilator due to the gun wound.

 

Kyle and Jody closed the Disco and left to travel abroad for a while.

 

Julie Cassidy enters town with her young son, Luke. Grant had died in prison from slipping on a towel while reaching for a bar of soap.

 

Elizabeth, now a teenager, is ruthless and cunning as head of the Harrington fortune. Her mother, Tiffany worries about her not having love in her life.

 

Rose Baker, a boarding school friend of Elizabeth’s, enters town. She is looking to start her own fashion business and thought Elizabeth could help her. Elizabeth welcomes the opportunity as well as a profit from the company. She tells Rose to put a fashion show on at the annual Harrington Hospital Nurse’s Ball Fundraiser.

 

Harrington Hospital receives a new doctor in the form of Nicholas Spear, a dashing young man with a dark past. He is joined by his brother Josh, a knee surgeon.

At the fashion show, Nicholas spots Rose and it is love at first sight. However Rose meets Josh and a whirlwind romance starts. Nicholas becomes jealous.

 

Julie is confronted by Peter Hoffmanman about the money she owes. While in prison Julie borrowed a large sum of cash from a loan shark of the Santini family, in order to procure a must-have collection of replica pewter wicker statues of dead people. Peter came to collect. She says she is destitute and cannot pay.

 

Julie seeks out Elizabeth Harrington to ask her for a loan. Elizabeth laughs at her and says that she will not give her a dime, and in fact Julie will be doing whatever she tells her. Julie insulted asks why she would do that. Elizabeth says that she knows where her other child is.  Julie agrees.

 

Rose and Josh fall deeper in love and Nicholas decides to set Josh up so that Rose leaves him. Nicholas goes to Elizabeth Harrington and tells him of his desires. Elizabeth sees something sinister in his eyes and likes that. She decides to seduce him in exchange for her help. Nicholas agrees.

 

Peter again threatens Julie. Julie says that she has the help of the Harringtons. Peter is unimpressed. Luke watches his mother be berated by this man and does not like it.

 

Elizabeth contacts Josh and tells him that there is a woman of unfortunate circumstances that needs his help at a dive hotel, The Swallow. Josh rushes down to help her.

 

When Josh arrives Julie is in the bed naked. (Elizabeth made her go to the hotel to set Josh up and in return she would tell her where her baby was,) As Josh goes to the bed to see what is the matter Nicholas jumps out of the closet and starts taking pictures.  Josh furious, fights with his brother. Luke enters as he had followed his mother and is shocked by the scene. As the brothers fight, Peter enters and shoots Julie. She dies and the brothers turn on Peter. That is when Peter shoots Nicholas and falls from the window to his death. Josh and Peter fight and struggle for the gun, when it falls and lands at the feet of little Luke.  He picks up the gun and shoots Peter.  Josh gets the gun away from Luke and tells him 'it will be all right', and that he seems suited for hitman work. He sets him up with a member of the Santini family.

 

Josh and Rose get married on Feb 14, 1987

 

Kyle and Jody Hillcrest return to Harrington with their son, Roger. Kyle tells Roger to always look out for the Harringtons. They are bad.

 

Elizabeth hears of Nicholas’s death and vows never to open her heart again. She marries the first industrialis she can find Hollister Barrington. They have a son named Nick who dies shortly after birth. They divorce and Elizabeth seems to get married almost every summer thereafter.

 

Elizabeth goes to a church where she meets a nun who is cradling a baby. The nun asks if she is sure she is ready to take care of a baby. Elizabeth smiles and says “Oh no honey, this baby is not for me. This is or was Julies baby and now little Mindy here is going to be raised by the Rollings so I can keep a close eye on her."

 

Cancelled again.

 

Harrington Hospital was cancelled again on November 17, 1989 due to the fact that the writers found the show silly and did not want to continue.

 

Born Again!

 

 

 

In 2010, Harrington Hospital had a revival due to the fact that the network could care less what they did with the old episodes and sold them on E-Bay for dirt cheap. Wonderkin producer Alvin Woven bought up the tapes, fell in love, and was given the rights for nothing, as the network wanted to distance themselves for Harrington Hospital as much as possible. Alvin turned the soap into a short web series and even got back the original actress who played Elizabeth Harrington. The rest is history!