Ed Flanders Biography

Fast Facts

• Committed suicide at the age of 60 in his home in Denny, Calif
• Made his stage debut while he was a member of the Globe Theatre Company in San Diego
• Early in his career, he appeared on Hawaii Five-O six times as six different characters
• Holds the record for portraying President Harry S․ Truman in more different films and productions than any other actor
• His most well-known television work was as Dr․ Donald Westphall on the series "St․ Elsewhere․"
• Fewer than three dozen people complained to the network when his character on "St․ Elsewhere" left the show by mooning his fictional boss, and the television audience
• When he came back to "St․ Elsewhere" for the 1988 series finale, he delivered an unscripted soliloquy about death that was left in the episode