Ed Flanders; Actor Starred in ‘St. Elsewhere’

DENNY, Calif. —  Ed Flanders, the Emmy-winning actor whose “St. Elsewhere” television character left the show by mooning the audience, died last week at his home in Trinity County.

Flanders, 60, died Feb. 22 at his home in Denny, a mountain town about 280 miles north of San Francisco, Coroner Bill Fischer said Wednesday.

The family has asked that details of his death not be released, Fischer said. A funeral home spokesman in nearby Weaverville said Flanders’ body was cremated and no funeral was planned.

Flanders played the kindhearted chief of staff Dr. Donald Westphall on NBC-TV’s “St. Elsewhere” from 1982 to 1987.

When he left the show in 1987 to pursue other projects, his character told off his new fictional boss by dropping his pants and baring his behind. The shot of his rear was frozen as credits rolled.

Network officials said the mooning drew fewer than three dozen complaints.

Flanders returned in 1988 for the show’s farewell episode. He was supposed to talk about beginnings and endings at St. Eligius Hospital, but instead delivered an unscripted soliloquy on death.

The surprised producers were upset, but later decided to leave in the rambling speech.

“Ed Flanders was a critical part of a series that represents some of the best in the history of NBC’s programming,” said Warren Littlefield, president of NBC Entertainment. “He was a consummate actor who will be missed.”

Flanders won an Emmy for his “St. Elsewhere” role and another for his portrayal of President Harry S. Truman in a 1976 PBS special. Flanders received an Emmy and a Tony for his role in the television and stage versions of the play “A Moon for the Misbegotten.”

His television credits included “Special Bulletin,” “Backstairs at the White House,” “Things in Their Season,” “Mary White,” “The Amazing Howard Hughes,” “The Perfect Tribute” and the Truman one-man show, “Plain Speaking.”

Flanders played Leonard Garment, an aide to President Richard Nixon, in the 1989 ABC television movie “The Final Days.” Most recently, he played a father in the 1993 Danielle Steel miniseries “Message From Nam” and Karen Allen’s father in the unsuccessful series “Road Home” in March, 1994.

Edward Paul Flanders was born in Minneapolis. He moved to California, where he became a member of the Globe Theatre Company in San Diego.