Raymon Lee Cramton (June 11, 1937 - July 24, 2012), known professionally as Chad Everett, was an American actor who appeared in more than 40 films and television series. He was born in South Bend, Ind., on June 11, 1937, and grew up in Dearborn, Mich., where his father was a race car driver and racing mechanic. Everett died from lung cancer on July 24, 2012, at the age of 75.
Everett's career spanned more than 40 years, during which he made a lasting impression as Dr. Joe Gannon on “Medical Center.” The dramatic series aired on CBS from 1969 to 1976 and followed the personal and professional lives of the staff at a teaching hospital in Los Angeles.
Chad Everett in 1973
Early Life and Career Beginnings
He studied drama at Wayne State University in Detroit. During his junior year, he joined a State Department-sponsored acting troupe that toured India. "I went into acting because I'm easily bored", Everett once said.
Everett's first notable role came in an episode of the 1960-1962 detective series Surfside 6. His first major role came a year later in the film Claudelle Inglish, and he played a deputy in the short-lived 1963 ABC Western television series The Dakotas.
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Breakthrough and Prominence
After appearing in a number of movies and television series in the later 1960s, he got his big break, landing the role of Dr. Joe Gannon in "Medical Center." Everett worked steadily in television before and after “Medical Center,” appearing as a regular in “Hagen,” “The Rousters,” “McKenna,” “Melrose Place,” “Manhattan, AZ” and as recently as last year on “Chemistry,” a USA network drama.
His movie roles included parts in “Airplane II: The Sequel” (1982), the 1998 remake of”Psycho”and “Mulholland Dr.” (2001). In 2001, Everett played one brief scene with Naomi Watts in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive.
La Vida y El Triste Final de Chad Everett
Marriage to Shelby Grant
Everett married actress Shelby Grant in Tucson, Arizona on May 22, 1966. Everett was on location in Tucson filming the 1967 movie Return of the Gunfighter at the time of their wedding.
Grant appeared in local television commercials for Tulsa-based KTUL-TV after college. In 1962 she moved from Oklahoma to southern California to pursue an acting career. Thompson was discovered by a 20th Century Fox talent scout, whereupon she changed her professional name to Shelby Grant. She debuted on television in a 1963 episode of Bonanza. She soon became a contracted actor with 20th Century Fox.
Her film roles under contract with Fox included The Pleasure Seekers in 1964, the 1966 science fiction film Fantastic Voyage, Our Man Flint in 1966, and The Witchmaker in 1969. Grant appeared in her husband's television series Medical Center, in which he portrayed Dr. She largely left acting to focus on philanthropy during her later life. Grant died of a brain aneurysm in Westlake Village, California, on June 25, 2011, at the age of 74.
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Shelby Grant in "Fantastic Voyage"
Everett credited his family with being a stabilizing force in his life, stating that even in the worst of times, Grant "never threatened to leave. She would tell me that she was there for me. If not for my family, I would have been in big trouble."
Grant noted his romanticism; he sent her so many flowers during their courtship that "my balcony looked like a burial ground." He also often wrote sentimental poems to Grant throughout their marriage, as well as to his daughters.
Children: Katherine and Shannon
They had two daughters, Katherine and Shannon. In addition to Thorp, he is survived by his other daughter, Shannon Everett, and six grandchildren.
Everett was taken to court three times by actress Sheila Scott, who claimed he was the father of her son Dale, who was born in 1973. The long-running paternity dispute ended in 1981 when a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury ruled in favor of Everett, who steadfastly denied the claims.
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Later Life and Struggles
After Medical Center ended, Everett became frustrated when no movie roles were forthcoming and television roles were not working out. A long-time social drinker, he began drinking heavily. He was consuming a quart of vodka a day by the time he quit drinking in 1986.
Shelby noted his alcohol-related mood swings and has said, "[F]inally I confronted him. I came into the bedroom with a big pot of coffee one morning and said 'we have a major problem to deal with here.'"
The next day, he told his daughters (who were living at home at the time), "I am addicted to alcohol, and I am not going away to detox.
Final Years
Everett died from lung cancer on July 24, 2012, a little over a year after Grant's death.
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