Can you name two black actors who starred in medical dramas St. Elsewhere and ER?

Long before he was an Academy Award-winning movie star, Denzel Washington was a core cast member of the acclaimed 1980s series St. Elsewhere. For its entire six-season run, he portrayed Dr. Philip Chandler, a compassionate and competent physician at the St. Eligius teaching hospital. The role was a significant breakout for Washington, establishing him as a serious dramatic actor and a familiar face in households across America years before his film career exploded.

A few years after St. Elsewhere concluded, NBC redefined the genre again with the high-octane drama ER. In this next generation of medical television, Eriq La Salle gave an iconic performance as the brilliant, driven, and often arrogant surgeon, Dr. Peter Benton. As one of the original and most compelling characters at County General Hospital, La Salle was central to the show's massive popularity throughout the 1990s.

Both actors played memorable physicians on landmark NBC shows that pushed the boundaries of television storytelling. Their respective roles served as powerful springboards for long and successful careers, and their performances remain highlights in the rich history of the medical drama.