‘Emergency!’ star Randolph Mantooth dies at 80
Actor Randolph Mantooth, best known for playing firefighter-paramedic Johnny Gage on the 1970s series “Emergency!,” has died at 80, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Sacramento native died Thursday, July 9, at a hospice facility in Ventura, California, his brother, Donald Mantooth, confirmed to the outlet. He said his brother, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2015, had been “ill for a number of years and kept getting thinner and thinner.” Speaking to TMZ, he added that Mantooth’s cancer battle began with throat cancer.
Mantooth remained close to his “Emergency!” co-stars long after the series ended, even asking Kevin Tighe, who played Roy DeSoto, to serve as best man at his second wedding in 2002.
“We were both working-class kids on our first show,” Tighe told USA TODAY in 2025. “He had it down in terms of just being who he was in front of the camera. He was just the kind of guy that people liked to have around on camera.”
Mantooth studied at Santa Barbara City College before landing a scholarship to New York’s American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After working as a contract player at Universal, his acting career took off in 1972 as he was cast in Jack Webb and Robert A. Cinader’s NBC action series, “Emergency!,” which ran for six seasons.
In a 2013 interview for the TV Academy Foundation, he revealed that he had no idea “What the hell” a paramedic was when he landed the role, quipping that at that time, there were only a handful in California.
Mantooth was also known for his roles as Clay Alden and Alex Masters on the ABC soap opera “Loving” from 1987 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1995. He played Richard Halifax on “General Hospital” from 1992 to 1993 in between his stints on “Loving.”
Other soap operas he appeared in include “The City,” “As the World Turns” and “One Life to Live.” His TV career extended far beyond soap operas as he also guest-starred on shows like “Charlie’s Angels,” “The Love Boat,” “Dallas,” “Sons of Anarchy” and “Criminal Minds.”
He is survived by his brother Donald, sister Tonya and his wife Kristen.