Donald Westphall

Kindly Dr. Westphall was Director of Medicine at St. Eligius, the hospital that served as St. Elsewhere's setting, and was regarded as its heart. He was the one other characters went to for a kindly word and a pat on the back. Dr. Westphall started his association with the hospital as a troubled youth under the influence of hospital founder Fr. Joseph McCabe. Raising two children alone after the death of his wife, which occurred seven years before the series began (a death recounted in flashback in the 2-part season 4 episode "Time Heals"), Westphall struggled to keep up with the demands his colleagues, staff and residents placed on him, while still trying to be a good father. Feeling burnt out and being pressured by the new hospital owners, Dr. Westphall quit his job and left the hospital 3 episodes into Season 6; his delivery of his resignation (in which he told John Gideon, "You can kiss my ass, pal") is one of the most famous and controversial scenes in American television, as it shows Westphall with his pants down and his rump exposed, a scene preserved by NBC censors as it was not considered erotic (the episode was titled "A Moon for the Misbegotten").

