RANDOLPH MANTOOTH - NEVER GIVE UP

The Emergency! alum is still striving to give America's rescue workers their due

He’s played many roles over his five-decade career, but Johnny Gage, the young hotshot paramedic of Emergency! continues to follow Randolph Mantooth. “One time on a plane, I was asked to prep an IV for a passenger whose blood sugar dropped,” Randy, 78, tells Closer. “I looked at my wife, Kristen, who mouthed to me, ‘You’re not a paramedic.’ Then I mouthed back, ‘I know. But I played one on TV.’”

A longtime spokesperson for the International Association of Firefighters, Randy is justifiably proud that Emergency! helped shine a light on rescue workers. “We had a job that inspired so many people to become paramedics and save lives,” he says. “Some of the firefighters who come up to me actually have tears in their eyes. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to be part of that.”

You have such a memorable name. Do you know anything about the origin of the surname Mantooth? It’s kind of a mystery. There were so many wild stories that sound like bad movies. One that’s probably a little closer to the truth dates back to the 1700s, when there were two brothers from Scotland named Manteeth. When they landed in America, they had a falling-out and one changed his name to Mantooth.

What was your childhood like? I was born in Sacramento [Calif.] and grew up all over the United States. My dad was in the Army. Before I was 16, we lived in 22 states.

Do you remember what made you fall in love with acting? Here in Santa Barbara, we had an art house cinema called the Riviera where I’d escape. Sometimes the movies were in French, but that was OK because I was at the movies. I loved Peter O’Toole, John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart.