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Chesley Sullenberger
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Chesley Sullenberger
Sullenberger in January 2009
Full name
Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III
Born
1951 (age 65–66)
Denison, Texas, U.S.
Spouse
Lorraine "Lorrie" Sullenberger
Aviation career
Known for
Captain of an Airbus A320 which he successfully landed on the Hudson River.
Famous flights
US Airways Flight 1549
Rank
Captain
Awards
Time magazine's "100 Most Influential Heroes and Icons" (2009),
Master's Medal from the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators,
Key to the City from the City of New York,
Outstanding Cadet in Airmanship and Jabara Award for Airmanship from the United States Air Force Academy
Chris Matthews' The Hardball Award
Officier of the Légion d'honneur
Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III (born 1951) is an American retired airline captain celebrated for the January 15, 2009 water landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River off Manhattan after the plane was disabled by striking a flock of Canada geese immediately after takeoff; all 155 people aboard survived. Sullenberger is an international speaker on airline safety[1] and has helped develop new protocols for airline safety. He served as the co-chairman, along with First Officer Jeffrey Skiles, of the EAA's Young Eagles youth introduction-to-aviation program from 2009 to 2013.[2] He retired from US Airways after 30 years as a commercial pilot on March 3, 2010.[3] In May of the following year, Sullenberger was hired by CBS News as an Aviation and Safety Expert.[4]
He is the co-author, with Jeffrey Zaslow, of the New York Times bestseller Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters, a memoir of his life and of the events surrounding Flight 1549, published in 2009 by HarperCollins. His second book, Making a Difference: Stories of Vision and Courage from America's Leaders, was published in May 2012. He was ranked second in Time's "Top 100 Most Influential Heroes and Icons of 2009", after Michelle Obama.[5]
Contents
[hide]
1 Early life
1.1 Education
2 Military service
3 Civil aviation career
3.1 Flight 1549
3.2 Post-flight accolades and publicity
4 Retirement and subsequent career
5 Personal life
6 In popular culture
7 References
8 External links
Early life[edit]
Chesley Sullenberger was born in Denison, Texas,[6] the son of Marjorie Pauline, an elementary school teacher, and Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, a dentist.[7] His father was a descendant of Swiss-German immigrants named Sollenberger.[8] He has one sister, Mary. The street on which he grew up in Denison was named after his mother's family. According to his sister, Sullenberger built model planes and aircraft carriers during his childhood, and says he became interested in flying after seeing military jets from an Air Force base near his house.[9] He went to school in Denison, and was consistently on the 99th centile in every academic category.[10]
At the age of 12, his IQ was deemed high enough to join Mensa International.[10] In high school, he was the president of the Latin club, a first chair flutist, and an honor student.[11] His high school friends have said that Sullenberger developed a passion for flying from watching jets based out of Perrin Air Force Base.[9] He was an active member of the Waples Memorial United Methodist Church in Denison,[12] and graduated from Denison High School in 1969,[11] near the top of his class of about 350.[9] At 16, Sullenberger learned to fly in an Aeronca 7DC from a private airstrip near his home. He said the training he received from a local flight instructor influenced his aviation career for the rest of his life.
Education[edit]
Sullenberger holds a Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Air Force Academy. Sullenberger also holds a Master's degree in Industrial Psychology from Purdue University and a master's degree in Public Administration from the University of Northern Colorado.[13]
Military service[edit]
Sullenberger's 1973 Air Force Academy senior class photo
Sullenberger was appointed to the United States Air Force Academy, entering with the Class of 1973 in June 1969. He was selected along with around a dozen other freshmen for a cadet glider program, and by the end of that year, he was an instructor pilot.[9] In the year of his graduation, 1973, he received the Outstanding Cadet in Airmanship award, as the class "top flyer". Following graduation with a Bachelor of Science and his commissioning as an officer, the Air Force immediately sent Sullenberger to Purdue University to pursue a master's degree prior to entering Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT).[14]
Following completion of his graduate degree at Purdue, he was assigned to UPT at Columbus AFB, Mississippi, flying the T-37 Tweet and T-38 Talon. After earning his wings in 1975 as a USAF Pilot, he completed replacement training in the F-4 Phantom II at Luke AFB, Arizona. This was followed by his assignment to the 493d Tactical Fighter Squadron of 48th Tactical Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom, where he flew as a United States Air Force fighter pilot[15] in the F-4D Phantom II.
Following his assignment at RAF Lakenheath, he was reassigned to the 428th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 474th Tactical Fighter Wing at Nellis AFB, Nevada, again flying the F-4D.[16][17] He advanced to become a flight leader and a training officer, and attained the rank of captain,[13] with experience in Europe, the Pacific, and at Nellis Air Force Base, as well as operating as Blue Force Mission Commander in Red Flag Exercises.[17] While in the Air Force, he was a member of an aircraft accident investigation board.[18]
Civil aviation career[edit]
Sullenberger was employed by US Airways and its predecessor airlines from 1980 until 2010.[3][19][20] (Pacific Southwest Airlines was acquired by US Air, later US Airways, in 1988.) He holds an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate for single and multi-engine airplanes, and a Commercial Pilot Certificate rating in gliders, as well as a flight instructor certificate for airplanes (single, multi-engine, and instrument), and gliders.[21] In total, he has more than 40 years and 20,000 hours of flying experience. In 2007[13] he became the founder and CEO of Safety Reliability Methods, Inc. (SRM), a firm providing strategic and tactical guidance to enhance organizational safety, performance, and reliability.[22]
He has also been involved in a number of accident investigations conducted by the USAF and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), such as Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 and USAir Flight 1493.[23] He served as an instructor, Air Line Pilots Association Local Air Safety Chairman, accident investigator, and national technical committee member.[15][24] His safety work for ALPA led to the development of a Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circular.[17] He was instrumental in developing and implementing the Crew Resource Management course that is used by US Airways, and he has taught the course to hundreds of airline crew members.[17][25]
Working with NASA scientists, he coauthored a paper on error-inducing contexts in aviation.[17] He was an air accident investigator for an NTSB inquiry into a major accident at Los Angeles International Airport, which "led to improved airline procedures and training for emergency evacuations of aircraft".[18] Sullenberger has also been studying the psychology behind keeping an airline crew functioning during a crisis.[26]
Sullenberger was active with his union, serving as chairman of a safety committee within the Air Line Pilots Association.[27]
He was a featured speaker for two panels, one on aviation and one on patient safety in medicine, at the High Reliability Organizations (HRO) 2007 International Conference in Deauville, France, from May 29 to 31, 2007.[28]
Flight 1549[edit]
Main article: US Airways Flight 1549
US Airways Flight 1549 afloat in the Hudson River
On January 15, 2009, Sullenberger was the captain of US Airways Flight 1549, an Airbus A320 taking off from LaGuardia Airport.[29] Shortly after takeoff, the plane struck a large flock of birds (Canada geese) and lost power in both engines.[30] Quickly determining he would be unable to reach any airport[31] Sullenberger piloted the plane to a water landing on the Hudson River. All aboard were rescued by nearby boats.[32]
Sullenberger said later: "It was very quiet as we worked, my copilot Jeff Skiles and I. We were a team. But to have zero thrust coming out of those engines was shocking—the silence."[33] Sullenberger was the last to leave the aircraft, after making sure all passengers and crew had evacuated.[9][34]
Sullenberger, described by friends as "shy and reticent,"[35] was noted for his poise and calm during the crisis; New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg dubbed him "Captain Cool."[36] Nonetheless, Sullenberger suffered symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in subsequent weeks, including sleeplessness and flashbacks.[37] He said that the moments before the ditching were "the worst sickening, pit-of-your-stomach, falling-through-the-floor feeling" that he had ever experienced.[38] He also said: "One way of looking at this might be that for 42 years, I've been making small, regular deposits in this bank of experience, education and training. And on January 15, the balance was sufficient so that I could make a very large withdrawal."[39]
The National Transportation Safety Board ruled that Sullenberger made the correct decision in landing on the river instead of attempting return to LaGuardia[40] because the normal procedures for engine loss are designed for cruising altitudes, not immediately after takeoff. Simulations showed that Flight 1549 could have barely made it back to LaGuardia had that maneuver begun immediately after the bird strike, but this scenario completely neglects the time needed to understand what had happened and assess the situation.[41][42]
Post-flight accolades and publicity[edit]
U.S. President George W. Bush called Sullenberger to thank him for saving the lives of the passengers,[43] as did President-elect Barack Obama,[44] who also invited him and the crew to join the presidential inauguration ceremony.[45] On January 16, 2009, the United States Senate passed a resolution recognizing and honoring Sullenberger, Skiles, the cabin crew, the passengers, and the first responders involved in Flight 1549's emergency landing.[46] The United States House of Representatives passed a similar resolution on January 26, 2009.[47]
Sullenberger attended the presidential inauguration on January 20, 2009, where he and his wife met President Obama.[37] On January 22, 2009, he and the rest of the crew of Flight 1549 were awarded a Masters Medal by the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators.[48] A ceremony for Sullenberger was held on January 24, 2009 in Sullenberger's hometown of Danville, California, where he was presented with awards including Danville's "Key to the Town",[35] and was named an honorary Danville police officer.[49]
San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District Chief Richard Price presented Captain Sullenberger with his district's highest award, the Medal of Valor,[50] which has been given only a few times in the district's history.[51] Sullenberger, Skiles, and Flight 1549's cabin crew, Doreen Welsh, Sheila Dail and Donna Dent, were honored with a standing ovation during the Super Bowl XLIII pre-game ceremony on February 1, 2009.[52] Sullenberger was awarded with honorary lifetime membership in The Seaplane Pilot's Association.[53][54] In 2009, Sullenberger was awarded the Founders' Medal by The Air League.[55] Admirers of Sullenberger also started a Facebook fan site that, as of late February 2009, had half a million members.[37]
A library book, Just Culture: Balancing Safety and Accountability was in Sullenberger's luggage left behind in the cockpit. When Sullenberger notified the library that the water-damaged book had been recovered, it made a point of waiving any late fees. Bloomberg presented Sullenberger with a new copy along with the Key to the City of New York.[56][57][58]
Sullenberger threw out the first pitch of the 2009 Major League Baseball season for the San Francisco Giants. His Giants' jersey was inscribed with the name "Sully" and the number 155—a reference to the 155 people aboard the plane.[59]
On June 6, 2009, Sullenberger returned to his childhood hometown of Denison, Texas, to participate in that town's D-Day celebration, and to give the commencement address for his alma mater, Denison High School, marking the 40th anniversary of his own graduation from the school.[60]
Sullenberger also made an appearance in St. Louis, Missouri on July 14, 2009 to participate in the Red Carpet All-Star Parade before the 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
Wikinews has related news:
US Airways jet recovered from Hudson River
"Miracle on the Hudson" pilot retires
On February 24, 2009, Sullenberger testified before the U.S. House of Representatives's Subcommittee on Aviation of the Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure that his salary had been cut by 40 percent, and that his pension, like most airline pensions, was terminated and replaced by a PBGC guarantee worth only pennies on the dollar.[61] He cautioned that airlines were "under pressure to hire people with less experience. Their salaries are so low that people with greater experience will not take those jobs. We have some carriers that have hired some pilots with only a few hundred hours of experience. ... There’s simply no substitute for experience in terms of aviation safety."[62] Sullenberger also mentioned his pay cut in an October 13, 2009 appearance on The Daily Show.
In 2009, and again in 2015, Sullenberger filmed a TV commercial as a spokesman for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.[63]
Retirement and subsequent career[edit]
After 30 years with US Airways and its predecessor, Sullenberger retired in 2010. His final flight was US Airways Flight 1167 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Charlotte, North Carolina, where he was reunited with his copilot Jeff Skiles and a half dozen of the passengers on Flight 1549.[62] He was also the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade's Grand Marshal.[64]
On November 18, 2011, as part of a fundraising effort, Sullenberger flew to the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the aircraft he landed on the Hudson River is on exhibit.[65]
Sullenberger at the LIONS World Convention 2010 in Sydney
In December 2010, Sullenberger was appointed an Officer of the Legion of Honour.[66][67]
With coauthor Jeffrey Zaslow, Sullenberger wrote the 2009 bestselling memoir Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters. In the book, Sullenberger also discusses personal matters including his father's suicide in 1995, the Sullenbergers' struggle with infertility, and their decision to adopt.[68][69]
Sullenberger's second book, Making a Difference: Stories of Vision and Courage from America's Leaders, was released on May 15, 2012.
In May 2011, CBS News hired Sullenberger as an aviation and safety expert.[4]
Personal life[edit]
Sullenberger is married to fitness instructor Lorraine "Lorrie" Sullenberger,[32] with whom he has two daughters,[18] Kate and Kelly.[70] The Sullenbergers reside in the San Francisco Bay Area.
On December 7, 1995, Sullenberger's father died by suicide by gunshot shortly after being released from the hospital for major surgery. He had been suffering from depression in the face of a long and difficult convalescence ahead of him. He left no note. As a result of this, Sullenberger became a suicide prevention activist, having promoted National Suicide Prevention Week and National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.[68][69]
In October 2009, it was reported that the Republican Party had approached Sullenberger about running against Democratic U.S. Representative Jerry McNerney of California's 11th congressional district in the 2010 elections. Sullenberger's publicist said that Sullenberger had no desire to run for any public office.[71]
In popular culture[edit]
The 2010 song "A Real Hero", by French electronica artist College and the band Electric Youth, is about Captain Sullenberger and the Flight 1549 water landing. Frontman Austin Garrick was inspired to write the song by his grandfather, whose reference to Sullenberger as "a real human being and a real hero" became the song's refrain.[72] The song grew to greater prominence after being featured in the 2011 film Drive, and was subsequently covered by the L.A. synth-based band Smallpools and released to critical acclaim in May 2015.
Humorist and radio personality Garrison Keillor wrote "Pilot Song: The Ballad of Chesley Sullenberger III" for the January 17, 2009 edition of his radio variety show A Prairie Home Companion.
Sullenberger's speech in Congress concerning U.S. civil aviation is featured in Michael Moore's 2009 documentary Capitalism: A Love Story. Sullenberger is also referred to in the 2011 romantic comedy film Friends with Benefits. Throughout the film, Justin Timberlake's character repeatedly suggests to people he meets aboard planes that modern airplanes practically fly themselves, and that Sullenberger's feat was less impressive than it was portrayed; he encountered incredulity and hostility for this idea. Mila Kunis' character is also seen reading Sullenberger's English Wikipedia article.[73][74][75]
"Hudson River Runway", the March 14, 2011 episode of the TV series Mayday, documents the events around Flight 1549's emergency landing, and contains interviews with several of its real-life participants. Captain Sullenberger is not interviewed in the show, but is portrayed in reenactments by actor Christopher Britton.[76]
Flight 1549 is referred to in episodes of the TV series Law and Order: SVU and House, MD.
An animated version of Sullenberger appeared in "The Unbrave One", the January 8, 2012 episode of the animated TV show American Dad![77] Sullenberger is referenced in "The Hero", the August 11, 2011, episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Matt Damon portrays an airline pilot in the February 10, 2011 episode of the NBC TV comedy 30 Rock, in which he brags that a great pilot like himself does not land on the Hudson River but avoids hitting birds altogether.[78]
A Z Nation episode has a character flying a small airplane that needs to land near a city with no nearby airport, and so declares, "I'm gonna set her down on the river, Sully Sullenberger Style".
The 2016 dramatic feature film Sully[79] was adapted from Sullenberger's memoir Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters. Directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks as Chesley Sullenberger,[80] it recreates the events around the Hudson River landing.
The Airbus A320 is occasionally and casually referred to as "Sully's Ark" by aviators, out of respect for Flight 1549's long water float-time and the zero fatalities in the incident.[citation needed]
References[edit]
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External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chesley Sullenberger.
San Francisco Bay Area portal
Biography portal
United States Air Force portal
Sullenberger's official website
US Airways Flight 1549 NTSB report
Safety Reliability Methods, Sullenberger's consulting firm
Harry Walker Agency; Sullenberger's speaker agency
Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger, III. HarperCollins
Sully Sullenberger's channel on YouTube
Appearances on C-SPAN
60 Minutes interview with Captain Sullenberger (requires subscription)
Riley, Duncan (January 15, 2009). "A320 Pilot Chesley Sullenberger’s Other Jobs: Accident Investigator and Safety Lecturer". TheInquisitr. Retrieved January 16, 2009.
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WorldCat Identities
VIAF: 100669334
LCCN: n2009057556
ISNI: 0000 0000 7266 0033
GND: 139753818
NDL: 01221868
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Derek Shepherd
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (November 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Derek Shepherd
Grey's Anatomy character
Patrick Dempsey as Derek Shepherd in 2012
First appearance
"A Hard Day's Night"
1x01, March 27, 2005
Last appearance
"You're My Home"
11x25, May 14, 2015
Created by
Shonda Rhimes
Portrayed by
Patrick Dempsey
Information
Full name
Derek Christopher Shepherd
Nickname(s)
McDreamy
Shep
McDreary (Season 8 Episode 13)
McAss
Pretty
Occupation
Attending neurosurgeon
Member of the Board (former)
Chief of Surgery (former)
Head of Neurosurgery (former)
Title
M.D.
F.A.C.S.
Family
Mr. Shepherd
(father, deceased)
Carolyn Maloney Shepherd
(mother)
Nancy Shepherd
(sister)
Kathleen "Kate" Shepherd
(sister)
Elizabeth "Lizzie" Shepherd
(sister)
Amelia Shepherd
(sister)
9 unnamed nieces
6 unnamed nephews (one deceased)
Spouse(s)
Addison Montgomery (m. 1994; div. 2006)
Meredith Grey (m. 2009–15)
Significant other(s)
Rose
Children
Zola Shepherd (daughter)
Derek Bailey Shepherd (son)
Ellis Shepherd (daughter)
(with Meredith)
Relatives
Molly Thompson (half-sister-in-law)
Lexie Grey (deceased-half-sister-in-law)
Maggie Pierce (biological half-sister-in-law)
Owen Hunt (brother-in-law)
certifications
M.D.
F.A.C.S
Derek Christopher Shepherd,[1] M.D., also referred to as "McDreamy", is a fictional surgeon from the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy, portrayed by actor Patrick Dempsey. He made his first appearance during "A Hard Day's Night", which was broadcast on March 27, 2005. Derek was married to Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) for 12 years, before their divorce in 2006. Before his death in 2015, Derek was happily married to his longtime girlfriend Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo). The couple are often referred to as "Mer & Der" and they have three children together. Shepherd was formerly the Chief of Surgery at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital, but abruptly resigned as chief in season 7 following the shooting. For his portrayal of Shepherd, Dempsey was nominated in 2006 and 2007 Golden Globe for the Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series Drama for the role, and the 2006 SAG Award for the Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Drama Series award.
Contents
[hide]
1 Storyline
2 Development
2.1 Casting and creation
2.2 Characterization
3 Reception
4 References
5 External links
Storyline[edit]
Derek arrives at Seattle Grace Hospital as the new Head of Neurosurgery from New York City. He is a Bowdoin College graduate[2] and attended Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons alongside his childhood best friend Mark Sloan and ex-wife Addison Montgomery and Private Practice characters Naomi Bennett and Sam Bennett. Derek was a student of Dr. Richard Webber and was enticed to come with an "offer he couldn’t refuse"[3] – the position of Chief of Surgery, which he eventually turned down. He specializes in highly complex tumors and conditions of the brain and spine[4][5][6] and came to Seattle Grace with a reputation for taking on "lost causes" and "impossible" cases[7] that most of his peers would turn down. As an attending he is both well-liked and feared — well-liked by patients and his scrub nurses for his compassion and gentlemanly bedside manner and feared by interns and residents who are intimidated by his reputation and high standards.[4][8] He is passionate about his job and has been known to expel staff or remove interns and residents (or at least threaten them) from his service for being disrespectful about patients or if he deems their attitude to be detrimental to his patient's well-being.[9][10][11][8]
Derek first meets Meredith Grey at a bar, and soon finds out that she is an intern at Seattle Grace. They begin to have feelings for one another and it causes some awkwardness at work, particularly after her supervising resident Dr. Miranda Bailey discovers their relationship. Meredith's housemates and fellow interns George O'Malley and Izzie Stevens both antagonized her for some time as they felt she was using her relationship with Derek to further her career. He generally tolerated them despite his dislike of sharing his living space with the interns who worked under him. While most of his family members accepted Meredith, his sister, Nancy, particularly disliked her and repeatedly called her "the slutty intern";[12] as of season nine she still refuses to speak to Meredith or acknowledge her as her sister-in-law.[13] His mother Carolyn approved as she felt Meredith's gray perspective of life complemented Derek's tendency to see everything in black and white.[14]
Derek's background was generally a mystery for the first season and source of speculation amongst his colleagues due to his sudden departure from an established and highly respected practice in New York. In the season one finale, his past eventually catches up with him when his estranged wife Addison moves to Seattle and is offered a position by Dr. Webber. Shortly thereafter, his childhood best friend Mark joins Seattle Grace as the new head of plastic surgery. Derek and Addison attempt to repair their marriage but attempts were futile. Since their divorce they have remained on amicable terms, with Addison even admonishing Meredith for breaking up with Derek in season three. In the Private Practice episode "Ex-Life" Derek finally tells Addison that his mother never liked her in the first place. He admits to Meredith that Addison cheating on him with Mark was partly his fault as an absentee husband.[15] Addison eventually leaves Seattle for a private practice in Los Angeles, spawning the spin-off Private Practice. In the season eight episode "If/Then", Meredith dreams of an alternate universe where her mother never had Alzheimer's; Derek and Addison are still married but their strained relationship and Shepherd's disillusionment causes his career to stagnate, earning him the nicknames "Bad Shepherd" and "McDreary".
When Derek is offered the Chief of Surgery position for the second time, he persuades the board to keep Dr. Webber on the staff. During the merger of Seattle Grace with Mercy West their relationship sours when Derek disagreed with Richard's handling of the merger and Richard begins to display uncharacteristic behavior, not unnoticed by his fellow surgeons. Derek learns from Meredith that Richard has since resumed drinking and feels forced to have him removed as Chief of Surgery. With mixed feelings, Derek offers him an ultimatum: go into rehab and possibly pick up where he left off after, or quit completely.
In seasons three and four, Meredith and Derek's relationship becomes rocky and they each take time to date other people. Derek's plans to propose were ruined by a series of unfortunate events in season five. In the season finale, they decide to give their planned wedding to Alex and Izzie. Due to their tight schedule, they instead informally marry and Derek writes down their "promises" on a post-it note. They legalize their marriage in season seven in order to adopt Zola, a young African orphan treated for spina bifida.[16] They briefly separate after Meredith tampers with their Alzheimer's trial, jeopardizing her career and tarnishing Derek's reputation. Zola is taken away from Meredith after a social worker finds out she and Derek are living separately. In later seasons, Derek often griped about how his subsequent interns and residents – mainly Lexie Grey, Shane Ross and Heather Brooks – did not quite measure up to Meredith.[4][10] The social worker comes back and announces they are the official parents of Zola. As Meredith nears the end of her fifth year of residency, she and Derek are torn between staying at Seattle Grace Mercy West or leaving for Boston where Derek would work at Harvard while Meredith would be at the Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Following his rescue from the plane crash that killed Mark and Lexie, Derek learns that he may only regain 80 percent of his hand's function. He comes to terms with the fact that his career as a surgeon may be over and is grateful that he is alive. When Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez), head of orthopedic surgery, tells him a more risky surgery could give him back full function of his hand or reduce its function if it goes wrong, he agrees, accepting the possibility of never again holding a scalpel. Derek recovers well and Callie clears him to return to work, but it is still weeks later that he feels ready to operate. Derek, Callie and fellow resident Jackson Avery decide to do nerve transplant for his hand. Meredith, newly pregnant with their second child, goes behind his back and calls his sisters so they can donate a nerve to him. Lizzie (Neve Campbell), Derek's younger sister, agrees to donate a nerve and the surgery is a success.
Derek and Meredith's marriage is strained after he accepted an invitation from the President to participate in the Brain-Mapping Initiative. He went back on his promise to her that he would not add to his current workload in order to devote time to their two young children and allow her the chance to establish her career as a full-fledged attending. Eventually he was offered a position at the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C., but Meredith puts her foot down and refuses to leave her hometown and uproot their young family. His youngest sister Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) takes over his position at Grey Sloan. Meanwhile, he and Meredith fight bitterly on and off over whether they should move. After a bad argument, he accepts the job in the heat of the moment and leaves for Washington. While there, he and Meredith talk things out over the phone and come to a mutual conclusion that they both did not want to end their marriage. He tells her that just being with her, raising their children and operating on patients was more satisfying than "saving the world".
In season 11, Derek is involved in a fatal car accident while driving to the airport for his final trip to Washington. He is able to hear and process auditory input, but unable to speak. He is recognized by Winnie, one of the victims of a crash he assisted in earlier, who tells the surgeons that their patient's name is Derek and that he is a surgeon as well. The hospital he was taken to was understaffed and his head injury was not detected quickly enough by the interns on duty that night. Although the neurosurgeon on call is paged multiple times, he takes too long to arrive and Derek is declared brain dead. Police arrive at Meredith's door and take her to see Derek, where she consents to removing him from life support. At the time of his death, Meredith was pregnant with their third child. She gives birth to a daughter whom she names Ellis after her mother.
Derek was mentioned or referenced to a number of times in season 12 as the other characters struggle to cope with his sudden death. In the episode "My Next Life", Meredith had a flashback of their first ever surgery together when a patient named Katie Bryce was admitted to the hospital with a brain aneurysm. Amelia took his death especially hard as he was the sibling she was closest to. At the end of the season, prior to her wedding to Derek's long-time colleague Owen Hunt, Amelia goes on a nervous rant about how Derek was supposed to be the one to give her away, him having given away their three other sisters at their weddings.
Development[edit]
Casting and creation[edit]
When Patrick Dempsey auditioned for the role of Derek Shepherd, he was afraid that he was not going to get the part. Creator Shonda Rhimes' first reaction was: "The very first time I met him, I was absolutely sure that he was my guy. Reading the lines of Derek Shepherd, Patrick had a vulnerable charm that I just fell for. And he had amazing chemistry with Ellen Pompeo." Rhimes admitted that Dempsey's dyslexia threw her at first, particularly at the first few table readings: "I did not know about Patrick's dyslexia in the beginning. I actually thought that he didn't like the scripts from the way he approached the readings. When I found out, I completely understood his hesitation. Now that we all know, if he is struggling with a word, the other actors are quick to step up and help him out. Everyone is very respectful."[citation needed] Isaiah Washington also auditioned for the part and when he did not get it, he said his reaction was like "I'd been kicked in the stomach by 14 mules." Washington was, however, later cast as Preston Burke.[17] Rob Lowe was also considered to portray Shepherd but turned the role down.[18] Some of the character's medical cases were inspired by real-life patients of Steve Giannotta, Chair of Neurological Surgery at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, whom Rhimes had consulted in writing for Shepherd's storylines and patients.[19]
In January 2014, Dempsey signed a two-year contract to remain on Grey's Anatomy (then in its tenth season) that would ensure his presence for potential 11th and 12th seasons.[20] However, in April 2015, Dempsey's character was killed off[21] while his contract was not over yet. Dempsey explained: "it just sort of evolved. It’s just kind of happened. It really was something that was kind of surprising that unfolded, and it just naturally came to be. Which was pretty good. I like the way it has all played out."[22] In August 2015, Rhimes commented:
“ The decision to have the character die the way that he did was not a difficult one in the sense of what were the options? Either Derek was going to walk out on Meredith, and leave her high and dry, and what was that going to mean? That was going to suggest that the love was not true, the thing we had said for 11 years was a lie and McDreamy wasn't McDreamy. For me, that was untenable. Meredith and Derek's love had to remain Meredith and Derek's love. As painful as it was for me as a storyteller, because I had never really thought that was going to happen, it preserved what felt true to me, was that Derek was going to have to die in order for that love to remain honest. Because I really couldn't have the idea that he just turned out to be a bad guy who walked out on his wife and kids be a true story. To me, it felt like that was the only way to make Meredith and Derek's magic remain true and forever frozen in time.[23] ”
The character was later written to be a graduate of Bowdoin College, a liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine, after an alumnus led a petition signed by over 450 students to "adopt" the character as an alumnus.[24] Dempsey is from Lewiston, about 18 miles (29 km) away from Brunswick, and was awarded an honorary doctorate by Bowdoin in 2013.[2]
Characterization[edit]
Rhimes describes Shepherd as typical "Prince Charming". He was planned to be a doctor who doesn't really care about anything, who lives in his "own" universe and has a big sex appeal. A man who is charming, devilishly handsome and the type of guy every girl dreams of, and a man that often makes the wrong decisions, and is often known as a jerk or the ultimate heartbreaker. Rhimes planned to have this kind of character from the beginning, because he was the kind of guy whom girls fall in love with and a character whose storylines could easily be changed.[citation needed] USA Today writer Robert Bianco said: "Derek could, at times, seem like two people, warm and funny one minute, cold and self-involved the next. Dempsey's gift was in making those two sides seem like part of the same person, while keeping us rooting for that person as a whole."[25]
Reception[edit]
Dempsey's relation with Ellen Pompeo (Meredith Grey) has been the highlight of the series since its inception.
With the show concluding its second season, Robert Bianco of USA Today said that Emmy voters could consider him because of the "seemingly effortless way he humanizes Derek's 'dreamy' appeal with ego and vanity".[26] In the third season, Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger wrote that "the attempt to give the moral high ground back to McDreamy was bad. Dude, whatever happened in New York ceased to count in any kind of grievance tally once you agreed to take Addison back and give things another try. You're the dick who cheated on her, you're the one who knew that she found the panties, and still you act like her getting back together with Mark justifies what you did? Wow. I didn't think it was possible for me to dislike anyone on this show more than Meredith, but congratulations, big guy."[27]
Debbie Chang of BuddyTV noted the character's immaturity in the fourth season, saying: "The only character who did not make me love him was Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey). How this character is still Shonda's golden child is beyond me. Yes, we get it. He's tormented by his love for Meredith, but that does not give him the right to lash out at her when his clinical trial patients are dying. If things don't go absolutely the way he wants them to, then he refuses to cooperate. How immature can this man possibly be? No amount of heavily styled hair or blue-blue-blue eyes is going to make me warm up to him unless he admits to being the needy, desperate one in the relationship."[28]
Entertainment Weekly placed Shepherd in its list of the "30 Great TV Doctors and Nurses".[29] The character was also listed in Wetpaint's "10 Hottest Male Doctors on TV" and in BuzzFeed's "16 Hottest Doctors On Television".[30][31] His relationship with Meredith was included in TV Guide's list of "The Best TV Couples of All Time".[32]
Victor Balta of Today listed Shepherd and Sloan's friendship in its "TV's best bromances". He called them "the most exciting couple on Grey’s," explaining "they’ve demonstrated an easy chemistry that makes for some of the great comic relief around Seattle Grace Hospital with their banter, sage wisdom on each other’s lives, and locker room-style teasing."[33] Their bromance was furthermore included in lists by About.com, BuddyTV, Cosmopolitan, Wetpaint.[34][35][36][37] However, following the announcement of Dane's upcoming departure from the show, Mark Perigard of the Boston Herald felt he and Derek "never clicked like you’d expect friends would. Any scene they had together ranged from uncomfortable to forced."[38]
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Addison Shepherd Quotes – Season 4, Episode 13: "Piece of My Heart"". TV Fanatic. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b "'McDreamy' in Maine for Dempsey Challenge, Tips Cap to Bowdoin". Bowdoin College. October 2, 2010.
Jump up ^ "Enough is Enough". Grey's Anatomy. Season 1. Episode 2. April 12, 2012. ABC.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Poker Face". Grey's Anatomy. Season 8. Episode 6. October 20, 2011. ABC.
Jump up ^ "Stand By Me". Grey's Anatomy. Season 5. Episode 18. March 19, 2009. ABC.
Jump up ^ "Give Peace a Chance". Grey's Anatomy. Season 6. Episode 7. October 29, 2009. ABC.
Jump up ^ "Support System". Grey's Anatomy. Season 8. Episode 19. April 12, 2012. ABC.
^ Jump up to: a b "Go It Alone". Grey's Anatomy. Season 10. Episode 20. April 17, 2014. ABC.
Jump up ^ "Brave New World". Grey's Anatomy. Season 5. Episode 4. October 16, 2008. ABC.
^ Jump up to: a b "What Is It About Men". Grey's Anatomy. Season 8. Episode 4. October 6, 2011. ABC.
Jump up ^ "The Heart of the Matter". Grey's Anatomy. Season 4. Episode 4. October 18, 2007. ABC.
Jump up ^ "Let the Angels Commit". Grey's Anatomy. Season 3. Episode 6. November 2, 2006. ABC.
Jump up ^ "Love Turns You Upside Down". Grey's Anatomy. Season 9. Episode 8. December 6, 2012. ABC.
Jump up ^ "Sympathy for the Devil". Grey's Anatomy. Season 5. Episode 12. January 15, 2009. ABC.
Jump up ^ "Yesterday". Grey's Anatomy. Season 2. Episode 18. February 19, 2006. ABC.
Jump up ^ "White Wedding". Grey's Anatomy. Season 7. Episode 20. May 5, 2011. ABC.
Jump up ^ Rhodes, Joe (July 15, 2005). "Today's News: Our Take – Vet Earns M.D. on Grey's Anatomy". TV Guide. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
Jump up ^ Keck, William (November 17, 2006). "Lowe knows political roles". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
Jump up ^ "Meet the Real-Life McDreamy: The Doctor Behind 'Grey's Anatomy'". The Hollywood Reporter. September 10, 2014.
Jump up ^ Goldberg, Lesley (January 23, 2014). "'Grey's Anatomy's' Patrick Dempsey, Ellen Pompeo Ink New Two-Year Deals". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
Jump up ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (April 23, 2015). "‘Grey’s Anatomy': Patrick Dempsey Officially Leaving After 11 Seasons". Variety. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
Jump up ^ Rice, Lynette (April 24, 2015). "Grey's Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey on tonight's shocking twist -- exclusive". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
Jump up ^ Bucksbaum, Sydney (August 5, 2015). "Shonda Rhimes Finally Explains Why Derek Had to Die on Grey's Anatomy". E! Online. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Alumnus puts Bowdoin in the Spotlight". The Bowdoin Orient. April 20, 2007.
Jump up ^ Bianco, Robert (April 24, 2015). "Review: 'Grey's Anatomy's' accidental death". USA Today. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
Jump up ^ Bianco, Robert (May 14, 2006). "The cure for bromidic TV: 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'House'". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
Jump up ^ Sepinwall, Alan (September 28, 2006). "Grey's Anatomy: You're kidding, right?". What's Alan Watching?. Blogspot. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
Jump up ^ Chang, Debbie (May 27, 2008). "How 'Grey's Anatomy' Got its Groove Back". BuddyTV. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
Jump up ^ Wilkinson, Amy (June 15, 2009). "Paging Dr. Feelgood: 30 Great TV Doctors and Nurses". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
Jump up ^ Martin, Rebecca (December 21, 2012). "The 10 Hottest Male Doctors on TV". Wetpaint. The Cambio Network. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
Jump up ^ "The 16 Hottest Doctors On Television". BuzzFeed. September 28, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
Jump up ^ "Couples Pictures, Grey's Anatomy Photos – Photo Gallery: The Best TV Couples of All Time". TV Guide. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
Jump up ^ Balta, Victor. "How adorable! TV’s best bromances". Today.com. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
Jump up ^ Thomas, Rachel. "TV's Best Bromances". About.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
Jump up ^ "Best TV Bromances #15 McDreamy and McSteamy". BuddyTV. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
Jump up ^ "Hottest TV bromances". Cosmopolitan. July 19, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
Jump up ^ Hoffman, Kim (January 28, 2013). "Top 14 TV Bromances — I Love You, Man! (PHOTOS)". Wetpaint. The Cambio Network. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
Jump up ^ Perigard, Mark (July 27, 2012). "‘Grey’s Anatomy’ drops another doc". Boston Herald. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
External links[edit]
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