Richard Webber
Encyclopedia
Richard Webber is a fictional
surgeon
from the ABC
television series Grey's Anatomy
. The character is portrayed by actor James Pickens, Jr.
, and was created by Shonda Rhimes
. He was previously the Chief of Surgery at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital for 11 years, and was replaced by Owen Hunt.
the Surgical Program is presented as one of the best in the United States, believed by many viewers to be because of his efforts.
Later in the series Adele asks him to retire, forcing him to choose between his career or their marriage. He tries to skirt around it, but Adele, tired of waiting, makes her choice and leaves him. He moves out and sleeps in his office for a short time, but now has a room at the same hotel as Callie
. Since learning of Ellis's illness, Richard had been visiting her regularly, but upon deciding to attempt a reconciliation with Adele realized that he could no longer continue his emotional affair with Ellis. He attempts to patch things up with his wife, but is stunned to find out that she has apparently moved on to someone else.
Richard had planned to retire and recommend Preston Burke
as his successor, but after the secret of Burke's tremor and cover-up came out, that plan was put to a stand-still. Nevertheless, he has told the hospital board of his retirement and has yet to name his successor; Derek, Preston
, Addison
and Mark
all eagerly clamoring for the post. Richard eventually chose Derek, but Derek tells him that Richard should remain chief.
Near the end of the third season
, Adele is admitted to the hospital and is discovered, first by Addison and later by Richard, to be pregnant (at 52 years old). Though he believes the father to be the man Adele insinuated to be seeing months earlier, Richard stays by Adele's side as she is treated, though complications later arise and she loses the baby. Adele later admits to Richard that the baby, which was a boy, was actually his. At the conclusion of the third season, Richard and Adele decide to give their marriage another try.
Since the beginning of season 4
, he and Adele have declared that his work is the reason that their marriage has failed. He moved in with his friend Derek Shepherd
in his trailer home. He tried to repair his life as a divorcé for the remainder of the season until, by the end, he reasserted his good reputation to his wife and won her back.
At the start of the fifth season
, he starts to deal with the fact that Seattle Grace's surgical program ranking has been suffering. Determined to repair his hospital's reputation, he has become determined to enforce a new tougher series of hospital rules. Adding to his new behavior, he seems to becoming more and more agitated by Meredith Grey's
presence in his life as she is a reminder to him of every mistake he has made over the years. Over the course of the season, he becomes resentful of his mentee in General Surgery, Dr. Bailey's
decision to leave the General Surgery program to embark upon a fellowship in Pediatric Surgery and attempts to prevent it in any way possible; he gives her an uninspiring letter of recommendation and buys a surgical robot for General Surgery to "lure" Dr. Bailey back to the program. However, as he finally comes to terms with Dr. Bailey's choice, she confides to the Chief that her husband has left her with an ultimatum - if she takes the fellowship in Pediatrics, he will divorce her. Dr. Bailey tells the Chief that she has decided that she will leave her husband herself, but that she still cannot take the Pediatrics fellowship, because she will now be a single mother, and breaks down in front of the Chief.
In the sixth season he has been under a lot of stress. In the episode "New History" most of the people believe he is having an affair due to his odd decisions and mistakes lately, but it is revealed at the end of the episode that the chief has gone back to drinking again. At first, he tells Meredith, who he has taken under his wing to help out learning new skills, that he wasn't an alcoholic, but rather in a state of depression, and he promised that his eggnog at Christmas would be his last drink. However Meredith discovers him at the bar very drunk, showing that he has indeed relapsed. He was given the choice by Derek and the Board, to retire early or enter a rehab program where he would receive help for his drinking, and possibly gain his job back. Richard contemplated throwing away his career, which caused him and Derek to get in a shouting match. He later handed Derek the papers agreeing to enter Rehab. After rehab, Richard returns as a General Surgery attending and performs awake surgery on Harper Avery. On the day of shooting, he enters the hospital against police orders and convinces Gary Clarke to shoot himself.
In season seven, Derek impulsively quits as Chief and Richard is re-instated. During the later part of the season, it appears that his wife Adele is starting to show early symptoms of Alzheimer's.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
from the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television series Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
. The character is portrayed by actor James Pickens, Jr.
James Pickens, Jr.
James Pickens, Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Dr. Richard Webber on the ABC drama television series Grey's Anatomy, and for his supporting role as Deputy Director Alvin Kersh on later seasons of the Fox Network science fiction series The X-Files.- Early life...
, and was created by Shonda Rhimes
Shonda Rhimes
Shonda Rhimes is an American screenwriter, director and producer. Rhimes is best known as the creator, head writer, and executive producer of acclaimed television series Grey's Anatomy and its spin-off Private Practice. In May 2007, Rhimes was named one of Time magazine's 100 Time 100 people who...
. He was previously the Chief of Surgery at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital for 11 years, and was replaced by Owen Hunt.
Background
During their residency at Seattle Grace, he had an affair with Meredith's mother, Ellis Grey, although both were married. Although Ellis left her husband, Richard could not bring himself to leave his wife, Adele (he would learn decades later, however, that Adele had known about the affair all along and stayed with him anyway). He confessed in a later episode that he ended the affair because he believed that Ellis deserved better and that he had too much baggage. After completing his residency, Richard left Seattle Grace to complete his fellowship. There are continuity errors regarding where exactly Richard built his career; at one point he states that with the exception of his fellowship, he spent his entire career at Seattle Grace. However, it is also established that he both taught and befriended Addison and Derek, presumably in New York (the majority of references within the show, as well as additional sources, indicate that a good portion of Richard's career was spent in Manhattan, rather than Seattle).Character history
The enigmatic Chief of Surgery at Seattle Grace is a leading figure in the show. Always vigilant, seeking and trying new things, his ambition is to see Seattle Grace as the top surgical program in the country. This sometimes leads him to take daring decisions, at the beginning of Season 1Grey's Anatomy (season 1)
Season one of Grey's Anatomy, an American medical drama television series developed by Shonda Rhimes, began airing on March 27, 2005 on ABC. The season concluded on May 22, 2005, after 9 episodes aired. Season one regular cast members include Ellen Pompeo, Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, Justin...
the Surgical Program is presented as one of the best in the United States, believed by many viewers to be because of his efforts.
Later in the series Adele asks him to retire, forcing him to choose between his career or their marriage. He tries to skirt around it, but Adele, tired of waiting, makes her choice and leaves him. He moves out and sleeps in his office for a short time, but now has a room at the same hotel as Callie
Callie Torres
Calliope Iphegenia "Callie" Torres, M.D., is a fictional character from the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy, portrayed by actress Sara Ramírez...
. Since learning of Ellis's illness, Richard had been visiting her regularly, but upon deciding to attempt a reconciliation with Adele realized that he could no longer continue his emotional affair with Ellis. He attempts to patch things up with his wife, but is stunned to find out that she has apparently moved on to someone else.
Richard had planned to retire and recommend Preston Burke
Preston Burke
Preston Xavier Burke, more commonly known as Burke, is a fictional surgeon on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy. The character was portrayed by actor Isaiah Washington, up until the third season.-Storylines:...
as his successor, but after the secret of Burke's tremor and cover-up came out, that plan was put to a stand-still. Nevertheless, he has told the hospital board of his retirement and has yet to name his successor; Derek, Preston
Preston Burke
Preston Xavier Burke, more commonly known as Burke, is a fictional surgeon on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy. The character was portrayed by actor Isaiah Washington, up until the third season.-Storylines:...
, Addison
Addison Montgomery
Addison Adrienne Forbes Montgomery , was a fictional character on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy, and is currently starring on its spin-off show Private Practice. Addison is a world-class neonatal surgeon with board certifications in both Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Maternal and Fetal...
and Mark
Mark Sloan (Grey's Anatomy)
Mark Sloan is a fictional surgeon from the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy, portrayed by Eric Dane.-Storylines:Mark first appears in season two, introduced as a highly-respected otolaryngologist sub-specialized in plastic surgery and the former best friend of neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd...
all eagerly clamoring for the post. Richard eventually chose Derek, but Derek tells him that Richard should remain chief.
Near the end of the third season
Grey's Anatomy (season 3)
Season three of Grey's Anatomy, an American medical drama television series developed by Shonda Rhimes, began airing on September 21, 2006 on ABC. The season concluded on May 17, 2007, after 25 episodes aired. Season three regular cast members include Ellen Pompeo, Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl,...
, Adele is admitted to the hospital and is discovered, first by Addison and later by Richard, to be pregnant (at 52 years old). Though he believes the father to be the man Adele insinuated to be seeing months earlier, Richard stays by Adele's side as she is treated, though complications later arise and she loses the baby. Adele later admits to Richard that the baby, which was a boy, was actually his. At the conclusion of the third season, Richard and Adele decide to give their marriage another try.
Since the beginning of season 4
Grey's Anatomy (season 4)
Season four of Grey's Anatomy, an American medical drama television series developed by Shonda Rhimes, began airing on September 27, 2007 on ABC. The season concluded on May 22, 2008. Only 17 episodes were produced during this season due to the 2007-08 writers strike...
, he and Adele have declared that his work is the reason that their marriage has failed. He moved in with his friend Derek Shepherd
Derek Shepherd
Derek Christopher Shepherd, also referred to as McDreamy, is a fictional surgeon on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy. The character is portrayed by actor Patrick Dempsey, who was nominated in 2006 and 2007 Golden Globe for the Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series Drama for...
in his trailer home. He tried to repair his life as a divorcé for the remainder of the season until, by the end, he reasserted his good reputation to his wife and won her back.
At the start of the fifth season
Grey's Anatomy (season 5)
Season five of Grey's Anatomy, an American medical drama television series developed by Shonda Rhimes, began airing on September 25, 2008 on ABC. The season concluded on May 14, 2009 after 24 episodes had aired.- Cast :- Main cast :...
, he starts to deal with the fact that Seattle Grace's surgical program ranking has been suffering. Determined to repair his hospital's reputation, he has become determined to enforce a new tougher series of hospital rules. Adding to his new behavior, he seems to becoming more and more agitated by Meredith Grey's
Meredith Grey
Meredith Grey is a fictional surgeon and the series protagonist on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy. The character is portrayed by actress Ellen Pompeo. In 2007, Pompeo was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Meredith...
presence in his life as she is a reminder to him of every mistake he has made over the years. Over the course of the season, he becomes resentful of his mentee in General Surgery, Dr. Bailey's
Miranda Bailey
Dr. Miranda Bailey is a fictional surgeon on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy. The character is portrayed by actress Chandra Wilson, who won a 2007 Screen Actor's Guild Award for the role...
decision to leave the General Surgery program to embark upon a fellowship in Pediatric Surgery and attempts to prevent it in any way possible; he gives her an uninspiring letter of recommendation and buys a surgical robot for General Surgery to "lure" Dr. Bailey back to the program. However, as he finally comes to terms with Dr. Bailey's choice, she confides to the Chief that her husband has left her with an ultimatum - if she takes the fellowship in Pediatrics, he will divorce her. Dr. Bailey tells the Chief that she has decided that she will leave her husband herself, but that she still cannot take the Pediatrics fellowship, because she will now be a single mother, and breaks down in front of the Chief.
In the sixth season he has been under a lot of stress. In the episode "New History" most of the people believe he is having an affair due to his odd decisions and mistakes lately, but it is revealed at the end of the episode that the chief has gone back to drinking again. At first, he tells Meredith, who he has taken under his wing to help out learning new skills, that he wasn't an alcoholic, but rather in a state of depression, and he promised that his eggnog at Christmas would be his last drink. However Meredith discovers him at the bar very drunk, showing that he has indeed relapsed. He was given the choice by Derek and the Board, to retire early or enter a rehab program where he would receive help for his drinking, and possibly gain his job back. Richard contemplated throwing away his career, which caused him and Derek to get in a shouting match. He later handed Derek the papers agreeing to enter Rehab. After rehab, Richard returns as a General Surgery attending and performs awake surgery on Harper Avery. On the day of shooting, he enters the hospital against police orders and convinces Gary Clarke to shoot himself.
In season seven, Derek impulsively quits as Chief and Richard is re-instated. During the later part of the season, it appears that his wife Adele is starting to show early symptoms of Alzheimer's.
External links
- Grey's Anatomy at ABC.com