Marblehead doctor lands job as TV show consultant

By Jill Harmacinski
STAFF WRITER

MARBLEHEAD — Not everyone in Hollywood knows what nurses wear in catheterization labs, what kind of package is used to deliver a poison antidote to the hospital, or what really goes on in an emergency room.

That's why movies and TV shows need medical consultants, behind-the-scenes doctors who can tweak the finest details of a hospital drama.

And that's exactly what Marblehead physician Irv Danesh does — when he's not working as associate director of emergency medicine at Lawrence General Hospital.

Dr. Danesh landed a medical consulting job after a chance encounter with a writer at a West Coast wedding. By e-mail and phone, Danesh spent months helping writer Andrew Lenchewski fine-tune his script for a new TV show. Then, between shifts, the 52-year-old doctor began been flying to filming sites all over the country for the new pilot "Royal Pains."

The first day of shooting "was amazing," he said, with props that included five Ferrari sports cars. The backdrop for the set was a $32 million mansion in South Hampton, N.Y.

Actor Mark Feuerstein, who played leading roles in the movie "What Women Want" and the sitcom "Good Morning, Miami," stars in the pilot, which is being produced by cable's USA Network.

Danesh, a witty New York native who lives in Marblehead with his wife, a dancer, says he's so impressed with his new job, he's decided to write his own medical screenplay.

"If anyone had told me I'd be doing this at the age of 52, I'd tell them they were crazy," said Danesh, the father of four sons, ages 16 to 25.

"Royal Pains" is the story of young doctor Hank Lawson, who seems to have it all: a great career, beautiful fiancée and swank New York City apartment. But after making one principled decision, Lawson loses it all and ends up single and blackballed from the medical community.

His best friend invites him to the Hamptons, a playground of the rich and famous, where they crash a party at a beach mansion. During the visit, Lawson goes to the aid of a sick guest.

Before long, Lawson is summoned to another mansion and then another, and soon his medical career takes off again in this opulent community.

For Danesh, all this is a far cry the emergency room in Lawrence, where he has worked for 15 years. But he loves the ER, he said, with its fast pace and constant change. On any given night, he might treat anything from a gunshot wound to a heart attack.

All doctors are different, but Danesh said he decided early in his career that, "I didn't want to be doing gall bladder surgeries all day. ... I think anyone in emergency medicine comes into it for the action."

He'd never even considered any kind of television work until his sister-in-law's wedding in Los Angeles last October. There, he met fellow guest Andrew Lenchewski, who asked Danesh if he could help him with some of the medical jargon in "Royal Pains." Months later, Lenchewski sent him a 90-page script. The two started e-mailing and chatting about the script.

"This went on for months and months," Danesh said.

When the USA Network bought the pilot, Lenchewski said he wanted Danesh there for the filming.

On the set, Danesh said much of the work he did was with props and costuming. To ensure the most realistic look, he even took photos of nurses who work in the Lawrence General catheterization lab to show producers.

"They were just the nicest people and great to work with," he said.

Feuerstein is also an amazing actor, who seems to have the ability to memorize his lines in a split second, Danesh said.

The consulting role has also helped Danesh focus a bit of his future. He's now at work on his own screenplay, a tale of aspiring 1980s doctors who can't get into American colleges, so they go to medical school in Mexico. The story is somewhat biographical; Danesh went to medical school in Mexico and later worked in hospitals in New York, Philadelphia, California and Boston (Tufts-New England Medical Center).

Despite the bright lights, glamour and even his cameo role as a cardiologist in "Royal Pains," Danesh said he has no plans to back his bags and head to Hollywood permanently.

He came to Lawrence General originally because the "case mix" in the ER was so good. It's a medium-sized trauma center with specialized care for stroke victims and, according to Danesh, a superb nursing staff.

It's unclear when "Royal Pains" will air on USA Network, a spokesman said.