TV URBAN LEGEND: Dr. Weaver on ER had her mysterious limp finally fixed because the actor who played Weaver, Laura Innes, was beginning to have her real life health affected by the constant use of a cane!
The meteoric success of ER in the 1990s led to some interesting effects on the casting of the series. The show became so popular so quickly that its lead characters all became major stars almost instantly and Warner Bros. Television reacted to the show's instant success by locking down most of the cast for contract extensions for significantly more money than the actors started off with on the series (breakout star George Clooney notably passed on an extension because he planned to leave the show as soon as his original five-season deal expired). The downside of these types of deals is that the actors eventually earn so much money that there is not a whole lot of motivation to keep them on the series. Series star Anthony Edwards was famously wooed back for an extra season with a ton of money, but he eventually left the series after Season 8. Shockingly, by Season 9, only one of the series original seven leads (plus Gloria Reuben, who was a recurring character in Season 1 before become a lead in Season 2) had not left the show, and that was Noah Wylie, who the studio kept on the show through Season 12 by continually paying him more and more money (and Season 12, in particular, also let him not even do every episode). Interestingly, by Season 9, one of the original leads who had left, Sherry Stringfield, had actually returned in Season 7. Her second stint lasted until Season 12.
Therefore, as of Season 13, there were no main cast members on ER left from either Season 1 or Season 2, leaving the longest tenured star to be Laura Innes' Dr. Kerry Weaver, who was a recurring character on Season 2 before being added to the main cast in Season 3.
Weaver was one of those classic sorts of characters where she was added as an antagonist, of sorts, someone to compete with Edwards' Dr. Greene for administrative positions at the hospital and to also serve (as the new Chief Resident of the Emergency Department) as an authority figure for Clooney's Dr. Ross to rebel against. Over time, though, especially as those other characters all exited the series, Weaver inevitably softened to the point where she was like a whole other character by the time that she, too, exited the series after Season 13.
Starting in Season 7, Weaver also realized that she had fallen in love with a female staff psychiatrist at the hospital and her coming to terms with her sexuality was a major plot for the character over the next few seasons, with her ultimately having a child with a firefighter (Sandy Lopez), although that, of course, was filled with complications when her partner died and Weaver had to fight for custody of her child.
One of the most notable visual features of Weaver is that she had a limp and used a forearm crutch to navigate things. While not a disabled actor herself, Innes' depiction of a disabled doctor was still a big deal at the time. Innes discussed the origination of the limp with Ability magazine:
Chet Cooper: When you read for the role of Dr. Kerry Weaver on ER, did you know going in that you would play a person with a disability?
Laura Innes: Yes, when I read for the part, the character was described as having a limp and using a cane. She was written with that intention. I never asked John Wells—the show’s executive producer—but I heard it through the grapevine that when he was observing hospitals, he saw a doctor who had a cane and he thought, “Oh, that’s kind of interesting.”
Pamela Johnson: You knew Weaver had a limp, but did they tell you the back story?
Innes: No. When I asked, “Well, what’s her malady or injury?” they said, “We haven’t decided yet.” They wanted to keep it open, and not have it be something that was an issue. We discussed what kind of crutch or cane I should use, and I actually suggested the cuff crutch, because I thought with all the moving around and concerns with cleanliness, that a doctor wouldn’t always want to be grabbing onto a cane or setting it down. With a cuff crutch, it could always be on my arm, and if I was at a trauma table I could have it for support and still use my hands. So that’s how that choice was made. When I got the part and the character was described as having a limp, I didn’t really think about it in terms of the impact as a disability.
Eventually, in Season 11, we learned that Weaver's limp was caused by congenital hip dysplasia, and in the following season, she had corrective surgery that allowed her to walk without use of the cane. Amazingly, the surgery was, at least in part, driven by Innes' real life health issues caused by using a cane for so many years on the series. Innes explained to the Mirror, "My real back was getting screwed up. I got a bone density test and the bottom of my spine is starting to curve on one side from 10 years of raising my hip."
Innes originally had a bit of a hard time reacting to Weaver's surgery, but she ultimately adapted, noting, "I felt very self conscious. For a couple of episodes I certainly felt like I needed my crutch. But now I like it for a couple of reasons," she said. "One, it's fun to have the freedom with my hands and two, my real back was getting screwed up."
The legend is...
STATUS: True
Be sure to check out my archive of TV Legends Revealed for more urban legends about the world of TV.
Feel free (heck, I implore you!) to write in with your suggestions for future installments! My e-mail address is bcronin@legendsrevealed.com.