SHADES OF GREY AND GREEN
December 2, 2005

He’s not a doctor, but he plays one on TV. Isaiah Washington, a.k.a. Preston Burke, dubbed “one of TV’s hottest doctors” in a recent issue of TV Guide, will don a Tulane University T-shirt in an upcoming episode of its medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy.” The fictional Dr. Burke attended Tulane University.

A wardrobe representative told Tulane administrators, who granted the ABC-TV show permission to use the Tulane shirt, that Washington himself requested Dr. Burke be allowed to wear the shirt. Whether he’s expressing solidarity for the university in the wake of Hurricane Katrina or he simply looks “hot” in green, Tulane was delighted to honor the request.

Though not a Tulane alumnus, the Houston native spent four years in the Air Force before studying drama at Howard University in Washington, D.C. While at Howard, Washington won a role in the play Spell #7 and then moved to New York, where he appeared in a number of stage productions, including August Wilson’s Fences and Thornton Wilder’s Skin of Our Teeth.

With a passion for theater, Washington became one of the founding members of City Kids Repertory, a theater group that visits high schools and community centers throughout New York. Washington, who makes his home in Los Angeles with his wife and three children, has been featured in four acclaimed Spike Lee films: Crooklyn, Clockers, Girl 6 and Get on the Bus.

According to the ABC website, Grey’s Anatomy focuses on young people struggling to be doctors and doctors struggling to stay human. “It’s the drama and intensity of medical training mixed with the funny, sexy, painful lives of interns who are about to discover that neither medicine nor relationships can be defined in black and white. Real life only comes in shades of grey.”  Or green.

The hit show, in its second season, airs Sundays at 9 p.m. central standard time on ABC-TV.

-- Fran Simon

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