By now you have probably heard the old adage "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV." It's become a fairly well known pop culture catchphrase over the years, and most of the time it pretty accurately describes typical TV doctors -- they tend to not actually know anything about real medicine. However, what you might not know is that comedian Ken Jeong is a licensed physician in real life, and he once had to use his medical expertise on his Community co-star, Danny Pudi. Jeong recently explained:
Danny Pudi got heartburn from eating a ton of candy, mustard, Tabasco sauce, and other foods all at once on a dare. And I treated him. Good times.
During a recent Reddit AMA session, Ken Jeong was asked to open up regarding any funny, or generally weird stories that occurred on set during his tenure on Community. He responded with the above recollection of a time in which actor Danny Pudi (who portrayed the socially stunted Abed) was dared to eat a ton of junk food on set and became overcome with heartburn. Obviously, being the consummate medical professional that he is, Dr. Ken Jeong leapt into action and treated his co-star. Pudi should've known that Tabasco, mustard, and candy don't mix very well, though.
There aren't a lot of details to jazz up this story, but we have a feeling that most doctors don't relish talking about life or death scenarios. Regardless of that fact, it's a good thing Ken Jeong was there to help Danny Pudi, with his heart burn assist the cast and crew in their mission to produce six seasons and a movie. Sadly, we have a feeling that we will be waiting for that movie for a very long time.
Of course, as some of you probably already know, Ken Jeong's career as a medical professional has actually come into play several times over the course of his career as an actor. One of his first major silver screen roles came in the 2007 comedy, Knocked Up, in the form of Dr. Kuni -- an ornery OB-GYN with a bad attitude. Following that, Jeong also has also started to headline his own sitcom (aptly titled Dr. Ken) in which tells a comical, semi-biographical account of his career as a medical professional. The guy has a knack for drawing from his own experiences.
I suppose there's really only one thing left to take away from this story: if you ever find yourself having a medical emergency (or at least some heartburn) on a film set, then you better hope Dr. Ken Jeong is a member of the cast. Make sure to catch the season premiere of Dr. Ken on Friday, September 23 at 8:30 p.m. EST on ABC. For more information concerning all of the most high anticipated fall television debuts, make sure to check out CinemaBlend's comprehensive fall premiere schedule and fill our your television viewing calendars accordingly!
