Richard Webber Popular Books

Richard Webber Biography & Facts

Richard Webber, M.D., Ph.D, F.A.C.S. is a fictional character from the ABC medical drama television series Grey's Anatomy. The character was created by Shonda Rhimes and is portrayed by actor James Pickens Jr. since the start of the show in 2005. At the beginning of the show, he is the Chief of Surgery at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital for 12 years. In season 6, he has to resign his position as chief and is briefly replaced by Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey). Webber takes his position back as chief in season 7 but eventually resigns again in season 8 in order to protect Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo). He goes back to being General Surgery attending, although all the staff still calls him "Chief" due to his history. Later, Richard accepts to become the head of the residency program mentoring the residents. In season 17 Richard is appointed Chief of Chiefs of the Catherine Fox foundation. He is a recovering alcoholic and this storyline is exploited in many episodes through the years, especially in seasons 6 and 15. Webber had an affair with Ellis Grey, Meredith's mother, before the beginning of the series and this impacts his relationship with several characters of the series such as his wife Adele (Loretta Devine) and Maggie Pierce, a hospital surgeon who is later revealed to be his daughter. Background Richard Webber was born in 1954, the oldest of three children. His siblings are former hardware store owner Chris Webber, the father of his now-deceased niece, Sabrina, and an unnamed younger sister. His mother was a music teacher and former receptionist Gail Webber, who played the cello. Gail (born 1918) died at age 46 when Richard was ten years old (circa 1964). Richard is not close to his younger siblings; they believe he thinks he is better than they are because he is a doctor. While it's never been fully revealed as to what inspired Richard's decision to become a Doctor/Surgeon: it's heavily implied his mother Gail's diagnosis of colon cancer led him to medicine. Surgical Career and Marriage Richard married his wife, Adele (Loretta Devine) on Valentine's Day. During their residency at Seattle Grace, he had an affair with Meredith's mother, Ellis Grey, although both were married to other people. Although Ellis left her husband, Richard could not bring himself to leave his wife, Adele (he would learn decades later 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. However, in Season 11, Webber admits to Meredith that his ego was simply jealous of Ellis' success as a surgeon, which is why the affair ended. 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 except for 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). He graduated from Northwestern University (as shown in the degree in his office) Storylines 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 make daring decisions. In the first season, the surgical program is presented as one of the best in the United States. Later in the series, his wife Adele asks him to retire, forcing him to choose between his career and 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. Since he learned of Ellis Grey's illness, Richard began visiting her regularly, but upon deciding to attempt a reconciliation with Adele, he realizes that he can 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. In the meantime, Richard makes plans to retire and must name his successor. He first thought of recommending Dr. Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington) as his successor, but after the secret of Burke's tremor and cover-up came out, that plan is put on hold. Nevertheless, he tells the hospital board of his retirement but has yet to name his successor; Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), Preston, Dr. Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) and Dr. Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) are all eagerly clamoring for the post. Richard eventually chooses Derek, but Derek tells Richard that he should remain chief. Near the end of the third season, Adele is admitted to the hospital and is discovered 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. However, due to complications, 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. At the beginning of the fourth season, Richard and Adele declare that his work is the reason that their marriage has failed and separate. He consequently moves in with his friend Derek Shepherd in his trailer home and tries to repair his life as a divorcée for the remainder of the season until, by the end, he reasserts his good reputation to his wife and wins her back. At the start of the fifth season, Richard 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 (Ellen Pompeo) 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 (Chandra Wilson)'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 .... Discover the Richard Webber popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Richard Webber books.