The Extraordinary Life of Donald Doyle, M.D. ‘67
Dr. Doyle Has Gone Where the Wind Took Him—Modeling, Medicine, and Making a Mark
Donald Doyle, M.D. ’67, has turned chance encounters into extraordinary adventures, crafting a life that’s anything but ordinary. The otolaryngologist, with more than 50 years of practice, is not only an inventor holding 30 patents and author of multiple articles in medical magazines but also spent eight years as a model and commercial actor before serving as a captain and flight surgeon in Vietnam and later becoming a television host, befriending A-list celebrities.
“Growing up, my friend said that regarding basketball, I was the most determined guy he ever met, because I didn't have any talent, yet I played hard,” says Dr. Doyle. “I was 11 years old when I decided to live life to the fullest and to try to do as much as I could,” says Dr. Doyle.
For more than 70 years, Dr. Doyle has done nothing but that.
Before medicine, Dr. Doyle became a model before entering his senior year at St. Peter’s College in New Jersey in 1960 after he was unable to find a summer job. Running an errand for his mother to the cleaners, he met a former classmate and learned she was a model in New York. After exchanging information, he made an appointment with her agency, had his mother take his headshots with Polaroids and delivered them to the owner of the agency. “Boy, you’re a hustler,” the owner told Dr. Doyle. “You betcha,” he replied before signing a contact and embarking on his career. A year later, he starred in his first commercial for the grooming brand Norelco, now known as Phillips Norelco. In his career, he’s acted in 30 commercials, including Vitalis hair tonic, Buick, 7UP, Avon, and more.
“I still have my modeling book, and every now and then I take it and look at it,” says Dr. Doyle. “I say, ‘Who is this kid?’ The pictures are from when I was 20 to 27 so I look at them and say, ‘Who is that guy? He has no lines on his face.’”
Dr. Doyle continued his modeling career while he studied at Columbia Graduate School of Business in New York City, Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska, and New York Medical College (NYMC). Practicing medicine didn’t enter his mind until after he started business school, but he says the career choice was inevitable. His stepfather, a general practitioner and World War II Army veteran, wasn’t especially enthusiastic about his decision to major in business. Seeking greater intellectual challenge, Dr. Doyle ultimately found his path in medicine. Originally interested in specializing in plastic surgery, he was inspired to go into otolaryngology.
During his senior year at NYMC, a top casting director from Paramount Pictures invited Dr. Doyle for a screen test. He agreed—but only on one condition: they wait a year until he completed his clerkship, ensuring he had a backup career in medicine. “I spent the whole clerkship thinking, ‘Well, this is okay, but I'm going to be a star.’ Then I got drafted, and then that was it,” Dr. Doyle recalls.
Dr. Doyle’s career in acting and modeling ended once he was drafted into the U.S. Army in September 1968. He served as a commander of aviation medicine detachment before ending his career as a captain and flight surgeon. He was awarded five medals for his service, including the Air Medal and Meritorious Service Medal.
After completing his military service, Dr. Doyle resumed his medical training in otolaryngology. It was during this time that his journey as an inventor began.
His first idea came as a first-year otolaryngology resident while scrubbing in with the chief of the department. The chief requested a sterile coffee can lid, cut a piece of silastic to fit inside a patient’s nose, and repeatedly trimmed it until it fit. “I thought, ‘This should already exist—just take it out of a package and use it,’” says Dr. Doyle. “When I got home, I told my wife, and she suggested adding breathing tubes. That’s how the Doyle Intranasal Airway Splint was born.”
Over his career, Dr. Doyle has been awarded 30 patents, 28 of which are medical, —including additional patents in the U.K., Japan, and Germany. His innovations extend beyond otolaryngology, covering general medical devices and even baseball-related and grooming inventions.
In 1979, Dr. Doyle made his way back on television when he started a public access cable television program called Mostly Medicine. “I read an article in the Los Angeles Times about public access TV,” recalls Dr. Doyle. “Each company that gets a license to broadcast cable has to give a channel for the public. So, I called them the next day and made an appointment.”
He created the show to gain exposure. He was able to use the studio for free, while he paid for the tapes. For four years, he interviewed physicians and surgeons and presented on surgery and anatomy. He also interviewed celebrities. His most memorable show was a half hour conversation with psychologist Timothy Leary, Ph.D., M.S. The program was broadcast in Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and Hollywood, and occasionally in New York City and Chicago. A satellite version was broadcast to the 48 contiguous states for 18 weeks in 1980.
During its run, Dr. Doyle interviewed incoming presidents of the Los Angeles County Medical Association and earned the American Cancer Society TV Media Award for a breast cancer program he both produced and hosted. Over four years, he created more than 200 programs, one of which—a discussion with the editor of The Animal Tribune—sparked his passion for animal rights. This led him to serve as a medical advisor and spokesperson for organizations such as The Fund for Animals, PETA, The Animal Protection Institute, and The Cat Protection Society. His advocacy work brought him into the media spotlight, with appearances on 60 Minutes, CNN, NBC’s Headlines on Trial, and various local television and radio shows, including guest segments with The Price is Right host Bob Barker.
Dr. Doyle’s journey has been anything but ordinary and fueled by curiosity, determination, and a willingness to embrace the unexpected. Whether on television screens, in the operating room, or behind the scenes of groundbreaking medical innovations, Dr. Doyle has left an indelible mark on every path he has taken.
