ER’s 30th Anniversary: How George Clooney and Julianna Margulies Honor Doug and Carol Three Decades Later

As ER approaches its 30th anniversary, it seems Julianna Margulies and George Clooney feel the nostalgia more than anyone.

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In a recent conversation with the Television Academy (tied to the anniversary of ER ‘s premiere on Sept. 19, 1994), Margulies revealed that she and Clooney — who played Cook County General Hospital co-workers and love interests Carol Hathaway and Doug Ross on the NBC drama — still pay a small tribute to their ER characters when they exchange emails after all these years.

“It always had to be Carol and Doug, in the end,” Margulies said. “George and I, to this day, still sign our personal emails to each other, ‘Love, Carol’ or ‘Doug.'”

Though Clooney departed ER at the end of Season 5, his character made a surprise return in the Season 6 outing “Such Sweet Sorrow” — Margulies’ own farewell episode — in which Doug and Carol reunited at his seaside home after she left Cook County.

Margulies recalled how Clooney’s return was kept a secret from the rest of the cast — including her, at first, prompting her to get emotional at the “Such Sweet Sorrow” table read when she thought Carol had been given a less-than-momentous goodbye.

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“I quickly got up and ran to the bathroom and just cried,” she remembered. “Because I thought, ‘Oh my God, this character means so much to me. And I know she does to so many fans, and I can’t believe they’re not giving her a proper sendoff.’ And Noah [Wyle], bless his soul, he saw me and let me cry on his shoulder.”

Showrunner John Wells later revealed to Margulies that they’d be bringing Clooney back for Carol’s actual farewell, but ER ‘s other cast members — and the home audience, of course — remained in the dark about his appearance until the episode aired on May 11, 2000.

“Honestly, every now and then I’ll catch it when I’m flipping channels or something. And I still — that music — I still get very emotional,” Margulies shared. “And I remember my mom saying to me — she was so shocked because everyone knew George was off the show — my mother said she screamed, which I think was a lot of people’s reaction. It was the right ending for them because Carol and Doug were destined to be together.”

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