Doc Takes Morgue, Showbiz in Stride

Medical examiners seem unlikely targets for autograph-seekers or fans.

But there was Dr. Jan Garavaglia, trying to select a deli platter in Publix last week, when a woman who’d been staring at her finally mustered the courage to come over and say hello.

“I was glad she did,” Garavaglia said. “I much prefer that to having people just stare. It makes me think I have something on my teeth.”

Such is life for Orange and Osceola counties’ chief medical examiner — who stars in one of Discovery Health Channel’s most popular series, Dr. G: Medical Examiner, which started its second season this month (Fridays at 9 p.m.).

It seems folks have an affinity for the woman with an unusually peppy demeanor for an unusually morbid job.

In the show, Dr. G takes viewers through her thought process and crime-solving in studying the dead: car crashes, gunshots, murders, suicides, you name it. The cases — two are presented in each show — are a mix of ones from her former job in Texas and local ones from her relatively new job here. Her first anniversary was last week.

When Dr. G came to Orlando, a few critics worried about the invasion of privacy that might accompany the TV cameras. But as the show has gained popularity, the doctor said she has a bigger problem selecting cases from among those who want to be part of the show.

“Families are actually approaching me,” she said. “They think it would be a nice tribute.”

It’s that part of the TV gig that Dr. G enjoys and why she says she’ll keep filming the show, mostly after hours on her own time, “as long as I feel there’s good coming out of it and not just showbiz.”

And as for the showbiz-fame part of it all, she says: “Oh, my life hasn’t really changed much. I still work in a morgue.”