However, in the first three TV Movies (Diagnosis of Murder, The House on Sycamore Street and A Twist of the Knife), Amanda is played by Cynthia Gibb.
In The TV movies she was not adopted, and her father was a doctor who wanted her to leave Community General Hospital and open up a practice with him financing it.
Fiercely intelligent, beautiful and loyal to her friends, Amanda is an orphan (just as Victoria Rowell is), taken to an orphanage when she was younger and soon adopted.
Norman enjoys this job because he says it is good to give money, knowing it will help people, instead of "pinching pennies" as he does at Community General.
In the third Diagnosis Murder book "The Shooting Script" it says in a file that Noah Dent has about Past Administrators that Dr. Sloan defamed her, convincing her to quit her job, sell her home, and use the proceeds to establish a nonprofit food bank in the inner city of Los Angeles.
In the 7th-season episode "Bringing Up Barbie," Susan Hillard dumps Jesse for a chiropractor, but in the Diagnosis Murder books which are written by Lee Goldberg, one of the Writers and executive producers of the show, seasons 7–8 and the two reunion telefilms never happened.
Josie, played by (Ally Walker) is a medical student at Clairemont Hospital and a close friend of Dr. Mark Sloan's.
Dr. Jack Parker, played by Stephen Caffrey is a Resident at Community General Hospital and a good friend of Dr. Mark Sloan's.
Richard, played by Steven Eckholdt is a medical student at Clairemont Hospital and a good friend of Dr. Mark Sloan's.
In 1963 Mark was going to become a cardiac surgeon but his mentor Gregory Nordhoff (David Purdham) disappeared and it looked like he had embezzled $50,000.
He also has a younger brother, Stacey (Jerry Van Dyke), who owns a malt shop in Arkansas and has a tendency to sleepwalk.
Their son Steve Sloan was unaware of his father's conflict until it came up during the trial of a doctor who ended the lives of several terminally ill patients at their request.
Mark also has an estranged daughter, Carol Sloan Hilton (Stacy Van Dyke), a nurse, who lives in Northern California.
In the Diagnosis Murder book "The Silent Partner" it is mentioned that Mark and Katherine lived for many years in a ranch style house in Brentwood, California.
In the final book, "The Last Word", Mark Sloan's life turned upside down when Carter Sweeney has his son Steve framed for murdering D.A.
Neil Burnside, and Jesse and Susan Travis for murdering people on the operating table with contaminated organs.
Katherine died of cancer when Steve was younger—throughout the series, Mark refers to her death occurring "ten years ago."
Following this appointment, Steve was subsequently promoted to his own one-man army, in his genuine pursuit of justice.
Sloan is unmarried and it becomes a running gag that all his girlfriends turn out to be involved in murders that he is currently investigating, or they end up dead.
He is quite athletic, enjoying jogging and playing and watching basketball, while he also rides dirtbikes and has a small catamaran on the beach.
One of his dreams was to become a stunt man and in the episode "Frontier Dad" (Season Seven) he gets this chance, though is overcome with stage fright.
In the last TV movie, "Without Warning", Steve Sloan proposes to Ellen Sharpe a tabloid reporter he met in the episode Dance of Danger and she accepts.
Alex Smith is played by Shane Van Dyke and Is a Medical Student that is good friends with Mark, Steve, Jesse, and Amanda.
Dr. Jack Stewart, played by Scott Baio is a Doctor at Community General Hospital and is a close friend of Dr. Mark Sloan.
Jack reveals that he left Community General because he fell in love with Amanda Bentley, and that he didn't want to say anything to ruin their relationship as friends.
Neil Burnside, and framed Amanda for selling body parts out of her morgue, and Jesse and Susan Travis for murdering several people with contaminated organs.
Thad, played by (Kristoff St. John), is a Medical Student at Clairemont Hospital, and a good friend of Dr. Mark Sloan.
[citation needed] After medical school, Jesse became a resident at Community General, where his teacher, Dr. Mark Sloan would inspire him to be a doctor.
In the Diagnosis Murder books, which are written by Lee Goldberg (one of the writers and executive producers of the show), seasons 7-8 and the 2 reunion TV movies never happened.
Esther Wiggins, played by Vernee Watson-Johnson) is Dr. Mark Sloan's Secretary at Community General Hospital in the first two TV movies.