Mandy Patinkin transplanted to 'Three Rivers'

Emmy winner Mandy Patinkin is returning to CBS, but he won't be solving crimes or healing sick people. Or, as far as we know, singing.

The former "Criminal Minds" and "Chicago Hope" star will make a guest appearance on the network's new medical drama "Three Rivers" later this fall. He'll be playing an ALS patient who, after a car crash, asks to be taken off life support so others can use his organs.

Patinkin is a transplant recipient himself. He underwent corneal transplants in both eyes in 1997 and '98 to correct keratoconus, a condition in which the cornea is misshapen and severely impairs vision.

CBS hasn't set an airdate for the episode yet.

Patinkin won an Emmy in 1995 for his role on "Chicago Hope" and was nominated again in 1999 (he also earned a guest-acting nod for "The Larry Sanders Show" in '96). He starred on CBS' crime drama "Criminal Minds" for its first two seasons and has recently played Prospero in a New York production of "The Tempest" and has done a series of concerts with his "Evita" co-star Patti LuPone.

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