The One Co Star Alan Alda Couldn't Stand On MASH

the one co-star Alan Alda couldn't stand on Mash remains one of the most popular television shows of all time with its clever blend of humor and drama that pulled millions of viewers in for each episode the Korean War set series changed the medium its conclusion still retains the record for the most people ever watching a single scripted show on American television the characters and the people that portrayed them are still well known for as great a phenomenon as mesh was there are surely some behind the scenes Mysteries that even the most Ardent fans are unaware of until now many times the performers had no idea which characters would perish which performers really served in the military and why was Loretta Swit on the verge of leaving the show all the mash Mysteries are revealed here the show is based on a book mesh is based on Richard hooker's 1968 novel Mash a novel about three Army doctors which he wrote Under the pen name Dr H Richard hornberger and writer W.C Hines the cast switched parts McLean Stevenson who eventually portrayed Henry Blake originally wanted to play Hawkeye there were real soldiers on set prior to the series both Jamie Farr and Ellen Alda had genuine military experience after graduating from Fordham University in New York Alda joined the Army Reserve Farr enlisted in the Army for two years serving in Japan and Korea after hostilities had ended and Mike Farrell's competitive nature Alan Alda spoke about the competitive attitude between Mike Farrell and himself in his book never have your dog stuffed and other things I've learned physical rivalry as well competing to see who could learn to stand on his hands first Alda remembered he learned Judo in the Army and whenever he was called to sit he would go behind me and try to trip me and knock me down for Pharrell the most heated argument occurred between the two over sequence in which BJ was clearly behaving out of character one comedian turned down a role Trapper John was offered to comedian Robert Klein who rejected it Klein would go on to have a successful comedic career having approximately 100 credits to his name Wayne Rogers never signed Wayne Rogers who portrayed Trafford John McIntyre was free to quit the series at any time since he never signed a contract Klinger wasn't gonna be straight the character of Klinger who was originally only supposed to appear once was going to be homosexual the character would go on to become one of the greatest and most adored on the program the laughter grew quieter The Producers intended to avoid using a laugh track at the start of the series to underscore the severity of the subject matter CBS declined but permitted them to film the operating room sequences without one as the series progressed The manufactured laughter became more muffled the pilot was written fast the first episode of mash aired on September 17 1972 Larry Gilbert wrote the pilot and Gene Reynolds directed it earning Reynolds a Director's Guild of America award the pilot was nominated for two Emmys one each for director and writing Larry Gilbert spent three days writing the episode when you consider how many prizes it received it was remarkable achievement the show kept secrets from its cast only Alan Alda was aware of the Henry Blake character's demise before shooting there was serious star power becoming renowned Stars such as Ron Howard Leslie Nielsen and Patrick Swayze participated on the show the show was way longer than the actual War although the Korean War lasted only roughly three years the series lasted 11 years beginning on September 17 1972 and ending on February 28 1983. there were a total of 256 episodes in addition to his leading role directed 31 episodes and co-wrote 13. multitasking at its finest Radar's bear was sold Radar's characteristic plush bear was supposed to be missing for 30 years until being discovered and auctioned off who is the successful bidder Gary berghoff the actor who plays radar the Time Capsule was found the characters buried a time capsule in a final season episode a construction worker discovered the capsule buried where the set stood months after the shooting was over Loretta Swit appeared in all but 11 episodes Loretta Swit who portrayed the spunky blonders major Margaret Hot Lips Houlihan was one of just four cast members who stayed for all 11 seasons she featured in all but 11 of the 256 episodes throughout the incredible span hot lips and empty arms Margaret's engagement and the nurses were swit's particular favorites did you will to win Emmys for writing directing and acting for his work on the series significant even the minor characters were often noteworthy one 1977 chapter for example has characters named after the California Angels baseball club of the same year the ex-girlfriend one character was named after a writer's ex-girlfriend which adds to the name link we suspect that character was not the finest a lot the series progressed the performers became increasingly outspoken about their plots the creative team retaliated by having them play out winter scenarios and heavy clothes outside in 90 degree conditions Walter TV spin-off Mash spin-offs abound including this one in which Walter radar O'Reilly returns home after the war loses his family and becomes a detective it was only broadcast once cleaner got lucky Klinger was only scheduled to make an appearance once he was however so popular with viewers that he quickly became a regular character Aaron real-life daughter [Music] of his real-life daughter of the same name actor Mike Farrell altered the name of his character's daughter to Aaron Potter's real wife photo the photograph of Potter's wife Milburn that appears in his desk throughout the series is of Potter actor Harry Morgan's actual wife the finale was not final the famed last episode was not the final segment shot the next episode as time goes by was really the last to be shot staying close even after the show ended Loretta Swit remained close to several of her castmates after the program ended particularly Harry Morgan Colonel Sherman T Potter as the series concluded the two apparently remained neighbors until Morgan's death in 2011. sweat maintains ties with Alan Alda and his family Swit was also taking advantage of her tremendous notoriety appearing in other series such as The Love Boat and Cagney and Lacey for which she nearly quit Mash sweat was forced to quit the new part because Mash Executives refused to allow her out of her commitment to portray Christine Cagney McLean Stevenson left the set as a result of Alan Alda at the start of mash Alda Stevenson and Rogers are written as equals sharing the unit's surgical tasks and a comic back and forth with Linville however as the series goes on Alda identifies himself as the group's comedy star and Hawkeye gets to get considerable more lines laughs and Camera time Stevenson knew quitting the show may be a mistake but he sought other endeavors consequently he was written off in the season 3 finale with a dramatic death Stevenson never approached Mass levels of popularity again and he subsequently said that he made the mistake of believing that everybody in America loved McLean Stevenson that wasn't the case everybody loved Henry Blake and now we know it was a self-made decision and not criticism from Alan Alda the series finale is legendary with nearly 77 percent of the public tuning in the finale still retains the record for most viewed non-sport show in American history the Hat Aaron Aldo wears the same hat as Donald Sutherland wore in the film version in the series opening credits which have been released in 1970. the Hat never made another appearance on the program laughter off please deep series contentious laugh track was totally erased when it was broadcast in the United Kingdom Klinger's wedding dress Klinger wore his wedding gown three times when he married Laverne Esposito when Margaret Houlihan married Lieutenant Colonel Donald prasenbot and when soon Lee married Klinger Hawkeye hated guns Hawkeye was never shown carrying a gun on the program and when he was he just discharged it into the air goodbye farewell and amen the series classic last episode is the only one in which the title appears on screen Captain Tuttle in the end credits of the episode Tuttle Captain Tuttle is listed as having been portrayed by himself this is a reference to the fact that there is no Captain Tuttle in the episode and the figure is really a fiction of Hawkeye's mind power lines power lines may be seen in the backdrop of a couple outside photos The Producers were aware that they were present but they've lacked the funds to reshoot the sequences purple hearts several series characters earned several purple hearts this is a mistake since the military only Awards purple hearts for soldiers first combat wound following damage Oak Leaf clusters form came down to a vote by the ninth season the writers were out of ideas and worried that the program would soon lose momentum Alan Alda planned to leave after season 10 but CBS persuaded him to remain for one more season in the last episode despite the series great success the rest of the cast voted on whether it should be canceled the program finished after a majority voted yes those that chose to continue were cast in the spin-off series aftermash [Music] foreign [Music]

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Length: 11min 14sec (674 seconds)

Published: Mon May 01 2023