M*A*S*H made its debut in September 1972 and each episode began with a musical rendition of Suicide is Painless. The last episode of the series, titled Goodbye, Farewell and Amen, aired in February 1983 and more than 120 million American viewers tuned in for this two and a half hour finale. Most of the characters were draftees, causing them to be resentful of authority figures and the U.S. Army in general.
The Main Characters of M*A*S*H
In between long, intensely punishing sessions in the operating room treating wounded soldiers and civilians, the doctors and nurses at the isolated 4077th M*A*S*H unit in Korea tried to make the best of an insane situation by heavy drinking, wisecracking and playing practical jokes.
- Capt. Benjamin Franklin 'Hawkeye' Pierce (played by Alan Alda) – He was the protagonist of the series, and the chief surgeon of the 4077th.
- Capt. John Francis Xavier 'Trapper' McIntyre (played by Wayne Rogers) – Hawkeye's bunkmate and fellow surgeon from seasons one through three was married with three children, although he also spent lots of time fraternizing with the nurses.
- Maj. Frank Burns (played by Larry Linville) – Hopelessly inept both as a doctor and as a soldier, Burns was nicknamed ferret face by everyone in the unit.
- Lt. Col. Henry Blake (played by McLean Stevenson) – He was a competent surgeon but not an able officer. Blake was especially close to young Radar O'Reilly.
- Cpl. Walter Eugene 'Radar' O'Reilly (played by Gary Burghoff) – The young, bespectacled company clerk of the 4077th more or less held the entire unit together. In many ways he was just an inexperienced farm boy from Iowa, but he provided the necessary counter-balance to the silliness of Henry Blake.
- Col. Sherman T. Potter (played by Harry Morgan) – He took over as commanding officer of the 4077th after Henry Blake's departure. An old warhorse close to retirement, Col. Potter was a skilled doctor and a tough commander.
- Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt (played by Mike Farrell) – Mild mannered and possessing a gleeful sense of humor, his personality became darker and angrier as the series progressed, due to the separation from his family and the ceaseless duration of the war.
- Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III (played by David Ogden Stiers) – His arrogance made him difficult to get along with. However, flashes of kindness and decency would shine through periodically. His clever wit and surgical skills occasionally surpassed that of his bunkmates, Hawkeye and B.J., and therefore was not an easy target for jokes and criticism.
- Cpl. Maxwell Q. Klinger (played by Jamie Farr) – He replaced Radar as the company clerk later in the series. Always bucking for a discharge, Klinger spent much of his time in the early seasons dressing in women's clothing to prove to his superiors he was crazy. It never worked.
- Maj. Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan (played by Loretta Swit) – As the head nurse of the 4077th, she had a lot of responsibility to keep everyone under her charge operating at peak capacity.
- Lt. Father Francis Mulcahy (played by William Christopher) – As soon as the doctors and nurses healed all of the physical wounds, they would turn to their priest for spiritual and moral guidance.
M*A*S*H Guest Stars
The regular line up was supplemented by guest actors who played doctors, patients and military figures. Laurence Fishburne, Patrick Swayze, Leslie Nielsen and John Ritter all made guest appearances. Actors with semi-recurring roles included Edward Winter, who played the paranoid and delusional Col. Flagg, as well as Allan Arbus who portrayed Dr. Sidney Freedman, an amiable psychiatrist. He would show up every once in a while to treat mental problems that the M*A*S*H doctors were not able to heal.
The Legacy of M*A*S*H
With compelling storylines, slapstick comedy dialogues and an up close and personal view of war, the series is still popular. With two-hundred and fifty one thirty-minute episodes in all, each one included veins of comedy and drama. While other comedies of its type were produced on videotape in front of a live studio audience, M*A*S*H was filmed on location in Malibu Creek State Park in Southern California. A closed studio set was also used. Despite the fact that this show went off the air almost thirty years ago, the characters and issues are fresh and entertaining.
Scott Hayden - Since joining Suite101 in early 2007, I've contributed articles about travel, history and health. My speciality is writing about workplace ...
