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"M*A*S*H" (1972)

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• This television series, set during the Korean War, lasted eleven seasons. The actual Korean War lasted only three years.
  
  
• While most of the characters from the movie carried over to the series, only three actors appeared in both: Gary Burghoff (Radar O'Reilly) and G. Wood (General Hammond) reprized their movie roles in the series (though Wood appeared in only three episodes). Timothy Brown (credited as "Tim Brown") played "Cpl. Judson" in the movie and Spearchucker Jones in series.
  
  
• Throughout the run of the series, any "generic" nurses (nurse characters who had a line or two, but were minor supporting characters otherwise) were generally given the names "Nurse Able", "Nurse Baker", or "Nurse Charlie". These names stem from the phonetic alphabet used by the military and HAM operators at the time. During the time period of the Korean War, the letters A, B, and C in the phonetic alphabet were Able, Baker, and Charlie (since then, the standard has been updated, and A and B are now Alpha and Bravo). In later seasons, it became more common for a real character name to be created, especially as several of the nurse actors became semi-regulars. For example, Kellye Nakahara played both "Able" and "Charlie" characters in season three before becoming the semi-regular "Nurse Kellye"; on the other hand, Judy Farrell (then Mrs. Mike Farrell) played Nurse Able in eight episodes, including the series finale.
  
  

• By the time the series ended, three of the regulars were promoted: Klinger (Jamie Farr) from Corporal to Sergeant, and Father Mulcahy (William Christopher) from Lieutenant to Captain. Frank Burns (Larry Linville) was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel when he was shipped back to the US following Margaret's Marriage. (Farr and Christopher also saw their names move from the closing credits of the show, to the opening credits.) Radar O'Reilly was temporarily promoted to Second Lieutenant, but disliked officer's duties, and asked Hawkeye and B.J. to "bust" him back to Corporal.
  
  
• It was Mike Farrell who asked to have his character's daughter's name be Erin, after his real-life daughter (the character's name was originally going to be Melissa). When BJ spoke on the telephone on-camera, Erin or his then-wife Judy were on the other end.
  
  
• Radar's teddy bear, once housed at the Smithsonian, was sold at auction July 29, 2005, for $11,800. (It was originally found on the Fox Ranch, where the series was filmed, and became part of the show.)
  
  
• Hawkeye's home town of Crabapple Cove, Maine is the only fictional home town of all of the M*A*S*H characters.
  
  
• The baseball cap worn by Klinger (and on occasion, Col Potter), starting in the 8th season is supposed to be a Toledo Mud Hens cap, but it's actually a Texas Rangers cap, that the Rangers wore in the '70s and early-'80s
  
  
• Col. Potter's Horse Sophie is played by several different horses in several different episodes. In many cases Sophie, a mare, is in fact played by a male horse.
  
  
• Tom Skerritt was approached to reprise his role as Duke Forrest on the series but he declined, because he felt a TV version of the movie would be unsuccessful.
  
  
• Rene Auberjonois turned down the chance to reprise his role of Father Mulcahy.
  
  
• Lt. Col. Blake's daughter was named Molly.
  
  
• Col. Blake's alma mater was the University of Illinois. When word of this reached the university, a U of I sweater (of appropriate vintage) was donated to the show, and Blake can be seen wearing the blue sweater with a large orange "I" in several episodes. An orange mug with a blue "I" also appeared on his office desk.
  
  
• 'Morgan, Harry', who played Col. Potter, had an earlier guest appearance as a crazy General named Steele.
  
  
• Col. Potter was from Hannibal, Missouri. (Some early episodes give his home as Nebraska.)
  
  
• Col. Potter's horse was named Sophie. He gave Sophie to Sister Teresa's orphanage after the war ended, since he couldn't take her back to the States.
  
  
• Jamie Farr and Alan Alda were the only two cast members to have actually served in the US Army in Korea. Both of them did their tours of duty after the 1953 cease fire.
  
  
• Many of the actors from the cast appeared in a series of TV commercials for the IBM Personal Computer. Alan Alda also endorsed the Atari personal computer.
  
  
• "M*A*S*H" stands for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.
  
  
• McLean Stevenson, who played Lt. Col. Henry Blake, died of a heart attack on 15 February 1996. The next day, 16 February, Roger Bowen, who played Lt. Col. Henry Blake in the movie, died of the same cause.
  
  
• The character of Spearchucker disappeared after the first five episodes when the writers found out that there weren't any African American surgeons serving at MASHes in the Korean War.
  
  
• Edward Winter first appeared as Capt. Halloran in "Deal Me Out" (8 December 1973), but would later play the paranoid Col. Sam Flagg six times in the series. ("Halloran" may have been one of Flagg's many aliases; when he and Sidney Freedman meet in a later episode, Flagg reminds Freedman they'd once played poker together.)
  
  
• Gary Burghoff's left hand is slightly deformed, and he took great pains to hide or de-emphasize it during filming. He did this by always holding something (like a clipboard), or keeping that hand in his pocket.
  
  
• All of the replacement characters (BJ, Col. Potter, and Charles) lasted longer then the characters they replaced (Trapper, Henry, and Frank).
  
  
• Hometowns: HAWKEYE: Crabapple, Cove Maine; BJ: Mill Valley, California; MARGARET: Fort Ord, California; POTTER: Hannibal, Missouri; RADAR: Ottumwa, Iowa; KLINGER: Toledo. Ohio; CHARLES: Boston, Massachusetts; BURNS: Fort Wayne, Indiana; HENRY: Bloomington, Illinois; TRAPPER: Boston, Massachusetts; MULCAHY: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; NURSE KELLYE: Honolulu, Hawaii; SGT RIZZO: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
  
  
• Spouses: BJ: Peg Hayden; POTTER: Mildred; MARGARET: Donald Penobscot; KLINGER: Laverne Esposito/Soon Lee; HENRY: Mildred (Lorraine); BURNS: Louise; TRAPPER: Louise (Melanie); RIZZO: Zola
  
  
• The filming location for the exteriors of the 4077 M*A*S*H camp is today known as Malibu Creek State Park in Malibu, California. Formerly called the Fox Ranch, and owned by 20th Century Fox Studios until the 1980s, the site today (early 2001) is overgrown with foliage, and marked by a rusted Jeep and an ambulance used in the show, as well as a small sign. The state park is open to the public. It was also the location where How Green Was My Valley (1941) and the "Planet of the Apes" (1974) TV series were filmed.
  
  
• When the series was first going into production, the network wanted a laugh track (a sitcom staple), while the show's producers didn't. They compromised with a "chuckle track", played only occasionally. (DVD releases of the series mostly allow viewers a no-laugh-track option.)
  
  
• When the series was shown in the UK, it didn't have a laugh track. Once, the BBC left it switched on by mistake and received a number of complaints that the intrusive canned laughter spoilt the show's atmosphere.
  
  
• Alan Alda had a running guest appearance on the TV show "ER" (1994) in which he plays Dr. Gabriel Lawrence, who reminisces about being a doctor in a war.
  
  
• Col. Henry Blake is from the central Illinois twin cities of Bloomington-Normal. McLean Stevenson, who played Blake, was born and raised in Bloomington-Normal (in McLean County).
  
  
• Allan Arbus's character, Dr. Sidney Freedman, was called Dr. Milton Freedman in "Radar's Report" (episode # 2.3) 9/29/1973
  
  
• The Japanese actor Mako played four different characters over the course of the series, and Korean actor Soon-Tek Oh played five.
  
  
• Actor 'Soon Tek-Oh' appeared five times on the show in different roles. In "The Bus" during the fourth season he played a Korean soldier who gives himself up to Hawkeye and BJ. Later in "The Yalu Brick Road" during the eighth season, he again played a Korean soldier who gives himself up to Hawkeye and BJ.
  
  
• Robert Alda, Alan Alda's father, had guest appearances in two episodes, "The Consultant" and "Lend a Hand". "Lend a Hand" also featured a guest appearance by Antony Alda, Alan Alda's brother. According to Alan Alda, "Lend a Hand" was his way of reconciling with his dad; he was always giving suggestions to Robert for their vaudeville act and in "Lend a Hand" Robert's character was always giving Hawkeye suggestions. It was Robert's idea for the doctors to cooperate as "Dr. Right" and "Dr. Left" at the end of that episode, signifying both a reconciliation of their characters and in real life as well.
  
  
• Gary Burghoff played his character's own mother in the fourth-season episode "Mail Call Again".
  
  
• Klinger's attempt to be thrown out of the army by wearing women's clothing was inspired by the comedian Lenny Bruce, who similarly attempted to win his way home from active service by dressing up as a WAVE (female officer).
  
  
• Loudon Wainwright III appeared in three episodes in the third season (1974-75), playing the character "Captain Calvin Spaulding". The name is taken from "Captain Jeffery T. Spaulding", a character played by Groucho Marx in Animal Crackers (1930).
  
  
• Colonel Potter fought in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. His World War I (when he served in the Cavalry) story changes though. He said at first that he was fifteen when he enlisted, lying about his age to join. Later, he says that he was married, his mother-in-law moved in with them, and the war started the next day.
  
  
• The game Trivial Pursuit claims Hawkeye only ever saluted once during the entire run of the series. This is false. He saluted Radar twice-once when awarding him a purple heart and once when he went home. He saluted Frank without thinking about it early in the series. Hawkeye and BJ saluted Colonel Potter in the series finale. Hawkeye along with Trapper also salute Nurse Cutler in 'Requiem for a Lightweight' when she loses her towel after she bumps into them while running from the shower. Also, in the season 4 opener 'Welcome to Korea', when picking B.J. Hunnicutt up From Kimpo Airport, Radar is temporarily promoted to 'Corporal-Captain' to gain access to the Officers Club, Hawkeye salutes Radar right before they enter.
  
  
• Frank's wife's name was Louise - as was Trapper John's. Frank had three daughters (names not given); Trapper John had two (Cathy and Becky).
  
  
• There was one nude scene throughout the entire series. It occurred during the episode titled "The Sniper". When Radar was running outside wearing only a towel and the sniper is firing at him, he runs back into the showers, for some reason he takes off his towel *before* he closes the door to the showers. Rear nudity is briefly shown from a distance.
  
  
• Max Klinger frequently refers to a baseball team named the Toledo Mud Hens. This team exists in reality. Founded in 1896, it is the AAA minor league affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, and is part of the West Division of the International Baseball League.
  
  
• First American network series to use the phrase "son-of-a-bitch".
  
  
• Michael Mann once took a minor role in the series as a wounded soldier.
  
  
• Hawkeye's father's name was Daniel. Dr. Daniel Pierce was an M.D. who still practiced in Crabapple Cove, Maine, where Hawkeye grew up. (In one of the "Dear Dad" episodes early in the series, however, Hawkeye mentions his father living in Vermont.)
  
  
• Hawkeye occasionally mentions a sister (even sporting an oversized sweater she'd knitted him) during the first few seasons, and asks his father in a letter to "kiss Mom and Sis" for him. However, Hawkeye later related that he'd been an only child, that his mother died when he was a boy, and that his father had never remarried.
  
  
• The ubiquitous helicopters were military versions of the Bell 47. In the real Korean War, the H-13s evacuated 80% of American casualties. (Roads in Korea were primitive, and often treacherous, so helicopters were favored over ambulances.)
  
  
• Major Winchester was stationed in Tokyo before he was transferred to the 4077. His commanding officer, Col. Baldwin, sent him for a 48-hour stay (annoyed because he owed Winchester $617.11 for losses in cribbage), but Potter asked for Winchester to be permanently reassigned. When Baldwin visited the 4077th later, Winchester let Baldwin win his money back, hoping to go back with him to Tokyo.
  
  
• When Larry Linville announced that he was leaving at the end of the fifth season, the storyline of Margaret's impending marriage to Lt. Colonel Donald Penobscot was used as a way to write Burns out of the show.
  
  
• Much like their onscreen counterparts, the cast bonded and became a "family" on the set, in response to the relative remoteness of the Fox Ranch and the cold weather when filming began.
  
  
• Klinger married his first wife, his childhood sweetheart Laverne Esposito, while he was serving in Korea. The ceremony was performed over the short wave radio and officiated by Father Mulcahy, who also performed Klinger's marriage ceremony to his Korean war bride Soon Lee.
  
  
• As the series went on, the producers began interviewing actual M*A*S*H veterans for their stories and impressions; many of their recollections went into storylines. The gradual thinning of fresh ideas prompted work on the series conclusion.
  
  
• Klinger was only going to appear in one episode. However, he proved so popular that he became a regular.
  
  
• Larry Hama, the writer of most of the GI Joe comic books, appeared in one episode as a North Korean jeep driver.
  
  
• Frank Burns had three middle names during his time on the show: W., Marion and D.
  
  
• While Major Burns almost never drank, the camp's Officer's Club (later opened to enlisted personnel) was built at his request, after the surgeons saved Gen. Mitchell's son.
  
  
• John Fujioka, who played the uncredited role of a Japanese Golf Pro in the movie, appeared three times in the series. The first time was in "Dear Ma" (12-23-1975) as Colonel Kim, the second time was in "The Tooth Shall Set You Free (02-08-1982) as Duc Phon Jong and the last time he played a peasant in "Picture This" (04-05-1982).
  
  
• Frank Burns' nickname "Ferret Face" came from his brother; he mentioned it to Hawkeye and Trapper John once, during a rare drinking binge, and they never forgot it. (Even BJ's first words to Burns when they met were "What say, Ferret Face?")
  
  
• Both Major Margaret Houlihan and Cpl. Max Klinger were married in the same wedding dress (Margaret in person, Klinger over the phone) and divorced during their service at the 4077th.
  
  
• Charles carried a photograph of himself having lunch with movie star Audrey Hepburn, whom he met through a family associate. Though thoroughly charmed by Hepburn, Charles had still never seen any of her movies.
  
  
• One of Col. Potter's guilty pleasures was watching Doris Day perform, onstage or onscreen. He'd seen all her movies, but never took his wife Mildred to one.
  
  
• The 4077th actually consisted of two separate sets. An outdoor set, located in the mountains near Malibu, California, was used for all exterior and tent scenes for the first few seasons. The indoor set, located on a sound stage at Fox studios, was used for the indoor scenes for the run of the series. Later, after the indoor set was renovated to permit many of the "outdoor" scenes to be filmed there, both sets were used for exterior shooting as script requirements dictated (for example, night scenes were far easier to film on the sound stage, but scenes at the chopper pad required using the ranch).
  
  
• Hawkeye hated guns, and never carried a sidearm when he was Officer of the Day, despite Army regulations. Col. Potter insisted Hawkeye carry (then later fire) a pistol when they visited an aid station. Hawkeye reluctantly complied, shouting warnings and firing into the air.
  
  
• On "Sesame Street" (1969), Big Bird's teddy bear is named Radar. This is in homage to Radar O'Reilly's teddy bear.
  
  
• The series finale is the highest rated American show of all time, with a 60.2% ratings and 106 million viewers.
  
  
• Throughout the series, Klinger frequently introduces himself by his full name, Maxwell Q. Klinger, but never says what the Q stands for.
  
  
• BJ's real name is never given. In one episode, Hawkeye goes to extreme lengths to learn what "BJ" stands for, but all official paperwork concerning his friend claims that BJ really is his first name. Toward the end of the episode, BJ explains that his parents' names are Bea and Jay, and claims that this is the reason for his odd name, but whether this is actually true is never made clear.
  
  
• The show was created after an attempt to film the original book's sequel "M*A*S*H Goes To Maine" failed.
  
  
• Alan Alda was the only actor to appear on every single episode. Loretta Swit was contracted to the show for all 11 seasons but did not appear in the episode "Hawkeye".
  
  
• Many young actors appeared as guest stars before becoming household names, including John Ritter, Patrick Swayze, and Laurence Fishburne. Ron Howard appeared (while still known as "Ronny" Howard) between "The Andy Griffith Show" (1960) and "Happy Days" (1974). Other guest stars included Joe Pantoliano (later of The Matrix (1999) and "The Sopranos" (1999), George Wendt (Norm from "Cheers" (1982)), comedian Andrew Dice Clay (credited as Andrew Clay) and former football players Alex Karras and John Matuszak. Bruno Kirby and Teri Garr also made appearances.
  
  
• In his blog, "M*A*S*H" (1972) writer Ken Levine revealed that on one occasion when the cast offered too many nit-picky "notes" on a script, he and his writing partner changed the script to a "cold show" - one set during the frigid Korean winter. The cast then had to stand around barrel fires in parkas at the Malibu ranch when the temperatures neared 100 degrees F. Levine says, "This happened maybe twice and we never got a ticky tack note again."
  
  
• The cast did not usually wear Army boots on set. They proved to be too noisy for a soundstage, and uncomfortable to wear during filming. The actors were usually shot from the waist up as it was, so boots were only worn when necessary to a scene. Most of the cast actually wore sneakers on set.
  
  
• Stuart Margolin appears as two different characters during the first and second seasons - both of whom try to get fresh with a resisting Major Houlihan. Oliver Clark and Tim O'Connor also played two different characters on the show, and even John Orchard ("Ugly John" from the first season) returned for a guest spot later, in another role.
  
  
• Trapper John McIntyre always wore a yellow robe, Hawkeye wore a red robe, and B.J. wore a blue robe.
  
  
• Klinger often mentions a restaurant in his home town of Toledo Ohio called Tony Packo's. This is a real restaurant on Toledo's north side that is still popular with many who live in Toledo and the surrounding area.
  
  
• Todd Sussman appeared in only one episode ("M*A*S*H: Operation Noselift (#2.18)" (1974)); however, he was the voice of the PA system throughout the series.
  
  
• Hawkeye and Margaret are the only two characters that lasted from the original movie all the way through to the end of the series.
  
  
• Wayne Rogers left the series after the third season after a contract dispute with the network that could not be settled. This explains why he never appears in the fourth season opener.
  
  
• "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" was the finale of the series but was not the last to be made. The previous show "As Time Goes By" was filmed last.
  
  
• Gary Burghoff created his own wardrobe for Radar, emphasizing that his clothes would be a size too big. It was also his idea for Radar to have glasses, feeling that it would accent his ESP whereas his lack of sight would heighten his hearing.
  
  
• When originally developing the character of Max Klinger, it was established that he was more swishy and played up the wardrobe. It was Jamie Farr's idea that the joke would work better if Klinger acted natural as if the dresses were completely normal.
  
  
• Many of Klinger's early dresses were based on Hollywood movie stars like Vivien Leigh, Betty Grable, Mae Whitty, Judy Garland but later more original outfits were used.
  
  
• G.W. Bailey, who played recurring character Sgt. Rizzo, lobbied to join the cast in the ninth season to replace Gary Burghoff but CBS refused. Rizzo continued to appear occasionally until the final episode.
  
  

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