by Stephen Schochet
The TV show MASH ran for 11 years taking nearly every
opportunity to bash the US involvement with the Korean War,
which was actually an allegory for Vietnam. Many episodes
showed a moral relativism between the US side and the
communists, the doctors(with the exception of Frank Burns)
made no distinction between the wounded and often talked
about declaring the war a tie so they could go home.
The MASH set sometimes was a tense place to work, especially
in the early years. One episode featured a sniper who was
eventually shot by an army helicopter. Alan Alda objected
to the use of gunfire to settle the issue, some on the
writing staff pointed out that he had recently played an
armed sheriff who had drawn his gun in a TV movie which
angered the star who retreated to his dressing room.
Some who worked on the show speculated that the pro-feminist
Alda had problems reconciling playing the skirt chasing
Hawkeye. Although, he was always professional he stayed
aloof in the early years of the show, going to his dressing
room whenever there was tension on the set.
Part of the job of being the star is setting standards of
behavior for the cast, but Alda just wanted to deliver his
lines, contribute his creative ideas, and fly home to New
Jersey on Friday. One time he was asked to record a video
greeting to Navy stations, he refused claiming it would
encourage the troops to prolong the Vietnam war. Even at
Christmas he remained withdrawn refusing to buy any presents
for the cast and crew, going against traditional television
star rituals.
With Alda being aloof, some of the rest of the cast became
difficult. McLean Stevenson began to demand he only do one
take. Why? Because Sinatra only did one take. He wanted
to sit down in his scenes? Because Sinatra always sat down.
Gary Burghoff, who future co-star Mike Farrell would later
call the greatest actor on the show, drove directors crazy
by causing delays, asking what Radar's motivation was for
every scene. Loretta Swit became
argumentative and difficult. Only Wayne Rogers and Larry
Linville caused no problems. Yet the ratings continued to
rise.
The ultimate irony came from the source material. MASH
continued to blast the army, often making Generals look like
buffoons, and making several communist characters noble.
Alda seemed to lighten up as the show got new cast members
and became even more successful. But one person who found
it difficult to watch was the man who wrote the book from
which both the movie and television show were inspired by,
Dr. Richard Hornberger. He was especially bothered by
Alda's portrayal of Hawkeye, the character he patterned
after himself, because Hornberger was a Conservative, flag
waving, pro-military hawk.
Author/Narrator Stephen Schochet researched Hollywood and
Disney stories and lore for 10 years while giving tours of
Hollywood. He had the unique idea the stories could be told
anywhere and that's what led him to create the critically
acclaimed audiobooks "Fascinating Walt Disney" and "Tales Of
Hollywood". He has entertained thousands of people by giving
radio interviews and has been called "Hollywood's Ultimate
Storyteller!" Realaudio samples can be heard at his website
www.hollywoodstories.com.