His interest in science has led to work as a visiting professor at Stony Brook, where he founded the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science. Director and actor Ron Howard had a notable appearance as a Marine on the show. They remained until the armistice was signed in July of 1953. got his doctorate from Stanford University medical school, becoming a fourth generation doctor in his family. Sara has been writing professionally for 26 years. Although the title had no punctuation onscreen, i.e. When he made his exit, there was nothing the show's creators could do to make him stay. Hunnicutt, a replacement for Wayne Rogers' character "Trapper" John. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. By the end of the third season, Rogers was fed up with the fact that Trapper was being treated as a sidekick instead of an equal. Jamie Farr and Alan Alda, who played Klinger and Hawkeye, respectively, were both military men. This presents a problem for Colonel Blake as he intended to appoint Trapper Chief Surgeon, but Margaret is determined to see Trapper punished. Study now. He was one of only two actors to reprise a role from the movie, MASH (1970), on which this series was based. In the series finale ofM*A*S*H, the staff has to bug out due to an incoming brush fire. M*A*S*H (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. Was Radar O'Reilly in the original MASH movie? Season 4 was pretty similar to the previous two seasons save the fact that BJ and Potter had replaced Trapper and Henry. The entire script was completed in just three days by writer Larry Gelbart. Most of the cast had no idea when Henry Blake was being offed from the show. stands for as a joke, Prior to his joining M*A*S*H, Mike Farrell's then-wife, actress Judy Farrell, appeared on the show in the early seasons playing various nurses. BJ > Trapper Again, Trapper just felt like diet Hawkeye (which is funny because Trapper was the main in the movie). Wayne Rogers, who played Trapper John, was unceremoniously removed from the cast. Fox developed a M*A*S*H video game that was released for the Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit family and the TI-99/4A. Wayne's exit from the show was abrupt and against the wishes of the producers. maintaining that they stood for nothing at all, Hawkeye went to great lengths to get at the truth, sending telegrams to many of B.J. Klinger was only meant to appear in one episode of the show, and the character wasn't even in the book. reluctantly tells Hawkeye that he can no longer thumb his nose at authority, as the act and the citation have turned him into a soldier. was referred to in passing in the TV hospital drama. Rogers co-starred with Robert Bray and Richard Eyer in the western series Stagecoach West on ABC from 1960 to 1961. Rogers began to test the stock and real estate markets during his tenure as a M*A*S*H cast member and became a successful money manager and investor. 's attitude toward the war and the military in general. MASH is probably one of my favorite shows of all time, but it had a reputation for replacing characters. THEN: Standup comedian McLean Stevenson played the commanding officer of the 4077, Henry Blake, for three years before leaving to find starring roles in other shows and movies. In Mail Call, Trapper becomes overwhelmingly homesick. Although the show depicted many truths to the war, it also avoided some that painted the troops in an unpatriotic light. Simply the Worlds Most Interesting Travel Site. McIntyre, Jr., M.D. about Trapper, whom he is replacing, and then about Henry and Frank, the latter of whom Hawkeye reveals to B.J. THEN: Coming in to replace Trapper John as Hawkeyes best friend/partner-in-crime, B.J. In the original novel he, Hawkeye and Duke were all married, while in the film there is no mention of Trapper's marital status, but they all lived a semi-hedonistic lifestyle with their drinking and carousing. The series is correct in having him be a Captain. Judson), whereas he played . To counter his leave, the creators attempted to sue Wayne for breaking his contract, but the actor had a loophole that they weren't aware of: He had never actually signed the contract they'd presented him. Contents 1 "Welcome to Korea" 2 About B.J. She also guest-starred on one episode of the M*A*S*H spin-off series Trapper John, M.D. Mike Farrell Captain B. J. Hunnicutt is played by Mike Farrell in the TV show. Home: Rogers was cast as U.S. Army Lieutenant Richard Henry Pratt in 1965 in Death Valley Days. Wayne Rogers: "Trapper" John McIntyre. After leaving M*A*S*H, Rogers appeared as an FBI agent in the 1975 NBC-TV movie Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan, as Michael Stone in the 1980 miniseries Top of the Hill, and as civil rights attorney Morris Dees in 1996s Ghosts of Mississippi. The latest movie news, trailers, reviews, and more. Trapper John, M.D. He succeeded Elliott Gould, who had played the character in the Robert Altman movie MASH, and was himself succeeded by Pernell Roberts on the M*A*S*H spin-off Trapper John, M.D. The actor who played Lt. He was a regular panel member on the Fox News Channel stock investment television program Cashin' In as a result of having built a career as an investor, investment strategist, adviser, and money manager. Some gossip still made its way around, but there was no way of knowing all of the fun secrets, inside jokes, and hidden details behind favorite TV shows. Then, in the movie The Gig (1985), alongside Cleavon Little, he was a jazz musician-hobbyist whose group has an opportunity to play a Catskills resort and must confront failure. in September 1986. When Mike Farrell's Captain B.J. In fact, the producers gave the TV version of Hawkeye some of the character details of the film version of Trapper (in the MASH film, Trapper John is the 4077th's top chest-cutter and Chief Surgeon; in the TV series, Hawkeye is Chief Surgeon and references are made to him being the camp's top chest-cutter). Crmetteer. was originally intended as a continuation of the departed Trapper John, with many of the latter's habits and mannerisms initially being retained through B.J. Job/Role in Unit: gets into a discussion with Hawkeye about the things they're not going to miss once they head home, but when their discussion comes around to what they will miss- each other, B.J. It starred Alan Alda as Hawkeye Pierce and Wayne Rogers as Trapper John McIntyre. Much of the story line of Trapper John, M.D. He is Hawkeye's partner in chaos initially, but is replaced by Trapper John once he arrives. He's also been on 30 Rock, The West Wing, ER, The Big C and made guest appearances on many other shows. The characters were so beloved that the show inspired two spinoffs, After M*A*S*H, which ran for two seasons and won a Peabody award, and Trapper John MD, which ran for seven and was nominated for three Emmys. Peg later incorporated his dialogue into a home movie of herself and Erin that she sent back to Hawkeye. After college, Rogers served as an officer in the United States Navy, as a navigator on the USS Denebola, and had planned on entering Harvard Law School before he became an actor.[1][2]. He won five Emmy Awards for his work on the show, and he has remained a well-known and successful actor to this day. Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. Sadly, in the nearly four decades since the show went off the air, many of the main cast members have passed away, including William Christopher (Father Mulcahy), Wayne Rogers ("Trapper" John), Larry Linville (Major Frank Burns), Harry Morgan (Colonel Potter) and McLean Stevenson (Lt. I thought you were in the bathroom". Upon hearing the news, Hawkeye learns, an ecstatic Trapper ran through the mess tent naked. Richard Hooker's book MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors is the story of the 8055th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in Korea, and while it's not nonfiction, it is based on the experiences and knowledge of former surgeon in the military Dr. H. Richard Hornberger, who wrote the book with writer W. C. Heinz after serving in the Korean War. They had been separated for almost four years prior to the divorce. But B.J. gets orders to ship out in two days, and, "next thing I know, here I am" (in Korea). He also took insults to his familial loyalty very personally. This was the start of the 4 th season following the departure of Col Henry Blake and Trapper John. is more reasoned and mature. is an excellent doctor, which is noticed even by Frank's replacement, Major Winchester, though he bristles at the fact that B.J. creators argued it was a spinoff of the original 1970 movie. : Eventually, B.J. Rogers never gave an official reason why he walked away from the show, but Farrell has an idea. Wayne Rogers as Trapper on the M*A*S*H TV series. Rank: After an OR session and a brief game of pick-up football during which Hawkeye catches a long pass thrown by Trapper, a delighted Hawkeye finally remembers him from a crazy college football game between Androscoggin and Dartmouth; Androscoggin won 6-0 during a blizzard when Hawkeye intercepted one of Trapper's passes and scored in the last few seconds of the game. Jamie Farr played Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger on M*A*S*H for all eleven seasons, although his character only appeared in a recurring role for the first three seasons before being upped to series regular status for season four. Rogers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005.[6]. Appearances While angry over missing Trapper, Hawkeye met his replacement in the person of Captain B.J. The strain and stress of being apart from his family, plus his alcohol addiction, caused Trapper to suffer a severe case of stomach ulcers which almost got him transferred home (Check-Up), but when he finds out that the Army no longer discharges personnel for ulcers, Trapper is offered a transfer to another hospital for treatment, but decides to stay on at the 4077th. In the CBS television series M*A*S*H (1972-83) Trapper John is with the group as they say goodbye to Henry Blake at the Season 3 finale. He also appeared on The Big Valley in 1968. itself; when Hawkeye rhetorically asks who would name their son "B.J. Which 'M*A*S*H' Cast Members Are Still Alive Today? Once the degree of MD is conferred on a member of the military, they are given the rank of Captain in both the Army and the Air Force. He lives in the San Francisco suburb of Mill Valley, California with his wife Peg and their infant daughter Erin. [1] He graduated from Princeton University in 1954 with a history degree, and was a member of the Princeton Triangle Club and the eating club Tiger Inn. B.J. On April 23, 2012, Rogers signed on as the new spokesman for Senior Home Loans, a direct reverse mortgage lender headquartered on Long Island, New York. It ran from 1979 to 1986, and thus overlapped with M*A*S*H, which ended in 1983, but did not overlap with Trapper's time on M*A*S*H. Pernell Roberts (right) as an older Dr. John McIntyre, with Gregory Harrison (left) as Dr. George "Gonzo" Gates from Trapper John, M.D.. In light of the series' lengthy run, Rogers later admitted he regretted leaving M*A*S*H. Trapper John's final M*A*S*H episode was "Abyssinia, Henry," which also included the final appearance of Col. Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson). Some of the actors who starred in M*A*S*Hhad actual military experience to draw from when it came to their scenes. Captain B. J. Hunnicutt is played by Mike Farrell in the TV show. During its 11-season run, the staff at the 4077th celebrated theholiday four times. And filling the famous classic TV shoes was absolutely "terrifying." When Farrell arrived, the show had already built a strong following. He left the show in 1979, but he returned later that year for a two-part special episode called "Goodbye Radar. In 1968, surgeon H. Richard Hornbergerusing the nom de plume of Richard Hookercollaborated with writer W.C. Heinz to create the book MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors, based on his. Conductor opened the door, the girl looked out and yelled 'Oh, he trapped me! Timothy Brown also appeared both the movie and the TV show, however he played a different character in the movie (Cpl. Unfortunately, the producers ofM*A*S*Hmay not have realized this. Whenever I see a big pair of feet or a cheesy mustache, I'll think of you." Major Charles Emerson Winchester III is a surgeon who was chosen by Colonel Potter to replace the departed Frank Burns as the fourth surgeon at the 4077th MASH unit in Season 6 of the M*A*S*H TV series. Even though the latter half of the third season started to flesh Trapper out a bit, Rogers departed, and his character was written out of the series. The show begins following surgeons "Hawkeye" Pierce and "Trapper" John, played by Alan Alda and Wayne Rogers, respectively. is so pressed for time after hearing the news that he is unable to even to leave a note, echoing Trapper's failure to do so at his own departure. 's are considerably more brilliant- and devious. Charles was played by David Ogden Stiers. You think a lot of people will be tuning in to see the series finale of Supernatural this year, or Law and Order: SVU (whenever that happens)? Born: Eye Color: Most years, it ranked in the top 10 most-watched series. The reason for this was three of his fingers were deformed to a birth defect. Despite a guarantee that his character would have a better development arc in this series, as Trapper would then be the show's main character, he decided to decline the offer. Back when TV shows like M*A*S*H, Cheers, Hill Street Blues, and other beloved hits of the 1970s and '80s first aired, fans didn't have the internet to connect them to the latest news and tidbits about actors, their lives, and behind-the-scenes insider information. Rogers also starred in several other movies. It continues to air in syndication to this day, and so many other modern sitcoms are indebted to M*A*S*H. While many of the cast members have sadly passed away, many are still alive well into their eighties. Captain B. J. Hunnicutt, played by Mike Farrell, is a fictional character in the TV show M*A*S*H, which ran from 1972-1983 on CBS. The episode, Goodbye, Farewell and Amen," was two and a half hours long and viewed by a whopping 77% of the people watching TV that night, or 121.6 million people. Nurse Bayliss was one of the few Black actors to appear as a recurring character on the show, and she was prominently featured in the season two episode "Dear Dad Three" in which she is forced to treat an angry and racist patient. The track was muted for these scenes, and given the serious nature of the show, producers pushed for no laugh track at all. then tells about how he got drafted during residency in Sausalito while his wife Peg was eight months pregnant. He replaced Trapper John, both in his position within the unit and as an ally of Hawkeye Pierce and a foil of Frank Burns, appearing in all but one episode of the rest of the series. That means doctors and nurses at the numerousMobile Army Surgical Hospitals were there for three Christmases. He played a soldier who not only suffered an injury but also had leukemia. When they return to the site, all that remains are the foundations of the wood and metal buildings. Rogers played Trapper John, usually acting opposite of Alan Alda's Hawkeye. TV series According to Radar, after hearing the news, an ecstatic Trapper went streaking through the Mess Tent. Rogers married his second wife, Amy Hirsh, in 1988. Last appeared in: Incorrectly regarded as a goof in the series is him being shown as a Captain. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! 's replacement supposedly arrives in camp, but to everyone's surprise, it is B.J. gets his discharge papers and is overly excited to finally be going home. While discussing Fr. Anyone who loved the show would have thought that it made a poignant moment and would be just as exciting once the time capsule was found, but the person who discovered it wasn't very impressed, according to actor Alan Alda. "John McIntyre! For instance, Hawkeye didn't have one for Crab Apple Cove. Frank's unnatural storyline is because Larry Linville's five-year contract was up. Not really fair to compare the two, since Farrell had many more years to exploer his character than Wayne Rogers. over a contract dispute. All Rights Reserved. In the film he had a very dry and sardonic sense of humor, while in the TV series he was more of a clown. RELATED: M*A*S*H Star David Ogden Stiers Passes Away at 75. B.J. There were plenty of other details that were either omitted, changed or exaggerated as well, including the length of the war. The franchise depicts a group of fictional characters who served at the fictional "4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (M*A*S*H)" during the Korean War, loosely based on the historic 8055th MASH unit. The rank of Major is attained for members of the AMEDD after serving as a Captain for 6 years. The two exchange a long brotherly embrace, and Hawkeye boards a chopper while B.J., now wielding his San Francisco sign from the fingerpost, gets back on his motorcycle, but says one last thing to Hawkeye before he rides off: "I'll see you back in the States. The movie was set during the Korean War and followed irreverent army surgeons "Hawkeye" Pierce and "Trapper" John, played by Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould respectively. Show was on another level when they replaced most of the earlier characters. revolved around the interrelation between Trapper and his younger colleague, Dr. George "Gonzo" Gates (Gregory Harrison), who had served in a MASH unit in Vietnam and exhibited some of the same behaviors Trapper John himself once had. Captains B. J. Hunnicutt and "Trapper" John McIntyre are fictional characters from the television series M*A*S*H. Wayne Rogers, who portrayed "Trapper" in the TV series, was told when he accepted the role that Trapper and Hawkeye would be equally important, almost interchangeable (much like how Hawkeye and Trapper were presented in the MASH film). Though he did show some stubble from time to time, he remained without a full face of hair during his first few seasons. Burghoff is notable for being the only actor from the movie MASH (1970) to reprise his role as a main cast member on the television series. Both Col. Blake and Major Burns were two dimensional characters. Height: Loretta Swit played Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan, the only woman in the main cast of M*A*S*H. Swit guest-starred on several popular TV shows in the early 1970s, including Hawaii Five-O, Gunsmoke, and Mission: Impossible, but it wasn't until she landed the role of Houlihan that she became a household name. is discharged from the army and leaves while Hawkeye is under psychiatric treatment. He published several other novels based on that group. While Hawkeye tends to fly strictly by his gut emotions (often at the expense of his better judgment), B.J. I PROMISE! Richard Hooker's book MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors is the story of the 8055th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in Korea, . On the M*A*S*H 30th Anniversary Reunion Television Special aired by Fox-TV in 2002, Rogers spoke on the differences between the Hawkeye and Trapper characters, saying, "Alan [Alda] and I both used to discuss ways on how to distinguish the differences between the two characters as to where there would be a variance. My character [Trapper John McIntyre] was a little more impulsive [than Hawkeye]." Hunnicutt, a character meant to replace Wayne Rogers' Trapper John. secretly manipulates things to where Charles again gets victimized (again losing his pants) while Hawkeye is vilified by the others and B.J. So I would still go witrh Trapper. is a TV dramatic series that showed the character in a contemporary setting (approximately 25 years after the Korean War ended). Part of the original cast, the amount of signs grew as the show continued. Distractify is a registered trademark. They did all they could do with those characters, even Larry Linville (Major Burns) said that they did everything they could with his character. Almost all versions of the series fit into the genre of black comedy or dramedy; the lead characters were doctors or nurses, and the practice of medicine was at the center of events. Updated March 6, 2020 by Richard Keller:As we near the 50th anniversary of this iconic show, more behind the scenes information comes out. In 1990, Rogers co-starred with Connie Selleca in the CBS made-for-television movie Miracle Landing based on the true story of the 1988 Aloha Airlines Flight 243 crash landing after an explosive cabin depressurization. Although he shared most of Hawkeye's assessment of the Army, the war, and regulation in general, B.J. But he also stands up for others, particularly the enlisted, when they are thrown into indefensible situations. But immediately after Hunnicutt departs, his orders are rescinded, and he only gets as far as Guam before being sent back to the 4077th, by which time Hawkeye has returned. NOW: Christopher passed away from lung cancer in 2016. that followed them. Despite B.J. Morgan, a veteran character actor and former Universal contract player, portrayed Colonel Sherman T. Potter. J. Hunnicutt was a fourth season replacement for Trapper and stayed on with the cast until the very end. Specifically, he did not like how the Trapper John character began and ended the movie with the same role significance as Hawkeye (e.g., Trapper John was brought into the movie because the unit needed a "chest cutter") but . After the first three seasons of the show, it became clear to M*A*S*H producers that the audience favored Hawkeye's storyline, meaning Alan's character was given better development and screen time over Trapper. Despite the fact that this spinoff series was not as popular as the original show, Trapper John, M.D. Gary Burghoff was the first actor cast. THEN: Larry Linville played Hawkeyes primary antagonist, Major Frank Burns, for the first five seasons of M*A*S*H. Feeling he had taken the Burns role as far as it could go, Linville declined a contract renewal. It was then that Alan Alda and the rest of the writers incorporated it into the story. Running from 1972 to 1983, M*A*S*H lasted three times longer than the war itself, and the series finale, the two-and-a-half hour Goodbye, Farewell and Amen, remains the highest-rated episode in American television history with over 120 million viewers tuning in. The Actors from M*A*S*H On How M*A*S*H Changed Our Lives, Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce, Later, at the beginning and the end of Season 5's. The series was canceled after two seasons. CBS refused to give the green light to an episode where soldiers would stand outside in the cold to purposefully become ill enough to be sent home, even though writers stressed that this was a true detail regarding soldiers that should at least be shown to audiences. Once Trapper settles in at camp, he becomes the wild one of the group, drinking, carousing, and playing pranks on the others, especially Margaret. Before Farr acted on M*A*S*H, he actually did serve in Korea with the United States Army, and according to an article Farr wrote for the U.S. responds with, "I'll miss you- a lot. 'Trapper' John! Here are the actors from the series who are still alive today. But while Hawkeye continued womanizing, B.J. (Hunnicutt's orders are rescinded, however, and he gets only as far as Guam before being sent back, by which time Hawkeye has been discharged from the psychiatric clinic.). At least it wasn't destroyed, as many time capsules unfortunately are. Why did Trapper leave M*A*S*H? In 2001, Rogers made Destin, Florida, his home. Pilot; Novels. . Similarly, Radar never put one up for Ottumwa, Iowa. Hunnicutt. is in a helicopter and forced to cut a rope leading down to a wounded soldier he and the pilot were attempting to rescue from an enemy patrol, effectively abandoning him to capture or death. After the production of this episode, both Stevenson and Wayne Rogers, who played the character of Trapper John McIntyre, left the series to pursue other interests. At one point, Trapper was about to adopt a Korean orphan boy (Kim), and was crushed when the boy's actual mother came looking for him. Related: Why Julia-Louis Dreyfus Has Never Seen The First Episode Of Seinfeld. In Oh, How We Danced, Hawkeye and the others tried to ease B.J. B.J. Sadly, in the nearly four decades since the show went off the air, many of the main cast members have passed away, including William Christopher (Father Mulcahy), Wayne Rogers ("Trapper" John), Larry Linville (Major Frank Burns), Harry Morgan (Colonel Potter) and McLean Stevenson (Lt. 6'3" Shortly after B.J. When Mike Farrell's Captain B.J. Many of his earlier appearances on the show were uncredited, but as time went on his role on the show increased. series. (FYI, the Bronze Star is awarded for combat action against the enemy; he would have probably been awarded a US Army Commendation Medal or the US Soldiers Medal). Most recently, he had a recurring role in the Emmy Award-nominated TV series Ray Donovan and a supporting role in the Academy Award-nominated film A Marriage Story. . [4] He appeared regularly as a panel member on the Fox Business Network cable TV stocks investment/stocks news program Cashin' In, hosted since 2013 by Fox News anchor Eric Bolling. tries to reassure him that they will still get to see one another back home, but with each of them living on an opposite coast, Hawkeye doesn't see how and becomes convinced that once they go home they'll never see one another again; B.J., however, refuses to accept that finality. He has served as an executive producer and producer in both television and film, and as a screenwriter, and a director. "Trapper" John Francis Xavier McIntyre is a fictional character in Richard Hooker's M*A*S*H novels, as well as the film and the two TV series (M*A*S*H and Trapper John, M.D.)