Between Fiction and Reality
To increase the credibility of the show and overall performance, M*A*S*H was often based on real events, mostly scenarios that had happened during the Korean War. The actors, too, experienced them vicariously through tales told to them by those who have been on the battlefield themselves: veteran doctors and patients.
To maintain its appeal to a general audience, some of the details relayed by veterans to the writers and actors had to be censored and polished with humor. Actor, Gary Burghoff, who has a deformed hand in real life, had it kept off camera, covered in sets, slipped into his pocket, anything to keep it out of the view of the public.
Inspired By Real People
M*A*S*H was interlarded with characters named after real people, and in a way, all those who were involved in the production were playing when they came to work. This gaming theme was taken quite literally when, in seasons 6 and 7, names of patients were inspired by professional baseball players for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Angels.
It was like having bits and pieces of reality mixed in a whirl of fiction; all in the name of fun. Even actor, Mike Farrell, made a request to name his fictitious daughter after his real-life daughter, Erin. And Radar’s girlfriends were derived from his real-life past relationships.
The Inimitable Alan Alda
Alan Alda’s career would go on to prosper in time, replete with six Emmy Awards, and an astounding 21 nominations. He even clinched a Golden Globe Award. Perhaps none of these would have been possible had he not been given the role in M*A*S*H wherein he appeared in every single episode that ran for 11 seasons—clear proof that he fit the job description perfectly—a mutually beneficial scenario for him and the program.
During the heydays of the show, Alda would travel every weekend from the set in Los Angeles to his family in New Jersey. He would have liked to move his family but wasn’t sure how long the series would last. With the benefit of hindsight, he surely would’ve taken the plunge and made the move!
No! Not Henry Blake!
Drawing its plots and storylines from wars and conflicts, death shouldn’t be a rare occurrence, and should even be expected to some degree. But followers of M*A*S*H felt the blow of Henry Blake’s death as if it was real. That’s when you know a TV series has woven itself deeply into the lives of its general viewers.
Letters of complaint, calls, and general exasperation were expressed through many channels, following the decision of writers to end Blake’s character in the 72nd episode (titled, “Abyssinia, Henry”). It was only supposed to be a bid of farewell with actor McLean Stevenson playing the part, being supposedly discharged, until a twist in the plot shocked the public in the form of a plane crash. It seems they could’ve handled his character leaving on happy terms, but his death they took hard.
Tension On Set
During the early stages of M*A*S*H, everyone was encouraged to have a say on how the series progressed. In a way, they went the direction of many-heads-are-better-than-one. Until, that is, the writers got fed up with all the tedious letters and notes they received from the cast.
The writers thought of ways to get back at the actors. Evidently, there was a growing division among them, and they wrote too many unnecessary details in their scripts. Everyone from both sides was now bent on making each other’s life difficult. This was stopped after one of the actors had to wear heavy parkas in a tropical scene, on a hot summer day in Malibu. McLean Stevenson got tired of the antics and left the show. Thankfully, things started simmering down after that.