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MASH’s cast changed a lot over the years, with only four actors making it from season 1 all the way to the finale. Despite becoming one of the biggest comedies on television, several key actors exited MASH during its run. The most shocking involved the death of McLean Stevenson’s Blake in MASH’s season 3 finale, an episode that also marked the last appearance of Wayne Roger’s Trapper. Given how prominent he was on the series, it will be little surprise to hear that “Hawkeye” Pierce star Alan Alda is the only actor to appear in every episode.
This includes the season 4 outing “Hawkeye” where Alda is the only cast member who appears. While actor exits meant that fan-favorite characters left the show, this was ultimately to MASH’s benefit. New characters entering kept it fresh, with newcomers like B.J. Hunnicutt (who replaced Trapper) becoming popular in their own right. MASH ran for 11 seasons in total so few performers made it from beginning to end – except for a select group.
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MASH Ran For So Long The Showrunners Accidentally Made The Exact Same Episode Twice
MASH ran for many years, to the point when season 7 made an accidental remake of a previous episode that also managed to improve on the original.
Only Alan Alda, Loretta Swit, Jamie Farr and William Christopher Appeared In Every Season Of MASH
MASH’s Korean War lasted 11 years for this quintet
Alongside Alda, Loretta Swit racked up the most appearances on MASH, having only missed 17 episodes out of the 256-episode run. Alongside Swit and Alda, Jamie Farr (Klinger) and William Christoper (Father Mulcahy) are the only other performers to have appeared from season 1 to the 1983 finale. That’s an incredible stretch for any series, and while the show was still a success when it ended, the majority of the cast voted to wrap up MASH before it became stale.
Farr and Christopher were so loyal to the brand that they – alongside co-star Harry Morgan (Potter) – signed on for the ill-fated AfterMASH. This spinoff arrived months after MASH’s finale became the most-watched scripted episode in TV history, and saw Potter, Klinger and Mulcahy working together in a veteran’s hospital. Needless to say, without the rest of the cast, the show didn’t last long. Alda and Swit also declined involvement, having decided the finale “Goodnight, Farewell and Amen” was the perfect way to sign off.
Why Alan Alda And Loretta Swit Are The Only MASH Actors To Appear In The Pilot And Finale
William Christopher came very close to nabbing the same record
Of MASH’s ensemble, only Alda’s Hawkeye and Swit’s Margaret appear in the pilot and finale, where their characters share a famous, extended kiss. While the character of Father Mulcahy appeared in the first episode, he was played by George Morgan instead. Despite having no dialogue, the showrunners decided they needed an actor with a quirkier persona (via MASH4077THTV) for the role, so by Mulcahy’s next appearance, he was played by William Christopher. It’s a shame Christoper wasn’t cast in the pilot too, as he could have had the same boasting rights as Swit and Alda.
Having played Cagney in the original Cagney & Lacey TV pilot, Loretta Swit tried to exit MASH to star in the resulting TV series; CBS refused to let her out of her contract, however.
Jamie Farr’s Klinger is one of MASH’s most popular characters, but he was originally intended as a one-off. In fact, season 1’s “Chief Surgeon Who?” was Klinger’s only appearance in that series, but he proved so popular he became a recurring character from season 2; by season 4, Farr was a regular member of the cast.
Source: MASH4077THTV
M*A*S*H is a drama-comedy series set during the Korean War, centering on the lives of the staff at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital as they navigate the challenges of wartime medical service with humor and resilience.
- Release Date
-
September 17, 1972
- Finale Year
-
November 30, 1982
- Cast
-
Alan Alda
, Loretta Swit
, William Christopher
, Jamie Farr
, Harry Morgan
, Mike Farrell
, Gary Burghoff
, Larry Linville
, David Ogden Stiers
, Wayne Rogers
, McLean Stevenson
, Jeff Maxwell
, Kellye Nakahara
, Odessa Cleveland
, Johnny Haymer
, Patricia Stevens - Seasons
-
11
- Showrunner
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Larry Gelbart
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