MAS*H Full Cast & Crew

Dish's role in the finished film was limited, as a large portion of her role did not make the final cut. However, Ugly John was still a recurring character, and may have been one of the "three other doctors". He began as a significant supporting member of the cast, often engaged in poker games with Hawkeye and Trapper, but by the end of the season, he was rarely seen outside brief O.R. In the film, he is an American (as he can be seen wearing the insignia of a US Army Captain), but his background is not discussed. Captain "Ugly" John Black was portrayed by Carl Gottlieb in the movie, and John Orchard in the TV series.

Margaret is an army brat, born in an Army base hospital in 1920, the daughter of career artillery (or cavalry) officer Alvin "Howitzer Al" Houlihan (played by Andrew Duggan in the TV series). Later in the series, particularly after the departure of Burns, she becomes a more sympathetic character, softening her attitude while still serving as a foil for their antics. Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan appears in the novel, the film (played by Sally Kellerman), and the TV series (Loretta Swit). Burns's departure from the series stemmed from the expiration of Linville's original five-year contract for the series, which he opted not to renew, concluding that there was simply no room for further development in the character. Nothing further is known about the character's fate post-show from the TV series.

Korea. Vietnam. Iraq. It's still funny.

In the first-season episode "Major Fred C. Dobbs", Ginger is working with Frank in the O.R. She is frequently seen fraternizing with Trapper and Spearchucker, even playing a game of "strip dominoes" with the latter in the first-season episode, "Chief Surgeon Who?". Played by Odessa Cleveland on the TV series, Ginger is one of few nurses to have a recurring, speaking role in the series as the same character. John Orchard later returned to the show for the Season 8 episode "Captains Outrageous", this time playing a drunken and corrupt Australian Military Policeman "Sgt. Muldoon". In the episode "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet", Hawkeye says that he shares a tent with three other doctors. The character on the television show was an anesthesiologist from Australia, often depicted wearing an Australian slouch hat.

Other Alan Alda & Bruce Bilson TV shows

In one early episode, Houlihan herself was a hard drinker who drank a quart of brandy a day. She once told Frank that half of her salary went to support her mother; half of that money went towards drying her out, the other half for bail money (her mother was a kleptomaniac). She confesses to Klinger that she envies him for having a hometown – as an army brat she has moved around so much she could never make any friends. She is an experienced surgical nurse, so although she thoroughly disapproves of the surgeons' off-duty tomfoolery, she can set her personal feelings aside to appreciate their skills, such as when she came down with appendicitis and asked that Hawkeye, not Burns, perform the surgery if needed. Early on in the TV series, she is a stern "by-the-book" head nurse but willingly goes against regulations for personal gain. In the film, the nickname originates from a scene in which she has a tryst with Burns.

After the war ends and the 4077th is disestablished, he returned to Boston, where the position of Chief of Thoracic Surgery at a prestigious hospital awaits him.
The actor himself not only served as an extra and the "Dennis Troy" character, but was primarily on-set for the duration of the series as the stand in for McLean Stevenson, Wayne Rogers, then Mike Farrell, as they had similar stature and skin tone.
Its final episode, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", was the most-watched television broadcast in the United States from 1983 to 2010, and it remains both the most-watched finale of any television series and the most-watched episode of a scripted 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 (e.g., night scenes were far easier to film on the sound stage, but scenes at the helicopter pad required using the ranch).

She appeared in 86 episodes of the series, more episodes than some main characters, such as Henry Blake and Trapper John. After season five, doing the series had become a strain on the actor's family life, and he had his contract changed to limit his appearances to 13 episodes per season out of the usual 24. Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) Franklin Delano Marion "Frank" Burns is the executive officer and main antagonist in the film (played by Robert Duvall) and the first five seasons of the television series (Larry Linville).

After completing his medical residency (possibly in Chicago; he has a familiarity with the city that implies extended time spent there, e.g., "Adam's Ribs"); he had a common law marriage with a nurse, Carlye Breslin, but they broke up after a year. Pierce was born and raised in New England, most often mentioning Crabapple Cove, Maine, as a place that his family had a summer home and with a few references (primarily in the early seasons) to Vermont. Linville himself knew this was a career ending role, and that the character of Burns was ridiculous.It did make for... The 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is stuck in the middle of the Korean war.

Lt. Col. Donald Penobscott

In one episode, "Officer of the Day", he appears with another soldier and his last name is said to be Carter or Willis (it is unclear who is being referred to). He is sometimes seen together with Roy, and sometimes he is a jeep driver. He rarely has more than one or two lines, though in the episode "The Red/White Blues", his reaction to a medication is an important plot point and he speaks quite a bit more. Goldman appears off and on throughout the run of the series, usually when a soldier is needed for a random line or reaction.

Series Cast

The character appeared in all but three of the subsequent episodes. When McLean Stevenson decided to leave the show at the end of the third season, his character was scripted to be discharged and sent home as a way to write him out of the series. The character returned to television in 1979 in the medical drama series Trapper John, M.D. Now played by Pernell Roberts, the character is depicted in the then-present day as the middle-aged Chief of Surgery at a San Francisco hospital. In the film, Hawkeye and Trapper are given roughly equal focus, but in the TV series, the character devolved to become more of a sidekick to the character of Hawkeye.

Recurring characters

The actor himself not only served as an extra and the "Roy Goldman" character, but was primarily on-set for the duration of the series as the stand in for Gary Burghoff, as they had similar stature and skin tone. Ho-Jon was portrayed by Kim Atwood in the film, and Patrick Adiarte in the series. Despite Trapper's efforts, however, she becomes romantically linked with Hawkeye in a few episodes.

Her name changed several times before it finally settled on "Nurse Kellye"; for example, she was referred to as "Nurse Able" in her first appearance in "A Full Rich Day". 1st Lt. Kealani "Kellye" (sometimes referred to as Lt. Nakahara or Lt. Yamato) was portrayed by Kellye Nakahara. Duke later comes to appreciate Spearchucker's skill as both a surgeon and a former professional football player. As portrayed by Skerritt in the film, he stands at 6 feet 1 inch (185 cm) and is dark-haired. Captain Augustus Bedford "Duke" Forrest appears in the novel and the film (played by actor Tom Skerritt). She refuses to leave Korea until she finds her family, leading to the irony that although the end of the war means Klinger is free to return to the US, he chooses to stay with her in Korea do shrooms show up on a drug test and aid in her search.

Set and filming

In the novel and film, Hawkeye is married with children, but in the TV series, he is a bachelor and something of a ladies' man (although he fakes being married to Vanessa Pierce Girlfriend in episode 1/23 "Ceasefire".) His mother is deceased and he has a sister (like Vermont, they are mentioned in some early episodes and then never again; although, in season 4, he says he was an only child), and he is close to his father. Alan Alda is the only actor to appear in all 256 episodes of the series.

Finally, in the season seven episode "Peace on Us", Margaret announces she's getting a divorce due to Donald arranging a transfer to San Francisco without telling her. Penobscott is not seen until the season-ending episode "Margaret's Marriage", wherein Donald (played by Carroll) arrives to marry Margaret at the 4077th. Flagg resurfaces a few years after the war, in a Hannibal, Missouri courtroom (as seen in the AfterMASH episode "Trials").

Private Igor Straminsky was generally portrayed by actor Jeff Maxwell, although Peter Riegert played him in two sixth-season episodes. The character is seen and heard only once, in the first-season episode "Tuttle". She also appeared in three other episodes portraying other characters.

A nurse at the 4077th, who at times casually dates both Hawkeye and Trapper. A nurse at the 4077th, and Henry Blake's paramour during much of the first season, and is at his side through much of the pilot. In the same episode, Trapper agrees to participate in a boxing match with a fighter from another outfit in exchange for a promise by Henry Blake that Cutler will be kept at the 4077th. A nurse introduced as a new transfer in the episode "Requiem for a Lightweight". However, she continued to be featured in the opening credit montage sequence (wherein the MASH staff runs toward approaching helicopters) for most of the show's run. After being prominently featured as Hawkeye's love interest in the pilot, she appeared in only one further episode (Episode 1/11) before leaving the show entirely.

For the film, the voice is sometimes listed as that of Marvin Miller and sometimes as that of David Arkin, who played Staff Sergeant Vollmer.
Another time Major Burns manipulates Klinger and Zale into a boxing match, which results in Burns being knocked out by both men.
One of his most cherished possessions is his Good Conduct Medal, an award "only given to enlisted men", Potter explains to Radar while unpacking that he has a "Good Conduct Medal with a clasp." That means he was an enlisted man for at least eight years before he becomes a doctor.
Even Hot Lips, when asked by Frank what she thought of him as a surgeon, replied, "Frank, don't you have enough pain?" The MASH surgeons get a big laugh when they see a film of his wedding – even then Burns could not hold a knife while cutting his wedding cake.
His full name is never given in the original novel or film, but on the TV series it is Walter Eugene O'Reilly, "Walter" being picked by Burghoff himself.

Many of the stories in the early seasons are based on tales told by real MASH surgeons who were interviewed by the production team. "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" broke the record for the highest percentage of homes with television sets to watch a television series. Army in Korea so that military personnel could watch that episode, in spite of 14 hours' time-zone difference with the East Coast of the US. Considerable research was done by the producers, including interviews with actual MASH surgeons and personnel to develop story lines rooted in the war itself. After season five, Linville left to be replaced by David Ogden Stiers as surgeon Major Charles Emerson Winchester III. The writers found creating so many names difficult, and used names from elsewhere; for example, characters on the seventh season were named after the 1978 Los Angeles Dodgers.