June 29, 2004

I'M NOT SURE WHY, BUT HERE'S SOME M*A*S*H TRIVIA

by Adam Finley

David Ogden Stiers’ initials are DOS, just like the operating system.

I think Wayne Rogers was on this show called House Calls. Hang on let me check… yeah, he was.

Alan Alda took over as both writer and director in later episodes because he felt he had something both poignant and revealing to say about war and human nature in general, and you have to admit, that’s pretty goddamn adorable

During the first season, the opening theme, an instrumental version of the song “Suicide Is Painless,” contained altered lyrics, sung by Waylon Jennings. They were:

There are doctors running all around
Hey look, that one’s wearing a hat
Those helicopters are pretty neat
I wonder how much one of them cost?

CHORUS:

I’m guessing about one hundred thousand dollars
But I’m not entirely certain
There’s probably some way I can find that out

It’s known among fans that Gary “Radar” Burghoff has a deformed left hand that he kept hidden from view during every episode. What isn’t as well known is that three other key cast members had to hide similar deformities:

Mike Farrell: Was completely blind
Loretta Swit: Had twelve arrows sticking out of the back of her head
William Christopher: Was never born

Many of the so-called “Koreans” were actually portrayed by Japanese or Chinese actors. Also, all the white people were played by black people, and Jamie Farr was played by Harry Morgan, who in turn was played by a Mexican actor who was actually Larry Linville, a Moroccan actor played by McLean Stevenson, as portrayed by Alan Alda, who was a three-year-old girl (played by Harry Morgan).

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