This issue featured three separate articles on the show: "My Favorite Episodes" by Alan Alda, "M*A*S*H Was One of a Kind" by Alistair Cooke, and "The Troops Scatter--But The Memories Linger" by M*A*S*H writer Burt Prelutsky (who dishes a surprising amount of dirt). Click each link to read the entire piece.
I wonder how many variations of the "cast waves goodbye" photo the cast had to sit for during the last year?
Thanks again Russell!
7 comments:
How sad is it that I remember reading this issue. And the thing I remember most vividly is Prelutsky's anecdote about Gary Burghoff -- I mean, every single time since then I've seen the guy on screen, that's literally the first thing I think of. Really! That's how big an impression it made on me.
I'm right there with ya, RAB. I saved this issue myself for years....I think I still have it somewhere. And I have that one line etched in my head, too: "Loved Radar, hated Burghoff." Strong stuff.
When I was visiting friends last summer we went to an Antique Mall and I happend across these two TV Guides. I knew Rob would get a kick out of them. :-)
"Loved Radar, hated Burghoff." is strong stuff alright, and we've all heard it hinted at before. I've also read two pieces on the subject, one by Gelbart(I think it was) and one by Farrell (for sure).
Both say the hated & glad to see him go rumors were blown out of proportion - with Farrell going so far as to say the stories just aren't true. He said there were difficult moments with everyone, but no hate, mean, etc. He also said Burghoff is open about having moments he isn't proud of.
Interesting how the negative from 30 years ago becomes absolute. I've seen more than a few articles about him the past few years where people can't say enough good about him.
The Farrell comments I read, by the way, are from a post he made on an old newsgroup where he addressed Burghoff specifically. There must be an archived link to it somewhere. If I can find it, I'll put up the link.
The funny thing about Prelutsky's Burghoff quote ("I'm getting real sick and tired of dishing it out") is that it sounds for all the world like something Frank Burns might have said.
For the record, I don't want to come off as a Burghoff apologist, because I'm not - far from it. The truth is, back when the show was airing, I was on the side of taking the rumors & unnamed sources as truth.
However, once I started to seriously research it - meaning once I was able to read more than the every-few-years magazine blurb I had to settle for in the 80s - I got a somewhat different picture.
Even Alda called him out as being a nice guy.
While considering the screen name I was going to use to discuss M*A*S*H on this blog, I gave myself a refresher course with every interview I could find. In the end, I decided to go with what his co-stars openly said about him, not rumors.
Seems pretty clear that Gary was tired of playing Radar by the end of his stint. I can't imagine that there was truly deep-seated animosity between any of the principals- seems like it would have been more evident on screen, even in subtle ways.
Seeing this cover brings me back- I kept this issue for years!
Thanks SO MUCH Rob! I knew that Alan Alda had said he thought "In Love and War" should have been 40 minutes long, but I could never remember where I read it. Thanks again!
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