Categories: Stories

37 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About ‘M*A*S*H’ Revealed

21. Klinger Got Lucky

Klinger was only supposed to appear once. However, he was so popular with viewers that he soon became a regular character.

QuotesGram.com

22. Erin, Real Life Daughter

Actor Mike Farrell had his character’s daughter’s name changed to Erin as a tribute to his real-life daughter of the same name.

QuotesGram.com

23. Potter’s Real Wife’s Photo

The photo of Potter’s wife Mildred seen on his desk through the series is a picture of Potter actor Harry Morgan’s real wife.

SheBloggedByNight.com

24. The Finale Was Not Final

The legendary final episode was not the last installment to be filmed. The proceeding episode, “As Time Goes By” was actually filmed last.

Mash.Wikia.com

25. Staying Close…Even After the Show Ended

Loretta Swit maintained a close relationship with many of her cast mates after the show ended, especially Harry Morgan (Col. Sherman T. Potter). The two reportedly became neighbors after the series ended until Morgan’s death in 2011. Swit is still close to Alan Alda and his family.

CBS Television

26. The Hat

In the series’ opening credits, Alan Alda wears the style of hat that Donald Sutherland sported in the movie version. The hat never appeared in any other capacity on the show.

Alamy.com

27. Klinger’s Wedding Dress

Klinger’s wedding dress was worn three times: By Klinger when he married Laverne Esposito, by Margret Houlihan, when she married Lt. Col. Donald Penobscott, and by Soon Lee, when she married Klinger.

Wifeo.com

28. A Vote Cast The End

The cast held a vote to decide if the series should end. When a majority voted yes, the show ended. Those who voted to continue starred in the spinoff AfterMASH.

Mash4077tv.com

29. Hawkeye Hated Guns

Hawkeye never carried a gun on the show, and the one time he was forced to use one, he simply fired it into the air.

Pinterest.com

30. Captain Tuttle

In the closing credits of the episode “Tuttle,” Captain Tuttle is credited as having been played by “himself.” This is a nod to the fact that within the episode there is no Captain Tuttle, and the character is just a figment of Hawkeye’s imagination.

Pinterest.com

31. Powerlines

A few exterior shots have visible powerlines in the background. Producers were aware they were there but didn’t have the money to reshoot the scenes.

Pinterest.com

32. Purple Hearts

Several characters in the series received multiple purple hearts. This is an error, as the military only gives purple hearts for a soldier’s first injury in battle. Any subsequent injuries lead to oak leaf clusters.

Mash.Wikia.com

33. The Real Baker

Over the course of the series, there were numerous background nurses portrayed by a variety of actresses. However, each and every one was referred to as Nurse “Baker.”

Mash.Wikia.com

34. Angels On The Battlefield

A 1978 episode featured a group of patients who were named after the 1978 National League Champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

Mash.Wikia.com

35. Korean Actors or Lack Thereof

Since the talent pool of Korean actors in Hollywood was relatively small while the series was in production, producers would often cast performers of other Asian ethnicities in Korean roles.

Diacritics.org

36. The Real Korean

There was one real Korean performer on the series, Soon Tek Oh, who played a variety of roles over the show’s run.

SitcomsOnline.com

37. ‘AfterMASH’

AfterMASH starred Col. Potter, Father Mulcahy, and Klinger working at a Veterans’ Hospital after the war. The spin-off lasted two seasons.

DataBlueDVD.com

Credits: definition.org

Now, let’s check in on the cast and see what they are up to today:

Previous 3 of 3

Show comments
Share
Published by

Recent Posts

‘The Little Rascals’: How ‘Our Gang’ Came to Be and Why Those Kids Should Never Be Forgotten

When it comes to The Little Rascals, Leonard Maltin — along with Richard W. Bann —…

4 years ago

Harrison Ford Officially Leading Fifth ‘Indiana Jones’ Film

Disney announced a fifth Indiana Jones movie due out in July 2022. Harrison Ford is…

4 years ago

Classic TV Debut, December 16: ‘One Day at a Time,’ from ‘All in the Family Creator’ Norman Lear

By the time the original One Day at a Time premiered on December 16, 1975,…

4 years ago

Classic TV Debut, December 16: Jack Webb’s ‘Dragnet,’ One of the First Police Procedurals

If you were try and figure out what the first TV ancestor of Law &…

4 years ago

How The ‘Rat Pack’ Was Destroyed By The Kennedys

Richard A. Lertzman, co-author of the new book Deconstructing the Rat Pack delves into the…

4 years ago

‘Little House On The Prairie’: Melissa Sue Anderson Dated This Famous Older Man

Melissa Sue Anderson played Mary Ingalls on the series Little House on the Prairie. The…

4 years ago