Alan Alda spoke about the legacy of his hit show M*A*S*H on its 50th anniversary.
The 86-year-old veteran actor, who played Captain Benjamin “Hawkeye” Pierce on the critically acclaimed wartime black comedy show that premiered on CBS on September 17, 1972, has shared how grateful he is of the show’s success and its enduring power.
Alda shared that when people ask him about M*A*S*H, he feels “gratitude that what we did all those years ago is still on people’s minds” in a new story. interview with People.
Looking back: Alan Alda, 86, reflected on the legacy of his hit show M*A*S*H on its 50th birthday, sharing how grateful he was for the show’s success and for its enduring power; Pictured 2020
M*A*S*H was adapted from the 1970 feature film of the same name and aired 11 seasons on CBS from September 1972 to February 28, 1983.
The series is one of the highest-rated shows in American television history and its final episode was the most-watched television show in American history from 1983 to 2010.
“I’m not sure we ever knew what kind of impact it had,” he said of his fellow cast members, who didn’t know at the time that the show would end up being one of the most popular of all time.
Memories: He shared that when people asked him about M*A*S*H, he felt “gratitude that what we did all those years ago is still in people’s minds” in a new interview with People; (LR) Larry Linville, Loretta Swit, Alda, Mclean Stevenson, Wayne Rogers, William Christopher, Gary Burghoff, Jamie Farr
“It took a while to figure it out, lingering near the bottom of the ratings for the first season,” he revealed, adding, “We got used to coming to work, doing the best shows we could. and not worrying about the numbers. By the time this mainstream audience watched the last episode, we were kind of shocked.
Alda – who revealed in 2018 that he has Parkinson’s disease – shared that playing Hawkeye didn’t come naturally to him at first: “I wasn’t convinced that I could be that guy who drank too much, flirted with women and was sort of a smartass.’
However, on the first day on set, after having a spontaneous impromptu hug with a nurse during a scene, he finally felt he would be able to do the character justice.
Impact: “I’m not sure we ever knew what kind of impact it had,” he said of the cast, who had no idea the show would end up being one of the most popular on all the time
‘When I heard, “Action!” I walked out into the compound and saw a nurse walking towards me. I had never seen her before, but I made the immediate decision that she and Hawkeye had some sort of relationship and gave her a little hug. She played along, we exchanged smiles and walked. I had a little more spring in my step. “Okay,” I thought. “I am him.”‘
Elsewhere in the interview, he recalled the celeb didn’t knock on his door overnight by sharing a funny anecdote after the show’s first episode aired.
“Everyone warned me that after the first episode aired, I should get used to suddenly being famous,” he said, remembering how he stopped at the entrance to the studio where the guard did not recognize him.
Apprehensive: Alda said playing Hawkeye didn’t come naturally to him: ‘I wasn’t convinced I could be that guy who drank too much, flirted with women and was a bit smart’ but that after his successful first day on set he thought ‘Okay, I’m him’; Photographed with Burghoff
Alda shared that the guard didn’t know his name and even accidentally called him “Alan Ogre” — a nickname his co-star Loretta Swit still uses to this day.
He also shared his thoughts on why audiences tuned in so much to the show, saying maybe they understood the fact that the cast’We were aware that real people had experienced events like these and we tried to respect that.
In September Alda teamed up with costar Mike Farrell – who played Captain BJ Hunnicutt – to celebrate the show’s 50th anniversary with a Twitter photo.
Fiftieth anniversary: Alda and Mike Farrell teamed up last month to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the black war comedy which premiered on CBS on September 17, 1972
Fan favorites: Farrell, which aired in November 2019, and Alda, which aired in January 2020, played roommates and surgeons during the Korean War on the CBS series
“Mike Farrell and I today toast the 50th anniversary of the show that changed our lives – and our brilliant friends who made it what it was. MASH has been a great gift to us,” wrote Alda in legend of its some 324,000 subscribers.
Alda and Farrell in the photo beamed as they stood next to each other, holding stemware filled with red wine.
The ensemble cast originally included Alda and the late Wayne Rogers, who died in 2015 aged 82, as surgeons Hawkeye and ‘Trapper’ John McIntyre at the ‘4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital’ in Uijeongbu , South Korea, during the Korean War.
Highly Popular: M*A*S*H aired 11 seasons on CBS from September 1972 to February 28, 1983 and became one of the highest-rated shows in American television history; Alda, Wayne Rogers and Loretta Swit, 84, shown in a 1972 photo
The finale titled “Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen” remains the most-watched finale of a television series and the most-watched episode of a scripted series.
The show was honored in 1975 with a Peabody Award.
In addition to portraying Hawkeye, Alda also played a senator who ran for president of The West Wing and he also hosted Scientific American Frontiers on PBS.
Original Set: The show’s final episode was the most-watched television show in American history from 1983 to 2010; Alda seen with original cast members Larry Linville and Rogers in a 1972 photo