Why Gary Burghoff Departed from MASH
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- Gary Burghoff rose to stardom with his portrayal of Corporal Walter Radar O'Reilly, yet his time on set was not without its challenges. Some of his fellow cast members found him challenging to work with and felt he was not always easy to get along with.
Gary, as Radar, played an absolute genius role. Hard to believe he was a novice. Outstanding performance!!! Thank you for your gift of comedy and love. ❤🎉😊
He played CHARLIE BROWN in the musical YOU'RE A GOOD MAN CHARLIE BROWN.
@@MsBackstager I missed that. Bet he was great.
@@ritapearl-im3wv He kind of looks like Charlie Brown.
@MsBackstager Yes. He does! I once had a meek and mild manager and his name was even Charlie Brown. He was a great manager, too!
Gary was also the only cast member from the MASH movie to join the series. He was the only ‘Radar’ to ever play the part.
And yet in each and every scene they all seemed so comfortable and relaxed and their act was impeccable.
And generally speaking they managed to come up with an immortal show.
Radar was enjoyable to watch.
Similarly to family pics that the majority of people post.😆
That is a testament to their abilities as actors. The producers of M*A*S*H* must have put a lot of thought into their choice of a cast. These were all excellent actors.
Yes that's called acting
@@user-bg4yz1xv7q thank you I thought it was a reality show.
Plus he admitted later that his marriage was falling apart due to the long hours and he talked about a wildfire almost took his house while his wife and daughter were still there. He said between the burn out and separation from his family he was done.
Then why did he immediately start his own TV show?
First, many things go into burnout. If it is environment, move to something else, many nurses and doctor do just that. If it is people failing your expectations, MOVE ON. What I really hated was discovering it was me I hated.
Sadly 😥 personal relationships marriage or your children suffering for many reasons offten comes in between carers. As an adult you have to make a living and you want to give your family and loved ones the best of the best and you want to provide better opportunities to your children but family always should come first 👪 ❤ I sure hope everything turned out well for him,he is truly a talented actor and very funny,glad he go to go fishing later in his retirement 🦦 🐟 🎣 God bless him 💙 🙏 🤲 🕍
@@juliherron8991 you can run but you can't hide. Painful to admit but tear it off and then treat it like a wound - it will heal but it will take time and there will be a lot of effort on your part.
You're probably worth it. If you don't think you are, consider the people you have convinced they are and that's special too.
You know this how? By gossip?
I ran into him in Jacksonville Fl. in the early 80s.He was alone fishing out on a pier.Very nice to me.
Me to, and in saint augustine
Cool
Yeah, yeah.
But did he catch anything??
@@redtobertshateshandles
Lol!!! 😂😅😂
@@Brembelia I just remembered that fishing Colonel from Mash. 😆
He was actually the only one in the cast who was in the original movie
I thought that was true
You took the words right out of my mouth!
I thought William Christopher was in it too?
@@KennethBlum-sl6rx
Rene Auberjonois was Padre in the original movie
Gary made the show , alda was jealous because gary was in he original movie
I bet he was exhausted. The show lasted longer than the Korean War.
11Years
At present, this man lives 9 miles from me... in rural farm community in middle America. Wonderful neighbor!
Ottumwa, Iowa!!!
🤭
@@DebraRN1195 actually in a neighboring state. In the hills and Valles of the ocooch mountains. Possibly a secondary residence.
When next you see him, tell him the bait is 'a wigglin and the fish are hungry!
Somehow, it just makes so much sense that he would choose to spend his remaining time in surroundings like this. Peace and happiness, Gary. Thanks for being a significant part of my developing years good sir.
Years ago, Me and my parents ran into Gary Berghof in Times Square in NYC. He waved hello when we recognized him. He was highly beloved.
Gary was my neighbor and friend while living in Magalia, CA. He is an artist specializing in animals and birds with beautiful detail. He was still acting and working when he moved about 20 years ago.
I grew up in Paradise!
@@queensarah5945
I moved to Butte Valley at Clear Creek Cemetery Rd for 5 years after my children moved out and worked at Our Savior Lutheran Church Day Care for 4.5 years. I moved 1.5 years before Paradise burnt down in 2018
@@marionchase-kleeves8311 woah, lucky you missed the fire!
Love Dolly O's donuts. Oh and nachos at El paradiso.
He left a lasting impression on all of us who watches the series.
Yeah, not so good. Neither did Alan Alda for that matter
Radar was a delight to watch. I felt sad when the character was cut out. Burghoff acted so well that it's surprising that he was a novice. He brought that heart tugging innocence with his teddy bear in the face of the brutality of war and all that is honourable when the others around him weren't above bending the rules however noble the intentions or results.
MASH is my all-time favorite show and watch it every day, especially after Col Potter arrived.
Cool.
Potter was the man in mash.
Me too!!
Henry was the best
Henry was a huge loss and Potter didn’t even come close.
He was the only cast member of the movie that reprises his role on the TV show!
He was also a Drummer and wanted to go on tour with his band. I saw him playing his drums in his band at a restaurant and bar in the Oxnard Marina.
Very cool. Did you speak with Gary?
He's also a fishing tackle/lure inventor/patent holder and his son is a well-known professional bass fisherman. He's been involved in a lot of things.
@@randilevson9547 no, just watched
He was also in a band in the late 60s with a teenaged Lynda Carter
I actually remember seeing him in one MASH episode playing the drums, and he rocked it. I only remember the scene... But not the story behind that episode. Anyone?
Always my favorite. God bless you corporal Radar O'REILLY
Radar was an iconic character
I loved Mash 4077
I've known for years the actors had issues, but allow me to say this.
Thank you, for the many laughs you gave us , I will tell you.
Good bye made me cry, and damn it, I don't get sentimental, you all worked so hard, Allen Alda did such a fine job of making it emotional, well it hit me hard.
Aww im sorry man. It was television at its finest wasn't it? I was a kid when it was on and accidentally recorded part of a show. I didn't really know how to use the recorder well, and of course we didn't have a way to tape the show, but I listened to that little recording over and over. Then I tried to see the show whenever I could. Childhood wasn't thst easy for me. The show taught me good things and I didnt want it to end. God bless you.
You cried? Seriously?
One major advantage that we had watching MASH in the UK was there was no laugh-track. The BBC decided we didn't need it. When I later saw an episode while in the USA, the laugh-track killed it for me.
The last track was the stupidest invention created. I am born and raised in the US and the fact that they tried to make you laugh even in funny scenes to try and control what you thought was funny was absolutely ridiculous.
@@WyzGyzEntertainment The other advantage we had watching on BBC was no advert breaks. A long while ago, the BBC had a MASH re-run and 'by mistake', used the laugh track. They were inundated with calls of complaint and it was removed.
Laugh track. Dang AutoCorrect, changing things at the very last minute.
Americans hate laugh tracks also.
@@phyllisharrell174 It was interesting that at the start of a Cheers episode, they stated that 'Cheers is filmed in front of a live studio audience', though I'm sure there was a little 'augmentation' at times. I once was in the NY audience for a Dick Cavett show and there were flashing 'Applause' signs over the audience, giving the instructions!
One of the most beloved characters in the history of TV.
Radar was my favorite character on mash.
He was the reason i watched the show so much growing up. His Psychic radar was beyond impressive to me. Being a weird myself growing up, he was someone i looked up to and admired
That was an incredible show. My favorite for years. ❤
I saw G.B. in a play in Honolulu, Hawaii. At one point, he crosses the set to answer a telephone. The sound man was off by a few seconds and the phone rang AFTER Gary had said Hello into the phone. I'm sure it was an error by the sound man, but we audience members, felt blessed with a 'Radar Moment'. ❤️
Burghoff was the only cast member who was in the original movie.
Small addendum - George Wood also carried over. He played Gen. Hammond in both the movie and the first season of Mash, but never was a main character in either the movie or the T.V. Series.
Gary was the heart of the show in my eyes. The glue that always kept it together in the story line and as an actor. Stellar performance! ❤
Whatever their personal views were about the show and or the other actors, they managed to make it work for which I appreciate. For many years.
He was my favorite character in the show! I didn't know he was a novice, he played the character so well it seemed professional! I enjoyed many nights of watching the show and I liked several characters and the story. It's sad he his character left the show, I would have liked to see a different outcome for his character. Thank you for the years of comedic entertainment Gary and I hope life has been good to you.💯😁
Well knowing this makes their acting seem even more impeccable bc I never would've guessed there were problems & tension off camera. Especially with Alan Alda they seemed to work so well together & were at ease with each other. He did an incredible job in the role of Radar, I can't picture anyone else playing the part. He definitely didn't seem the novice
I knew about the friction between Alan Alda and Gary Burghoff on MASH. But I always felt that the two actors had such great chemistry together. I guess that goes to show what great acting skills they both have. Hawkeye seemed to be Radar's mentor, especially with women, and at times they seemed like older and younger brothers. It is too bad that their relationship was a total fabrication.
What a paradox, you're upset a fictional relationship was fictional. 🤯
@@ariadneschild8460 yes I think it's referred to as "empathy", although I may have none.
It's when two human beings can pretend well enough to convince others but not actually get along despite being the only ones in the situation who should be able to re-tell their story for the next generation but can't stand each other.
For what personal/professional reasons?
Take double acts in comedy there have been more than a few that when it came to an end never spoke to each other because it was a job or their personal relationship broke down. Happens in music too.
The worst aspect when it comes to this particular tale is that the actor was so young and inexperienced but was still so very very good.
The whole show is a fabrication and as such all the relationships in the show are a fabrication as in all shows.
You can find Gary’s beautiful bird paintings in art galleries. There were some in Litchfield, CT when I was there last.
I never knew he had a bad left hand until YEARS after the show ended. I watch reruns now & DO notice he’s always hiding his left hand. Love the guy , he was great ❤
It was the BEST writing for tv throughout the 70s. Hard to believe Radar and Hawkeye had a difficult time working together. Their chemistry was top shelf.
I’m just impressed that someone finally spelled O’ Reilly properly ..
It was also getting harder to hide Gary's age, his hairline was receding fast. Interestingly he did reprise the role a couple times, once or twice in the MASH spinoff After MASH, and again in a failed pilot featuring Radar in the late-50s, having given up farm life after his mothers passing and his marriage failing and becoming a St. Louis police officer. The pilot, W*A*L*T*E*R, can be found on RUclips.
This scenario never happened. Look it up. The truth about the real cprl Walter "Radar" O'Riley is chilling. Gary however is a gentleman and caring neighbor.
I knew him for a few years when I managed the movie theatre in Paradise California. He could be nice, but he could also be a huge jerk. He loved when people would talk to him about his animal show, but hated being asked about MASH.
The last time I interacted with him (around 2005), he came in ranting about the R rated movies we were playing. Can't remember the movie or what set him off, but as I recall his rant was about corrupting youth by playing such filth.
One of his kids worked for us for a while and he was a pretty good kid; very different from his dad.
I enjoyed Mash, Gary as Radar played a good part and was a good actor.
He was Genius in that role.
Radar was my favorite character. He was so sweet, and I just loved it when he told them helos were inbound. 😊❤😊
I have always loved the "Radar" character.
Gary was perfect in his role as Radar. I suppose there’ll always be those we’ll have difficulty with. Life!
I saw Mr. Burghoff at the Derby Dinner Playhouse once. It was a touching story and he was great in the role. He spoke with the audience after the performance on stage.
He was my favorite character. He portrayed this loving innocent so well. Very suprised to hear he was labeled difficult.
It's only this clip that labels him difficult. I haven't seen or heard that elsewhere.
Thanks for that
Who? It was Alan Alda that was difficult. And it doesn’t surprise me the least as he seems like a megalomaniacal D bag half the time.
I loved every episode of mash, especially those where Radars skills were showcased. Thank you Gary Burghof
Radar was DEFINITELY one of my favorite characters!!!
One thing not said was Burghoff was the only cast member from the original movie
Been said multiple times already.
Got to talk to him when he was doing a charity in Raleigh, N C
Glad he stayed on as long as he did. Great character!
I love Radar
I was exhausted with Alda the last 5 years.
Agreed. I really enjoyed the Marx Bros vibe he and trapper had early on. But alda decided to be a dramatic actor later on and the show lost the fun
Alan’s character harassed all the attractive women in that show and I’ve been subjected to this. Right after he would do the most horrible thing to some female character, they resurrected his character by making him save a patient. It was a gas lighting experience for me. It was a terrible show.
@@CO2isfake😂 Yes people hated it
@@johngnipper8768yeah, everyone hated it. That’s why it went for top rated for 11 seasons. It wasn’t without its issues and definitely wasn’t for everyone but you can’t deny it was a great show. If you’d read the book that it was originally based on you’d see that it portrayed the characters very well.
@@peternorton5648 I was being sarcastic . The show was and is a classic .
He was in the movie MASH. So Gary was really in the original show!
He’s a great painter, seen him at an art show some 20 years ago in eastern Washington
I think he’s a brilliant actor that definitely helped create that show. Burn out is dangerous & takes years to get right again. Glad he took care of himself 👍👍🇳🇿
I loved that show as a kid. Radar was and still is my favorite character from the show.
I missed him when he left ❤
Wasn't he the only one in the series, who acted in the original movie ?
He was.
My mom and my sister were at the beach one day when they came across a struggling tern that was covered in oil. I was in college and had classes.
They wrapped it in a towel to keep it calm, then called wildlife rescue, who told them to stay put, and that someone was coming to them to pick up the bird.
That someone was Gary Berghoff, who lived nearby.
They said he was very polite and nice, but he was all about the bird and getting it cleaned up, and had evidently been involved with wildlife rescue for some time.
We were already fans, but we all gained a lot more respect for him that day.
Interestingly, I was also working with wildlife as a member of the local Marine Mammal Stranding Network.
Like Berghoff, I was called out whenever there was a marine mammal stranded near where we lived, which at the time was Santa Monica.
Why did you not mention that he was NO newcomer, but was the ONLY member of the TV crew that was in the original movie M*A*S*H, with Donald Sutherland, in 1970.
@jewgirl952
He was a newcomer to TV.
They were all good! Their differences made the show what it was very real and touching as well as humorous.
I delivered flowers to Alan Alda when he lived near Roscomare Road back in 1978.
Instead of a smile, I received a sneer. Alda
had a snooty problem.
He reeked of ego
My daughter saw him at our local library in the nineties, he is also an artist and had an exhibition there. Very nice man, gave her his autograph.
What they don’t mention here that he was an excellent artist talented in it
“Endured” long hours. If we could all be so lucky to get that pay and notoriety.
Exactly. Funny how celebrities ~actors,musicians~are the only ones who ever have to be hospitalized for "exhaustion" Granted, they often work long hours But they're not spending those long hours fighting fires or chopping down trees. The fact is they're the only ones with fulltime PR people, who can come up with. creative synonyms for "addiction" or "overdose."
There are things that go on that we don’t know about, you don’t know what it’s like to be in a particular job or career until you are.
And there are difficulties for everybody, no matter how much notoriety or money you make.
The set for Mash was very spartan. The true army units were replicated. The dressing rooms were cramped and camp like. There were no a/c. The dining area was like a mash mess. The restrooms were not the real plumbing kind. I’d hate it too!
You can still visit what's left of the set. It's a long walk to get to it, but worth it if you are interested. Malibu Creek State Park, I believe it's about five miles round trip. There is an old, rusted out ambulance from the show there and you can see where the whole MASH unit was staged. It is a beautiful walk, except in the dead of summer when it's really hot out there.
A wildfire took out the set one year, that was in the show, it really did happen!
Well, they only did the outside scenes at the outside location, the rest they did in a studio (in fact some outside scenes were in the studio as well)
I have some of his beautiful artwork hes a great artist.
I love the show miss them all times gone by.
Years ago, Gary said in an interview that I heard- he also left the series because he was becoming his character off stage.
The final seasons, dominated by Alda decayed into half hour sermons.
Humor took a back seat if allowed in at all
True. Whenever I see a show w Alda as director I change channels. He was a bore.
Alan Alda is pretty much interchangeable with Rob "Meathead" Reiner
Yes, Alda is tiresome.
@@cmonman3639your lie well. Alda can act Reiner not so much.
@@tmcl1837best actor o. The show. You are just jealous.
He was a fantastic jazz drummer before he was Radar. The We Three was the name of his band. That was really him playing on the episode where they had a talent contest. A beautiful human being. I can see how he would have found it hard to work with Alan Alda. So did B.J. Alda was basically a carbon copy of Groucho Marx. A one trick pony.
He was my favorite character
Who knew back then that Klinger would eventually take over the American armed forces
And the cities.
Except Klinger knew full well that cross dressing was a mental disorder.
And the Universites.
I think Klinger would wonder who let all the nutts outta the nutt hatch’s cuz he was trying to act the way he thought a totally crazy person would act, but Hawkeye would be stoked, the sick prevert
And the government
You missed that he was also in the MASH movie.
You could tell the last season he was in he was becoming bitter , even his character was more bitter. Interesting that they even cut him out of the opening scene when the choppers fly in
He was no newcomer. He stared on Broadway in "You're a Good Man, Charley Brown", as Charley Brown, and stared in the MASH movie. .....He found Jesus.
Doing a TV show is very different from movies. And back in the 70s they recorded more episodes.
My favourite followed by Mary Tyler Moore Show,
The Newhart Show, Barney Miller and Carol Burnett.
Bewitched and mash . Always fun .
Found Jesus?!😂😂😂😂😂
Radar was so precious! We had a pony named after him. He was very precious too, except he was very mischievous. He used to chase one of my daughters with a stick in his mouth, and he would regularly break out of his pen and steal my neighbor’s apples. Once he even walked right into their kitchen and started eating apples straight out of a bowl on the table, lol.
He was from the original Radar. Movie then the series. He was exhausted being Radar
I am sorry to hear about the strain he went through. I loved his character, a somewhat innocent but very smart and above competent officer who pushed himself hard to accomplish order's given and help out where he could, a very down to earth character.
I liked how they replaced characters with thier opposites. Family man BJ for married womanizer Trapper John, competent administrator, career army Potter for Blake, brilliant surgeon, wealthy Winchester for incompetent at everything, Frank Burns.
I loved that too. I liked BJ and Potter best, but to me it was more interesting when the characters were guys who were not incompetent.
It was sad to see him leave the show but family does come first ❤ he was a great actor thanks rador
Narcissist Alan Alda was a problem for everyone
He was my favorite character. During covid they called me radar, because I could always find supplies. 😄
He was wonderful
Radar is still one of the most endearing characters of MASH. Full stop.❤
Being the only original one from the movie, He probably got tired of Alda making the show all about him. Combining trapper, the heart surgeon, and Hawkeye, a surgeon, but the go-to guy with the Nickname into 1 character. So he's the best surgeon, and 1 everybody goes to. More screen time that way. Which kept happening. Hence, Wayne Rodgers (trapper) left the show. Hell, even the ending had to be all about him. He wrecked a good show
As a TV viewer, I , too, got tired of Alda "making the show all about him. ". Actually, I never cottoned to him from the start.
My wife still has Mash reruns on TV every day.
He was also 40 years old playing a 20-21 year old. The whole cast was too old to be playing draftees.
100% I served in 2 wars, everyone looked damn young even the Doctors! On these Hollywood shows everyone is 35-40 or older and it shows!!
WW2. My uncle lied about his age and joined the Army Air Corp. He was a Captain flying bombers over Germany while still a teenager.
@@jgmartin307 Military is a young man's business.
Loved Gary on Mash he was brilliant
His character started out as a sly and devious, and by the end he was written as folksy and naive... too bad, early RADAR was fantastic...
He used to occasionally drink beer in the beginning, not just Nehi.
He will be forever loved and adored as Radar, he was a character that you wanted to hold dear to your heart protect and cherish greatly. One of the best ever characters written of any show and brought to life by Gary 🙏🏼🙌🏽
I'm blk f almost 70 and Radar was my favorite...Today I watch reruns..I like Capt Potter
Colonel Potter...
Doesn't matter what color you are, lots of people of color loved that show . 😊
Hi Mimi! I’m 66 and for some reason, I was never into the show. Maybe I should give it a shot. Never too late, right? 😉
Oh, you're black. Should we give you something???
The arcs where H.Blake, F.Burns & Radar leaving where great and added to the realism of the show.
So you're saying he was amateurish and pussed out at the end?
Technically the show was more realistic with characters coming and going, because no one is actually assigned an ARMY duty station for 11 straight years at the same location.
Not to mention while there is no doubt the Korean War was a bloody and brutal war that caused many casualties to the North and South alike, as well as over 100k casualties that the UN forces were responsible to deal with, let's also be realistic, the Korean War actually only lasted 3 years total, one fourth of what the show lasted.
I think part of his problem was that having been part of the from the movie, he didn’t like the direction they went with it. I loved the series but the movie was just so great that it had to be hard for him.
Lots of people have difficulty working around Alan Alda, something about being conceited, above everyone, self-centered, yet on camera a happy nice guy
Radar was an iconic character.
Mash came on every night before dinner. The theme song, the antics... nostalgia!!!
Gary lived locally when I was young, and he had a local rep for being a bit of a jerk. But who cares? The guy was a curmudgeon with a big ego. Big whoop. It was decades ago.
What we should remember is that MASH was one of the most successful TV shows of all time, and Gary Burghoff was one of the actors who made it happen.
For that he deserves our respect and admiration, as does the whole crew and cast of MASH.
Rewatching the show ,now with a more mature vision, is clear that Alan Alda as the star and producer he wants to keep the limelight for himself. The control of the script is that he can have the best lines in the show. Every season, he was more and more arrogant due to the great success of Mash. No doubt, Alan Alda became a prima dona.
I have all the DVDs and some on Amazon Prime. I've watched it for decades. My opinion hasn't changed. I don't have a problem with Alda; Hawkeye is a complex character. My only issue is it got too dark with Season 10.
He will always be special to thy
I was a kid back then.
Soon I will be 60
Love the bloke who made us laugh 👍🇦🇺🩵
I prefer Sutherland & Gould as Hawkeye & Trapper by a mile. Always found Alda annoying - always laugh when Hawkeye is described as "handsome" on the show; he even managed to make the character's personality unattractive. Always liked GB as Radar, although physically he's not quite as Radar is described in the book... less important than getting the spirit of the guy right (which he did). The book is hella funny - if you haven't read it, I recommend tracking it down. I did wonder why Duke never got carried over into the show too (Tom Skerrit in the movie).
I agree with those commenters stating that Alda/Hawkeye got way worse towards the end... I only stuck with the show to the end because I actually really liked Winchester (& Col Potter).
I grew up on a big lake in ohio and we grew up with a family...we called a guy we grew up with his nickname was radar cos he looked alot like him he's 63 today and we still call him radar...
He should have stayed until the end!
Thanks for not saying anything negative about Gary...:(
Elliott Gould played trapper in the movie.😊
I saw interviews with other cast members. The prevailing mood was “Loved Radar. Hated Burghoff”. He was described as hard to get along with and often held up production for reasons known only to him. He was universally disliked by the other cast members.