Major Winchester confronts bullying - a tribute to David Ogden Stiers
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- Опубликовано: 2 мар 2018
- Nestled within a sillier A-plot of the M*A*S*H episode "Run for the Money" (11x09) was this charming B-plot about Major Winchester, a young soldier who stutters, and Winchester's sister Honoria. I've been surprised over the years that this video never made it to RUclips. David Ogden Stiers passed away earlier today so I suppose the onus was on me to make sure this was available for all to see his greatness.
Развлечения
Charles was probably the kindest, most generous person in the unit- and he hated to have anyone find out.
Because, knowing his company, he would never hear the end of it.
Charles was a character that was the opposite side of the coin of Frank Burns but still able to play as Hawkeye's foil. Humble but not meek.
@grimmsterification Frank Burns types exists today.
One even managed to land his fat, orange arse in the WH...
Nah second potter first then klinger third
(Edit spelling error)
“For it to be a true act of charity, it must be done in secret.” And Winchester embodies that. Every kind and generous thing he ever did had no witnesses, save the audience and the occasional eavesdropper. He wore his arrogance and ego as a suit of armor, but never let it destroy the part of him that was kind and compassionate.
I love that Charles didnt try to "fix" the soldier's speech difficulty, but affirmed his worth and intellect.
When I was a kid growing up in the Arizona 70s, I saw this episode. I stuttered as a child and still do occasionally to this day. To say that this episode was life-changing is an understatement. Seeing myself represented on 📺 on MASH, no less was huge. Even at the age of 9 or 10 I understood Charles to be an intelligent & learned man. To see & hear the kindness he shared with that man still touches me. RIP Mr. Stiers 🖖🏾
Thank you for your comment. I love that a TV show that was a comedy was able to make such a change in someone's life. Also, I'm an Arizonan, too.
FYI, if you saw this episode when it originally aired, then you saw it in December of 1982.
@@TonyM132 How dare he not have a chronological knowledge of MASH, and know off hand when this episode aired over 41 years ago.
@@TonyM132 i however DO remember December of 1982…. I was in 1st grade and i thought it was funny because there was a kid in my class that stuttered….and my father marched me out of the living room and scolded me until I cried….It would be at least six years later that i finally saw the end of that episode and i fully understood both the major’s and my father’s anger
@@MrSheckstr Your father is/was a fine man. Our fathers are at their best when they keep us, their sons, firmly in check when we are children so that we would not be monsters as adults.
I remember watching this as a kid. Even as a kid, I started tearing up. I hated Charles. Once I saw this episode, I learned how you have people who never really show you who they are. However, they do profound things and NEVER want anyone to know.
Major WInchester kept his family life private; it was how he, as a "Boston Brahimin", was raised.
Charles’s character evolution through the series is my favorite.
I always loved this episode..because like charles..i hate bullies n asswipes but secretly care for people
The one that got me hooked as a fan was where he introduced the soldier/concert pianist with the damaged hand to the one hand piano concerto. After that, I even liked him when he was being an insufferable snob.
Anyone can be good when eyes are on them. But only the truly good at heart are still good when nobody's looking.
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." Malcolm Forbes
Amen.
Thank you sir. That is probably THE most beautifully TRUE statements I've ever heard in life. It's despicably disgusting how opposite that is in society...smh.
Even J.K. Rowling said something similar in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." The kids are debating the merits of a particular wizard and Harry's godfather Sirius tells them that Hermione (who is critical of the wizard) is right about him. Sirius says: Never look at how someone treats their equals. Look at how they treat their inferiors. That will tell you the story. That line has always stuck with me.
“Itʹs always worthwhile to make others aware of their worth.” also said by Malcolm Forbes
The measure of a man is what he does with power.-Plato
"Why are you doing this for me?"
Because his sister stutters.... Man, if that ain't tear jerker, I don't know what one is.
Yes indeed, a beautiful scene!
Sherman Potter's toast to his fallen comrades from WWI was it for me.
Was the voice on the tape Shelly Long??
@@lohphat - It's funny, that one came to mind very recently. Everybody was worried about the Colonel. He calls them into his hut and asks if any of them know was a tontine was. Naturally, it was Charles who piped up and said it was a kind of pledge. "Give that man a cheroot," says Potter. The last member of his troop had passed, and the brandy had devolved to him to share. "As I recall, it was mighty smooth then," he says, and Charles says, "then it should be magnificent now." Very moving scene with the toasts.
I'm not crying - you're crying. Okay, I'm crying too.
This one hit me in the feels.
Winchester might have acted snobby. But underneath it all he was a kind and charitable man, who didn’t defend people for mere status. But because he knew it was the right thing to do. A truly honourable man who showed his great character in private.
he was an incredible upgrade to the show over Burns, i wish they'd got rid of him sooner so we could've had more Charles earlier. Burns was just goofy and stupid, almost a Looney Tunes villain, Charles still had an antagonistic side to him at times but he was just a genuinely far better person than Burns
This episode humanized Major Winchester for me. I saw him differently after this episode
@@vegvisir9276Also a MUCH better surgeon.
Yep, the script writers could make anyone into anything, and they did a great job of it all through M.A.S.H. But none of the actors themselves were anything like the characters they played...something most viewers seem to ignore, or perhaps never realized.
No one is better at playing the snob than someone with a heart of purest gold.
I love this episode, my father had a stutter due to the fact his stepfather would beat the crap out of him. A Janitor told him to sing his words. He ended up as a boy Soprano which turned into the most beautiful tenor voice ever
i knew a guy like that except the injuries ended up causing epileptic fits. he was a nice guy.
Singing is a pretty common treatment for stuttering. "Scatman John" was told to sing to reduce his stuttering and ended up with a hit song about overcoming adversity.
ruclips.net/video/Hy8kmNEo1i8/видео.html
Kid I went to high school with had tourette's syndrome, they taught him to be an opera singer and he's still doing it.
God bless that janitor.
I always keep this bit of advice in my backpocket just in case. Hope some day I'll be able to help someone out with it.
This is why Winchester was such a great character, and why David Ogden Stiers was so great at playing him. For all his snobbishness and over-inflated ego, deep down he was a kind caring man with a good heart.
The snobbish over-inflated ego was the front that Winchester used to protect the tender heart that he had within him. It was a shield that he held in front of himself.
And he learned how to be a rather crafty practical joker.
He also was on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Without giving away the plot, it's another good example of his acting skills. Watch it if it's available to you.
@@ufafgd The episode was called "Half a Life" and it is wonderful and emotional. A great performance by Majel Barrett Roddenberry as well
This was often explored in many episodes tho my favorite was the chocolate donation where this got turned sideways when he realized it was worth more to feed the orphans by selling it to raise money. "Children must not have dessert before they had their meal" very powerful id say he's 2nd to Klinger in the most developed character
I had the privilege of being in a High School Drama class taught by David Ogden Stiers in 1975. He was a truly inspired Educator. And one hell of a nice guy!
It's so sad that he's gone. Rest in peace David.
I actually was able to write to him at his private address and he actually wrote me back! The episode where he tries to teach these Chinese musicians how to play Mozart. {I think it was the very last one titled "Good Bye, Fare Well, Amen"} The Chinese Soldiers are being relocated to a POW camp, and as they are leaving in a troop truck, they FINALLY get it and he smiles.
Later in the episode a bunch of wounded come in. Several are dead. What is sad is that the troop transport was hit with a shell and all of the musicians were killed. And what had been Charels' "Respite" from that place became a constant reminder.
I told him as a musician THAT Episode struck me the most! And I felt SO BAD for Charels and Was just so deeply struck at how emotional he made that.
I told him I thought that NO ONE ESLE could have played that character the way he did and loved the growth that Charles made through his time in Korea.
But also the Humanity he brought to the role. He thanked me and said it was the nicest compliment anyone had ever given him and my words really moved him. We wrote back and forth several times before he died. He even sent me an autographed picture of him as Charles. and said "To Joe from Korea. Charels." Then below he signed his name.
I was just stunned and heart broken when he passed and though I sadly never got to meet him I will NEVER EVER FORGET Him!
Rest Well Sweet Sir. You made us all Laugh and Cry and Your profound work here will never be forgotten!
He came to my High School in Vancouver, Washington once and gave a performance but of what I can't recall. I was a bit starstruck and distracted by the fact the man is HUGE. This was 2001.
I just saw him on a Perry Mason TV movie as an Attorney.
I knew him when he was a student at Juilliard. It was "common knowledge" that he was the best actor in the class. And indeed he was a great human.
One of Charles’s best moments putting a sorry excuse of an officer in his place for being abusive to one of his subordinates. Shows that he is not a rigid person like Burns.
Frank burns had a very simple one dimensional personality. Charles Winchester's has more layers then an onion. It is what makes the character so good.
@@paladin50554 which is why I don't understand the fans that preferred burns
One of the finer details of this is that he doesn't do so in front of the officers subordinates. It keeps the officers 'command' intact and also prevents him from feeling he needs to bark back at Burns. Burns treating the bully with more respect than the bully really deserves.
@@dragon22214 Having grown up watching MASH (and honestly not liking it as I got older and began to see how incredibly political it became as it more or less became - as many call it - the Alan Alda show) the episodes in which Frank Burns were a part were more openly comedic. He was one dimensional (as has been said) and was little more, although there were times when he showed a softer side, or when the others rallied around him (such as when Margaret suddenly decided he wasn't worth her time when she got a fiancee and started treating him like dirt). That may be why people liked those episodes more. Charles was easy to dismiss as just being pompous and arrogant especially if you didnt' stick around to see him develop over time.
@@TarossBlackburn Barking back at Winchester would have been a mistake. A Captain (or worse, a 2LT as as this case) doesn't dress down a Major unless its outside of a military scenario, and with Winchester's talents fror speech he probably would have verbally destroyed the man.
The actor who played Private Palmer is Phil Brock. His father was my Speech and Drama teacher in 8th grade at Tomlinson Junior High School in Lawton, Oklahoma. He showed us this episode and other work Phil did. He was a proud papa. He was also a former actor himself, having worked in NYC in radio and on television with Don Ameche. I ended up moving to Marlborough, MA and was taught by Marcia Cross' (Melrose Place, Desperate Housewives) Mother for math. Those two actors, Phil Brock and Marcia Cross, who are children of two of my teachers, from two different parts of the country, ended up doing a movie together called Always Say Goodbye. They say it's a small world, but Jesus, what are the odds?
That is nuts! I love stuff like that. What are the chances?
This, the one-handed pianist, the episode he and Hawkeye talked about their fathers, and the one where he finally reaches his breaking point and destroys one of his records. Man, Winchester was so much more than comic relief. He was a fully developed character and wonderfully portrayed.
You listed the Top 4. Stellar writing matched with peerless performances.
I can still hear Charles. “Pierce I had a father, where you had a dad”
The times that Winchester exposed his humanity his pompous air was released from his ego balloon were as powerful as any characters similar moments. Such a wonderful character.
the Christmas episode as well
I liked the 'second cast' of MASH much more than the first. Potter and Winchester in particular. This series knew how to write real characters and show you all their sides, good and bad. IMO, the best tv series ever made.
Replacing Frank was a gamble, but it paid off. This is the only show I can think of who replaced key cast members yet it never hurt the show.
Quite the opposite, I think. When it stopped trying to be the TV version of the movie and moved on past silliness for creative comedy drama the best moments started happening. This is when the show truly shined.
Frank was good for his time in the show but his character had nowhere else to go. Winchester is so much better as a foil cause he isn't as 2 dimensional.
They traded a stick in the mud for a straight man.
The west wing with Sam seabourne and will bailey
That’s because they both were perfectly cast in their individual roles … each were equally great, and equally unique.
David Ogden Stiers was in real life a cheerful soul and a great person. He is missed.
This episode is one of my top 10 MASH episodes.
Interestingly enough so was Lawrence Linville who played Burns. Cast members described him as an incredibly pleasant, intelligent and thoughtful man who could speak to any topic brilliantly for hours. Linville had almost become an aeronautics engineer before decided to go into acting. A credit to both of these men for playing the "meanies".
@@chrisd530mean? No. Arrogant yes. But he still had a good heart.
This was Charles at his absolute best. Sometimes he could be a pompous arrogant jerk but when it came down to it he could be one hell of a human being
This just aired on MeTV tonight.
And yet it was all nothing but top notch script writing, something pretty much nobody bothers to recognize. It was not the actors' characters in real life, it was them following excellently written scripts....and it is those who wrote the material who should be recognized, not the actors.
Say what you want about Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, The Wire or The Walking Dead.. To me M*A*S*H is still the best show in history.
[Cykoid] Damn right, this show can hit you so hard with beautiful scenes like this one. My favorite episode is the season 9 finale when a dead soldier is brought back to life and winchester spends the majority of the episode having an existential crisis and by the end it's always made me cry a little.
Mash and magnum pi are the best shows ever.
That's a really good one. He even goes AWOL to the front in order to speak with a dying soldier about what he is experiencing if memory serves. The Time Capsule episode, is also very poignant.
[Cykoid] hear!,hear!
Except for the heavy handed Alan Alda episodes, I agree with your sentiment.
There were two MASHs. One with Henry Blake, which was pure slapstick, and one with Sherman Potter, which was gritty, raw and more normal life. The first always made me laugh out loud, the second was more poignant. both were equally well done.
quite true. there was only so much you could do with Major Burns. Winchester had more layers to him, more possibilities to explore.
Kornami Blake was more laid back about how he managed everything. Potter was a military grown person who did everything by the book but he also knew when the bend the rules to do the right thing.
to be fair,. the blake side had some serious ones too
The plots got a lot deeper when Alda started directing more of the episodes. He's a good actor, but he's a great director.
@@jamesw9930 which may have caused the show to be closer to what the author had in mind. The author of the original novel, did not like how the show had more comedy than serious.
No one experienced more personal growth during this series than did Charles.
Margaret came close.
It would have been nice to see the writers let Maj. Frank Burns grow a bit as a character, as they did with Maj. Houlihan. I can't blame actor Larry Linville for wanting to move on, since his character was only allowed to be so "one dimensional".
Brought tears to my eyes when he played the tape from his sister. I expected her to refer on the tape to stuttering problems Charles had as a kid, but this had much greater impact.
The character Major Winchester was so much better for the show than the Frank Burnes character. He was the perfect foil for the characters of Hawkeye and BJ. He gave as good as he got...where Burnes was just a punching bag.
Agreed. Winchester had depth. Burns was just a cartoon.
YES!
AND YES!!!
Note!Charles was only scripted to be more of a match for Hawk!
Charles was more human than Frank. Frank would have done nothing to help the private, Charles took a stand.
As I was a stutterer as a child who had Captain Marvel as his favorite superhero, this was one of my favorite episodes involving Winchester.
Extra: Became an English major at UCLA and got my degree there.
Awesome. :-)
Great going and congrats.
Good.. thanks for sharing 👍
Coincidence or am I missing something about Capt Marvel's history from his early days?
@@rileyk5228 I imagine it's a simple as the character was fairly popular, ergo likely to be read by a wide range of children.
Loved the episode and the ending was perfect. You just knew that Charles stood up to bullies most of his life to protect his sister.
This touches my heart so deeply. My brother loves me like this, and I have a stutter. When Honoria speaks, it all makes sense. I miss my brother. 💜
Hmmm w-w-where is your br-br-brother these d-d-days???
My understanding is that stuttering like the soldier and the sister can be treated. Maybe this treatment was developed more recently than the Korean War.
@@donarthiazi2443 Pray we never meet. You'll go home with a broken nose at the least. You are class A jerk. I hope you find it in yourself to think about your classless attempt at humor and ask for forgiveness.
@@robertewalt7789 Isnt the kings speech about that?
Thats lovely, thank you for sharing
David Ogden Stiers was such a beautiful actor. He is missed.
Amen to that ! A truly gifted actor & wonderful human being ! :-)
David Ogden Stiers best Boston Brahmin accent of anyone in tv or movies ever. Only one I ever heard do it right. That is the Kennedy family accent not the regular people Boston accent which no actor has ever gotten correct.
@@jubalcalif9100 He also voiced Cogsworth in Beauty And The Beast.
@@CrossOfBayonne Thank you very much for the additional information !! :-)
@@CrossOfBayonne he also played the villain in Pocahontas though the Name Escapes Me
His facial expressions at the end as he is listening to the tape is just amazing acting. RIP
Happy Being Miserable don’t sleep on the facial acting he does when the kid tells him he read the classic comic book. Very simply a master class in acting.
What about the look he was giving the captain...
Golden!
His other facial expressions when he was asked to leave him alone, and why he's doing this are good too.
The worst episodes were where they tried to write a "Frank" storyline for Charles... the best episodes were where they let Charles be Charles. Like this one. Charles being himself, was an amazing character who was a better counterpoint to Pierce than anyone else.. as he was also a true ally.
As a person who stutters especially when I get excited I can relate and Winchester sticking up to that bully was priceless.
1:27 When Winchester raised his voice when he said, "Is that clear?", I loved how he shut down Captain Sweeney like that.
Yep
Righteous indignation
Charles knows what goes on!!!
Guarantee Charles wrote him up anyway. He wasn’t going to stand seeing that private be humiliated even after he left the hospital.
@@CairnTerrier69 I would have done it as well.
@@CairnTerrier69 And that report followed him until the day he died. Hopefully, it did him some good, maybe change his perspective.
As pompous as Major Winchester was, he was an honorable and caring man. I absolutely loved him in this episode.
He wore his pomp and arrogance as a suit of armor. For only in anonymity, is charity truly charity. The charitable never seek out recognition, and as much as he could be a bit of an ass, the Major was extremely charitable. He never cared to be recognized or noted for his good heart. The only times people ever noticed, it was kept almost entirely a secret. I think only 3 characters ever really knew, one of them being Klinger.
@@MrJinglejanglejingle "Thanks, Max." "You're welcome, Charles." 😢
@@riversong4997 Perfection.
This was such a great episode. I am impressed with the way they fleshed out Winchester from "Frank Burns, but competent at medicine from Boston high-society" to a more three-dimensional character, especially his "Odd Couple" style friendship with Klinger towards the end of the series.
Poor Larry Linville, typecasted into frank burns....no growth no 3d
@@nl4770 Absolutely. This is why Larry Linville cordially opted out of the show at the end of his contract. He felt all had been done with the character Frank Burns, that viewers were tired of it, and it was time to move on.
Interesting you said "Odd Couple" as Klinger and the Father did a performance of "The Odd Couple" that I got to see.
I was so happy that they didn't bring in another Frank Burns type character.
For everything Frank Burns was not Larry Linville was a giant, read up on him very interesting guy very humble man
Charles was one of the best characters in the entire series, and David Ogden Stiers was superlative in the role.
He was one of the best characters in any comedy, and was so well portrayed.
Here I am, thinking it’s just a gesture of kindness, and then when I hear his sister stutter? I’m just reduced to tears. Moments like this are what makes MASH such a special show. Love to everyone involved ❤️
Not just a special show, but the best re-casting of any show to ever air on television. Col. Blake, Trapper, and especially Frank Burns were all very one-dimensional, and in their place we got Potter, BJ, and Winchester who all added something unique, special, and very Human to the cast.
Its one thing to write Humans with flaws, but its more important to show that even the ones with flaws can still be Human Beings from time to time. And as pompous and arrogant as Winchester was, he was most definitely Human.
Does anyone know who did the voice-over for Honoria ? I’ve always thought it sounded like Shelley Long.
You were not alone.
@@k1productions87 I agree. I much prefer the episodes with Winchester and Potter. The writing was so good. And I think it was obvious that Hawkeye liked Blake and had fun with him but truly respected Potter.
Winchester's stare into the distance also meant he wasn't fully embracing of it, but accepted it as part of the love he had for his sister.
I loved it when Charles let down his guard and became a human. He was such a deep character.
Totally agree.
Only David Ogden Stiers could have made him so.
He was always human. But he new he was in a war and kept an appropriate guard up so that it would not get to him. Hawkeye broke eventually cause he let his heart make to many of his decisions.
@@braddl9442 fair analysis
Yes, and no other actor would have fit the bill.
As a person who stuttered up into my late forties, this episode hit home for me.
I have a friend who began stuttering right after he saw his mother naked the first time.
How did u change it up?
i dont recommend but smoking weed helped me in the 5th grade. that and i trained myself to talk slower@@Bubbles99718
I don't naturally stutter, I can get conversations out well enough. But, when things become serious, emotional, or otherwise heated, to where the pressure to get the proper words out becomes more intense, that is when my brain and my lips become disjointed, and for the life of me I cannot get the words out and they just mumble and stutter in unintelligible gibberish. It is beyond frustrating. I know I'm not an idiot,... but I also know that I damn sure sound like one,... and when it happens, there is nothing I can do about it. Its probably why I routinely have dreams where I'm trying to talk to someone, and my lips just will not move.
I cannot fathom how it feels for someone who has a constant stutter like Private Palmer here, but I can definitely understand how heartbreaking it can potentially be.
Until now, I've always thought of Winchester as a snob. This video has revealed how caring he is
He can be both.
@@sandal_thong8631 It's a shame, in a way, that he's always set as a comparison to Frank Burns. The characters were from two different periods in the show, and had two entirely separate reasons for being there. Winchester wouldn't have been a good fit at ALL during the first seasons when Frank was there, as the show was much more focused on comedy, and less pretentious/serious/trying to be a heavy drama. Likewise, Frank wouldn't have fit in the later seasons when the entire style of the show changed. Frank Burns was never allowed to grow and change - in truth, none of them really did until later, as that wasn't part of the show. They were distinct characters, with distinct reasons for being there.
Charles is a model aristocrat, he does think that he is better than you, but at the same time he considers his station to be a source of both privilege and duty. Yes you are better than most people around you but that means that you must hold yourself to a higher standard since, they are afterall just common people.
The French have a term for that- “ Noblesse oblige”.
What it revealed was how excellent the show's script writers were...and then the actors followed that script and the director's instructions.
Him giving Christmas gifts anonymous was a great episode too
Max overheard, but can keep a secret.
My three favorite Winchester moments were that one, this one, and the one with the concert pianist solder who had lost the use of one hand due to wounding.
Pinkold...also when he was with Hawkeye when he was worried about his dad. Also when he refused to throw Houlihan under the bus and it cost him a comfy transfer. Also the baby girl. And of course... the finally. He was so well written and acted.
It was a family tradition, but done so in secrecy.. loved it when he said,,"thank you max" that is one of my favorite episodes
That was an awesome episode.
When Winchester chewed that Captain out, It was the finest moment of television EVER.
A fine read. Lot like Claire Huxtable.
It was a fine moment, but I still give the edge to him consoling the pianist who lost command of his right hand because of mortar fragments.
there was always far more to major winchester than to any of the othere characters even hawkeye. he had his bad points but as this shows and one of the xmas shows also show there was compasion to his character as well
@@TheWareek I loved the one when Klinger gave him the hat at xmas.
@@k1productions87 Yes, the latter played by James Stephens of The Paper Chase fame.
i know a lot of people were iffy on charles being franks replacement. but my goodness this scene touches me so hard. charles had such a big heart, no matter how he tried to hide it through his work.
I find the older I get, the more I think Charles was the most underrated, underutilized, and unappreciated character on the show.
Winchester saved MASH. Incredible person of integrity.
Winchester comparing his cold relationship with his father to Hawkeye's bond with his dad was great.
"I have a father, you have a dad".
One of the best scenes between them. Charles could be quite humble at times.
@@BarryH1701 his arrogance was just his armor.
@Shadow Warrior "Actually...'Hawkeye'..I've never told you anything before" That line always gets me.
I’m sorry to say but at one time I had a VERY VERY WARM AND LOVING relationship with my Mom until I was thrown out of doctoral school and fell upon hard times professionally and personally. Over time my once warm and loving relationship with my MOM was replaced by a cold and distant relationship with a mother. We were estranged from each other when she died on 25 August 2019. I CAN HONESTLY say that I DO VERY MUCH miss my MOM but NEVER EVER my mother.
I loved how Major Winchester ripped into Captain Sweeney!! Even though Charles was a boorish snob, he still showed compassion for his fellow soldiers whenever it needed to be shown.
Compassion and toughness.
As a person that has stuttered throughout my life, this clip hits home. True in so many ways.
This TV series had so much humanity and teachings while thoroughly entertaining it's viewers. I loved and still love this show!
I met David when I was a teenager. He was as kind in person as he was in the series. One of my favorite characters.
Was this before mash or after it. And if it was after did you talk about Winchester.
You couldn't answer a simple question, genius ?
The character of Winchester was a good example of "noblesse oblige," where someone born into some wealth and privilege, and who is also in possession of high intelligence and acumen, feels a moral obligation to use those gifts to help those less fortunate.
Also, as an aside, I suffered from several speech impediments when I was a kid. I learned to speak better by imitating the accents of the more refined and intelligent characters portrayed on American television. My two main influences were Dr. Frasier Crane as played by Kelsey Grammer and Major Charles Emerson Winchester III as portrayed by David Ogden Stiers. I now have an MBA, a good career, regularly do public speaking and am even involved in amateur theatre.
See? THIS is why the arts MATTER. Much respect, sir ☺
@@abigailbramble6774 An attitude of which Frank Burns was a harbinger. Margaret Houlihan looked to be headed that way too - until she'd had enough of Ferret Face and broke up with him. She rushed into a disastrous marriage, then after her divorce became in many respects something of a female version of Charles, though they never had more than a platonic relationship.
Thomas I alway loved these characters Winchester and Frasier so much great moments
I had a Speech Impediment as a Child, Still do from time to time. I went the Route if Expanding my vocabulary , so if I couldn't get past one word I had others to fall back on.
on more then one Occasion I was called out on this for using words I couldn't Understand, Only to make those who said so Eat there words.
best one was an English teacher who called me out on it in front of the class. I defined the word and asked her if she was obtuse. had to go to the principals office, where I made her apologize to me in front of the Class.
I feel for you sir but at least you didn't grow up in the 70s/80s were ya get beaten for being Different and foreign on a regular basis.
Rule 303: If you have the means, you have the responsiblity.
Charles was an excellent foil for Hawkeye and BJ... but he also had the ability to be incredibly kind when called to be. It made him a very versatile character... and that's down the writing but also to the skills of David Odgen Stiers' acting. He's one of the reasons that, to this day, M*A*S*H is still one of my favorite sitcoms.
This episode, the one where he helps the pianist who loses function of one hand, the Christmas charity, and him helping Pierce when Pierce's father was going through surgery, shows what a kind, generous, and compassion person Winchester was!
I also think that surgery he botched, after writer came to do a story about him saving a soldier showed the kind of person Winchester was!
I only learned yesterday that David Ogden Stiers has passed away a year ago. I'm geniuenly heartbroken. A masterclass performance out of him.
I agree 100 per cent !
Awe man, I didn't know. Always liked him
Major Winchester’s brush with death and his fear therein made for one of the most touching episodes in the series. When he reveals the history of his family and his brother and how the fear of death had followed him since childhood, how it had haunted him beneath his pompous exterior, you catch a glimpse of his soul that really helps open up the fully rounded nature of his character. Charles was absolutely one of my favourite characters.
...to be enveloped in a safe world of love and kindness is intimated by the words "It smells like bread."
Such an incredibly sensitive, brilliantly written & acted scene. Winchester at his best. The ending with his dear sister was awesome.
Major Winchester was probably one of the best. He hated being where he was but he also was very kind and he looked out for people that would be special to me. This kid shared something personal to him. That's why he cared about him. Did not want him to sit and just think that he was less than what he was wanted him to know he was more. I love how the writers wrote that end of the story the way they did and how the actor portrayed it and then applied the connection to him how it was personal to him at the end of the episode made you Winchester was a very complicated character. The actor portrayed him wonderfully when I swapped out Frank's burns character, this was a wonderful choice of a character to replace him with and a wonderful actor to portray major Winchester
To make fun of someone with a stutter is the most cruel thing to ever do. It can potentially destroy someone. 😔
I agree and that's why friends and family need to stand up when abuse happens and to insist that it stop.
I have been dealing with this my whole life. It cuts to the bone.
You can make fun of others for what they can not control when you are perfect. I have a long way to go before I can say I have reached that stage.
Anyone who makes fun of someone who has an impediment or disability is without any sense of honor at all. 😠
And this episode was a perfect example of that. If it wasn’t for Winchester, He was convinced the was an idiot (even though he had an high IQ).
Major Winchester did his best to hide it, but he was a kind, compassionate man. I would have liked him, I think.
He was, I think it's safe to say and taking all factors into account, a man of standards. Certainly not without his own ego and moments of pomposity but held up by actual talent with little patience for fools. I doubt he would ever call moments like this "kindness" nor "compassion" as that would imply condescension to him. But rather...humanity. Civility. A recognition that because one is different it does not make them inferior nor subject of ridicule.
He was, in the end, someone who would probably not be easy to like per say. But he did engender a certain amount of respect from his deeds if not always his words.
Behind Winchesters stuck up, higher than any one else's manorism, he was actually a fine gentleman!
I know a lot of people missed having Frank Burns as the punching bag but I really grew to like Winchester and David Ogden Stiers not only did credit to the character but also gave one of the best performances in Star Trek: TNG in the entire series.
Oh and his bit in Fraiser was amazing too.
@@ambushbob5383the funny thing about the Frasier bit was that its not unlikely that Frasier and Winchester would have run into each other when Frasier was in Boston.
No matter who took over for a departed character,this is one show that never lost it's fizzle.David Ogden Stiers was absolutely BRILLIANT in MASH and was an extremely underrated actor as well.The Christmas episode where Winchester gives the chocolate to the orphanage will leave your eyes full of tears when Klinger brings Charles a plate at the end.The writers were great and the acting was magnificent.
Funny I was thinking about that same episode as well and almost included it in my comment above. MASH is a timeless show that was AMAZING...I used to watch it with my Parents when it was on and to this day will still watch it if I find a marathon of it on TV Land or some other Channel
Indeed that Christmas story is superb and so human!
I always broke a bit when they did the other Christmas episode where Radar manages to get in contact with the Winchesters and they send Charles his old toboggan hat to which Charles turns into the merriest of people from that simple act
@@panzerwolf494 Agree.Yet another classic episode for sure.
@@brianarbenz1329 Still as fresh and human as the day the pilot episode was aired.
When he is listening to that recording from his sister, also reminds me of the final espiode when he sees the dead prisoners whom were more musicians than soldiers, and then smashes the record of the song they were playing earlier.
GREAT episode
I was about to say that same episode. Really powerful but understated acting.
I'm actually pretty sure that was either the final episode or one of the last episodes
@@gracehaven5459 It was in "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen," the finale.
What happened to Winchester and Pierce at the end of the show was heartbreaking. Both characters were dedicated doctor's and decent persons. To see both of them emotionally and mentally broken like that was just sad. No one comes out of war without scars of some type.
Never saw this one coming. An amazing plot twist and even more amazing performance from all of the actors involved.
Two episodes tell volumes of CEW's backstory. When he has to turn down the French aid worker because of her past (his parents would object) and when he tells Hawkeye, "I had a father, you had a Dad."
I love the different emotions Winchester displayed once he started listening to his sister's tape. Smiling for the love of his sister, then bitterness when she starts to stutter, probably thinking of Pvt. Palmer as well, then back to smiling when he starts to hear the rest of Honoria's story. DOS was such a great actor.
This story was very eloquently written. Even thousands of miles away from home,Charles was still tethered to Boston via his sister, Honoria,who he loved dearly.
I have to say this episode made me change my mind about Charles as I thought he was POMPOUS! But he was a very kind person who would help you in your darkest hour!
Wow man. That ending was beautiful. Respect to the writers and the actor..
I had a dear friend in high school, who passed away not long ago. One of the first memories I have of meeting him was his unbelievable stuttering. It was so crushing that he could barely ask a question in class without being mocked by the bullies when traveling in the hall. He more or less worked his way through it, and did some incredible work in voice over recording for inspirational messages. I've always been proud of never ridiculing or belittling him for that difficulty. I've never been able to watch this scene without thinking of Mark and remembering his struggle. May he rest in peace.
When I was in junior high, I was enrolled in a martial arts class to help with stuff. In the process of the first few months, I was ridiculed by a lot of the bigger kids and tried to deal with all the extra baggage I went through in normal school too. There was this guy a few years younger than me who'd been there awhile and he had some balance problems, but we got along fast and he always had my back after I'd stay behind in the locker room after another row of being made fun of. After a period of time, I think there was a group forming that kept an eye out for me and it wasn't as bad. He left the school about a year later and it was 5, 7 years later when another friend told me he passed away.
Not ashamed to admit this scene brings me to tears everytime. So very heartwarming.
Me too.
Me three
I couldn't stop crying at the end. I remember taking g this episode to heart and being so much kinder to kids at school. This show reaches further into my humanity than I thought.
God bless you
Growing up I had a problem stuttering overtime I grew it every time I watch this it brings tears to my eyes because it shows Charles as a human being that there is a heart underneath that Papa's exterior maybe we need more men or more people for that matter like Charles
This is a great moment. My favorite,however, is the scene where he keeps vigil with Pierce for news on his father's surgery and explains life in the Winchester household. The line, "I had a father, you had a dad," makes me appreciate mine even more (if possible) and miss him more. Also, the Christmas chocolate and the tobogan hat scenes.
I thought one of his most touching moments was when he found the Korean musicians he had been conducting had died, in his grief and rage, he smashed his record.
"We could be in the same room and still be a thousand miles apart."
"I had a father, you had a dad"
I heard Hitler respected his father but loved his mother , Hitlers childhood is prolly tremendously important when you consider how he turned out
Also love the scene from the episode when Hawkeye got the letters from the 4th graders at home - he receives the maple leave from home. So touching - and helps us understand him better. And the tremendous sacrifice all soldiers make for their country. Rock on Winchester!
Also the episode with the concert pianist, who lost use of one of his hands.
This, and the Christmas Secret Santa episode where Winchester gave his candy to the local orphanage, are 2 of my fav Charles Emerson Winchester the Third episodes. The finale tops them all. What a great story arc for the character.
"The source of this dinner make remain anonymous" "Thank You Maxwell"
Yes, the Christmas episode was so moving because you get to see a side of Winchester that he kept as a closely guarded secret: true nobility.
@@Gunners_Mate_Guns 💯 Agree. True charity and humility comes from helping out without the need to shout about it.
Man this episode really hits you. Winchester was a fantastic character.
This is why Maj Winchester is my favourite character in the show.
He was a real secret on this show. Underlying his outward image, was a really good person. He added so much to the show. Took it to another level.
I was never a fan of the more dramatic MASH but his character was always a highlight. Intelligence, arrogance combined with empathy and learning wisdom. Great arc.
The first time I saw this episode I started bawling when he played the recording from his sister. I still get misty-eyed, this along with when he gives Father M money for the orphans (because of his hat) are my two favorite moments.
There's another great episode where Hawkeye's father is going in for a major surgery and he stays with him the whole time in the office genuinely concerned friendly and supportive of the situation
@@michaelproulx5795"Where I have a father, you have a dad." So good!
That was a masterful display of how to deliver a rebuke. He kept his voice perfectly level and polite, but he locked eyes the whole time, even when walking away. The Captain dared to try his luck and justify himself, and that earned him a glimpse of Winchester's unmasked fury in the forceful "Is that clear?" then juxtaposed with a perfectly mild "Thank you." The cold delivery with a flicker of wrath left the Captain shaken.
I especially love the loaded, quiet "Thank you" because the understated politeness is still unmistakeably outraged, and it makes for a powerful but unspoken warning. The pin is gently inserted back into the grenade's trigger.
I saw this episode decades ago when I was a kid. Today, it was offered up as a suggested video in my feed, so I clicked on it. I had totally forgotten how it was going to go. The very last sequence as he is listening to the tape, man I just broke down into a sobbing crying mess.
One of Charles' most beautiful, touching moments. Goodnight, Mr. Stiers. Godspeed.
Yeah, good bye, and godspeed, my friend
You can hear the pain in his voice when he gives away his (no doubt precious) copy of Moby Dick. Great actor.
My personal head canon is that his sister gave him that copy of Moby Dick and that was why he felt it proper to give it to the soldier.
This is one of my favorite episodes with Winchester . He always acts so snobbish and superior, but he's really the nicest guy .
Despite all his noble pompousness, Major Charles Emerson Winchester lll (I love saying it out) had a magnanimous heart.
This scene brings forth a tear. M*A*S*H is a timeless show, 1000 years from now it will still be a first rate show.
This has long been one of my favorite MASH episodes. Underneath all that arrogance and pomposity, Charles really had a good heart, unlike Frank, who was just cold and selfish. This one reminds me of the episode where he tried to give hope back to a pianist who lost use of his hand in combat.
Frank Burns is on my top 5 hated characters of all time. I would gladly help him shuffle off his mortal coil for him. I won't watch any MASH episode with him in it. Winchester, while not in my 5 characters, is high on list and I love the flashes of humility and kindness that peak through the cracks
@@Heegaherger There are several episodes where Frank opens up and shows who he really is. I suggest you actually try watching the episodes with him in them, considering that covers a massive chunk of the series.
That speech (I have hands, David.....) brings a tear to me eye.
@@Heegaherger I've never hated Frank. Just rather pitied him.
@@Heegaherger then you're missing Colonel Blake, so jokes on you 😉🤣
I used to have a severe stutter, worked on it quite a bit as a child and it somewhat disappeared. This was one of the first, and only, examples I ever saw about stuttering when I was growing up. Winchester constantly showed himself to be more than just a lame antagonist to the rest of the crew, he showed himself to be a true gentleman. He was kind, compassionate, and caring where and when it mattered. He would do so privately, I believe out of respect for himself and the person he was helping.
I HATED being dragged out of class as a kid to work on my stutter.. it marked me as different, somebody to be mocked or pitied. If I had been taken aside, quietly and discreetly, like this.. I would not have had nearly as many issues with self-confidence.
Winchester unexpectedly ended up becoming my favorite in the end.
Prime example of why this was such an amazing show!
RIP David Allen Ogden Stiers
You where amazing!
I came here looking for this exact scene, in the wake of the sad passing of David Ogden Stiers yesterday - thank you for posting this. An extraordinary talent, playing an extraordinary character, on the best TV show EVER. Even though I've seen this scene dozens of times, I lost it when he started playing the tape from his sister. RIP, Charles.
spideydew20 Charles isn’t gone. Charles will live forever. You cannot break the spirit of a Winchester. ❤️
What?!! He died? Oh NO!......RIP to David Ogden Stiers. Major Winchester was my fav on MASH
Yep. :( He had been battling bladder cancer for a while. Such a sad loss.
Charles was my favorite character and his love of classical music was real as we know from Mr. Stier's life as conductor. The finest and most complex character on the series - and a conservative.
I thought I had watched every MASH programme made but this is the first time (that I can remember) I have seen this scene and it brought a tear to my eye.
And now you tell me he has passed away RIP David Ogden Stiers.
David Ogden Stiers was such a great individual whose talent was limitless. Rest in peace David.
I am so enjoying reliving these episodes of MASH. Honestly, I didn't remember this set of scenes. Watching this today brought tears to my eyes, especially watching Winchester's face as his sister began to speak. From an era when television was worth watching, unlike today.
This video is a great honor to David Ogden Stiers. He was phenomenal portraying Major Winchester's deep down humanity and compassion, and helping this soldier stand up to a bully. May he RIP.
For all of his fatuousness and snobbery Major Winchester showed a solid, noble character that must have been instilled in him...
Amen.
Mark Leff This is ridiculous. A bunch of writers at typewriters came up with scripted lines for him to recite. Great direction was on throughout this bad radical show. Stiers had under 20 percent to do with the success of these scenes which really are dull.
Mark Leff He was only scripted and directed! This left-wing had excellent all the actors were well directed. But'the show had nasty let-wing politics.
Doug Montgomery Snobbery was only scripted. He would only do ad the writers tell him. Case closed!
I was glad that they didn't make him another Frank Burns.
I think they learned you can't keep making a character have negitive development.
@@pianofry1138 Well Frank Burns, did have a legacy and that was the Officers Club.
For a TV series to survive more than a few years, they have to introduce new characters and make some new developments on established characters. M*A*S*H accomplished that, although the preachiness wore thin after a while.
I really appreciated the way they made the new guys (Winchester, Potter and BJ) totally different in character to those who they replaced.
@@pianofry1138 the problem with Frank Burns is they kind of dug themselves into a Hole by making him so irredeemable as a character. He was such a two-dimensional cartoonish Villian and didn't have any complexity. It was honestly kind of a shame cuz the actor that played him was really talented it didn't really show his strengths. They learned their lesson and definitely gave Charles more depth and personality.
One of the characters in Mash with incredible depth, so well played.
It's all about the writing, genius.
Actors aren't just saying lines they think of themselves
Actually, in mash many of the episodes were cast directed, I do believe that this particular episode was directed by David Ogden Stiers. A lot of the deeper episodes in the show that feature a glimpse into a particular character were directed by the actor of the character themselves
I was so proud of Major / Dr . Winchester in this episode .
3:00 This scene really hit home for me personally, this is why I love the writing on M*A*S*H. I stuttered terribly, still do to a lesser extent, and my peers and even some of my teachers thought I was slow through middle school in the early 90's. I was an easy target. It wasn't until high school that they had a speech pathologist on staff help me fine tune my fluency. Now I program video game software and build smart toys for a living. Thank you for posting this.
Bless you, I used to be bullied at school too, it's horrible.
I always found Major Winchester one of the most human characters on the show, yes he was arrogant, but in this show and the xmas episode with the chocolates, he showed that there was a human side to him.
The irony of the camp snob defending the lowly private. It only added to the power of the plot. Never judge a book by its cover. Pun most definitely intended.
Rest In Peace David Ogden Stiers You Are Good Actor
I relate to this. I was a horrible stutterer. My faith in God, mom, my wife and close friends believed in me. It took almost 35 years, but for the most part conquered it.
👍👍👍👍
M*A*S*H had the biggest heart of almost any show ever.
Charles may have been snobbish, but he was really humane when it came to helping someone needing a friend. That's what made him such a great character. 🙂
That literally brought me to tears. I first saw this when I was 22 and I don't recall reacting as emotionally then as I am now but I'm 62 now so sometimes you need some time to grow up. Thank you for posting the video.