171 Fun Facts About MASH TV Show

Which M*A*S*H character appears in all 11 seasons?

Father Mulcahy lasted all 11 seasons, one of only four characters to do so; the show ran more than three times as long as the three-year war it depicts.

Why is the 4077th's company clerk, Corporal O'Reilly, nicknamed Radar?

He hears choppers before anyone else: Radar announces incoming wounded while the sky still sounds empty, and he tends to finish his colonel's sentences before they are spoken.

What was Major Margaret Houlihan's famous nickname in M*A*S*H?

Hot Lips: the nickname stuck after Margaret's tryst with Frank Burns was broadcast over the camp PA in the 1970 film, and the TV series used it from its first season.

Henry Blake left a medical practice in which Illinois city to command the 4077th?

Bloomington, Illinois: the series made Blake a reservist called up from his private practice there, where the 1970 film had him a career Army doctor.

Which actor played Captain 'Trapper' John McIntyre in the first three seasons of M*A*S*H?

Wayne Rogers left after season three, weary of Trapper playing second banana to Hawkeye when the two surgeons had been pitched to him as equals.

What was Corporal Klinger's go-to ploy for getting a Section 8 discharge?

Cross-dressing: the show's developer said Klinger's ploy was inspired by stories of comedian Lenny Bruce trying to get out of military service by dressing as a Navy WAVE.

What is the title of the instrumental theme song used for the M*A*S*H TV series?

'Suicide is Painless' was written for the 1970 film's mock funeral of a camp dentist nicknamed Painless, who has decided to end it all; the TV series kept the tune and dropped the words.

What happens to Henry Blake after he is discharged and leaves the 4077th for home?

His plane is shot down: Blake had taken his leave of the camp when the producers added a final scene in which Radar walks into surgery and reads out that there were no survivors.

From which U.S. state did Captain 'Hawkeye' Pierce hail?

Maine: Hawkeye's father practises medicine in a small coastal Maine town; a few early episodes placed the family in Vermont before the writers settled on Maine.

What did Radar O'Reilly do with his teddy bear when he was finally sent home?

Left it on Hawkeye's bunk as a parting gift, a sign Radar had grown up; in the final regular episode it goes into the unit's time capsule.

Which M*A*S*H cast member directed the M*A*S*H finale and more episodes than any other actor?

Alan Alda directed 32 episodes and had a hand in writing 19, the finale among both, while commuting between the Los Angeles set and his family home in New Jersey.

What was Major Frank Burns' derogatory nickname among the other surgeons?

Ferret Face was first his own brother's name for Frank Burns when they were boys; at the 4077th his tentmates took it up with glee.

Colonel Potter spends his off-duty hours at the 4077th on which hobby, with the staff as his subjects?

Painting: Potter sets up his easel around camp from season four on; for a self-portrait on horseback he makes Klinger sit in the saddle as his body double, planning to add his own face later.

In the M*A*S*H pilot, Hawkeye and Trapper raffle a Tokyo weekend to pay for what?

Their houseboy's tuition: Ho-Jon has won a place at Hawkeye's old college, and the raffle raises $1,800 before the top brass walks in on the party.

Major Frank Burns comes from which Indiana city?

Fort Wayne, Indiana: when Frank finally cracks, the Army does not punish him but promotes him and posts him to a hospital back in his home state, as he gloats down the phone to his old tentmates.

What was the name of B.J. Hunnicutt's wife, often mentioned in his letters home?

Peggy, or Peg, was B.J.'s wife back home in California with baby daughter Erin; in 'Period of Adjustment' B.J. is crushed to learn Erin called visiting Radar 'Daddy'.

Who developed the M*A*S*H television series for CBS?

Larry Gelbart wrote the pilot, earning the 'developed for television by' credit, and fought CBS over the laugh track he never wanted, a fight he mostly lost.

What was the name of Colonel Sherman T. Potter's beloved horse?

Sophie was the mare Colonel Potter rode around camp; the former cavalryman takes one last ride on Sophie in the finale before leaving Korea.

Whom does Henry Blake appoint chief surgeon of the 4077th in season one?

Hawkeye Pierce is named chief surgeon in the season one episode 'Chief Surgeon Who?', Henry Blake choosing him over the higher-ranking Major Frank Burns.

The 1970 film M*A*S*H was based on a 1968 novel by which author?

Richard Hooker was the pen name on the 1968 novel 'MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors', written from its author's own service as a surgeon in Korea.

Who directed the 1970 M*A*S*H film and went on to despise the TV series it inspired?

Robert Altman called the series 'the antithesis of what we were trying to do' on the film's DVD commentary, and claimed not to know or like anyone who worked on it.

Who played Hawkeye Pierce in the 1970 M*A*S*H film?

Donald Sutherland played Hawkeye in the 1970 film; when the story moved to television two years later, only one of the film's actors became a series regular, the one who played Radar.

Which cast member played Radar O'Reilly in both the 1970 M*A*S*H film and the TV series?

Gary Burghoff was the only film actor kept on as a series regular; he left after the seventh season, citing burnout and a wish for more time with his family.

The lyrics to the theme of the 1970 film M*A*S*H came from which unlikely lyricist?

The director's teenage son Michael wrote the words after his father asked for 'the stupidest song ever written'; by the director's own account the song earned the boy over $1 million, against his $70,000 for directing.

Near which city is the fictional 4077th stationed?

Uijeongbu, north of Seoul, is the 4077th's nearest town; the real city claims to be the birthplace of budae-jjigae, 'army base stew', built on the Spam and hot dogs that came off American bases.

The outdoor camp set of M*A*S*H stood on land that became which California state park?

Malibu Creek State Park, opened in 1976, took in the studio ranch where the camp exteriors were shot; the old set site is now a hiking destination, marked by Army vehicles left over from filming.

What do Hawkeye and Trapper make in the Swamp's homemade still?

Gin: the still drips out a rough homemade gin for the surgeons' martinis; it is wrecked more than once over the years, and rebuilt every time.

Who played B.J. Hunnicutt, the surgeon who replaced Trapper John from season four?

Mike Farrell joined as B.J. Hunnicutt in the season four opener 'Welcome to Korea' after Trapper's actor quit abruptly, so Trapper's departure happened off-screen.

Which character replaced Frank Burns in the Swamp after season five of M*A*S*H?

Charles Winchester exists because Frank Burns's actor declined to renew his contract: rather than recast the part, the producers wrote in a new surgeon to share the Swamp.

Which M*A*S*H character took over as company clerk after Radar went home on a hardship discharge?

Klinger got the job from Colonel Potter and, with real responsibility at last, gave up his long campaign for a Section 8 discharge.

Klinger, like the actor who played him, is from which Ohio city?

Toledo: Klinger and the actor who played him are both natives, and the character's raves about the hot dogs at Tony Packo's made the real Toledo restaurant famous.

Radar's favourite drink, in keeping with his farm-boy innocence, was what?

Grape Nehi is Radar's favourite drink; in his last story on the show, bumped from his flight back to camp, he hits it off with a nurse, only to be ordered onto a cargo plane.

Radar O'Reilly's hometown is which Iowa town?

Ottumwa, Iowa: when Radar's Uncle Ed dies there, leaving his mother to run the family farm alone, the Army grants him a hardship discharge and sends him home.

Hawkeye's nickname comes from a character in which novel?

The Last of the Mohicans: it was 'the only book my old man ever read', Hawkeye says, so his father named him after its frontier scout.

B.J. Hunnicutt lived in which California town before he was drafted?

Mill Valley is home to B.J.'s wife and their daughter Erin, born shortly before he shipped out, which is why he aches so badly to get home.

Winchester defends a stuttering soldier because which of his relatives also stutters?

Sister: only at the end of the episode, when Charles plays a taped letter from his sister Honoria, do viewers learn that she stutters too.

Margaret Houlihan's brief marriage was to which lieutenant colonel stationed in Tokyo?

Donald Penobscott married Margaret in the season five finale; the marriage unravelled after he sent her a letter meant for another woman, and she divorced him two seasons later.

Which recurring character was the paranoid, self-important intelligence officer played by Edward Winter?

Colonel Sam Flagg was the recurring intelligence officer whose cover story changed with every visit; in 'Rally Round the Flagg, Boys' he tries to brand Hawkeye a communist.

How did most of the cast learn the ending of M*A*S*H's 'Abyssinia, Henry'?

A script page on set: the producers held back the last page until just before the final scene was filmed, so the cast played the rest of the episode not knowing how it would end.

In the seventh season, writers ran out of names for minor characters and named them after what?

The 1978 LA Dodgers roster gave season seven its Privates Garvey, Cey, Russell and Sutton; by the end of the year the writers were down to the coaches, an announcer and the team's owner.

In the M*A*S*H finale the fighting stops, as it really did, with the signing of what?

An armistice stopped the shooting, though in the finale the wounded keep arriving through the war's last hours; it was only a truce, not a permanent peace treaty.

In the M*A*S*H finale, Winchester teaches a group of Chinese prisoner-musicians which piece of music?

Mozart's Clarinet Quintet: Winchester drills the captured Chinese musicians in it; learning they were killed on the way to a prisoner exchange, he smashes his recording of the piece.

Where is Hawkeye when the M*A*S*H finale opens?

In a psychiatric hospital: the finale opens with Hawkeye committed to an Army mental hospital after a breakdown, his psychiatrist slowly drawing out a memory he has buried.

In the last shot of M*A*S*H, what does Hawkeye see spelled out in rocks from his helicopter?

GOODBYE was B.J.'s parting note: he rode off promising they would meet again back home, having left the word in stones in case they never did.

What does Colonel Potter do with his horse before leaving the 4077th?

Donates her to the orphanage: the old cavalryman takes one last ride on his horse, then leaves her with the local orphans.

Which Emmy did M*A*S*H win only once in 11 seasons?

Outstanding Comedy Series went to M*A*S*H just once, in 1974, its second year; the show was nominated for the prize in every one of its 11 seasons and lost the other ten.

The finale was the most-watched US television broadcast in history from 1983 until what year?

2010: Super Bowl XLIV, on February 7, 2010, was the first US broadcast to draw more total viewers than the 1983 finale, which had held the record for 27 years.

Which studio produced the M*A*S*H television series?

20th Century-Fox Television made the series, which is why it could shoot on the same studio ranch as Fox's 1970 film, with the camp's tents rearranged for television.

What motto is painted on the 4077th's camp sign?

'Best Care Anywhere' is the boast on the 4077th's sign, backed by the 'meatball surgery' that sends most of the unit's wounded home alive.

Who played the sanctimonious surgeon Major Frank Burns?

Larry Linville played Frank Burns for five seasons, then turned down a two-year renewal; rather than recast the part, the producers wrote Burns out and brought in a new character.

Who played head nurse Major Margaret Houlihan in the M*A*S*H TV series?

Loretta Swit played Margaret Houlihan for all 11 seasons, turning a by-the-book foil into a rounded character; in 'The Nurses' Margaret breaks down before her staff over how shut out she feels.

Who played the easygoing commander Henry Blake in the M*A*S*H TV series?

McLean Stevenson left after three seasons for series of his own, all short-lived; his mistake, he later said, was thinking America loved him when it was Henry Blake they loved.

Who played the chaplain, Father Mulcahy, in the M*A*S*H TV series?

William Christopher took over from George Morgan, who played the priest in the pilot and was replaced after that single appearance.

Who played Colonel Sherman T. Potter?

Harry Morgan arrived in season four as a different kind of commander: where Henry Blake was a called-up reservist, Potter was a career soldier, firm but fatherly.

Who played the Boston Brahmin Charles Emerson Winchester III?

David Ogden Stiers shared Winchester's love of classical music: off screen he became a guest conductor of orchestras and helped found a symphony in Newport, Oregon.

Who played Corporal Maxwell Klinger?

Jamie Farr played Klinger from season one to the finale; the dog tags he wore on screen were his own from his real Army service.

Allan Arbus played which recurring Army psychiatrist?

Sidney Freedman was played by a former fashion photographer so convincing that the show's star would sit with him between takes and quiz him about psychiatry.

G. W. Bailey joined M*A*S*H in season eight as which motor-pool sergeant?

Luther Rizzo was written as a New Yorker; when the producers heard G. W. Bailey's Southern accent in his first dailies, they made the motor-pool sergeant a Louisianan instead.

On M*A*S*H, Jeff Maxwell played which much-maligned mess-tent private?

Igor Straminsky only dishes up the food, yet takes the whole camp's anger over it; Peter Riegert stood in for the part in two season six episodes.

Which instrument does Charles Winchester practise, to the camp's annoyance?

French horn: Hawkeye and B.J. refuse to wash until Winchester stops practising, and the stand-off ends when the fed-up camp flattens the horn under a jeep.

Which M*A*S*H executive producer and co-creator left after season five in 1977?

Gene Reynolds, the show's co-creator, stepped down as executive producer in 1977 and went on to co-create Lou Grant, the newspaper drama that won him two more Emmys for best series.

Who took over as M*A*S*H's executive producer from the sixth season, steering its more dramatic later years?

Burt Metcalfe began as the show's associate producer, was the only producer to stay for its whole run, and ended up sharing the writing credit on the finale.

In 'Point of View', the M*A*S*H episode seen through a patient's eyes, why can't he speak?

A throat wound: shrapnel has hit Private Rich in the neck, yet the silent patient is the one who lets Hawkeye know why Colonel Potter is in such a foul temper.

In which M*A*S*H episode do the exhausted staff grab naps in turns during a marathon OR session?

Dreams (1980) follows each sleeper into a dream that starts pleasantly and turns into a nightmare the war has invaded; the show's star co-wrote and directed it.

Which M*A*S*H episode unfolds minute by minute with an on-screen clock?

'Life Time' (1979) runs in real time with a clock on screen: the surgeons have 20 minutes to graft a soldier's torn aorta before paralysis sets in.

B.J. Hunnicutt tells Hawkeye his name comes from the first names of which two people?

His parents, Bea and Jay: asked what B.J. stands for, he first shrugs 'anything you want', then insists it isn't short for anything at all.

What destroyed most of the outdoor set on October 9, 1982?

A brush fire swept through on October 9, 1982, while the finale was still being filmed, so two new scenes were written to put a fire into the story.

In the finale, the fire that forces the 4077th to move is blamed on what?

Enemy incendiary bombs: the finale blames the hillside fire on incendiaries dropped near camp, forcing the 4077th to bug out, a plot that covered the real set's loss.

Which 1974 TV series was also filmed at the California ranch used for the 4077th?

Planet of the Apes, CBS's 1974 series, was filmed mostly on the same ranch, where the 1968 Apes film had also been made; the slopes that played a war zone doubled as a ruined future Earth.

Under the compromise with CBS, where could the laugh track be omitted?

Operating room scenes: the producers wanted no laugh track at all and CBS overruled them, but the network agreed the laughter could stop whenever the surgeons were operating.

Which UK channel apologised after accidentally airing an episode with the laugh track on?

BBC2 had always shown M*A*S*H without the laugh track; after one episode went out with it by mistake, viewer complaints prompted an apology.

How does writer Ken Levine say he punished the cast for nitpicking a script?

Rewrote it as a freezing winter episode: Levine says the cast then sweated through a summer location shoot bundled in parkas, and the petty notes stopped.

In the M*A*S*H finale, what does Hawkeye drive out of camp to stop the enemy shelling it?

A tank: its wounded driver had abandoned it in the middle of camp, where it kept drawing enemy mortars until Hawkeye impulsively drove it away to the garbage dump.

An urban legend claims the finale's end triggered a record spike in what in New York City?

Water usage from toilet flushing: the legend says New York's water pressure plunged when viewers all flushed at the finale's end; the same tale is told of Super Bowl halftimes.

CBS rescued the struggling M*A*S*H in season two by scheduling it right after which hit sitcom?

All in the Family's lead-in lifted M*A*S*H from 46th place in its first season into the top ten; it took over the slot of Bridget Loves Bernie.

What is the name of the off-base drinking spot favoured by the 4077th's staff?

Rosie's Bar is where most of the camp ends up hiding from the war in 'A Night at Rosie's'; later a feuding Hawkeye moves out of the Swamp and rents a hut behind it.

Which organisation's chairman named M*A*S*H the smartest TV show of all time in 2008?

Mensa International's chairman, Jim Werdell, ranked M*A*S*H first on his 2008 list because it 'had smart repartee and was so much more than a comedy'.

The 1976 M*A*S*H episode 'The Interview', staged as a TV news report, was filmed how?

In black and white: real-life newsman Clete Roberts quizzes the staff as if for a 1950s documentary, in the last episode made by the man who developed the series.

Which broadcasting honour did M*A*S*H receive in 1975 for its statement on the nature of war?

The Peabody Award cited M*A*S*H for 'the depth of its humor and the manner in which comedy is used to lift the spirit' and to make 'a profound statement on the nature of war'.

AfterMASH reunited Potter, Klinger and Mulcahy at what kind of workplace back home?

A veterans' hospital: bored by retirement, Potter becomes chief of staff at General Pershing VA Hospital, 'General General' to its staff, and Klinger and Mulcahy then join him.

AfterMASH was scheduled opposite which NBC hit, contributing to its collapse?

The A-Team: CBS moved AfterMASH against it and ran ads of Klinger shaving off Mr. T's mohawk; instead the ratings collapsed and the show was cancelled early in its second season.

Who played the title role in Trapper John, M.D.?

Pernell Roberts, who had left Bonanza after six years as Adam Cartwright, played the older Trapper for seven seasons, more than twice as long as the M*A*S*H original.

In which city was Trapper John, M.D. set, decades after the war?

San Francisco: the series picks Trapper up 28 years after his discharge as chief of surgery at San Francisco Memorial, mentoring a young surgeon who served in a MASH unit in Vietnam.

In the unsold 1984 pilot W*A*L*T*E*R, Radar has left the family farm for which job?

Police officer: after the farm fails, Radar moves to St. Louis and joins the force as a rookie; CBS never ordered a series and aired the pilot just once, in July 1984.

Which coastal town does Hawkeye Pierce most often name as home on M*A*S*H?

Crabapple Cove is where Hawkeye's father settled as a doctor in 1911; in early episodes Hawkeye also spoke of Vermont before the writers fixed on the Cove.

Charles Winchester's wealthy family comes from which Boston neighbourhood?

Beacon Hill: behind the snobbery of that wealthy Brahmin upbringing, Charles was raised to give to the needy in secret, and does so more than once at the 4077th.

Charles Winchester earned his medical degree at which university?

Harvard: Winchester graduated with top honours, yet the 4077th's 'meatball surgery' is new to him, and he has to learn to work far faster on arrival.

Father Mulcahy coached boys in which sport before coming to the 4077th?

Boxing: Mulcahy coached boys at his local CYO before the war, a past he mentions to Hawkeye in 'Dear Sis', the episode built on his letter home about feeling useless.

B. J. Hunnicutt was educated at which university?

Stanford: B.J. trained there in a family of doctors, and unlike the philandering surgeon he replaces he stays devoted to his wife and baby daughter back home.

Which instrument does Radar play, badly, as the 4077th's company clerk?

The bugle: Radar mangles every call and often plays the wrong one, and in one episode his bugle is shot right out of his hand.

In the M*A*S*H novel and film, Trapper John played quarterback for which college?

Dartmouth: Hawkeye, who played for Androscoggin College, finally places the new surgeon as the Dartmouth quarterback he once faced on the football field.

What is Colonel Potter's wife called?

Mildred Potter is the wife Sherman writes home to; the name had already been used once, for Henry Blake's wife, who was Mildred in early episodes before becoming Lorraine.

Which author's westerns is Colonel Potter forever reading?

Zane Grey: Potter devours Zane Grey westerns, a taste for horses and the old West that matches his years in the horse cavalry.

Klinger's family came to America from which country?

Lebanon: Klinger shares his Lebanese roots with the actor who plays him, and in 'Dear Uncle Abdul' he writes home that he can't be discharged as crazy when everyone in camp is.

Radar's announcement in 'Abyssinia, Henry' names which body of water?

The Sea of Japan: a technical fault forced a second take of Radar's announcement, and the clatter of a surgical instrument dropped in the stunned silence stayed in the episode.

In the M*A*S*H finale, what does Hawkeye at first believe the refugee woman smothered on the bus?

A chicken: Hawkeye remembers telling the woman to keep her chicken quiet; made to go back over the bus ride, he realises that it was her baby.

What is the name of the refugee Klinger marries in the M*A*S*H finale?

Soon-Lee won't leave until she finds her missing family, so Klinger, who spent the war scheming to get home, marries her and stays behind.

Which sense does Father Mulcahy lose in the M*A*S*H finale?

Hearing: Mulcahy is deafened by a mortar blast while freeing POWs from their pen during shelling, and resolves to work with the deaf after the war.

In the M*A*S*H finale, what does the 4077th's motor-pool sergeant plan to do back home?

Breed frogs for French restaurants: the sergeant unveils the scheme at the farewell dinner, one last money-making idea to take home to Louisiana.

In 'Death Takes a Holiday', what does Winchester secretly leave as a Christmas gift for local children?

Fine chocolates: a Winchester family tradition says the gift must be anonymous, and Charles is outraged, then humbled, to learn it was sold to buy a month of food.

Under what real name did the author of the M*A*S*H novel, a former Army surgeon, practise medicine?

H. Richard Hornberger, a surgeon, wrote the novel with a professional writer's help under a pen name, and did not care for the TV series it inspired.

Hawkeye and Trapper invent which imaginary officer, who ends up 'dying' in a jump without a parachute?

Captain Tuttle starts as a cover story for supplies the pair give away; when a general turns up to decorate him, Hawkeye announces that he jumped without his parachute.

Which surgeon completes the M*A*S*H novel's title trio with Hawkeye and Trapper?

Duke Forrest, a surgeon from Georgia, rounds out the novel's trio with Hawkeye and Trapper; Tom Skerritt played him in the film and the character was dropped for television.

Who wrote the screenplay for the 1970 M*A*S*H film?

Ring Lardner Jr., a blacklisted member of the Hollywood Ten, adapted the novel and won the film's only Academy Award, for Best Adapted Screenplay.

The 1970 M*A*S*H film won the top prize at which festival?

Cannes gave the film its top prize, then called the Grand Prix, in May 1970; Hollywood followed with five Oscar nominations but only one win.

Who played Trapper John in the 1970 M*A*S*H film?

Elliott Gould played Trapper John, the chest surgeon who moves into the Swamp once Frank Burns is moved out; television later recast the part twice.

In which year was the 1970 film added to the National Film Registry?

1996: the Library of Congress added the film to the National Film Registry that year as 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant', in the registry's eighth annual class.

Who composed the music for the theme of the M*A*S*H film and series?

Johnny Mandel wrote the melody for the 1970 film; released as a single, the film's vocal version went to number one in Britain in May 1980.

Which Welsh band released a 1992 charity cover of the M*A*S*H theme?

Manic Street Preachers cut it for Ruby Trax, the NME's charity album for The Spastics Society, and the single took them to number seven in the UK.

From 1993 to 2005 the star of M*A*S*H hosted which PBS science series?

Scientific American Frontiers: he took over as host in 1993 and stayed until the series ended in 2005, later helping to found a centre for communicating science at Stony Brook University.

The star of M*A*S*H won an Emmy for playing which presidential candidate on The West Wing?

Arnold Vinick, a Republican senator, loses the election to Matt Santos and is then offered the job of Secretary of State by his rival; the role won a 2006 Emmy.

Margaret's actress originated which role in a 1981 TV-movie pilot but could not continue it?

Christine Cagney: Margaret's actress played her in the 1981 Cagney & Lacey TV movie, but her M*A*S*H contract kept her from the series, so Meg Foster and then Sharon Gless took over.

Which 1955 film gave Klinger's actor his screen debut, as Santini?

Blackboard Jungle: an MGM talent scout spotted Klinger's future actor in drama classes and offered a screen test, and the student Santini became his first film role.

Winchester's actor voiced which character in Disney's Beauty and the Beast?

Cogsworth, the fussy mantel clock, began a long Disney run for Winchester's actor, who went on to voice Governor Ratcliffe in Pocahontas and Jumba in Lilo & Stitch.

Radar's actor first found fame playing which character in a 1967 Off-Broadway musical?

Charlie Brown: Radar's actor was in the original 1967 cast of 'You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown', which ran for 1,597 performances; his first film role, three years later, was Radar.

Before playing the chaplain, his actor was Private Lester Hummel on which sitcom?

Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.: the chaplain's actor played Private Lester Hummel there in the 1960s; later he and his wife wrote Mixed Blessings, about raising their autistic son.

The man who developed M*A*S*H for television co-wrote the screenplay for which 1982 comedy?

Tootsie: he shared the screenplay credit and an Oscar nomination, and after clashing with star Dustin Hoffman is said to have advised never working with an Oscar winner shorter than the statue.

Where was the 1983-85 exhibition 'M*A*S*H: Binding Up the Wounds' held?

The National Museum of American History, part of the Smithsonian, put the Swamp set on show; visitors queued for hours to get in, and the exhibition's run was extended.

For writing which M*A*S*H episode did its star win a 1979 Emmy?

'Inga' (1979), in which a visiting Swedish surgeon outshines Hawkeye and Charles in surgery, won the show's star the Emmy for writing; he directed it too.

Which CBS sitcom star narrated the 1981 PBS documentary Making M*A*S*H?

Mary Tyler Moore narrated Making M*A*S*H, which took PBS cameras onto the set during season eight; her own sitcom had followed M*A*S*H on CBS's Saturday nights.

Before playing Colonel Potter, the same actor guest-starred in season three as what kind of visitor?

An unhinged general: as Major General Bartford Hamilton Steele he inspects the 4077th and wants it moved closer to the front; a season later the same actor returned as Potter.

A thirty-second commercial in the 1983 M*A*S*H finale cost more than one in even that year's what?

Super Bowl airtime was the cheaper buy that winter. CBS charged $450,000 for each half-minute of the farewell, and advertisers still lined up.

Which Army vehicle does Radar O'Reilly of M*A*S*H manage to mail home to Iowa one piece at a time?

A jeep goes home to the farm in parcels. The scam is said to have been pulled off for real a couple of times in World War II.

Which future Happy Days star guest-starred on M*A*S*H as an underage Marine whom Hawkeye sends home?

Ron Howard played the 15-year-old who lied about his age to enlist. Hawkeye softens the blow by handing him a Purple Heart lifted from Frank Burns.

Captain Hawkeye Pierce of M*A*S*H shares his first and middle names with which Founding Father?

Benjamin Franklin Pierce is the surgeon's full name. The novelist borrowed the Franklin Pierce part from a member of his own family.

Sick of mess-tent food on M*A*S*H, Hawkeye has spareribs shipped to Korea from which city?

Chicago's fictional Adam's Ribs supplies 40 pounds of spareribs and a gallon of sauce. After all the scheming, Hawkeye finds that he forgot to order the coleslaw.

Which prime-time soap held the ratings record for a single episode until the M*A*S*H finale broke it?

Dallas had set the mark with the cliffhanger episode that finally revealed who shot J.R.

On M*A*S*H, Hawkeye and Winchester start a rumor that which Hollywood star will visit the 4077th?

Marilyn Monroe did visit Korea in real life, but only in February 1954, months after the armistice had ended the fighting.

Before M*A*S*H, Colonel Potter's actor played Officer Bill Gannon in which police drama?

Dragnet paired him with Jack Webb's Joe Friday from 1967 to 1970. He reprised Gannon in the 1987 spoof film starring Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks.

In the M*A*S*H finale, B.J. Hunnicutt leaves the 4077th for the last time riding what?

A motorcycle carries him off, one that five surrendering Chinese soldiers had been riding with a sidecar attached.

Which future Naked Gun star played a colonel with a high casualty record in an early M*A*S*H episode?

Leslie Nielsen took the title role in 'The Ringbanger' years before he reinvented himself as a spoof comedian. Hawkeye and Trapper conspire to stop his colonel returning to the front.

Which future film star played a lightly wounded soldier found to have leukemia in an episode of M*A*S*H?

Patrick Swayze was Private Sturgis in 'Blood Brothers', six years before Dirty Dancing. Hawkeye is the one who spots the trouble in his blood test.

The M*A*S*H episode 'The Interview', in which a real war correspondent quizzes the staff, was filmed in what style?

Black and white stock was used for the whole episode. Its interviewer, Clete Roberts, had reported from the real war in Korea as a correspondent.

Father Mulcahy of M*A*S*H writes letters home to his sister Kathy, who is what by occupation?

A nun, she hands the chaplain a favourite joke: he likes to call her 'my sister the Sister'.

After his breakdown in Seoul, how does Major Frank Burns finally leave the 4077th on M*A*S*H?

Promoted and sent stateside, Burns gets the last laugh. He phones the Swamp to gloat that he is now a lieutenant colonel at a veterans' hospital in his hometown.

B.J. Hunnicutt tells Hawkeye on M*A*S*H that his initials come from his parents, who are named what?

Bea and Jay Hunnicutt simply ran their names together. When anyone else asks what the letters stand for, their son answers 'anything you want'.

What is the name of B.J. Hunnicutt's baby daughter, born shortly before he ships out to Korea on M*A*S*H?

Erin breaks her father's heart from afar: on first seeing Radar after his return to the States, she calls him 'Daddy'.

Trapper John McIntyre of M*A*S*H owes his nickname to an escapade with a woman aboard which form of transport?

A train lavatory was the scene. Discovered there with him, the woman protested 'He trapped me!' and the name stuck.

Major Winchester is banished to the 4077th on M*A*S*H after gloating over beating his Tokyo commander at which game?

Cribbage cost Colonel Baldwin $672.17, and Winchester's crowing about it cost him his comfortable Tokyo posting.

Fox's lawsuit over Trapper John's actor quitting M*A*S*H collapsed because he had never done what?

Signed his contract is the one thing he never did, so the studio's breach-of-contract suit had nothing to stand on when he quit before season four.

The actor behind Corporal Klinger on M*A*S*H wore which genuine item from his own Army service on screen?

His dog tags were the real thing. Drafted in 1957, he had shipped out to Korea himself, years after the shooting stopped.

Radar's actor on M*A*S*H became a professional jazz drummer despite a birth condition affecting which part of his body?

His left hand has three fingers markedly smaller than those on his right, the result of Poland syndrome. He still led a jazz trio called The We Three.

Major Winchester's actor on M*A*S*H shared his character's great passion and pursued which second career off screen?

Conductor was his other job: with no formal training he guest-conducted more than 70 orchestras and was associate conductor of Oregon's Newport Symphony.

The M*A*S*H actor behind Hawkeye Pierce earned an Oscar nomination as a senator in which Martin Scorsese film?

The Aviator cast him as the conservative senator Owen Brewster, opposite Leonardo DiCaprio.

The M*A*S*H actor who played B.J. Hunnicutt later produced which hit Robin Williams comedy-drama?

Patch Adams (1998) was one of his producing credits. He also returned to television as a star of the drama Providence.

Throughout the run of M*A*S*H, its star flew home every weekend to his family in which state?

New Jersey stayed home because he would not uproot his wife and daughters, at first because nobody knew how long the show would last.

Which actress earned an Oscar nomination playing Major Margaret Houlihan in the 1970 film MASH?

Sally Kellerman's breakthrough role also brought a Golden Globe nomination, and she went on to appear in several more of the director's films.

Which future star of The Godfather played Major Frank Burns in the 1970 film MASH?

Robert Duvall's Burns is hauled off in a straitjacket partway through the film. On television the character lasted five seasons as the camp's chief irritant.

Father Mulcahy's bout of which illness on M*A*S*H was inspired by a real infection that sidelined his actor?

Hepatitis kept the actor in bed for eight weeks during the fifth season, forcing scripts to be rewritten around his absence.

In the M*A*S*H episode 'Tuttle', why can nobody at the 4077th ever meet the saintly Captain Tuttle?

Hawkeye invented him, borrowing a childhood imaginary friend, as cover for sending Army supplies and back pay to needy local children.

On M*A*S*H, what does the hapless enemy pilot nicknamed '5 O'Clock Charlie' try and fail to bomb every afternoon?

An ammo dump beside the camp is his target, attacked with a single bomb each day. He misses so reliably that the staff run a betting pool on the distance.

What clerical blunder befalls Hawkeye in the M*A*S*H episode where the Army abruptly stops his pay and mail?

He is listed as dead, as a call from his worried father reveals. In 'The Late Captain Pierce' he learns that a dead man cannot draw pay or send a telegram.

How does Corporal Klinger marry his hometown sweetheart Laverne Esposito in the M*A*S*H episode 'Springtime'?

Over the radio is how the vows are exchanged. Three seasons later Laverne sends a Dear John letter saying she has found another man.

Margaret Houlihan's formidable father, who visits the 4077th late in M*A*S*H, goes by which military nickname?

Howitzer Al Houlihan is a retired colonel whom his daughter all but worships. Colonel Potter discovers a more disturbing side to him during the visit.

Colonel Potter of M*A*S*H earned one of his Purple Hearts in World War II when what blew up on Guam?

His illicit still exploded on him, which makes it the least heroic of the four Purple Hearts he holds from three wars.

Hawkeye and B.J. arrange a short-lived officer's commission for Radar on M*A*S*H to settle what?

A poker debt is paid off with the promotion to second lieutenant. Radar quickly decides that life was simpler as a corporal and returns to the ranks.

In a tall-tale contest on M*A*S*H, Major Winchester produces a photograph proving he once dated which film star?

Audrey Hepburn appears with him in a candid snapshot, the final blow in a contest of tall stories that he wins at every turn.

When a construction worker dug up the time capsule buried by the M*A*S*H cast, what did Hawkeye's actor tell him?

To keep it was the answer, although the cast had hoped their box of props from the series would lie undisturbed for 100 years.

In a late M*A*S*H episode, Klinger seeks an investor for which toy craze he thinks he has dreamed up?

The hula hoop is his big idea in 'Who Knew?', an episode in which Hawkeye delivers the eulogy for a nurse nobody really knew.

The title of the M*A*S*H episode 'Abyssinia, Henry' borrows 1920s slang that stands for which farewell?

I'll be seeing you is what 'Abyssinia' sounds like when said quickly, slang from the 1920s and 1930s. Abyssinia itself is an old name for Ethiopia.

Which Cheers regular appears on M*A*S*H as a Marine with a pool ball stuck in his mouth?

George Wendt played the unlucky Marine in 'Trick or Treatment', set during the 4077th's Halloween party. Andrew Dice Clay plays another Marine in the same episode.

In the M*A*S*H episode 'The Consultant', which relative of Hawkeye's actor guest-stars as a veteran visiting surgeon?

His dad plays Anthony Borelli, a doctor whom Hawkeye and Trapper meet on leave in Tokyo. He returned as the same character five seasons later.

In the M*A*S*H episode 'Hawkeye', why does the surgeon talk nonstop to a Korean family after a road accident?

To stay conscious is the whole point, since the crash has given him a concussion. No other regular cast member appears in the episode.

During a cold snap on M*A*S*H, which gift mailed to Hawkeye from home becomes a hot commodity passed around the camp?

Long johns change hands again and again as the temperature drops. The script was written by the actor who plays Hawkeye.

As the last survivor of a World War I pact, Colonel Potter of M*A*S*H inherits what from his old Army buddies?

A bottle of brandy was the last of a cache the friends found in a château during an artillery barrage. Potter shares it with his staff, toasting his old comrades and then his new ones.

In a M*A*S*H episode, the wounded bombardier Captain Chandler has come to believe that he is which figure?

Jesus Christ is who the airman insists he is, which brings an Army psychiatrist and an intelligence officer to his bedside. The script lost a Humanitas Prize to another M*A*S*H episode.

On M*A*S*H, Winchester gives a wounded pianist hope with a concerto written for a one-armed player by which composer?

Maurice Ravel composed it for Paul Wittgenstein, a concert pianist who lost an arm in the First World War. Winchester sends for the score to prove that a career need not be over.

After quitting M*A*S*H, Henry Blake's actor headlined a string of short-lived sitcoms, including which one?

Hello, Larry lasted 38 episodes and crossed over with Diff'rent Strokes. It was the third of four sitcoms he fronted after leaving the 4077th.

Corporal Klinger's Section 8 antics on M*A*S*H were inspired by stories of which comedian dodging military service?

Lenny Bruce was the model, as the show's developer recalled at a reunion special. Klinger's actor was hired for a single day's work and stayed to the end.

Which actor turned up in two early M*A*S*H episodes as Captain Sam Pak, an officer of the Korean army?

Pat Morita played Pak a decade before The Karate Kid brought him an Oscar nomination.

Colonel Potter of M*A*S*H first joined the Army as a private during World War I, serving in which branch?

The cavalry took him as a private and he rose to sergeant. His lasting love of horses dates from those days.