Loved Trapper !!! Was so sad when he left, yeah BJ was good but to me Trapper John was the BEST..Even better than Hawkeye(lol I'm sure I'm the minority thinking that)
My Dad was a Canadian in the Korean War. After he died when I was a kid, I was given his blk & wht tv, and at 9 yrs old I began watching MASH in my bedroom without colour. I always felt like it provided a connection for me to my Dad. I also felt like this cast was almost like a part of my family. I was so sad when each cast member exited and cried a river watching the final episode. Today; at almost 50, I still watch it. (Except for the final episode & Wayne Rogers and Stevens last episode-still too sad) It’s a piece of my past that feels nostalgic for me. I love it now as much as then. They were all great actors, with great scripts. I’m so grateful for everything they gave to us all.
I’m watching Mash for the first time now and I am in my late thirties, so the show has been off the air since before I was born. But my parents watched it and I remember dad watching reruns when I was growing up. He passed away suddenly this past year, and I am so sorry I waited to watch MASH until now. You’re comment about feeling a connection between you and your dad through MASH feels so relatable now
As a child, I was only watching the later seasons without Wayne. When I was five years old, MASH ended. I saw Wayne through DVD sets of the first three seasons. He was very natural and talented.
totally agree. even Seasons 5 & 6 were good. BJ started off as a simile to Trapper. and he was funny! but then they changed him to serious along with the rest. when the moustache came,. bigtime downhill from there, worst was when Frank left. god it took a dive from there. all serious. YUK ~!
@@christianhafer9819 Yeah, i hated Winchester from the start. we're all different . pathetic pompous meme. nup. never did it for me. he was just always annoying. i hated him. i hated the fake accent. i hated his negative take on everything .he was a downer for me. would have been happy with a look a like Frank character. keeps the laughs rolling. but hollywood producers directors would never do that. 3-5 good seasons. thats it. and blame Alda for most of that change in moral tone. it was him writing and directing most or a lot of that. great actor. funny part but he had to let his moral virtue signaling takeover... way back then , 40 yrs ago & we had hollyoood actors wanting to be virtuous. give it a break you lemmings ! its a comedy !
lot of interviewers get 'in the way' of the interview but you didn't do that--we get the full bloom of Wayne's thoughts--you came in only when he was finished with his thoughts or when there might be a prompt to finish--that's a great skill!!
MASH was the best when Wayne Rogers, Larry Linville and McLean Stevenson were on the show. Fun fact: McLean Stevenson was related to Adlai Stevenson who ran for president in the 1950s.
Huge crush on Trapper John watching MASH reruns on my local tv station when I was a little girl. Thought he was the cutest thing, best smile. Often wished he had more “camera time” than Hawkeye, lol. Wayne Rogers was great.😊
i think the first 5 or 6 seasons. once Frank left it totally lost the plot. in fact once Margaret left Frank and whined on and on about wanker Donald Penobscot, the show was becoming shit. Frank seemed lost as a character. no wonder he left. there was nothing left for him. they never should've separated that couple. just develop them as a couple. writers hey !! BJ was ok in the beginning. funny and got with Hawkeye and menaced Frank. but once he grew the moustache, and Frank lost Margaret, and Alda started writing, directing and producing.... he added his drama moralistic themes, it became woeful. not funny. just depressing. stories about death and war. who wants to sit thru that. typical woke Hollywood, thinking thats all great. nup~! but we got 5 great seasons maybe even 6. so wish Wayne stay till the end of his 5 yr contract and did 5 seasons. such a shame we would had 2 extra seasons of funniness.! so surprised they didnt talk him out of it, offer him more central positions and equal billing or increased visibility for next 2 seasons until his contract ran out. oh well. didnt happen. also pity this interviewer did NOT approach this topic with Wayne. just let it slide as a contract issue. it was more than that really. it was a lot more. would like to have seen Wayne address it in his own words her on film. another good lost opportunity !
What a respectful and nice guy. Watching this interview he was and is Trapper Johnh - a great human being with a down to earth personality and a great sense of humour. Add a terrible British accent at 19 minutes lol
The creators did a great job with this show and all the actors Margaret reminds me of Miss Piggy the way she goes off. Marvelous Awesome Sensational Hysterical
Old vid, but I’ll still throw in my 2 cents. MASH was funnier with Trapp, Blake and Frank. But had better, deeper and more poignant stories with Potter, Charles and BJ.
"Better" stories with the other actors. come on MASH lost the plot going all serious on us. why ? full of morals and themese. it was depressing at times. not uplifting. not funny. Did Seinfeld do that. imagine if it did. ppl would curse them out for doing so. rightly. sorry i aint with you on that. Seasons 1-5 brill. all downhill after that. blame alda for much of it i think.
Jimbo Saul Yeah, definitely going to have to disagree. I don’t think Seinfeld is a real apples to apples comparison because Seinfeld was never serious, it was always just a show about nothing. Whereas mash actually did have themes, antiwar sentiment, and the like from the very beginning. The difference was in the first half of the series run the focus was mostly on jokes and on absurd situations, whereas in the second half of the series run the focus became more on the characters themselves. It did almost end up being like two different shows so I get why some people don’t like one or the other, but I liked both and liked to see that progression.
I agree- and for people that didn't like where it went- shows HAVE to grow and change and I think that they wanted to tackled more serious issues- like the one where Hawk Eye operates unnecessarily on a colonel I think who was going to take his men up a hill that was an irrelevant stupid call and no one could stop him and bj and hawk eye argued and hawk eye did the operation anyway and those men were saved. Even if Trapper and Blake had stayed the show would have changed I think. I loved MASH when I was younger and still have an appreciation and respect for the acting, writing and directing etc but when you look back at it Hawkeye just took over - everything happened to Hawkeye and he was the only doctor who could do this and that- pity they didn't rein that in and share the wealth!
@@katesatriani pity they didnt rein in Hawkeye ! Alda wrote produced and directed many of the latter season shows. he went boots in, all in. and of course it had to star himself. and those shows were the ones i hated. i loved the comedy, nutty jokes, practical jokes etc. then Alda drove it serious. i couldn't care less about moral themes. i'll watch a doco for that. lost it for me and many many ppl. still ppl like you seemed to like the 2nd half of the seasons when it was serious. thats fine. not for me tho.
I‘m 27 years old, and started watching M*A*S*H 6 months ago. For my taste, the first 3 seasons was good, but it started up with season 4. And it was very good, that the german version didn‘t have the laughter in the background.
Haaa… thanks for addressing what 2/5 doesn't touch on at all .. despite being in the description … Wayne is a pleasure to listen to, but the title seems click-baity.
@@solarnaut sad this interviewer didnt dig much deeper on as to why he left and what his thinking was. just no contract. come on. more to it than that and they both new but let it slide.
For those who came to see what Wayne Rogers had to say about leaving MASH (and about continuing to rehearse scenes with Alan Alda after they'd already been shot), you'll actually find that near the beginning of part three of this interview.
Lots of people complains about MASH turning more serious. I like the humor in the early series, too. But I don't think it would have been so well-remembered a series if it hadn't changed.
did you remember Seinfeld ? Gilligans island ?? Brady bunch? Married with children. and a million other funny sitcoms. they're all remembered and didnt go off the deep end. MASH was a sitcom that went all serious and virtuous.
@@jimbosaul3996 There have been tons of sitcoms, but many are less memorable or even forgotten. They're not all as successful as Seinfeld or Gilligan's Island. Do you remember I'm Dickens, He's Fenster? Or All's Fair? The Baxters? Hello Larry? On Our Own? Check out this list of 1970s sitcoms and tell me how many of them you remember: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:1970s_American_sitcoms I don't think MASH would have been nearly as well-remembered if it hadn't turned serious. That's my opinion, of course.
mash is remembered for its comedy in the face of authority and bleakness. it IS NOT remembered for alan alda's long, boring, leftist monologues and him murdering a duck on a bus. the later seasons were second-rate.
The first cast of mash was by far the best. I can only watch it when Wayne, McLean and Larry are in it. I feel that Alan, Wayne an McLean had the best chemistry and Larry funniest ass🤣and great person behi
I'm of the opposite opinion. To me, MASH was a lot more interesting story-wise, character-wise and had a much more interesting on-screen cast dynamic when Harry Morgan, Mike Ferrell and David Ogden Stiers came aboard. I really couldn't see much difference between Hawkeye, Trapper and Henry as characters. They were just like slightly tweaked versions of the same character; all three were blatantly carefree, habitual, incorrigible womanizers (two being unrepentant, carefree adulterous), all three were anti-authority (the only difference being that Henry was only so when those of authority wasn't around), all three were jokesters and all three shared the same attitudes about sex, the military, military life and the war. And frankly, I always found Frank Burns completely annoying. :P
That's the great thing about MASH was that they bounced back from not one but two major players leaving the show between Season 3 and 4 and managed to create new characters just as classic.
Frank was my favourite without doubt,. Trap, Bj and Hawkeye great too. my all time fav guest star: Colonel Flag !! ! that character has me pissing myself now just writing about him. lol. laughing here !! good god he was hilarious ! thats some of the best writing of a character ever done ! whole show was epic. up to Season 7 or so.
While the show wasn't ruined, Stevenson, Linville and Rogers leaving resulted in the show losing its soul. It lost its comedic brilliance and the show got too impressed with itself. Taking on a more serious tone and addressing social issues the show, while still good, wasn't great as it was before.
I remember seeing his last episode as a kid, and it has stuck in my mind ever since. He played one of my favourite characters on TV. The way they wrote that episode was brilliant. Having Trapper and Hawkeye not being able to say goodbye to each other was a brilliant way to reflect the feelings of the viewers. When the climactic point came where it was too late for Hawkeye (we) to say goodbye, BJ appeared and instantly gave hope and a little closure. Well done to the writers for that.
agree with your chronology, TOTALLY DISAGREE with your opinion on the unimaginative writing (and the lazy, ham-handed way they passed off trapper and col. blake)
Why in the world didn't you ask Rogers about the real reason he left MASH? (That contract stuff was bunk.) By all published accounts, Rogers left after three seasons because he got tired of the Trapper character playing second fiddle to Alan Alda's Hawkeye. The Trapper role was gradually becoming diminished as Alda's character became the dominant role in the show. (The same reasons apply to why McClean Stevenson chose to leave.) Originally, the Hawkeye and Trapper characters were supposed to be equal in stature, but that obviously changed over time. Another interesting side note you could have asked Rogers about was the fact that he planned to audition for the Hawkeye role, but found the character to be too cynical and preferred the more sympathetic Trapper character.
Rogers was soo cute! Liked him a little better than Hawkeye. I can see how Rogers would resent playing second fiddle to Alda. Rogers is more talented, it seems. I like Alda, but Rogers was more seasoned.
hated Charles Emerson Winchester III. unfunny, unlikable. transparent fake accent, fake character. fake pompousness. so see through. couldnt get past that. and unfunny. he just so annoyed me. all the other 'replacements' were perfect really did a great job. but not Charles. i realise they couldnt ever do another frank. but maybe Stiers was the wrong actor,. he was for me. or mabye its more the pompous annoying character mostly . blame the writers,
Agree totally. Trapper John was definitely my favorite character & when he left, I decided I couldn’t like his replacement as well. But B.J. won my approval on his first appearance, though I still missed Wayne Rogers. David Ogden Stiers as Charles became my #1 favorite of the MASH cast instantly. What a wonderful actor with a fantastic voice. His character was so believable.
@@terryrich7235 Agreed. Unlike Frank, Charles was Hawkeye's equal both intellectually and in the operating room. He challenged Hawkeye which allowed the show to grow. Would have been easy to bring in another "Frank" but the buffoon jokes had been done. With his sarcasm and dry wit Charles was very funny in his own way and and watching him grow from despising everyone around him to defending the other characters on numerous occasions was one of the better aspects of the show. Some really good episodes around Charles.
@@jimbosaul3996 What made Winchester funny was the fact that he was an upper crust snob trapped in a filthy pesthole. Man Over P.A. "Attention, all personnel. All those with body lice, report for dusting at 1330 hours. Dysentery at 1420 hours. Toe fungus at 1500. Good Lord, what sort of a pesthole have I fallen into."
Funny how some ppl liked the first few series, and others the rest better. I loved them all. Only thing I ever got tired of was Frank and Hotlips lovey stuff, and Henry was too corny for me, still loved the show though. Life changing.
The first 3 season of M*A*S*H the best with Trapper John and Colonel Blake the best :) ( I did like the later ones with Potter and Winchester, but first 3 my personal fav) R.I.P :'(
I actually prefer the latter ones with Potter and Winchester, but I love all seasons of the show and all of the main cast were great from start to finish.
I love Wayne Rogers ! I remember cheering when a Wayne Rogers episode of mash on tv ! He's like the curly of the three stooges when a curly episode would be on tv!ps MacLean Stevenson was great too!
IMO Wayne's biggest career mistake was leaving MASH but I don't blame him for doing it. Alan Alda was pretty much the man there and the show was built around his character...and once Alda started getting more creative control the show stopped being truly funny, getting up its own ass with political messages. Mc Lean Stevenson, Wayne Rogers and especially Larry Linville were what kept the MASH ensemble funny in the early seasons.
Mash changed radically after he and Mr. Stephens left. It was good for another year before it really went down. It waa a chemistry thing between the actors who played Trapper, Hawkeye, Blake and Frank. They even changed another character I loved, Klinger.
I heard Mickey Rooney interviewed in his old age. It was kind of sad. He was asked if he had to do over again what he would do differently and he said “I don’t even believe people when they say they wouldn’t do anything differently. If I had my life to live over again, I would still wear ties, absolutely everything else I would do differently “I feel like that too. Only since I’m female, I guess I would say I would still wear dresses.
Wayne Rogers became a successful financial advisor and had left acting full time by late 1980s to do work with Money investing full time and had a money investment show on fox where worked as an advisor for years and had been an investor in several businesses including the successful Kleinfeld Bridal stores
To be fair there really wasn't much to Trapper that we didn't get with Hawkeye. They were too similar. The only difference is he was unable to stay loyal to his wife. It was clear he loved his daughters though.
You have a good eye for detail, Will Dwyer! You'll give me a good run for my money as a pop culture trivia expert for sure. Are you a subscriber yet? David
didnt know this but apparently Wayne was offered the Tapper MD part after he left MASH> but turned it down, an article said, as he didn't want to be stereotyped as a surgeon/Dr. but he then went on to do House Calls as a DR. so who knows ???
Elliot Gould, although sometimes maybe a bit annoying, has made some great films. The one where be plays the detective Philip Marlowe (or Marlowe-like)
Gene Reynolds was in the Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland movie, Love Finds Andy Hardy. I think that movie was made in 1938. It was made prior to Wizard of Oz, before Judy was super famous. Mickey was the star of the movie. Mickey was such a great actor, he's never mentioned with the greats but damn he was good. Unfortunately he's all but forgotten
The interview with this television icon, and one of my heroes is much appreciated, but what's with the BS title of the video segment? He never revealed why he left MASH. You seem a trifle old for click bait.
@@PopGoesTheCultureTV problem was, sadly, you had him there. why didnt you explore this more. so many ppl the world over wanted to know exactly the real reason he left. how about was he melancholy about his decision? he claimed he was. not explored. did he ever look back. its wasn't about his contract really. it was about him not getting equal parts as Alans character grew more than him. how about what the discussions were like with the producers about it etc etc. oh well. still we have your good 5 segments on a great and talented man ! so thnx for that.
Trapper was my favorite. Henry too. M*A*S*H was never, NEVER as funny as it was the first three Seasons with Trap, Hawkeye, Frank and Henry. After that, it was still humorous, but was way more serious overall.
i think Seasons 4 & 5 were still good. BJ initially was funny and took over from Trapper. and Col Potter began to find his feet. once Margaret left Frank for Penobscott, it become horrible and once Frank left, it was all over. and became serious at the behest of Alda and the producers for some silly reason.
@@JamesSmith-jq6om they had originally wanted something like that to happen. Wayne rogers was given a choice to be a part of last episodes they spoke to wayne Rogers about it he asked for little time to think it over but he felt it was better if he did not do the last two episodes l believe he should been a part of ending of the show every one in cast asked him but he said no
I was so Sad when he left. I quit watching for a couple years cause of it. He was my favorite character and I was gearing up for a nice long series with Trapper and then... He's gone. Such a shame. Honeycutt wasn't bad but he was no Trapper.
Steve Robertson I think you need to learn something Steve. Not everyone thinks like you. You seem to think people care what your opinion is. I hate to break this to you but, They don’t.
A 'favorite' line: Hotlips: "Isn't that Frank's bag?!" Trapper: "I thought you were 'Franks bag' ".... (Hotlips storms away and you here her go...: "Ummph"!! 😆!
MASH was a lot better in the early years. With the exception of Harry Morgan as Col. Potter, every new cast member was a downgrade from the original. Still a good show throughout, but the first incarnation was the best by far.
I have read that Rogers left because he always felt like second-chair to Alan Alda. It seems very obvious to me that Alda always had the better lines, the better camera positions, the better come-back lines, and generally just enjoyed better story lines than did Rogers. The funny realization is that Rogers is the only MASH member to have a successful TV career after MASH. I liked Trapper John MD and thought Rogers was terrific. But it just didn't seem like MASH afforded him the attention it did Alda and you could tell in Rogers delivery.
I knew that Gene Reynolds from MASH was in an episode of The Little Rascals, but it wasn't until I bought some old classic movies with Jackie Cooper and Gene Reynolds that I realized that they were friends for life. This explains why Jackie Cooper directed almost an entire season of MASH. Gene reached out to Jackie for help when he feared that MASH was on the verge of cancellation. It's incredible how two young men went their separate ways at a young age, yet stayed in touch over the years. When Gene's acting career stalled in the 1940s, Jackie encouraged his friend to get into directing. The rest is history.
I believe it was to try and get his own series or into movies. Rumour has it that he left because Alan Alda was getting more attention in the series, And apparently said they might as well call it the Alan Alda show
Mark Shere Wayne Rogers had grown tired of being second fiddle to Alan Alda as he thought Trapper John should have been an equal to Hawkeye Pierce. Rogers watched the original movie and read the novel the show was based. Trapper in the book and movie was the main character and head chest cutter or Chief Surgeon. In the tv show Alan Alda’s Hawkeye was the Chief Surgeon and his jokes began to take over the show along with Aldas popularity and resume outshined Rogers at the time. Rogers also had disputes with producers over his contract and he left after season 3 had ended and before started filming season 4.
Gene Reynolds was in a number of films. Babes in Toyland, as well as a number of Andy Hardy movies. He definitely had a clean break from acting to directing.
Williamstown, MA is in the western part of the state in the Berkshires (mountain area). Didn’t remember that he was supposed to be from MA as Trapper John! Never once did I think he had a southern accent nor know he was from Alabama! Great actor! Loved him in MASH! ♥️
Cynthia Ennis There are a few hints in some episodes where Trapper was mucking around that his Alabama accent came out, but I read somewhere that he deliberately "dumbed down" the thick southerner dialect for Trapper John so his natural accent wasn't always noticeable.
C21L01 I’m sure...esp. since he was supposed to be from MASS! I’ll have to rewatch them someday & try & catch it! I think I might have heard a tiny bit of it when I was growing up watching it, but I thought he was just doing it upon purpose way back then! Thank you! Really interesting to know these things & what great actors & people they were/are.
C21L01 just looked at your channel! I LOVE CELTIC THUNDER! I have their first DVD/CD Combo & almost got to go to a concert when they were first on CPTV, but my schedule conflicted...hope someday I will get to see them in person! Love their music! Was so very sad to learn of George Donaldson’s passing so young! 🤭 I LOVED his performances! Great to see it on your channel! 😃♥️ Subscribed to your channel. Just watched your lovely tribute to George! I cannot believe he passed so young! He was 4 yrs younger than me... He gave so many of us so much happiness! Thank you for your wonderful channel!
Williamstown is, indeed, in Massachusetts.I acted (like a horse's ass)on the stage there.we were on vacation (my family) in the Berkshires ,and we had a video camera .I snuck onto the stage and did some line I made up on the spot. I am not an actor. the tape proves it.
Never could stand Ferrell no matter what he was in. I mute when he starts bawlin’ around about Peg and his kid. I watched it so many times I’m pretty good at muting him on his whiny lines and not losing any of the good lines from others. Not crazy about Alda either but the rest of the cast was great. Nurse Kelly was a lil cutie.
@@b-radg916 im with you a bit. preferred Frank Trap and Hawkeye and Henry. i grew to love Col Potter as he developed and BJ was great in his first season (4) until he became serious like Alda did. once Frank left (and before actually) series was shot. Winchester was a huge FAIL !!!. they got it right with Potter and BJ as replacements. lucky for them there. but they did a great replacement job. it worked. but Winchester was crap. never worked. horrible. not sure if it was actor or the writers or both. probably both. and thereafter the series died !
