News

There is perhaps no TV show from the classic era that has stood the test of time better than "The Twilight Zone." Despite its black-and-white coloring, limited budgets, and retro sci-fi stylings, the Rod Serling series remains one of the greatest, most influential shows ever put to American television. Though there have been many attempts to reboot the series, none of which have been as successful as less direct successors like "Black Mirror," the original series from the late 1950s and early '60s remains the best one to watch. Thankfully, its greatest episodes also hold up incredibly well.

Picking just five "Twilight Zone" episodes to recommend is a challenging task, as all five seasons are loaded with classics. Commentaries on war, death, greed, adventures in space exploration, a surprising number of Western-themed "Twilight Zone" episodes, monsters, ghouls, ghosts, deals with the devil, red Scare metaphors -- it's all there and well worth watching.

The cast of Mash held a vote during season 10 to end the show. The actors who voted to keep the show running then became the stars of AfterMASH. AfterMASH is now considered one of the biggest mistakes in TV history.

A vote by the cast of Mash had the accidental effect of leading to the franchise's biggest blunder. Acclaimed as the long-running CBS sitcom might be, certain creative decisions didn't sit well with some viewers. Some fans much prefer the earlier seasons, which put more of an emphasis on comedy. The death of Henry Blake in Mash season 3 saw the show move into more dramatic terrority, with this dramedy approach proving divisive. Of course, some devotees loved this tonal shift and feel the show lasted so long because of this blend of humor and heartbreak.

Mash ran for 11 seasons in total, but like any long-running series, it was starting to...

Dan Wilcox, the Emmy-winning TV writer and producer whose work on the last four seasons of M*A*S*H included the acclaimed 1983 series finale that attracted a record 106 million viewers, has died. He was 82.

Wilcox died Feb. 14 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, his niece Julie Merson announced.

A WGA member for more than 60 years and a guild board member since 2005, Wilcox won his Emmy in 1970 for Sesame Street, where he met Thad Mumford, who became his longtime writing partner. They worked together on M*A*S*H and received the 1980 WGA award for best episodic comedy.

They also wrote for What’s Happening!!, Alice, The Duck Factory, Good Times and the 1979 ABC miniseries Roots: The Next Generations.

Wilcox was a writer and/or executive story editor on 36 episodes of M*A*S*H from 1979-83 as well as a producer, starting in 1981, on the CBS show’s last two seasons.

The native New Yorker...

Wild audition stories are a dime a dozen in Hollywood, but McLean Stevenson's "M*A*S*H" casting is one of the stranger bits of classic sitcom mythology. According to casting director Eddie Foy III (per MeTV), the actor who would go on to play beloved buffoon Colonel Henry Blake for three seasons of the long-running series first earned the part in an especially roundabout way. The casting department didn't simply have Stevenson audition but instead put him in an entirely different TV movie to get him on executive producer Gene Reynolds' radar.

"I remember McLean Stevenson, I got McLean to do [the series]," Foy recalled in an interview with the Archive of American Television. "In fact," he continued, "we snuck him in on a picture called 'Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones,' where he played an eccentric minister, and we showed it to Gene Reynolds. He said, 'I love the guy.

Sudden success is a hell of a drug. Be it entertainment, sports, or certain, shockingly competitive sectors of the healthcare industry, you can count on numerous fast risers to get high on their own supply and take an ego-fueled torch to their career.

Television actors are especially susceptible to these vain slip-ups, and it's easy to understand why. Before the advent of prestige TV, the small-screen medium was, particularly for young-ish performers, viewed as a potential springboard to big-screen stardom. Sometimes it works out. Chevy Chase bolted from "Saturday Night Live" midway through its second season and instantly became a movie star on the strength of his work in Colin Higgins' sporadically hilarious "Foul Play" (even though he's far from the funniest element of the film). And sometimes you're David Caruso, who quit "NYPD Blue" to topline a pair of 1995 flops in Barbet Schroder's "Kiss of Death" (underrated) and William Friedkin's "Jade".

Generally,...

Recently, more than half a century after its premiere, Fox released a retrospective special about the storied anti-war sitcom "M*A*S*H" that included rare and previously unseen interviews with the show's cast and crew. When they weren't reminiscing about their characters and opening up about cast changes over the years, former members of the fictional 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital discussed episodes of the show that broke the TV mold, pushing the medium beyond its established boundaries and yanking on viewers' heartstrings in unexpected ways.

Among the spotlighted episodes in "M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television" was "The Interview," the season 4 finale that saw the show briefly take the form of a black-and-white war documentary. The late writer and executive producer Burt Metcalfe said the experiment took inspiration from Edward R. Murrow's 1950s newsreel show "See It Now," which included interviews in Korea during the war. "We'd always had a...

Quick Links A Change in Timeslot After the First Season Changed Everything The Network Was Not Happy About the Shift to Dramedy at First McLean Stevenson Left Because He Wanted His Own Show Henry's Fate Was Kept Secret So the Cast's Performances Would Not Change Hawkeye and Trapper Were Meant to Be Equals, Which Ended Up Not Being the Case Larry Linville Felt He Got to the End of the Line With Playing Frank Burns Burt Metcalfe Had a Great Eye For Casting Gary Burghoff Had to Film His Final Scene Twice In "The Interview" Episode, the Actors Were Trusted to Answer in Character The Series Finale Was Meant to Throw Everyone a Curve Ball and Have Each Character Leave With a Wound

On New Year's Day, Fox aired the special M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television. Nearly 52 years after the series premiered, the special was...

Actors are a confounding creative breed. They can be wonderfully inventive one moment and then turn right around and surrender to their most vain impulses the next. Fortunately, most actors are eminently directable. They might put up a bit of a fight and insist that they know better than their director, but if the director has earned their trust, they'll eventually come to their senses and realize they aren't always the best judge of their own work.

It's also important to understand that, in most cases, actors aren't being difficult out of diva-like entitlement. They're the only person who's spending all of their time on- and off-set thinking about this specific character, so, of course, they're going to get protective every now and then -- especially if they're a television actor who's been playing the same part for multiple seasons. It's a well-meaning impulse and one that a sensitive director...

On Monday, Jan. 1, M*A*S*H fans are invited to ring in the new year with M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television, a two-hour special airing on Fox and featuring new interviews with series vets Alan Alda (who played Capt. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce), Loretta Swit (Maj. Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan), Gary Burghoff (Cpl. Walter “Radar” O’Reilly), Jamie Farr (Cpl./Sgt. Maxwell Q. “Max” Klinger) and Mike Farrell (Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt), as well as the late Wayne Rogers (Capt. “Trapper” John McIntyre) and William Christopher (Father Francis Mulcahy).

M*A*S*H executive producers Gene Reynolds and...

The M*A*S*H reunion special came together after years of planning and collaboration between the executive producers and the original cast members. The special includes interviews with the living cast members and archival interviews with those who have passed away. Despite facing challenges in selling the special to networks in the past, Fox finally decided to produce it, allowing the team to create a compilation of the best clips from the show's 251 episodes.

The executive producer behind the upcoming M*A*S*H reunion special, John Scheinfeld, explains how the event came together decades after the show ended. Beginning its TV run in 1972, the Korean War series lasted 11 seasons during its original run. M*A*S*H featured a leading cast of Alan Alda, Wayne Rogers, Loretta Swit, Jamie Far, William Christopher, and Harry Morgan.

Speaking with TVLine, Scheinfeld explains how the M*A*S*H special came together after years. Check out the full quote from...

For a television series that ranked in the Nielsen ratings' top ten for nine of its 11 seasons, "M*A*S*H" experienced a surprising amount of cast turnover. McLean Stevenson (Henry Blake) and Wayne Rogers (Trapper John McIntyre) departed after the third season, and these were huge losses (the manner in which Stevenson was written out of the show angered fans and CBS executives alike). But the producers deftly assuaged viewers concerns by promoting Jamie Farr's cross-dressing Corporal Klinger and hiring Harry Morgan to play the gruff but fair Colonel Sherman T. Potter.

The next significant loss arrived at the end of the fifth season, when Larry Linville exited the series. This left the "M*A*S*H" team with the difficult task of finding an actor capable of playing a pompous walking bulls-eye on par with Linville's Frank Burns. Some of the show's biggest laughs erupted from the company's gleeful tormenting of the humorless surgeon.

Several original cast members of the classic TV series M*A*S*H will reunite once again for an all-new television special.

Per TVLine, it was announced that a two-hour special reuniting M*A*S*H cast members while looking back at the hit show will air on Fox on Jan. 1, 2024. The special will include all-new interviews with Alan Alda (Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce) along with several other surviving cast members. That includes Mike Farrell (B.J. Hunnicutt), Gary Burghoff (Walter "Radar" O'Reilly), Jamie Farr (Maxwell Q. "Max" Klinger), and Loretta Swit (Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan). Executive producers Gene Reynolds and Burt Metcalfe will also be included.

Related New Frasier Reboot Clip Reveals Emotional Reunion From the Original Show A clip from the Frasier reboot's Christmas-themed season finale reunites the title character with an old friend from the original sitcom. Close

Fox is touting the special as a "definitive" look into the history of M*A*S*H.

M*A*S*H reunion happening after 40 years, titled "The Comedy That Changed Television," airing on January 1st on Fox. The show celebrates the iconic sitcom's achievements through interviews with surviving cast members and executive producers. Special pays tribute to deceased cast and crew through clips, archival interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage.

A M*A*S*H reunion is happening on Fox, with the network announcing that the original cast will get together after 40 years for what has been described as the “definitive” reflection on the beloved comedy-drama series. The reunion special, titled M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television, is now all set to air in the new year on January 1st, and promises to bring together Alan Alda, Gary Burghoff, Jamie Farr, and more (via TV Line).

“M*A*S*H is among the most iconic sitcoms in the annals of television history,” said Dan Harrison, Fox’s EVP of Program Planning & Content Strategy, in a statement.

A Mash reunion is confirmed 40 years after the war series ended. Alan Alda and other surviving cast members, as well as EPs Gene Reynolds and Burt Metcalfe, will team up for a special two-hour broadcast on Fox on January 1. The upcoming Mash reunion special will also feature never-before-seen BTS content.

The surviving Mash cast members are confirmed to come together for a special reunion. After 11 years on the air, the legendary war comedy wrapped up its run with the feature-length iconic finale, "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen," in 1983. Four decades since the public said goodbye to the 4077 Mash unit in South Korea, several of its best personnel are re-assembling for a special look back at the critically acclaimed series.

Per a new report from TV Line, Alan Alda, who played Captain Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce, and some of his most notable cohorts from the legendary show, Mash, will be reuniting in a...

Fox is kicking off the new year by celebrating one of television’s greatest ever shows. The network will air a two-hour special M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television on Monday, January 1, 2024 at 8/7c. In it, those who made M*A*S*H celebrate one of the most beloved, enduringly popular, often quoted and influential comedies ever created. The special about the television classic will feature new interviews with original cast members Alan Alda (Capt. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce), Gary Burghoff (Cpl. Walter “Radar” O’Reilly), William Christopher (Father Francis Mulcahy), Jamie Farr (Cpl./Sgt. Maxwell Q. “Max” Klinger), Mike Farrell (Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt), Wayne Rogers (Capt. “Trapper” John McIntyre), and Loretta Swit (Maj. Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan) and series executive producers Gene Reynolds and Burt Metcalfe. These will reveal the creation and evolution of the show’s iconic characters as well as rare and never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage,...

Fox is ringing in the new year by turning back the clock four decades.

The network announced Wednesday that on Jan. 1 it will air M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television, a two-hour special featuring new interviews with surviving cast members Alan Alda (Capt. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce), Gary Burghoff (Cpl. Walter “Radar” O’Reilly), Jamie Farr (Cpl./Sgt. Maxwell Q. “Max” Klinger), Mike Farrell (Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt) and Loretta Swit (Maj. Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan), as well as EPs Gene Reynolds and Burt Metcalfe.

More from TVLineJane Seymour Is Pitching a Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman RevivalMasked Singer's Sea Queen Revealed?...

Fox will celebrate Mash: The Comedy That Changed Television in a new two-hour special set to air Monday, January 1 at 8 pm on the network.

A definitive look at the 14-time Emmy-winning television classic, the special centers around new interviews with original cast members Alan Alda (Capt. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce), Gary Burghoff (Cpl. Walter “Radar” O’Reilly), William Christopher (Father Francis Mulcahy), Jamie Farr (Cpl./Sgt. Maxwell Q. “Max” Klinger), Mike Farrell (Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt), Wayne Rogers (Capt. “Trapper” John McIntyre) and Loretta Swit (Maj. Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan) and series executive producers Gene Reynolds and Burt Metcalfe.

“In these intimate, highly personal remembrances, the creation and evolution of the show’s iconic characters are revealed, alongside rare and never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage, photos and stories,” according to Fox.

Writer/producer Larry Gelbart, as well as additional series stars Larry Linville (Maj. Frank Burns), Harry Morgan (Col. Sherman T. Potter), McLean Stevenson (Lt.

The "M*A*S*H" finale is the stuff of legends. The end of the long-running Korean War sitcom, a two-and-a-half-hour-long conclusion called "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen," aired over 40 years ago, yet it still holds space in the collective hearts and minds of Americans who witnessed it — and in the record books. Depending on how you measure it, "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen" is either still the most-watched TV telecast of all time outside of the moon landing (over 120 million people tuned in) or one that's since been bested mostly by Super Bowls (closer to 106 million people watched the complete episode).

Either way, the show's goodbye was impressive, as are the stories that surround its nation-uniting first broadcast. In a retrospective by The Hollywood Reporter in 2018, series writer David Pollock recalled the bare streets that accompanied the show's ending. After catching an early showing for the show's crew, he says, "We...

Content warning: This article discusses themes and subject matter that some readers may find triggering, including the death of children during wartime.

"M*A*S*H" was a sitcom, but it had its serious moments. In fact, the long-running Korean War series is remembered as much for its moments of heartbreaking honesty as for its jokes and pranks. There was the time when Hawkeye's dear friend is killed while writing a book called "You Never Hear the Bullet," and uses some of his final moments to tell Hawk he did hear the bullet that shot him after all. Then there was the death of Lt. Colonel Blake, whose cheerful goodbye episode famously ended with Radar's declaration that the newly retired man's plane was shot down on its way home, leaving no survivors. The latter twist became so infamous that it prompted thousands of distressed fan responses — and the scene rarely played in reruns.

If you caught up with "M*A*S*H" sometime after the beloved wartime sitcom ended its much-lauded original run, you'd be forgiven for having no clue about the series' spinoffs. After all, 50 years after it first aired, "M*A*S*H" remains a major pillar of TV history -- for its rollicking anti-authority spirit and bleeding heart attitude, its genre-blending and experimental episodes, and its record-breaking finale telecast, which is still by some measures the most-watched in the history of television. "AfterMASH," though? Well, not so much.

It's a testament to the flagship series' strengths that decades after it ended, its bizarre and short-lived spinoffs haven't tainted its reputation at all. In fact, they've mostly been forgotten, in part because they're unavailable on streaming and tough to find on home video. Three "M*A*S*H" spinoffs were made in hopes of capitalizing on some of the original series' magic, but only one -- the...

The popularity of "M*A*S*H" is well-documented: Its record-setting finale telecast, which captivated 125 million people in total, is cited in media studies lessons, bar trivia games, and world record books alike. But when we talk about how "M*A*S*H" went out on a high note with the most-watched non-Super Bowl telecast of all time, we don't often talk about what those viewership numbers make clear: The show ended while plenty of fans were still clamoring for more.

"M*A*S*H" ran for 11 seasons before bowing out with the feature-length finale, "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen." But unlike most shows that fizzle out after a long run or are canceled after a short one, "M*A*S*H" didn't have trouble getting audiences' attention. According to classic TV ratings databases, nine of the show's seasons were among the top 10 most-watched shows on TV, and millions of fans tuned in regularly even before its big finish. By all indications, the...

The 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital wouldn't have been the same without Father Mulcahy (William Christopher). The army chaplain gave "M*A*S*H" a sense of soulfulness, and helped the show talk about serious topics that its jokester characters might otherwise be too zany to pull off without his thoughtful input. Father Mulcahy was also just nice. As played by Christopher, the Catholic priest was non-judgemental and supportive, willing to meet each character where they lived in terms of religiosity — and he was kind of just a charming goofball.

Mulcahy started "M*A*S*H" as a recurring character, but by season 5 he was a series regular. Across the show's run, he delivered some of its most memorable moments and sometimes got substantial plotlines of his own: helping to run a local orphanage, having a crisis of faith when he felt his spiritual work was less helpful than the doctors' physical work,...

Five decades ago, "M*A*S*H" all but invented the TV dramedy. There had been a few shows before the hit wartime sitcom that straddled the line between inspiring laughter and tears, and there would be plenty more after, but few have ever mixed the two seemingly contradictory genres as perfectly as "M*A*S*H" did.

Across its eleven seasons, the members of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital partook in plots both side-splittingly funny — prank wars! Traveling long johns! Rib cravings! — and heart-wrenchingly somber. Through both its funniest moments and its darkest, the show adhered to a strong anti-war attitude, frequently focusing on the senseless loss of armed conflict and the zealous, jingoistic leaders who let it happen.

One such episode is "Preventative Medicine," a season 7 outing in which Hawkeye (Alan Alda) decides to medically sideline a bloodthirsty front-line commander who has a disturbingly high casualty rate. Over the course of the episode,...

The series finale of M*A*S*H, “Goodbye, Farewell, And Amen,” features several tragedies in its extended runtime, but one of the episode’s plots has a basis in real life. Lasting an impressive 11 seasons, the comedy-drama show M*A*S*H features the experiences of medical professionals serving at the 4077th “Mobile Army Surgical Hospital” during the three-year Korean War. M*A*S*H follows several Army surgeons throughout its run, but its main focus is Captain Benjamin “Hawkeye” Pierce (Alan Alda), who suffers through several tragedies in the series finale, including a real-life one.

As one of M*A*S*H’s most gut-wrenching episodes, Hawkeye’s troubles unfortunately don’t end after his return to the 4077 following psychological treatment for a mental breakdown. Enduring enemy fire and B.J. leaving the 4077 in the same fashion Trapper John did in season 3 among other tragic events, Hawkeye and the rest of the 4077 struggle to make it through the final days of the Korean War.

Eileen Saki, who portrayed Rosie, the sassy boss of the popular watering hole that hosted Hawkeye Pierce, Hot Lips Houlihan and others from the 4077th on the legendary series M*A*S*H, has died. She was 79.

Saki died Monday in Los Angeles after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January, her rep, Camilla Fluxman Pines, told The Hollywood Reporter.

The delightful Saki appeared as the owner of Rose’s Bar — which actually existed in Seoul during the Korean War — on eight episodes of the CBS series from 1976 until its 1981 conclusion. (Frances Fong had played Rosie a couple of times in 1976-77.)

Earlier, Saki had portrayed the head madam of a brothel impressed by Cpl. Klinger’s (Jamie Farr) wardrobe on the show’s fifth-season premiere episode, “Bug Out,” which aired in September 1976.

She also showed up on other TV series including Good Times, CHiPs, The Greatest American Hero, Gimme a Break!...

Actress Eileen Saki has sadly passed away. TMZ reports that Saki, who's well known to M*A*S*H fans for her role as Rosie the bar owner, died in L.A. on Monday after a battle with cancer. She was 79 years old.

Rosie, the character who owned Rosie's Bar, was portrayed by three actresses, first in one episode by Shizuko Hoshi and then in two episodes by Frances Fong. Saki would play the character in eight episodes after taking over the role, becoming the one most closely associated with the character. The character's final appearance was in the tenth season episode "Snap Judgment." Additionally, before taking on the role of Rosie, Saki had also appeared in a season 5 episode as a different character, playing the head Madam of a group of prostitutes.

Saki can also be remembered for her notable role in the 1984 fantasy rom-com Splash. Directed by Ron Howard,...

John Legend took the stage at the Emmy Awards on Monday to honor the stars who left us during the past year. The “In Memoriam” segment was one of the highlights of the night, with the Egot winner performing his new song “Pieces.”

Hollywood & Media Deaths 2022: A Photo Gallery

Anthony Anderson presented Legend and the segment, saying, “It never feels like the right time to say goodbye to a loved one, a friend or a cherished icon.”

He added. “To quote Shakespeare, ‘All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players, they have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts.’ As we acknowledge the legends within our industry will pass on, we celebrate all that they created and shared with the world. May they rest in peace and power.”

Emmy Red Carpet Photos: Best Looks Of 2022

During Legend’s performance,...

Producers of this Monday’s Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony have some difficult decisions to make about who to honor during the emotional In Memoriam segment. John Legend will perform “Pieces,” a new song he has written for the tribute. Kenan Thompson will host the 2022 Emmys for NBC at 8 p.m. Et; 5 p.m. Pt.

Our list below includes almost 100 people who made a strong contribution to television and have died since mid-September of 2021 following the previous Emmys ceremony. Only about 40-45 of these people will probably be in the video segment. Certain to be featured will be TV Academy Hall of Fame members actress Betty White and director Jay Sandrich.Other prominent names almost certainly chosen are: Mary Alice (acting winner), Louie Anderson (acting winner), James Caan (acting nominee), Anne Heche (acting winner), Howard Hesseman (acting nominee), William Hurt (acting nominee), Gregory Itzin (acting nominee), Ray Liotta (acting winner), Burt Metcalfe...

Burt Metcalfe, the revered TV producer who worked on all 11 seasons of “Mash,” died July 27 in Los Angeles. He was 87.

Metcalfe was an actor turned director-producer who was recruited to work on “Mash” by director Gene Reynolds, who launched the series adaptation of Robert Altman’s 1970 black comedy released by 20th Century Fox. Metcalfe started out as an associate producer and rose to showrunner for the show’s final six seasons. He also directed 31 episodes of the series’ 251 installments.

Reynolds, who was with “Mash” through the 1976-77 season before moving on to the helm of CBS’ “Lou Grant,” died at age 96 in February 2020.

The CBS series adaptation defied low expectations for movie adaptations and became pop culture touchstone of the 1970s and early ’80s. Set during the Korean War, Alan Alda starred as Col. Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce, a cynical surgeon with a heart of gold who helped run a mobile...

Burt Metcalfe, who produced, wrote and directed on all 11 seasons of “M*A*S*H,” has died. He was 87.

Metcalfe died Wednesday in Los Angeles of natural causes, according to Jan Jorden, his wife of 43 years told The Hollywood Reporter. Jorden is an actress who played a recurring role on the CBS hit comedy that ran from 1972-1983.

Also Read:

‘Thirteen Lives’ Film Review: Ron Howard Spelunks Cautiously Into Cave-Rescue Tale

Metcalfe was born in Saskatoon, Canada, moving to Los Angeles in 1949 to study theater at UCLA. He served in the Navy in 1956-1957.

He appeared in several TV shows, including the first season of “The Twilight Zone,” and played newlywed Buckley Dunston on TV’s “Father of the Bride.” His brief career as a casting director led him to work for Gene Reynolds, who was developing the “M*A*S*H” pilot at Fox.

He produced all but a...

Click here to read the full article.

Burt Metcalfe, the onetime actor from Canada who served as a producer, director and writer on all 11 seasons of M*A*S*H, collecting 13 Emmy nominations along the way, has died. He was 87.

One of the show’s unsung heroes, Metcalfe died Wednesday in Los Angeles of natural causes, his wife of 43 years, actress Jan Jorden announced. (She had a recurring role as Nurse Baker on the series.)

Before he gave up full-time acting to work on the other side of the camera, Metcalfe played the surfer Lord Byron opposite Sandra Dee and James Darren in Gidget (1959), appeared on the first season of The Twilight Zone and starred on the 1961-62 CBS sitcom Father of the Bride.

Metcalfe was a producer on all but five of M*A*S*H‘s 256 episodes from 1972-83 and its showrunner for its last six seasons. He...

It's hard to believe that 30 years ago, over 100 million viewers tuned in to watch "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen" . the final episode of M*A*S*H. With a 60.3 rating and 77 share, the 2 ½ hour series finale of the television classic remains the most-watched series finale in history. The Archive of American Television, a key program of the Academy of Television Arts & Science Foundation, has extensive assets surrounding this seminal moment in pop culture, including interviews with Alan Alda, Walter Dishell, Jamie Farr, Burt Metcalfe and more. The videos are available on the Foundation.s website. We were fortunate to chat with television archivist, Karen Herman yesterday about TV and this great series. Monsters and Critics:...