The iconic Korean War comedy M*A*S*H ended Feb. 28, 1983—40 years ago!
The finale episode of the iconic Korean War comedy M*A*S*H aired on Feb. 28, 1983—40 years ago today. When the story of the 4077, a mismatched crew of doctors and staff working in a makeshift mobile Army surgical hospital in South Korea, concluded, the finale to the long-running series became the most-watched and highest-rated single television episode in TV history.
The series ran from 1972-1983, and is a fan-favorite to this day. So what is the cast up to? Click through the gallery to see what M*A*S*H stars are up to now.
The Cast of M*A*S*H Then and Now
See the cast of the long-running Korean War sitcom 50 years after the show’s premiere!
Loretta Swit (1937-)
Swit inherited the role of head nurse of the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan from Sally Kellerman, who held the part in the M*A*S*H movie. She appeared in every episode, including the pilot.
The two-time Emmy winner did a series of TV guest spots (The Love Boat, Cagney & Lacey) throughout the 1980s, but aside from a low-budget 2019 movie, she hasn’t had an acting credit since 1998. In 2013, she appeared in a one-woman touring stage production of Eleanor: Her Secret Journey as Eleanor Roosevelt. Offscreen, Swit, 85, has written books on needlepoint and watercolor painting and is a longtime animal activist.
Alan Alda (1936-)
After playing the beloved Dr. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce, Alda has gone on to have a successful acting career in TV and film, landing roles on ER, The West Wing, 30 Rock and The Big C, as well as movies like The Aviator and Wanderlust. More recently he starred as Dr. Arthur Amiot on Ray Donovan and as Solomon Waltzer on The Good Fight.
Jamie Farr (1934-)
Sgt. Maxwell Q. Klinger who wore women’s clothes in the hopes that he could be discharged—as unfit for combat—and go home appeared in 216 episodes of the hit sitcom from 1972-1983.
The 88-year-old Farr—who, like Alda, served in U.S. Army during the Korean War—actually starred in TV’s AfterMASH sequel spinoff from 1983 to ’85. He also appeared on TV shows including The Love Boat, Mad about You and That 70s Show and popped up in six episodes of the 2018–19 Fox sitcom The Cook Kids.
He now focuses his energy on theater productions and has served on the advisory board of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
William Christopher (1932-2016)
After bringing Father Francis Mulcahy to life for M*A*S*H‘s 11 seasons, Christopher joined many former co-stars with stints on The Love Boat and Murder, She Wrote. He returned to a churchly role in 2012 as Father Tobias on Days of our Lives. Christopher died on Dec. 31, 2016 from small-cell carcinoma.
Harry Morgan (1915-2011)
The Emmy winner who played Col. Sherman T. Potter died at age 96 in 2011. During a prolific career, he co-starred with Hal Linden in the kooky 1996 mystery series Blacke’s Magic (a bust) and as Captain Gannon in the 1987 movie adaptation of Dragnet (a hit). In 1997, he completed his final recurring role on a TV series: Professor Suter on 3rd Rock From the Sun.
Mike Farrell (1932-)
Farrell followed up his turn as M*A*S*H Capt. B.J. Hunnicut with an array of TV parts on Superman, Desperate Housewives, Law & Order: SVU and more.
He’s probably best known for playing a vet—a veterinarian, that is—in the 1999-2002 NBC drama Providence. He’s also worked as a writer, director, producer and was the vice president of the Screen Actors Guild. Plus, Farrell, 84, has been an advocate for various causes, including global human rights and animal rights.
Kellye Nakahara (1948–2020)
Like many of her co-stars, the actress behind Lt. Kellye Yamato went on to play the cook in the 1985 cult classic Clue adaptation and did one-offs on episodes of NYPD Blue, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and The Wild Thornberrys. She also landed a role in 1998’s Dr. Doolittle.
She stopped acting in 2000 and became a noted watercolor artist using her married name, Kellye Wallett. She died Feb. 16, 2020.
Gary Burghoff (1943-)
The only actor from the M*A*S*H movie to come to the show as a regular character, Burghoff played the animal-loving Radar. He reprised the role in the 1984 TV special W*A*L*T*E*R, in which his character was a cop in St. Louis. A 1995 TV guest spot was his last acting gig until 2010, when he co-starred in the film Daniel’s Lot.
Outside of acting, Burghoff, 79, is an inventor—he owns patents for a special fishing pole and toilet seat-lifting handle!
David Ogden Stiers (1942–2018)
After he played Major Charles Winchester, Stiers found big success with voice acting, completing 66 episodes of the 2003–06 series Lilo & Stitch as well as roles in Disney’s Pocahontas (1995) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). Most memorably, he narrated and played Cogsworth the clock in the 1991 Disney smash Beauty and the Beast. In 2015, he returned to TV as Arthur Isles on Rizzoli & Isles and Mr. Maellard on Regular Show.
Larry Linville (1939–2000)
Linville played the overly confident surgeon Maj. Franklin Burns for five seasons. Feeling stifled in the role, he departed mid-series and went on to work in TV consistently over the next few decades with roles on Murder, She Wrote, Grandpa Goes to Washington, the Jeffersons, among others. On the big screen, he took part in the way-off-beat comedies Earth Girls Are Easy (1988) and Rock ’n’ Roll High School Forever (1991).
In 2000, Linville died at age 60 after complications from lung cancer surgery led to pneumonia.
