What Does Jamie Farr Really Think About His ‘M*A*S*H’ Co-Stars?
Jamie Farr, who is best known as the dress-sporting Corporal Klinger on iconic dramedy M*A*S*H, knows that he was part of a team that made TV history. And in a 2011 conversation with the Archive of American Television, Farr revealed his true thoughts on his famous co-stars.
He remembered, “Alan [Alda] of course, was the spine of the show. He could write, he could direct, he could act, he could produce. He was very generous.” That generosity kept the whole cast engaged, and the camaraderie and fun he brought to the set made going to work something everyone looked forward to. “You’d go home at night and your sides would be hurting from laughing,” Farr recalled, “and couldn’t wait to get up the next morning to go to work.”
Wayne Rogers shared that same easy joy. “Wayne was an absolute delight,” Farr said. “He and Alan got along fabulously, great rapport that they had with one another.” Even though Rogers eventually felt the writers were leaning too much on Hawkeye and not enough on Trapper John, his departure didn’t cause any bad blood. He added, “The two of them were not enemies. To this day, they’re still dear friends. It was just a career thing for Wayne to do.”
20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection
Then there was McLean Stevenson, who Farr described as “so much fun. He could sit with you and come up with comedy just talking about something and have everybody laughing on the floor with his great imagination.” Larry Linville, so brilliant as Major Burns, was nothing like his character in real life, Farr admitted. “Larry is a terrific actor,” Farr remembered. “He had a degree in aerodynamics, he could build gliders. He was a very, very smart man.”
20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection
Gary Burghoff‘s Radar brought something no one else could replicate. Farr recalled “all the wonderful, charming things that he brought to that character. It was pretty hard to lose him.” Loretta Swit, as Major Houlihan, was sensational and, acted like one of the guys, according to Farr, “You never had to wait for her. If the camera was ready, boy, let’s go. She was right there.”
Bill Christopher, with his distinctive voice, infused Father Mulcahy with warmth and humor. “We’d always make fun of Bill the way he talked,” Farr said fondly, “but he brought so much to Father Mulcahy.” The later additions, Mike Farrell and David Ogden Stiers, each brought their own strengths to the show. Then there was Harry Morgan, the brilliant father figure of the group. “We’ve all been through the internet exchanging thoughts about our friend and how meaningful he was to us,” Farr concluded.
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September 2023
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