Do You Remember When the Stars Of ‘M*A*S*H’ Boycotted the Emmy Awards?
September 7, 1980, marked a monumental night for M*A*S*H star Loretta Swit. On that night, the 43-year-old Swit won the Emmy Award — her first — for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Variety or Music Series. So how did the beautiful blond actress celebrate her victory? By doing what she felt was even more important work: supporting her and her M*A*S*H costars’ union, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), on the 58th day of its 1980 strike, along with the American Federation of TV and Radio Artists (AFTRA), over how actors would be compensated for their shows’ home video and cable TV rights in a new television landscape.
‘M*A*S*H’ was more than entertainment
Everett Collection
M*A*S*H offered a sobering look at the Korean War through the eyes of the doctors, nurses, patients, and staff of a U.S. Army mobile surgical hospital. With its stellar ensemble cast and excellent dramatic tone tempered with biting comedy, the series was a ratings winner for CBS from its 1972 premiere.
America was still embroiled in the Vietnam War when M*A*S*H arrived on its television screens. Savvy screenwriting that skewed more dramatic as seasons progressed allowed viewers a weekly means of working through complex emotions about controversial conflicts that led to upheaval here at home, too.
The M*A*S*H premise and most of its main characters were introduced in the Oscar-winning film of the same name. When the series premiered, Alan Alda stepped in for Donald Sutherland as “Hawkeye” Pierce, Wayne Rogers took over for Elliott Gould as “Trapper” John McIntyre, Swit took the role of Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan from Sally Kellerman, Larry Linville played Robert Duvall‘s Major Frank Burns and Henry Morgan stepped in as Lt. Col. Henry Blake. Only Gary Burghoff reprised his role as Cpl. Walter “Radar” O’Reilly.
Though each had crack comedic timing, the M*A*S*H actors clearly understood their responsibility to the real-life Army personnel whose actual travails and bravery they portrayed as well as to the viewing audience. They deeply researched their roles, fought for the best scripts possible, and supported one another on and off screen.
Why did the M*A*S*H actors strike?
In the late 1970s, the American economy was in the grip of inflation and skyrocketing oil prices. The financial stressors impacted Hollywood, too, and by 1980, labor strikes cropped up all across the country. With an emerging TV landscape that included video cassette recorders (VCRs) and cable television, performers now watched as the work they were paid a single salary for could now be sold and rebroadcast via other avenues without it being reflected in their earnings.
Television heavyweights took to the picket lines in droves. In addition to Swit, Alda, Farrell, and Jamie Farr, who played cross-dressing Cpl. Maxwell Klinger helped lead the charge, along with Happy Days star Henry Winkler, Mork & Mindy’s Robin Williams, Lou Grant‘s Ed Asner, also a 1980 Outstanding Actor winner, and The Rockford Files star James Garner, who lost out to Asner.
Actors and their supporters also organized fundraisers and star-studded events aimed at bolstering the SAG Emergency Fund to support performers while they were out of work. When the 32nd Primetime Emmy Awards rolled around that night in 1980 at the Pasadena, 50 of the 51 nominees did not attend.
Only Powers Boothe showed up to collect his Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special statuette for playing the lead role in Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones. “This may be either the bravest moment of my career or the dumbest,” he quipped.
As for Swit, she tuned in to the stripped-down broadcast from her agent’s home and was stunned when her name was called and her picture filled the screen. After seven nominations, the Emmy win was finally hers. But Swit never regretted not being on hand to collect her statuette, choosing to support her cast mates and fellow actors — the majority of whom reportedly earned less than $2,000 a year — instead.
“My not being there did not take away from getting the award,” Swit told Variety in a 2023 interview. “It was wonderful. And I was absolutely glad that’s what we did. We used a united force against being at the show because we were walking the picket line.”
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