Who is B.J. Hunnicutt in M*A*S*H?

Show

M*A*S*H

Played by

Mike Farrell

First episode

“Welcome to Korea”Season 4, Episode 1, aired September 12, 1975

Role

Main cast

Network

CBS

Occupation

Surgeon, 4077th MASH

Show run

1972 to 1983

Also known as

BJ Hunnicutt, B. J. Hunnicutt, Captain Hunnicutt, Beej

Captain B.J. Hunnicutt arrives at the 4077th in season four, fresh from home and missing his wife and baby daughter. Played by Mike Farrell, he becomes Hawkeye's steady best friend for the rest of M*A*S*H.

On M*A*S*H, B.J. Hunnicutt's story runs through Hawkeye Pierce (Best Friend), Charles Winchester (Bunkmate), Frank Burns (Prank Target), Sherman Potter (Commanding Officer), and Radar O'Reilly (Company Clerk).

Who is B.J. Hunnicutt?

B.J. is a drafted surgeon from Mill Valley, California, who comes from a family of doctors and trained at Stanford. He reaches Korea in the season four opener and is thrown straight into the chaos of the 4077th, with Hawkeye as his guide. He moves into the Swamp, takes Trapper John's place at the operating table, and soon takes his place as Hawkeye's closest friend too.

The initials B.J. are a running joke. He tells people they stand for anything they like, but he eventually explains that they simply come from the names of his parents, Bea and Jay. His wife, Peg, and his daughter, Erin, born just before he shipped out, are the center of his world.

Personality and comedy

Where Trapper was a fellow wild man, B.J. is calmer and more grounded, and he often plays the voice of reason when Hawkeye goes too far. He stays faithful to Peg in a camp full of temptation, writes home constantly, and has firm moral lines he will not cross, even for a good cause.

That does not make him a straight arrow. B.J. is a dedicated prankster and a relentless punster, and some of the show's most elaborate gags are his, from secretly swapping Charles's clothes to make him think his weight is changing to quietly starting prank wars between other people. At the start of season seven he grows a mustache in defiance of Army grooming rules and keeps it for the rest of the run.

Key storylines

Many of B.J.'s stories are about distance from home. In "Dear Peggy" he narrates camp life in a letter to his wife, and in "Period of Adjustment" his homesickness boils over when he learns his little girl called Radar "Daddy." He also takes huge risks for patients, including a homemade open-chest defibrillator he builds from a medical journal article in "Heroes."

In the finale, B.J. is sent home early, only to be turned back when his orders are cancelled. He hates goodbyes and cannot bring himself to say one to Hawkeye. Instead, he rides off on a motorcycle, and from the departing helicopter Hawkeye sees the word GOODBYE spelled out in stones on the ground.

Behind the scenes and legacy

B.J. was created for television when Wayne Rogers left the show before season four, and the two-part premiere "Welcome to Korea" was built to send Trapper home and bring B.J. in. Mike Farrell played him for the remaining eight seasons, appearing in all but one episode from his debut to the finale.

B.J. helped shift M*A*S*H toward a warmer, more mature tone. His friendship with Hawkeye was less about chasing nurses and more about two decent men trying to stay human, and the stone farewell in the finale is one of the most remembered images in television.

B.J. Hunnicutt: frequently asked questions

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