Who is Maxwell Klinger in M*A*S*H?

Show

M*A*S*H

Played by

Jamie Farr

First episode

“Chief Surgeon Who?”Season 1, Episode 4, aired October 8, 1972

Role

Main cast

Network

CBS

Occupation

Corporal, then company clerk, 4077th MASH

Show run

1972 to 1983

Also known as

Klinger, Max Klinger, Corporal Klinger, Maxwell Q. Klinger

Corporal Maxwell Klinger will try anything to get out of the Army, from evening gowns to wild schemes. Played by Jamie Farr, he grows from a one-joke gag into one of the most beloved members of the 4077th.

On M*A*S*H, Maxwell Klinger's story runs through Sherman Potter (Commanding Officer), Radar O'Reilly (Predecessor as Clerk), Hawkeye Pierce (Friend), Margaret Houlihan (Major), and Frank Burns (Nemesis).

Who is Maxwell Klinger?

Klinger is a Lebanese-American corporal from Toledo, Ohio, just like Jamie Farr himself. He serves at the 4077th as an orderly and guard, and his one goal for years is a Section 8, the discharge given to soldiers judged mentally unfit. His strategy is to look as unfit as possible, mostly by wearing women's clothing to work.

He was the first major M*A*S*H character who did not come from the original novel or film. He brags constantly about Toledo, its Mud Hens baseball team, and the hot dogs at Tony Packo's, and he is as loyal to his hometown as he is desperate to get back to it.

Personality and comedy

Klinger's costumes became a running sight gag: gowns, hats, a nun's habit, a bride, the Statue of Liberty, Scarlett O'Hara, and many more. He saves his best performances for visiting brass, hoping one of them will declare him crazy. Nobody does, and Colonel Potter sees through him on day one, but he lets Klinger keep dressing the part.

Under the act, Klinger is a street-smart hustler who can scrounge almost anything, and the camp comes to rely on that talent. Writer Larry Gelbart said the idea was inspired by stories of comedian Lenny Bruce trying to dodge military service by dressing as a Navy WAVE.

Key storylines

Klinger marries his girlfriend, Laverne, over the radio in "Springtime," only to receive a Dear John letter from her years later. When Radar goes home in season eight, Potter makes Klinger the new company clerk, and he gradually gives up the dresses for good. He takes the job seriously and is later promoted to sergeant.

In the final season he falls for Soon-Lee, a Korean refugee searching for her family. In the finale, the man who spent years trying to leave Korea marries her and stays behind to help find her parents, while everyone else goes home.

Behind the scenes and legacy

Klinger first appeared in the fourth episode, "Chief Surgeon Who?" The original script imagined a very different character, and the writers reworked him into a man faking madness to get home, a gag that grew into a full member of the ensemble. He is one of only four characters who appear in all eleven seasons.

Farr reprised Klinger in the spin-off AfterMASH, where Klinger works for Potter at a veterans hospital in Missouri. The character remains a fan favorite, a reminder that the show could get huge laughs from the absurdity of war without losing its heart.

Maxwell Klinger: frequently asked questions

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