Who is Sherman Potter in M*A*S*H?

Show

M*A*S*H

Played by

Harry Morgan

First episode

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

Role

Main cast

Network

CBS

Occupation

Commanding officer, 4077th MASH

Show run

1972 to 1983

Also known as

Colonel Potter, Sherman T. Potter, Col. Potter, Potter

Colonel Sherman T. Potter takes over the 4077th after Henry Blake goes home, bringing decades of Army experience and a gruff, warm common sense. Harry Morgan played him from 1975 to the end of M*A*S*H and beyond.

On M*A*S*H, Sherman Potter's story runs through Radar O'Reilly (Company Clerk), Maxwell Klinger (Company Clerk), Hawkeye Pierce (Chief Surgeon), Frank Burns (Executive Officer), Margaret Houlihan (Head Nurse), and Charles Winchester (Surgeon).

Who is Sherman Potter?

Potter is a Regular Army surgeon from Hannibal, Missouri, who first enlisted as a cavalry private in World War I and later went to medical school. By the time he reaches Korea he is close to retirement, has served in two world wars, and knows how the Army really works. He is married to Mildred, whom he writes to often.

He takes command of the 4077th in "Change of Command," much to Frank Burns's fury. Unlike Henry Blake, he is a decisive leader who can run a camp through floods, epidemics, and evacuations, yet he is relaxed enough to share a drink with the surgeons and enjoy the camp's lunacy.

Personality and comedy

Potter is a cowboy at heart. He loves horses, keeps a horse named Sophie at camp, and peppers his speech with colorful, family-friendly exclamations instead of cursing. He is also fair: he puts his foot down when the antics threaten the unit, and he backs his doctors against brass and bureaucrats when they are right.

His comedy is dry rather than zany, and his warmth anchors the show. Radar comes to see him as a father, the nurses and surgeons trust him, and even the snobbish Charles Winchester grows to respect him.

Key storylines

Early on, Radar wins Potter's heart by giving him a rescued horse for his anniversary in "Dear Mildred." In "Potter's Retirement" he considers leaving the Army after someone in camp files critical reports about his command, and in "Old Soldiers" he reflects on the friends he served with in World War I. Over the years he also makes Klinger his clerk after Radar goes home.

In the finale, Potter hosts the farewell dinner where everyone shares their plans for life after the war. As he leaves camp, Hawkeye and B.J. give him a formal salute, one of the very few times either of them salutes anyone.

Behind the scenes and legacy

Harry Morgan was already familiar to M*A*S*H viewers, having played an unhinged general in the season three opener, "The General Flipped at Dawn." When McLean Stevenson left, the producers brought Morgan back as Potter, and he won an Emmy for the role in 1980.

Potter continued in the spin-off AfterMASH as chief of surgery at a veterans hospital in Missouri, joined by Klinger and Father Mulcahy. Many fans consider him the ideal TV boss: tough, funny, and always in his people's corner.

Sherman Potter: frequently asked questions

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