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M*A*S*H Characters
M*A*S*H found laughter and heartbreak in a Korean War field hospital and ran for eleven seasons on CBS.
- Network
- CBS
- Original run
- 1972 to 1983
- Guides
- 8
- Lead
- Hawkeye Pierce
M*A*S*H is set at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War, where a team of exhausted surgeons and nurses patch up the wounded and try to stay sane between waves of incoming helicopters. Based on the 1970 film, which came from Richard Hooker's novel, the series mixed sharp comedy with real grief in a way few sitcoms had tried.
Alan Alda's Hawkeye Pierce is the camp's wisecracking conscience. Around him are company clerk Radar O'Reilly, the uptight Frank Burns and Margaret Houlihan, and Klinger, who wears dresses in hopes of a discharge. Over the years new arrivals like B.J. Hunnicutt, Colonel Sherman Potter, and Charles Winchester reshaped the unit.
The show ran far longer than the war it depicted, and its 1983 finale drew one of the largest audiences ever recorded for a single episode of American television.
New to the show, or planning a rewatch? Start with the essential M*A*S*H episodes, led by the 9 that matter to more than one character. Already a superfan? Try the 20-question M*A*S*H trivia quiz.
M*A*S*H main cast(8)
- Hawkeye PierceLeadPlayed by Alan AldaThe brilliant, wisecracking chief surgeon of the 4077th MASH, who fights the Korean War with a scalpel by day and jokes, pranks…
- B.J. HunnicuttMain castPlayed by Mike FarrellA gentle, devoted family man and gifted surgeon from California who replaces Trapper John at the 4077th and becomes Hawkeye's best friend and…
- Charles WinchesterMain castPlayed by David Ogden StiersThe snobbish, Harvard-trained Boston surgeon who replaces Frank Burns in the Swamp, matches Hawkeye wit for wit…
- Frank BurnsMain castPlayed by Larry LinvilleThe whiny, rule-obsessed, and famously inept surgeon of the 4077th, who carries on a not-so-secret affair with Margaret Houlihan and schemes…
- Margaret HoulihanMain castPlayed by Loretta SwitThe tough, by-the-book head nurse of the 4077th, nicknamed "Hot Lips," who starts as Frank Burns's ally against the surgeons and grows into one of…
- Maxwell KlingerMain castPlayed by Jamie FarrThe Toledo-born corporal who wears dresses and pulls stunt after stunt to win a psychiatric discharge from the Army…
- Radar O'ReillyMain castPlayed by Gary BurghoffThe shy, teddy-bear-hugging Iowa farm boy who runs the 4077th as its company clerk and somehow hears the choppers, and his commander's orders…
- Sherman PotterMain castPlayed by Harry MorganThe horse-loving, plain-talking career Army colonel from Missouri who takes command of the 4077th in season four and becomes a steady father figure…
M*A*S*H couples and catchphrases
Find all 2 M*A*S*H catchphrases in our list of famous sitcom catchphrases.
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