THE MUSIC THAT BROKE CHARLES WINCHESTER’S HEART WASN’T IN THE SCRIPT.
It was a quiet dinner in Los Angeles, long after the fading of the Korean War they had simulated on a Hollywood soundstage. Mike Farrell and Loretta…
THE DAY COLONEL POTTER FORGOT HIS G-RATED VOCABULARY
The cameras had been turned off for decades, but sitting in a quiet hotel suite for a press interview, Mike Farrell didn’t need a script to remember…
THE SILENCE IN THE OPERATING ROOM WASN’T IN THE SCRIPT.
It was a quiet afternoon, years after the tents had been taken down and the boots put away. William Christopher and Gary Burghoff were sitting together, the…
THEY THOUGHT THE GOODBYE WAS SCRIPTED UNTIL THE ASHES FELL.
It was supposed to be a standard reunion. Just a few old friends sitting around a table, years after they had left a war behind them on…
THE WIND IN THE CANYON BROUGHT BACK A MEMORY THEY BURIED.
It was just supposed to be a quiet walk through the Santa Monica Mountains. Two old friends navigating the dry, winding trails of Malibu Creek State Park….
THE SURGICAL DUMMY PRANK THAT BROKE THE ENTIRE CAST
We were sitting in a recording studio when the podcast host threw a curveball. “Alan, everyone talks about the heavy moments on the show. But you guys…
THE SECRET THAT MADE THE CAST OF MAS*H STOP LAUGHING
They were a family of pranksters, always finding ways to break the tension on set. But on this particular afternoon in 1975, the laughter suddenly died. Stage 9…
THEY RETURNED TO THE MOUNTAINS AND HEARD GHOSTS IN THE WIND
Decades had passed since they packed up the canvas tents and left the mountains for good. When Mike and Loretta finally returned to the old filming site at…
THE SECRET SCRIPT PAGE THAT BROKE A TELEVISION CAST’S HEART
Years later, whenever the surviving cast members of a certain beloved television show gathered, the stories usually started with the laughter. They would sit around, drinking coffee, recalling…
THE SLEEPING PATIENT WHO RUINED THE OPERATING ROOM SCENE
I was sitting down recently for a documentary interview about the legacy of our show. The director was asking me all the standard questions about character development, the…