THE CAMERAS WERE ROLLING, BUT LORETTA SWIT WAS NOT ACTING.
The sound stage at Fox was freezing that Tuesday evening in 1977. Most people remember the heat of Malibu Creek State Park, but the indoor sets had a…
A SCENE FILLED WITH LAUGHTER… BUT FOR MIKE FARRELL, IT HELD A HEARTBREAKING TRUTH.
The sound stage was unusually cold that evening, a sharp contrast to the simulated California summer heat baking the canvas of the Swamp. They were deep into season…
THE DAY THE CAMERAS KEPT ROLLING AND LORETTA SWIT COULDN’T STOP CRYING.
It was a Tuesday afternoon in Malibu, decades after the helicopters finally stopped flying. Three old friends sat on a sun-drenched patio, the Pacific Ocean crashing quietly in…
THE CAMERAS WERE STILL ROLLING BUT NO ONE WAS ACTING ANYMORE.
The studio lot was always colder than it looked on television. By the late 1970s, the set of Stage 9 had become a second home, but on that…
THE DAY HARRY MORGAN ABSOLUTELY SHATTERED THE MAS*H WRITERS WITH ONE LINE
We were sitting in this small, dimly lit radio studio in Los Angeles a few years back, doing a retrospective podcast for the show’s anniversary. The host was…
THE DAY THE MASH MESS TENT TRANSFORMED INTO AN UNCONTROLLED LAUGHTER ZONE
You know, people always ask me about the serious episodes, the ones that made everyone cry. But when I look back at those long days in Malibu, it’s…
HOW ALAN ALDA ACCIDENTALLY REWRITE MASH HISTORY DURING A LIVE PODCAST
The microphone was live, the headphones were snugly in place, and the familiar red light of the studio glowed brightly in the soundproof room. Alan Alda leaned forward,…
HOW ALAN ALDA ACCIDENTALLY RUINED A DRAMATIC MASH SCENE WITH SOUP
We were sitting in a small, windowless studio in New York, doing a retrospective podcast for the show’s anniversary, when the host asked me about the tonal shifts…
ALAN ALDA REVEALS THE ONE MASH MOMENT THAT UTTERLY RUINED THE CREW
We were sitting in a quiet, dimly lit recording studio for an episode of my podcast, Clear+Vivid. My guest that day was an old friend, and as we…
HOW ALAN ALDA ACCIDENTALLY RUINED A HIGHLY EMOTIONAL MASH SCENE
People always ask me about the emotional weight of filming MAS*H, especially during those late-night scenes in the Operating Room where the tension was so thick you could…