TV’S FAVORITE COMMANDER… BUT HIS BIGGEST GAMBLE BECAME HIS DEEPEST REGRET
The air on the set of the 4077th was often thick with a mixture of cigarette smoke, California dust, and an almost electric sense of creative destiny. In…
THE CHOPPER BLADES SOUNDED DIFFERENT TWENTY YEARS LATER.
The hills of Malibu don’t look much like Korea. But if you close your eyes and let the sun hit your face at a certain angle, the years…
THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE ACTING BUT THE TEARS WERE REAL.
The dust in Malibu Creek has a way of staying in your lungs for decades. Loretta Swit sat across from William Christopher, years after the helicopters had finally…
THE DAY A THREE STAR GENERAL CRITIQUED KLINGERS LATEST FASHION CHOICES
The microphone sat between us, a small silver monolith in the quiet of the studio. I was sitting across from Jamie Farr, who at eighty-something still had that…
THE TELEVISION ARISTOCRAT… BUT HIS TRUE HEART WAS HIDDEN IN THE MUSIC
The coastal town of Newport, Oregon, is a place where the Pacific Ocean does not just meet the land; it dominates it. The air is thick with salt,…
THE DAY HENRY BLAKE FORGOT HE WAS ONLY HALF DRESSED ON SET
I remember sitting across from a young reporter in the early nineties, someone who clearly grew up watching us every Tuesday night, and he asked me a question…
THE ARMY’S TOUGHEST HEAD NURSE… BUT HER WEAKNESS WAS A RUBBER CHICKEN
The host of the podcast leaned into the microphone, his voice dropping into that familiar, hushed tone of a long-form interview. He looked across the table at the…
THE ROTORS WERE ONLY A CUE… BUT NOW THE SOUND HURTS
The ice in the glass clicked against the rim, a sharp, cold sound in the stillness of the afternoon. Mike sat back in the Adirondack chair, squinting against…
THE 4077TH WAS FICTION… BUT THE FINAL SALUTE WAS REAL
Jamie sits on the shaded porch of a quiet house in the hills, his eyes squinting against the bright glare of a California afternoon. Across from him, Mike…
THE 4077TH’S BELOVED COMMANDER… BUT A DESK DRAWER WAS HIS REAL ENEMY
I’m sitting on a stage in a late-night television studio, the kind with the heavy blue velvet curtains and the band in the corner. The host leans in,…