THE HILARIOUS SECRET BENEATH THE MAS*H OPERATING TABLE
I was sitting on a panel stage at a fan convention, looking at a sea of familiar faces. A young woman stepped up to the audience microphone…
THEY CRIED TEARS OF JOY DURING THE GOODBYE… BUT LORETTA SWIT KNEW BETTER.
It started with an old photograph someone unearthed during a small, quiet dinner in Malibu. Loretta Swit was sitting across from Mike Farrell, the coastal breeze humming just…
WE ALL THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ANOTHER PROP… UNTIL LORETTA SWIT CRIED.
The studio lights were blinding, but the air inside Stage 9 was freezing. It was late 1977, and the cast of MAS*H was deep into filming the sixth…
THE OUTTAKE THAT MADE THE SET SILENT… BUT LORETTA SWIT KEPT CRYING.
It was supposed to be just another late-night shoot on the Fox Ranch in Malibu, with the California chill cutting through the canvas tents. Loretta Swit stood by…
THE SCENE FILMED AT MIDNIGHT THAT FORCED THE CAST TO STOP LAUGHING.
It was past midnight on Malibu Creek State Park Ranch, and the temperature had plummeted so low that everyone could see their breath. The cameras were still rigged,…
THE CAMERAS WERE STILL ROLLING… BUT THE LAUGHTER HAD COMPLETELY STOPPED.
It started with a simple question from a reporter during a quiet anniversary gathering in Malibu. Mike Farrell was sitting near the window, watching the waves finish their…
THE DAY WE LOST OUR PANTS IN THE OPERATING ROOM
I was sitting down for a podcast interview recently, fully expecting to talk about the usual things. The host and I were discussing the legacy of MAS*H…
FOR MILLIONS, THE SALUTE WAS A WAR-TIME GOODBYE… BUT FOR GARY BURGHOFF, IT WAS PURE SUFFERING.
They were sitting in a sun-drenched modern room, old photographs from the set spread like confetti between them. Loretta Swit and the man who played the camp’s visible…
THE JEEP THAT ALMOST RAN OVER ALAN ALDA
Sorting through mail in my home office recently, I found a gem. Fans of MAS*H still send the most beautiful, heartfelt letters. One letter asked how we…
THE SCENE THAT BROKE THE MOST ARROGANT MAN IN THE CAMP
Long after the television cameras were packed away and the Hollywood lights faded, three old friends sat together in the quiet corner of a hotel lounge. David…