Gary Burghoff | |
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![]() Burghoff at a convention in 2003 | |
Born | Gary Rich Burghoff [1] May 24, 1943 [2] Bristol, Connecticut, U.S. |
Education | Delavan High School, Delavan, Wisconsin |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1967–1995, 2010 |
Spouses | Janet Gayle (m. 1971;div. 1979)Elisabeth Bostrom (m. 1985;div. 2005) |
Children | 3 [3] |
Gary Rich Burghoff (born May 24, 1943) is an American actor who is known for originating the role of Charlie Brown in the 1967 Off-Broadway musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown , and the character Corporal Walter Eugene "Radar" O'Reilly in the film M*A*S*H , as well as the TV series. He was a regular on television game show Match Game from 1974 to 1979 for 204 episodes, standing in for Charles Nelson Reilly, who was in New York doing a Broadway play, and continued to make recurring appearances afterwards.
Burghoff was born in Bristol, Connecticut, moved to Clinton, Connecticut, and then later moved to Delavan, Wisconsin. [4]
He studied tap dance and became a drummer, despite being born with brachydactyly caused by Poland syndrome, which made three fingers on his left hand significantly smaller than those on his right hand. He gained early experience acting with the Belfry Players of Williams Bay, Wisconsin. [5] He received his acting training at HB Studio [6] in New York City.
In 1967, Burghoff portrayed Charlie Brown in the original off-Broadway production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown .
He was the drummer for a band called The Relatives in 1968. Lynda Carter, later a well-known actress, was the band's singer. The group opened at the Sahara Hotel and Casino lounge in Las Vegas, Nevada, and played there for three months. He and Carter remained friends, and much later they appeared together in an episode of her hit series The New Adventures of Wonder Woman in the 1978 episode "The Man Who Wouldn't Tell".
Burghoff made his feature film debut in Robert Altman's M*A*S*H (1970). Although several actors from the original film made guest appearances in the television series M*A*S*H , Burghoff was the only actor to continue as a regular, in the role of Radar O'Reilly. Although he played the same character in the series as in the film, Burghoff has cited differences in the portrayal:
In the original feature film M*A*S*H, I created Radar as a lone, darker and somewhat sardonic character; kind of a shadowy figure. I continued these qualities for a short time until I realized that the TV M*A*S*H characters were developing in a different direction from the film characters. It became a group of sophisticated, highly educated doctors (and one head nurse) who would rather be anywhere else and who understood the nature of the "hellhole" they were stuck in. With [Larry] Gelbart's help, I began to mold Radar into a more innocent, naïve character as contrast to the other characters, so that while the others might deplore the immorality and shame of war (from an intellectual and judgmental viewpoint), Radar could just REACT from a position of total innocence. [7]
Burghoff was nominated for six Emmy Awards for M*A*S*H in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and, of those nominations, he won an Emmy in 1977. Burghoff's co-star Alan Alda accepted the award on his behalf.
Burghoff left M*A*S*H in 1979 after the seventh season because of burnout and a desire to spend more time with his family, though he returned the following season to film a special two-part farewell episode, "Goodbye Radar". He explained, "Family, to me, became the most important thing. I was not available as a father because of my work. That doesn't stop when the work stops. Whenever you go out as a family, you're always torn from family to deal with public recognition." [8] "Goodbye Radar" was supposed to be the final episode of season 7, but at the behest of CBS, it was extended into a double-episode for the November sweeps the next season. Fellow cast member Mike Farrell tried to persuade Burghoff to stay on the show, citing the lackluster careers of former M*A*S*H regulars Larry Linville and McLean Stevenson after their departures.
Farrell later said, "Gary Burghoff may well have been the best actor in the company, it's always seemed to me. His focus, his ability to find those little gems of behavior that made everything absolutely true were a marvel to behold." [9]
Burghoff appeared regularly on TV, making appearances on such game shows as Match Game , Tattletales , Liar's Club , Hollywood Squares , and Showoffs . He also appeared in the film B.S. I Love You , as well as one episode each of The Love Boat and Ellery Queen . His M*A*S*H character, Radar O'Reilly, appeared on two episodes in the first season of AfterMASH . It was then spun off into W*A*L*T*E*R, which aired only once in the Eastern and Central time zones.
In the 1980s, Burghoff was the TV spokesman for BP gasoline and IBM computers. In 2000, Burghoff was a spokesman for dot-com era auction aggregation site PriceRadar.com. [10]
Burghoff is a self-taught amateur wildlife painter who also qualified to handle injured wildlife in California. [11]
He worked as a professional jazz drummer, heading the trio The We Three. In the M*A*S*H episode "Showtime", Radar is seen playing a solo on the drums; he was actually performing, and the music was not overdubbed. [12] He can also be seen playing drums in the M*A*S*H episode "Bulletin Board" in the picnic scene and the episode "Dear Dad...Again" in the no-talent show scene. [13]
Burghoff is the inventor ( U.S. patent 5,117,577 , U.S. patent 5,235,774 ) of "Chum Magic", a fishing tackle invention that attracts fish toward the user's boat. [14] [15] Other Burghoff inventions include a toilet seat lifting handle ( U.S. patent D314322 ) and a new type of fishing pole. [16]
Burghoff is a philatelist. [17] He was asked in 1993 to help select a postal stamp for United States hunters. [11]
Burghoff came out of retirement in 2010 to star in the film Daniel's Lot. [18]
Burghoff was married to Janet Gayle from 1971 to 1979. They have one daughter.
In 1985, he married Elisabeth Bostrom. The couple have two sons; they divorced in 2005.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1970 | M*A*S*H | Cpl. Walter "Radar" O'Reilly | |
1971 | B.S. I Love You | Ted Bufman | |
1975 | Twigs | Clergyman | TV movie |
1979 | The Man in the Santa Claus Suit | Bob Willis | TV movie |
1980 | Casino | Bill Taylor | TV movie |
1991 | Doubles | Arnie | |
1992 | Small Kill | Fleck / Lady Esmerelda | Also director |
1995 | Behind the Waterfall | Mr. Connors | |
2010 | Daniel's Lot | Pastor Mahoney |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1967 | NET Playhouse | Boy | Episode: "An Evening Journey to Conway Massachusetts" |
1969 | The Good Guys | Mike Butterworth | Episode: "Take a Computer to Lunch" |
1970 | The Name of the Game | Watson | Episode: "Man of the People" |
1972–79 | M*A*S*H | Cpl. Walter "Radar" O'Reilly | 174 episodes (seasons 1-8) |
1973 | Love, American Style | Sydney Melvin Wimple / Wilbur Wright | Episodes: "Love and the Crisis Line", "Love and the Plane Fantasy" |
1974–75 | Insight | Milo / Mombo | Episodes: "Five Without Faces", "The Incredible Man" |
1974–81 | Match Game | Gary Burghoff | Episodes: 330-470 (140 episodes, 1974-75). Recurring appearances afterwards from 1975 to 1981 |
1976 | Ellery Queen | Gerald Hacker | Episode: "The Adventure of the Disappearing Dagger" |
1977 | The Love Boat | Donald M. Flanders | Episode: "The Captain's Captain/Romance Roulette/Hounded (A Dog's Life)" |
1978 | America 2-Night | Himself | Episode: "Help Every Little Person" |
1978 | Fantasy Island | Richard C. Delaney | Episode: "Superstar/Salem" |
1978 | The New Adventures of Wonder Woman | Alan | Episode: "The Man Who Wouldn't Tell" |
1979 | $weepstake$ | Roscoe Fuller | Episode: "Roscoe, Elizabeth, and the M.C." |
1980 | Fantasy Island | Gordon Hughes | Episode: "The Love Doctor/Pleasure Palace/Possessed" |
1981 | The Love Boat | Eddie Martin | Episode: "Maid for Each Other/Lost and Found/Then There Were Two" |
1981 | Tales of the Unexpected | Harry Flock | Episode: "The Best Policy" |
1984 | AfterMASH | Walter "Radar" O'Reilly | Episodes: "Yours Truly, Max Klinger", "It Had to Be You" |
1984 | W*A*L*T*E*R | Walter "Radar" O'Reilly | Episode: "Pilot" |
1984 | Carnival of the Animals | himself/host | TV special featuring music of Camille Saint-Saëns |
1995 | Burke's Law | Patrick Noyes | Episode: "Who Killed the Hollywood Headshrinker?" |
Michael Joseph Farrell Jr. is an American actor, best known for his role as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the television series M*A*S*H (1975–83). In addition, Farrell was a producer of Patch Adams (1998) starring Robin Williams, and he starred in the television series Providence (1999–2002).
M*A*S*H is an American war comedy drama television series that aired on CBS from September 17, 1972, to February 28, 1983. It was developed by Larry Gelbart as the first original spin-off series adapted from the 1970 feature film M*A*S*H, which, in turn, was based on Richard Hooker's 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. The series, which was produced with 20th Century Fox Television for CBS, follows a team of doctors and support staff stationed at the "4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital" in Uijeongbu, South Korea, during the Korean War (1950–53).
Charles Nelson Reilly was an American actor, comedian, director, and drama teacher known for his comedic roles on stage, film, and television. Reilly performed in the original Broadway casts of Bye Bye Birdie; Hello, Dolly!; and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. His television credits include The Ghost & Mrs. Muir and Match Game. A recording of his autobiographical one-man play Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly was adapted into a 2006 independent film.
Harry Morgan was an American actor whose television and film career spanned six decades. Morgan's major roles included Pete Porter in both December Bride (1954–1959) and Pete and Gladys (1960–1962); Officer Bill Gannon on Dragnet (1967–1970); Amos Coogan on Hec Ramsey (1972–1974); and his starring role as Colonel Sherman T. Potter in M*A*S*H (1975–1983) and AfterMASH (1983–1985). Morgan also appeared as a supporting player in more than 100 films.
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown is a 1967 musical with music and lyrics by Clark Gesner and Andrew Lippa. It is based on the characters created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz in his comic strip Peanuts. The musical has been a popular choice for amateur theatre productions because of its small cast and simple staging.
M*A*S*H is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker.
AfterMASH is an American sitcom television series produced as the first spin-off and a continuation of M*A*S*H that aired on CBS from September 26, 1983 to May 31, 1985. It was developed as the sequel series as it takes place immediately following the end of the Korean War and chronicles the postwar adventures of three main characters from the original series: Colonel Sherman T. Potter, Sergeant Maxwell Klinger and Father John Mulcahy. M*A*S*H supporting cast-member Kellye Nakahara joined them, albeit off-camera, as the voice of the hospital's public address system. Rosalind Chao rounded out the starring cast as Soon-Lee Klinger, a Korean refugee whom Klinger met, fell in love with, and married in the M*A*S*H series finale "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen".
W*A*L*T*E*R is a 1984 American television pilot for the third spin-off of M*A*S*H that was never picked up. It starred Gary Burghoff, who reprised his M*A*S*H character.
John Robert Anderson was an American character actor who performed in hundreds of stage, film, and television productions during a career that spanned over four decades.
Masquerade Party was an American television game show. During its original run from 1952 to 1960, the show appeared at various times on ABC, NBC, and CBS. A syndicated revival was produced for one season in 1974–75.
"Showtime" was the 24th episode of the first season of the American television series M*A*S*H. It originally aired on March 25, 1973.
The eighth season of M*A*S*H premiered on September 17, 1979 and concluded its 25-episode season on March 24, 1980. Like season 7, this season aired Mondays at 9:00–9:30 pm on CBS.
"Abyssinia, Henry" is the 72nd episode of the M*A*S*H television series and the final episode of the series' third season. It was written by Everett Greenbaum and Jim Fritzell, and it first aired on March 18, 1975. The episode is notable for its shocking ending, in which the unit's amiable commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake receives an honorable discharge and leaves for home but, in the final scene, is reported killed by enemy fire. This ending prompted more than 1,000 letters to series producers Gene Reynolds and Larry Gelbart, and drew fire from both CBS and 20th Century Fox.
"The Sniper" is the 34th episode of the M*A*S*H television series, and tenth of season two. The episode aired on November 17, 1973.
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M*A*S*H is a 1970 American dark war comedy film directed by Robert Altman and written by Ring Lardner Jr., based on Richard Hooker's 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. The picture is the only theatrically released feature film in the M*A*S*H franchise.
Reva Rose is an American actress of stage and screen, best known for her award-winning performance as Lucy van Pelt in the 1967 Off-Broadway production of Clark Gesner's You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
William Hinnant was an American actor. His younger brother is actor and comedian Skip Hinnant.