RIP David Ogden Stiers
I thought about posting this as OT last week but did not. It's a good read:
'M*A*S*H' Finale, 35 Years Later: Untold Stories of One of TV's Most Important Shows
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/mash-oral-history-untold-sto…
an episode tonight where major charles winchester iii, goes to the front line to question a wounded soldier about what he is feeling as he is about to die. i guess he now knows.
Very good actor and role. RIP
Bummer. M*A*S*H really took off when Winchester replaced Frank Burns. Stiers was brilliant. A great deal of it was writing, of course, but Winchester was a much deeper and more complex character.
Don't forget his role as Cogsworth the talking clock, either. "Flowers, chocolates.... promises you don't intend to keep...." the last part having been totally ad-libbed by Stiers.
I pretty much change the channel if it's an episode after Henry died.
Although, agreed Chaaales was very well done.
RIP DOS
Waaaaaaat.
Henry Blake was a really great, lovable character, but Winchester and Potter were far superior to the ones they replaced. Frank Burns was an incompetent butt-monkey and never could be anything else. Winchester has more depth and complexity than perhaps anyone else on the show, yes, Hawkeye included. Not to mention that getting rid of Burns allowed Margaret to be a much more likable and independent character in her own right instead of obnoxious sidekick to Frank.
Blake over Potter can be understandable as a matter of preference, although truthfully I don't think the show could've gone as far as it did with Blake in charge; he too was more one-dimensional than his replacement (albeit still far deeper than Burns.) I'd say you're missing out on the best of the show if you don't see any episodes involving Winchester.
In fact, the Potter/Burns overlap time is very good.
I agree the show couldn't have gone much longer with Margaret and Frank caracatures. (Linville played that line of hate/pity beautifully, btw)
I just think the later Alda controlled shows were sanctimonious slogs.
I was a little strong in my first post. My general rule is: If BJ has a mustache, turn the channel.
I guess I just preferred it as a broader comedy.
(And I've watched them all several times over. I just prefer the earlier years.)
Can totally see that. I think M*A*S*H was at its best as a comedy with a few doses of poignant drama instead of whacking you over the head with an anti-war message. Have to have the drama or it's just slapstick, but damn, Hawkeye could sure get preachy sometimes.
Winchester replacing Frank reminded me of something I once read about the old Warner Bros. cartoon era, when the character of Yosemite Sam was created. In part, this was done to give Bugs Bunny a different, tougher character to fight with. Elmer Fudd had become too easy - Bugs needed a more worthy opponent.
Same with MASH. Burns' two-dimensional foil (the lousy doctor and the worse human being) was too easy to beat. But Winchester was different: an excellent doctor, as well as worthy opponent who could give as good as he got (in his pompous Bahston upper-crust manner.) Plus, Ogden Stiers was a much better actor than Larry Linville. As the series ran, he gave Charles a much greater depth, with occasional sympathy and understanding.
Charles replacing Frank was much like Potter replacing Henry: the originals were very good, but the replacements were better.
else. But Frank was not an easy gig. Between writing and acting it was well done, but I agree taken as far as it could be.
The interesting thing about Larry Linville is that he's part of a smallish group of actors who were genuinely nice, well-liked people in real life but famous for playing absolutely rotten, nasty characters. I think that's probably very, very hard to do. Difficult assignment. Examples of others in that group would include Ted Knight and Jack Gleeson.
You're right - by all accounts Linville was a completely professional actor (you'll see him guest-starring on old episodes of "Gunsmoke" and "Mission: Impossible"), as well as a good cast member and a nice guy. But after his five-year contract ran out, he chose to leave, fearing he'd get typecast as Frank, and knowing he'd taken the character as far as he could.
He did have a great answer, when a fan asked him why Frank Burns couldn't have become nicer. Linville replied, "What did you want him to be - Alan Alda?"
One of the lesser known facts about David Ogden Stiers is that he was also the guest conductor of over 70 orchestras around the world as well as an associate conductor of the orchestra in his hometown.
For those who were fans of the Myst series, he was the voice of Esher in Myst V as well.
Talented across media indeed.
like genuine Aardvark.
took a step down when Trapper John and Henry Blake left the show. But I thought David did a good job stepping in for Larry Linville (Frank Burns) but those first 3 seasons of MASH were the best.
Played the dad in my favorite movie of all time, Better Off Dead. What a bummer.
From the M*A*S*H Oral History article:
Farr: To repay Stiers for all his pranks on us, we had his dressing room painted orange and purple over Thanksgiving break. When we came back, we were waiting for him to rant. He said nothing. Finally, one of us asked, "What's new?"
Farrell:David said, "Oh, I've just had my dressing room redecorated. Did you as well?" I responded, "No, how is yours?" He said, "Quite lovely, it's a fabulous combination of salmon and mauve." It was his way of letting us know he got it, but no one was going to get him.
RIP
He did so much good work over the course of his career (across a range of performing arts) that it's tough to point to the definitive example of his immense talent. However, his narration of a Ken Burns documentary about New York and September 11 stands out for me. His voice: calm, but also tinged with sorrow, was so resonant that it perfectly set the tone for the film.