The cast of ‘M*A*S*H’: Where did the actors end up after the series ended?

Alan Alda (“Hawkeye” Pierce)

Alan Alda played “Hawkeye” Pierce, the quick-witted chief surgeon who kept things lively around the camp and empathized with people’s suffering. 

As M*A*S*H’s popular star, Alda gained influence behind the scenes and was partly responsible for the turn toward drama in later seasons. He wrote and directed numerous episodes, including the finale, and picked up 21 Emmy nominations for acting, directing, and writing, winning five. 

Alda looks back on the show with great pride, telling PEOPLE in 2022, “It was a lucky gathering of producers, directors, writers and actors that contributed both a sense of the times we were in and a critique of those times.”

Even while wearing many hats for M*A*S*H, Alda maintained a film career, including the Oscar-winning movie California Suite (1979) and his directorial debut The Four Seasons (1981). Later on, he appeared in a trio of Woody Allen films — Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993), and Everyone Says I Love You (1996) — and played Ben Stiller’s father in the black comedy Flirting With Disaster (1996).

He picked up his first and only Oscar nomination for Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator (2004) and a Tony nod for Glengarry Glen Ross. In recent years, the actor appeared in Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies (2015) and Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story (2019).

Of course, many TV viewers may know Alba from the last two seasons of The West Wing (2004–2006), for which he won yet another Emmy. He has had recurring roles on Ray Donovan (2018–2020) and The Good Fight (2018–2019).

Alda also hosted the educational PBS show Scientific American Frontiers for 14 years. In 2009, he founded the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University. He currently hosts a podcast, Clear + Vivid With Alan Alda, about the importance of connecting with other people.

Alda married his wife Arlene in 1957. They have three daughters: Eve, Elizabeth, and Beatrice. In 2018, the actor announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

Wayne Rogers (Trapper John McIntyre)

Wayne Rogers played Trapper John, Hawkeye’s tentmate and close confidant. The original plan for the show featured both Hawkeye and Trapper John front and center, but as Alda’s popularity grew, Rogers’ character became less prominent. He left M*A*S*H in 1975 after three seasons. 

The actor soon starred in the short-lived detective series City of Angels, then returned to TV medicine in the sitcom House Calls (1979–1982). Rogers starred in several TV movies and had a recurring role in Murder, She Wrote (1993–1995). He was also active in stock and real estate markets, appearing regularly on the Fox Business Network program Cashin’ In. 

Rogers was married to actress Mitzi McWhorter from 1960 to 1983, and the pair had two children, William and Laura. He later wed Amy Hirsh in 1988. Rogers died of complications from pneumonia in 2015, at age 82.

Mike Farrell (B.J. Hunnicutt)

Mike Farrell played B.J. Hunnicutt, Hawkeye’s new tentmate beginning in season 4 after Trapper John’s exit. Farrell stayed for the rest of the series, writing four episodes and directing five. 

Following M*A*S*H, Farrell began a production company and produced several TV movies in addition to the Robin Williams weepie Patch Adams (1998). He continued appearing in front of the camera as well, booking a handful of TV movies and guest-starring gigs before settling into a main cast role on the medical drama Providence (1999–2002). He has since popped up in episodes of Desperate Housewives (2007–2008), Law & Order: SVU (2008), Supernatural (2012), and NCIS (2019).

He was married to actress Judy Farrell, who appeared on M*A*S*H as Nurse Able, from 1963 to 1983. They had two children, Michael and Erin. He later married actress Shelley Fabares in 1984.

Larry Linville (Frank Burns)

Larry Linville played overzealous surgeon Frank Burns, who acted as the primary foil for Hawkeye and his pals. Linville left the show after five seasons.

After his M*A*S*H departure, Linville remained a regular face on network television, guest-starring on everything from The Rockford Files (1977) to CHiPs (1979) to The Love Boat (1979–1981) to Lois & Clark (1993).

His two-episode appearance on The Jeffersons (1981) led to a starring role on its short-lived spinoff, Checking In (1981). While most of his career has been on TV, the actor does have two big-screen cult faves under his belt: Earth Girls Are Easy (1988) and Rock ‘n’ Roll High School Forever (1991).

Linville was married five times. He had a daughter, Kelly, with his first wife, Kate Geer. The actor also married and divorced Vana Tribbey, Melissa Gallant, and Susan Hagan. His fifth and final marriage, to Deborah Guydon, lasted from 1993 until his death in 2000. He died due to complications from pneumonia at age 60.

David Ogden Stiers (Charles Emerson Winchester III)

David Ogden Stiers played patrician Charles Emerson Winchester III, joining the cast in season 6 following Larry Linville’s departure. He earned two Emmy nominations for his performance.

Once M*A*S*H ended, Stiers remained in high demand as a character actor and voice performer. He played a district attorney Michael Reston in a string of Perry Mason TV movies in the ’80s opposite Raymond Burr. The Juilliard-trained actor appeared in the classic miniseries North & South (1985) and in several Woody Allen films, including Another Woman (1988) and Mighty Aphrodite (1995). 

He had prominent roles in the teen classic Better Off Dead (1985), as star John Cusack’s father, and in the Oscar-winning The Accidental Tourist (1988). A few years later, Stiers began working with Disney, voicing the clock Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast (1991). He later voiced characters in Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), and Lilo & Stitch (2002).

In the flesh, Stiers recurred on USA’s Stephen King adaptation The Dead Zone (2002–2007) and appeared on Stargate: Atlantis (2006–2007).

Stiers died in 2018 due to complications from bladder cancer, at age 75.

Loretta Swit (Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan)

Loretta Swit won two Emmys as “Hot Lips” Houlihan, the 4077th’s head nurse who was a stern disciplinarian but became a more sympathetic figure over the years. Swit was in the series throughout its entire run; she and Alan Alda were the only cast members to appear in both the pilot and the finale.

After M*A*S*H, she played Cagney in the 1981 pilot for Cagney & Lacey but was unable to commit to the role due to other contractual obligations. She appeared on The Love Boat (1977–1984), Hawaii Five-0 (1969–1972), and Diagnosis: Murder (1998). The actress has also been active in theater, at one time touring with a one-woman show about Eleanor Roosevelt. 

Swit married actor Dennis Holahan in 1983. They later divorced.

McLean Stevenson (Henry Blake)

McLean Stevenson played Henry Blake, the down-to-earth camp commander who allied himself with Hawkeye and Trapper John in opposition to the more disciplined Frank and “Hot Lips.” Stevenson was nominated for four Emmys, including one for writing the episode “The Trial of Henry Blake.” He won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in 1974.

Like Wayne Rogers, Stevenson left M*A*S*H after three seasons because he felt he was being overshadowed by Alan Alda and wanted to headline a show of his own. Over the next eight years, he appeared in four sitcoms: The McLean Stevenson Show, In the Beginning, Hello Larry, and Condo. In between those series, he found occasional guest work on shows like The Golden Girls (1987) and The Love Boat (1981–1984), and filled in for Johnny Carson as the guest host of The Tonight Show an astounding 58 times. Stevenson later reflected that leaving M*A*S*H was the biggest mistake of his career.

The actor was married three times and had three children: Lindsey, Jennifer, and Jeff. He tied the knot with Ginny Fosdick in 1980. They were together until his death in 1996 when he suffered a heart attack. He was 68 years old.

Harry Morgan (Sherman T. Potter)

Harry Morgan won an Emmy for playing Sherman T. Potter, the stern camp commander who arrived in season 4.

A long-time character actor who appeared in a wide range of films — including classics like The Ox-Bow Incident (1942), High Noon (1952), and Inherit the Wind (1960) — was also a TV vet. He booked roles in December Bride (1954–1959) and the revival of Dragnet (1967–1970) before M*A*S*H gave him a career-defining role.

Morgan continued playing Potter in the sequel series AfterMASH (1983–1985), along with Jamie Farr’s Klinger and William Christopher’s Father Mulcahy. His final television work was a recurring role on the sci-fi sitcom 3rd Rock From the Sun (1996–1997). 

The actor was married to Eileen Detchon from 1940 until her death in 1985. They raised four sons: Christopher, Charles, Paul, and Daniel. In 1986, Morgan married Barbara Bushman Quine. He died in 2011 at age 96 due to complications from pneumonia.

Gary Burghoff (Walter “Radar” O’Reilly)

Gary Burghoff played Walter “Radar” O’Reilly, the naive, endearing corporal who still slept with his teddy bear. Burghoff is the only actor from the film to reprise a regular role in the series, earning seven Emmy nominations and winning once in 1977. He left after season 7 but returned for a two-part farewell episode, “Goodbye Radar,” in season 8.

After his exit, Burghoff made sporadic appearances on television, participating in game shows and taking guest roles on Fantasy Island (1978–1980) and The Love Boat (1977–1981) before reprising Radar again in two episodes of AfterMASH (1984). That turn was intended to spin off into a new sitcom, W*A*L*T*E*R, which would feature Radar as a cop in St. Louis. The pilot aired on CBS but was not picked up as a series. 

Burghoff later worked as a jazz drummer in the trio The We Three and became an inventor, with several patents for fishing tackle and a toilet seat-lifting handle.

Burghoff’s marriage to Janet Gayle lasted from 1971 to 1979. They had a daughter, Gena. He then wed Elisabeth Bostrom in 1985, raising sons Miles and Jordan before their divorce in 2005.

Jamie Farr (Maxwell Klinger)

Jamie Farr played Maxwell Klinger, the eye-catching orderly who wore women’s clothes in hopes of being discharged and sent home. The part was planned as a small role, but Klinger caught on with audiences and became a regular. 

Farr was one of three actors to continue in the spinoff AfterMASH. From there, he made sporadic television appearances, serving as a celebrity judge on The Gong Show and taking guest roles on The Love Boat (1978–1983), Mad About You (1999), and That ’70s Show (2002–2003). On the big screen, he had a role in all three Cannonball Run movies. The actor also took to the stage, making his Broadway debut in Guys and Dolls in 1994, at age 60.

Farr has been married to Joy Ann Richards since 1963. They have two children, Jonas and Yvonne.

William Christopher (Father John Mulcahy)

William Christopher played Father Mulcahy, the quirky Army chaplain. The actor appeared in all 11 seasons, then moved on to AfterMASH for two more years. 

From there, Christopher made occasional appearances on TV, namely in The Love Boat (1981–1984), Lois & Clark (1997), and Mad About You (1998). He also was active on stage, including a mid-’90s tour of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple, opposite Jamie Farr. His final TV appearance was a seven-episode arc on the soap opera Days of Our Lives (2012) as another man of the cloth, Father Tobias.

Christopher married Barbara O’Connor in 1957. The couple had two sons, Ned and John. He died of lung cancer in 2016, at age 84.