Radar O’Reilly—Gary Burghoff played Corporal Walter Eugene Radar O’Reilly in both the film and television series. It was only on TV that he had this full name as he is known simply as Radar in the film. Hot Lips was played by Sally Kellerman in the film and Loretta Swift on TV; Trapper John was played by Elliott Gould (film) and Wayne Rogers (TV).
Theatrical release poster for the 1970 black comedy–war film M*A*S*H. The caption “M*A*S*H Gives a Damn” refers to the Ratings Administration taking issue with the film’s frequent use of the word. [Image Wikipedia]
Three—the Korean War lasted from 1950 to 1953.
Benjamin Franklin Pierce—Hawkeye (Alan Alda in the TV series), a central character in the MASH series, is known for his medical expertise, humour, heavy drinking and womanising ways. He becomes the Chief Surgeon early in the first season. Donald Sutherland played Hawkeye in the 1970 film. It is a quote from Hawkeye that provides the title of this post—Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happy Hour.
Mobile Army Surgical Hospital—Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals were U.S. Army field hospital units operational from the Korean War to the Gulf War. Each MASH unit had 60 beds and provided support to army units of 10,000 to 20,000 soldiers, with a low mortality rate due to shorter transportation times.
Jamie Farr—Maxwell “Max” Klinger, an Arab-American orderly in the 4077th MASH unit, initially attempts to gain a Section 8 discharge by cross-dressing and engaging in eccentric behaviour. After becoming the company clerk, he abandons these antics and later marries Soon Lee Han, a Korean refugee, choosing to stay in Korea to help her find her family. In AfterMASH, they move to the US, facing challenges that lead Klinger to bookmaking and eventual employment at a veterans’ hospital.
4077th—loosely based on the historic 8055th MASH unit.
Father John Mulcahy—a Catholic priest and US Army chaplain, serves at the 4077th. He is known for his compassionate nature, boxing skills, and ecumenical approach to religion. Despite his unshakable faith, he struggles with the importance of his role compared to the doctors’ life-saving abilities. Appearing in the novel, film and television series he is played by René Auberjonois (film) and William Christopher on television with the exception of the pilot episode when George Martin had the role.
Suicide is Painless—is a song from the 1970 film M*A*S*H, performed by characters and The Ron Hicklin Singers. It was composed by Johnny Mandel with lyrics by Mike Altman (the directors 15-year-old-son). The instrumental version became the theme music for the TV series.
Cover of MASH, by Richard Hooker. 1969 edition, Pocket Books [Image Wikipedia]
Richard Hooker—the pseudonym of Hiester Richard Hornberger Jr., who authored the novel MASH based on his experiences as a surgeon with the 8055th MASH during the Korean War. The novel was adapted into the successful film and television series.
The final episode of the television series M*A*S*H aired on 28 February 1983. The record-breaking episode is described as follows in Wikipedia
“As of 2025, it remains the most-watched single episode of any television series in U.S. history, and for twenty-seven years was the most-watched single broadcast in television history.”
Here are some M*A*S*H related questions to operate on.
The only character to be played by the same actor in both the 1970 film and television series was…
Hot Lips Houlihan
Radar O’Reilly
Trapper John McIntyre
Publicity photo from the M*A*S*H season premiere, 1974. Pictured are: Loretta Swit, Larry Linville, Wayne Rogers, Gary Burghoff, Alan Alda (driver of jeep), and McLean Stevenson. [Image Wikipedia]
The 11 series of M*A*S*H aired from 1972 to 1983 and depicted life in a military hospital during the Korean War. How many years did the Korean War last?
Three
Seven
Eleven
Alan Alda played Hawkeye Pierce, what was his character’s full name?
Alexander Hamilton Pierce
Benjamin Franklin Pierce
George Washington Pierce
In the context of the novel, film and TV series what four words do these letters M*A*S*H represent?
Major Aid Station (with) Helipad
Military Advanced Support Helicopter
Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
Corporal Maxwell Klinger was often seen wearing women’s clothing in an attempt to get a psychiatric discharge from the Army. Who was the actor in this role?
Jamie Farr
Larry Linville
Gary Burghoff
M*A*S*H was about life in what specific MASH unit?
1066th
4077th
7088th
Who was the US Army Chaplain assigned to this MASH unit?
Father Matthew Muelken
Father John Mulcahy
Father Patrick Mulholland
What was the name for the music often described as the Theme from M*A*S*H?
None Like it Hot
A War for all Seasons
Suicide is Painless
Who wrote the novel MASH which spawned the film and television series?
Raymond Harlot
Richard Hooker
Roger Hustler
Complete the title of the final M*A*S*H episode Goodbye, Farewell and ___.
First edition cover of R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) by Karel Čapek. [Image from Wikipedia]
On February 11, 1938, BBC Television broadcast a 35-minute adaptation of a section of Karel Čapek’s play R.U.R.—thus becoming the first science fiction piece ever aired on television. Although some low-quality still photographs survive, no recordings of the production are known to exist.
R.U.R. (Rossumovi Univerzální Roboti—(English: Rossum’s Universal Robots)) is a 1920 science fiction play by the Czech writer Karel Čapek. It introduced the word ‘robot’ to the English language and popularised science fiction as a genre. R.U.R. quickly gained influence and was translated into thirty languages by 1923. It was a commercial success in Europe and North America during its time.
In 1948, the BBC aired another adaptation, this time the entire play, running for 90 minutes but unfortunately, no audio or visual recordings of this version survive either. Patrick Troughton who played the robot Radius in this latter production played another sci-fi character when he became the Second Doctor in the BBC’s Doctor Who in 1966.
Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor. [Image from Wikipedia]
Firstly, on 11 February in which year did the first science fiction piece ever aired on television make its debut?
A. 1938
B. 1945
C. 1950
Secondly, the play that was adapted for this television programme had, when originally published in 1920, introduced a new word to the English language. What was that word?
Quizology.Online 