Alan Alda says the impact of his M*A*S*H role on some of the show's most devoted fans caught him by surprise. The 90-year-old actor appeared alongside author Roger Rosenblatt at New York's 92nd Street Y last month to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Rosenblatt's book, More Rules for Aging: Making the Most of Your Ridiculous, Wondrous Life.
During the event, he singled out one of Rosenblatt's passages from the book, which advises readers to "live usefully," and noted how he felt it could be applied to his portrayal of Capt. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce, a U.S. Army Reserve captain and surgeon on M*A*S*H.
Living Usefully
"You talk about making a contribution, and it makes you feel good. It's not just giving, it's getting," he explained, according to People. "One of the ways that I noticed that I must have lived usefully is people — this is really true — people come up to me on the street and they say, 'After seeing you play a doctor on M*A*S*H, that made me want to become a doctor.'"
He went on to note: "And they became doctors because not a single one of them says they wanted to become an actor. But it was sort of me."
The Legacy of M*A*S*H
M*A*S*H, which aired on CBS from 1972 to 1983, followed a team of doctors and support staff stationed at an army hospital in Uijeongbu, South Korea, during the Korean War. Alda won three Emmys and six Golden Globe awards for his portrayal of Hawkeye, and over the course of the show's 11-season run, picked up an additional two Emmys for his work behind the camera as a writer and director.
In 2018, Alda publicly confirmed he'd been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative disease that can cause muscle stiffness, impaired speech and uncontrolled movement. He's continued to act regularly, appearing in two seasons of Showtime's Ray Donovan as Dr. Arthur Amiot and on Netflix's revival of The Four Seasons as the father of Kerri Kenney-Silver's character, Anne.
Reflections on Turning 90
Elsewhere during his 92 Y appearance, Alda reflected on celebrating his 90th birthday earlier this year. "We went out to dinner, and the waiter came by at the end of the meal with a cupcake with a candle in it and led the singing, saying, 'Happy birthday, older gentleman,'" he recalled, per People. "Then I blew out the candle, and they said, 'You did it yourself. I didn't help you.' They kind of let you know."
