MASH’sWayne Rogers exited the show early and went on to front his own medical comedy - a hit show that was quickly ruined by a disastrous firing.Wayne Rogers leftMASHafter season three, largely due to his role being gradually reduced. When the star signed on, the sitcom was intended as a two-hander focused on Rogers' Trapper John and Alan Alda’s Hawkeye. When it became clear Alda was the breakout star, the writers focused their attention on him, while Trapper increasingly became the sidekick.
Followingthe shock death of Henry Blake inMASH’sseason 3 finale, Rogers decided to leave before the fourth series. Compared to many ofthe actors who exitedMASHduring its run,Rogers did quite well in the years that followed, including fronting the detective seriesCity of Angelsand appearing in gender-flippedIt’s a Wonderful LiferemakeIt Happened One Christmasin 1977.
Why The MASH Actor Who Quit In Season 3 Regretted Leaving The Show
A key MASH actor came to regret leaving the show so early - even though their exit led to one of the sitcom’s most groundbreaking moments.
Wayne Rogers' MASH Follow-Up House Calls Was A Ratings Hit
Like MASH, House Calls was a movie spinoff
Easily Rogers' highest profile series outside ofMASHwasHouse Calls, another medical sitcom. This was based on the 1978 comedy movieHouse Callsstarring Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson, with the TV version casting Rogers as a surgeon who falls for Lynn Redgrave’s hospital administrator. The show quickly became a success after it debuted in 1979, managing to capture the spirit of the original film while Rogers and Redgrave shared great chemistry.
Radar O’Reilly
Season 8
While Rogers’MASHco-star McLean Stevenson (who played Henry Blake) left the show with dreams of becoming a leading man, a run of short-lived sitcoms dashed that plan.MASHwas such a hit that it was hard for any of the cast to escape from under it, butwithHouse Calls, Rogers found the perfect middle ground after leaving such a big show. It was another medical comedy for sure, but it was lighter in tone and played to his strengths as a performer. Rogers and Redgrave even received Golden Globe nominations for their work in 1981.
Why Wayne Rogers Quit MASH And Passed On Its First Spinoff
Rogers didn’t want to get typecast by MASH
The success ofHouse Callsconfirmed Rogers made the right call to leaveMASHat the height of it’s success. Had he known it was going to run for another eight seasons, he may have been convinced to stick around slightly longer though. Still, there was more to his exit than unhappiness over the decreasing size of Trapper’s role.When he signed up forMASH, Rogers objected to a “Morality Clause” that was present in his contract(viaPop Goes The Culture), which stated the network could fire him for any behavior they deemed objectionable or “immoral.”
… Rogers never had a signed contract during his duration onMASH, so when his various issues with the show came to a head, he was free to leave with zero legal repercussions.
Rogers refused to sign this clause on principle, feeling the wording of the clause was “too general.” In short, Rogers never had a signed contract during his duration onMASH, so when his various issues with the show came to a head, he was free to leave with zero legal repercussions. Inbetween leaving the series and startingHouse Calls, Rogers was offered a chance by CBS to reprise the title role inTrapper John, M.D.This picked up with Trapper decades after the war, and is acting as the Chief of Surgery at a San Francisco hospital.
Having just left a medical sitcom and not wanting to get typecast as a doctor, Rogers passed on the spinoff. While theTrapper John, M.D.pilot made the ties toMASHvery clear - including featuring a photo of Alda and Rogers from the show - the spinoff would later distance itself from its parent show and made few references to Trapper’s war experiences. Ironically,Trapper John M.D.debuted the same year asHouse Calls, where Rogers had seemingly overcome his fear of being typecast as a surgeon.
House Calls Co-Star Lynn Redgrave Filed A Lawsuit After Being Fired And The Show Quickly Tanked
House Calls crashed and burned much sooner than it should have
Despite being a ratings hit for two seasons,House Callscame to an early end due to a poor decision on the network’s part.CBS fired Lynn Redgrave duringHouse Callsseason 3after she insisted on bringing her infant daughter to set to maintain a breastfeeding schedule; the network deemed this disruptive to filming conditions, and Redgrave launched a $10 million lawsuit for breach of contract and infliction of emotional distress.(viaThe New York Times). Redgrave would lose this suit years later and had to declare bankruptcy in the aftermath.
MASHstar Loretta Swit played the original Cagney in theCagney & Laceypilot, but when the series was greenlit, CBS refused to let her leaveMASHto front it.
Rogers did little to support his co-star during this period and was reportedly in favor of dropping Redgrave soHouse Callscould focus more on his character (viaJohn Clark’s Pro Se Blog). FutureCagney & Laceystar Sharon Gless then joined the cast as a replacement for Redgrave, whose character is revealed to have abruptly returned to England. The chemistry between Rogers and Gless just wasn’t the same, however, while the show’s ratings dipped far enough to convince CBS to cancelHouse Callswhen the season ended.
Source:Pop Goes The Culture TV,The New York Times,John Clark’s Pro Se Blog
MAS*H
Cast
MAS*H is a drama-comedy series set during the Korean War, centering on the lives of the staff at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital as they navigate the challenges of wartime medical service with humor and resilience.
