McLean Stevenson regretted his decision to leave MASH during its third season – despite his character's death becoming a landmark moment in American television. Many MASH actors exited the series during its early years, though this undoubtedly helped in the long run as it meant new characters kept the cast dynamic fresh. Season 3's “Abyssinia, Henry” was extremely important, as it featured the final appearances of Wayne Rogers' Trapper and the shocking death of Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson).
Rogers and Stevenson enjoyed their time on the show and recognized its quality – but they both wanted to lead their own projects as well. After Stevenson announced he was leaving, it was the showrunner's decision to kill off Blake. It was decided that his departure opened up a unique opportunity to underline the show's anti-war message and that not everyone will return home alive. Blake's death sparked a backlash from angry viewerswhile Stevenson has led several sitcoms as the main star, including the aptly titled McLean Stevenson's program.
McLean Stevenson regretted leaving MASH during season 3
Stevenson's MASH follow-ups sank
MASH It eventually ran for 11 seasons, so Stevenson's departure came very early in its life. The show quickly replaced Blake and Trapper with Potter (Harry Morgan) and BJ Hunnicutt (Mike Farrell), and remained one of the biggest shows on television throughout its entire run. Unfortunately for Stevenson, his attempt at solo success quickly faltered. Your comedy McLean Stevenson's program premiered in 1976 to much fanfare – only to be canceled before reaching the end of its first season.
The star followed up with the equally short-lived In the beginningand while Stevenson's next show Hi Larry lasted two seasons, received fierce reviews and remains poorly regarded. The press was equally cruel to Stevenson, only mocking his decision to leave MASH so he could tackle underwhelming sitcoms. Stevenson worked steadily over the next few years, but commented in 1991 MASH Memories (through Los Angeles Times) that he regretted leaving.
The mistake was thinking that everyone in America loved McLean Stevenson. That wasn't the case. Everyone loved Henry Blake. So if you do 'The McLean Stevenson Show,' nobody cares about McLean Stevenson.
MASH was such a huge series that many of the actors who left – including Stevenson – found it difficult to escape its pigeonholing after. Actors like Larry Linville (who played Frank Burns) or Gary Burghoff (Radar) struggled to find material with the quality of medical comedy and soon became guest stars on other shows. In Burghoff's case, some of his most important postsMASH appearances came with spinoffs like AfterMASH.
Why McLean Stevenson left MASH so early
NBC made Stevenson an offer he couldn't refuse
Hindsight may have declared McLean Stevenson totally wrong to leave – but it's easy to see why that made sense in 1975. McLean StevensoWriter Mark Evanier recalled on his blog News from me a long conversation he had with the star, who detailed his reason for quitting MASH. During that time, Stevenson was a regular guest host for The Tonight Show with Johnny Carsonand with rumors that Carson would step aside, Stevenson was being touted as his possible replacement.
This coincided with Stevenson becoming frustrated with making MASHincluding perceived disrespect from the production company regarding filming conditions. They also refused to increase his salary, claiming that, unlike stars like Alan Alda, he didn't have much to do with their continued success. At this point in your career, Stevenson felt he served time by playing supporting roles, and despite the promise that Blake would become a bigger character, this never manifested. in the series. So when NBC offered Stevenson a big payday to jump ship, he accepted.
From McLean Stevenson's perspective, it's easy to see why the NBC offer was the best career move – even if time has proven that decision wrong.
Not only was he getting paid much more than he earned MASHbut the offer came with the attractive possibility of hosting Tonight's program. Of course, Carson ended up remaining as host, while all of Stevenson's sitcoms failed. From his perspective, it's easy to see why the NBC offer was the best career move — even if time has proven that decision wrong.
McLean Stevenson's Henry Blake's Death Was a Groundbreaking TV Moment
Television was never the same after that MASH scene
In the modern television landscape, it is not uncommon for TV shows like Undead to kill off major characters, but in the 1970s, this was unheard of. Before Blake's death in MASH – where the plane bringing him back to America was shot down over the Sea of Japan – there has simply never been a show that killed off a great supporting actor. In addition to the shock and disgust it created in and Off-screen, Blake's death served a purpose to the story.
He stressed that in war, good people can die at any time. Henry's death is MASH definitive anti-war declarationand there's a reason why this final sequence of season 3's “Abyssinia, Henry” lasted so long. Even though he regretted it, McLean Stevenson's decision led to one of the most impactful scenes on TV and one that has become part of his legacy.
Source: The L.A. Times, News from me