1. Where was M*A*S*H filmed?
The outdoor shots were filmed at the Fox Ranch near Malibu, California. During the filming of the series, the Ranch was
donated to the State and became Malibu Canyon Creek State Park. For more info on the park, visit
the park web site.
The indoor shots were filmed on Stage 9 at Twentieth Century Fox Studios in California.
2. Who was the only cast member who actually served in Korea while in the Armed Forces?
Jamie Farr and Alan Alda (both were in the Army after the war)
3. How can you tell for sure what the title of an episode is?
The shows were never broadcast with their episode titles; however, at the end of the credits of each show, the
production number for the episode is shown. This number is a combination of a letter and three numbers. For example, the "Pilot Episode" was
J-301. The
Usenet M*A*S*H Episode Guide lists the production number for each episode.
4. Why doesn't my local station show the episodes in order?
Chances are that your local station shows the episodes in production order. The episodes were not filmed/produced in the same order
in which they were originally broadcast. For example, the last episode filmed wasn't "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen," it was "As Time Goes By."
For the most part this isn't readily noticeable. The disparity between production order and original broadcast order is noticeable in
seasons 4 and 8 mostly. Three episodes with B.J. (including Potter's first episode) have production numbers before "Welcome to Korea," the episode which shows B.J. first arriving
in Korea. In Year 8, six "post-Radar" episodes have production numbers before "Goodbye, Radar."
If your station seems to have a few weeks during which they mix up episodes from different seasons, they may be using the theme weeks
outlined for them by Twentieth Century Television in their promo package. Twentieth Century Television put together sixteen different theme
weeks with 5 related episodes each week. One theme week is "Radar Zeroes In Week" with the episodes: "Love Story," "The Incubator," "Private Charles Lamb,"
"The Price of Tomato Juice," and "Hot Lips Is Back in Town." There were also TV promo ads put together for each week. If I receive some requests for them, I
will post a list of the theme weeks with their episodes.
5. Is there something wrong with Gary Burghoff's left hand?
Gary Burghoff was born with three fingers which are slightly smaller than usual.
6. Why were Spearchucker, Ugly John, and some of the other characters from the early episodes removed from the show?
Spearchucker was eliminated when the producers found out there were no African-American surgeons in the Army in the Korean War. The
others were eliminated because the producers felt there were too many people (major characters) in the O.R. as well as to cut down
on production costs.
7. What do the initals B.J. stand for?
The best answer is still the one given in the show: they stand for his parents, Bea Hunnicutt and Jay Hunnicutt.
8. Is there really a Crabapple Cove in Maine?
No, there does not appear to be a Crabapple Cove anywhere in Maine.
Each of the other characters' home towns do exist for sure.
Fans from Maine have said they have never heard of the town and no one has ever found it on any map or any post office listing.
The only places which seem to indicate it exists: In The Complete Book of M*A*S*H,
author Suzy Kalter writes, "[Dr. Hornberger] was 26 when he was drafted during a surgical internship and really was from Crabapple Cove"; and HowntownUSA
has it listed on their site. Kalter's passage could more accurately mean that Dr. Hornberger was from a small town in Maine like Hawkeye was; the HowntownUSA site doesn't show any proof or additional info.
If anyone can prove it ever existed, email me.
9. What musical piece did Charles teach the Chinese musicians in "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen"?
The piece was the "Quintet for Clarinet and Strings (K. 581)" by Mozart.
10. In "Abyssinia, Henry," Hawkeye says Henry would look good in the suit "if [he] were Adolphe Menjou."
Who is Adolphe Menjou?
Adolphe Menjou was an actor who acted both in the silent and sound eras. He was known as one of the best dressed men in Hollywood.
11. There is an episode called "Major Fred C. Dobbs" in the first season. Who is Fred C. Dobbs?
Fred C. Dobbs is a gold prospector played by Humphrey Bogart in the movie "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre."
12. Where can I buy M*A*S*H episodes on video/DVD?
In January 2002 Fox started releasing the complete series one season at a time in DVD and VHS sets.
Amazon.com has them;
additionally, any video retailer should have them.
For the episodes on Columbia House M*A*S*H videos (which included 71 videos spanning the 11 seasons, but not every episode),
search the auctions at Ebay.
M*A*S*H tapes are also available in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand from Time Life. The tapes are in PAL format and contain 3 episodes each (similar to if not identical to the Columbia House series). In the UK they cost £9.99 + £2 shipping per tape; their phone number is 0181-606 3100 (they will only ship to the UK). In Australia and New Zealand I believe they cost $19.95 + shipping. The address for Time Life in Australia is: Time Life Australia Pty. Limited, GPO Box 3814, Sydney NSW 1163 (they will only ship in Australia and New Zealand).
13. What names were on Alan Alda's (Hawkeye's) dog tags?
According to an interview with Alan Alda in Memories of M*A*S*H, during the series he wore the dog tags
of two real soldiers: Hersey Davenport and Maurice D. Levine.
14. What actors were in both the movie and the TV series?
Gary Burghoff, who played Radar O'Reilly, is the only major cast member to be in both the movie and TV series. However,
two other actors appeared in both. G. Wood played General Hammond in both the movie and the first season of the TV series.
Timothy Brown played Spearchucker Jones in the series and Corporal Judson in the movie.
15. Who was the voice over the pa system who made most of the announcements?
Most announcements were done by either Todd Susman or Sal Viscuso (with exceptions where you can obviously hear one of the
cast voices, especially Gary Burghoff and Jamie Farr). Both actors also guest-starred as different soldiers in various episodes.
For photos of the actors, go to the PA Announcements page.
If you have any M*A*S*H-related questions, email me.
Thanks to Jimmy for some info.
