Dennis Dugan
MASH Guest Stars
September 21, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
The list of guest stars on M*A*S*H is an entertainment hall of fame list.
From 1972 to 1983, this powerhouse show on CBS boasted actors and actresses who later became fixtures on America’s favorite television shows on the Eye Network.
Joan Van Ark and Knots Landing.
Gregory Harrison and Trapper John, M.D.
Vic Tayback and Alice.
Sorrell Booke and The Dukes of Hazzard.
Linda Kelsey and Lou Grant.
Susan Saint James and Kate and Allie.
Some actors and actresses became fixtures on America’s favorite television shows on other networks.
Ed Flanders and St. Elsewhere.
Ed Begley, Jr. and St. Elsewhere.
Shelley Long and Cheers.
George Wendt and Cheers.
John Ritter and Three’s Company.
Robert Ito and Quincy.
Jack Soo and Barney Miller.
Larry Wilcox and CHiPs.
And some actors and actresses became movie stars.
Laurence Fishburne.
Patrick Swayze.
Teri Garr.
Some guest stars on M*A*S*H played roles that helped peel back the layers of the regular staff of the 4077th.
In the episode The More I See You, Blythe Danner plays Carlye, a nurse and long-lost flame of Hawkeye.
We learned that Hawkeye and Carlye actually lived together.
But timing is everything.
The relationship couldn’t go further because Hawkeye was in residency and work was his priority.
Now assigned to the 4077th, Carlye is married. Hawkeye tries to reignite the flame.
And he succeeds.
Until he gives a rambling monologue about commitment while walking around his tent, a.k.a. the Swamp. Carlye shows him that he cannot have a relationship because he’s literally talked himself into a corner while talking about long-term commitment.
Dennis Dugan appears in two M*A*S*H episodes -- Love and Marriage and Strange Bedfellows.
In Strange Bedfellows, he plays Potter’s son-in-law.
And Potter learns about the son-in-law’s betrayal to his wife, Potter’s daughter. Though angry, Potter reveals that he himself got a little friendlier than he should have with a nurse early in his career.
Ron Howard guest stars in the first episode that showed M*A*S*H could go beyond the antics of draftee doctors to places of deep emotion, pathos, and sobriety.
In the landmark episode Sometimes You Hear the Bullet, Hawkeye’s friend, Tommy Gillis, is researching a book about war.
James Callahan plays Gillis.
He theorizes that a soldier never hears the bullet that kills him. Gillis’ theory directly contrasts the depiction of combat in the movies. He wants to call his book You Never Hear the Bullet.
During his research on the front lines, Gillis gets shot and winds up on Hawkeye’s operating table. Gillis tells Hawkeye that he heard the bullet and dies before Hawkeye can operate.
Meanwhile, an underage soldier named Wendell Peterson is in post-op.
Played by Howard, the 15-year-old Wendell stole his brother Walter’s identity to become a soldier only to impress a girl.
Hawkeye initially tells him that the secret will not be revealed.
But after seeing his friend die, Hawkeye gets a speech from Colonel Henry Blake.
There are certain rules about a war. Rule Number One is ‘Young men die.’ Rule number two is ‘Doctors can’t change Rule Number One.’
Hawkeye’s response is to keep one young man from dying in one war.
He reports Peterson to Major Houlihan, thus saving Peterson from future harm, at least on the battle field.
david@davidkrell.com
The list of guest stars on M*A*S*H is an entertainment hall of fame list.
From 1972 to 1983, this powerhouse show on CBS boasted actors and actresses who later became fixtures on America’s favorite television shows on the Eye Network.
Joan Van Ark and Knots Landing.
Gregory Harrison and Trapper John, M.D.
Vic Tayback and Alice.
Sorrell Booke and The Dukes of Hazzard.
Linda Kelsey and Lou Grant.
Susan Saint James and Kate and Allie.
Some actors and actresses became fixtures on America’s favorite television shows on other networks.
Ed Flanders and St. Elsewhere.
Ed Begley, Jr. and St. Elsewhere.
Shelley Long and Cheers.
George Wendt and Cheers.
John Ritter and Three’s Company.
Robert Ito and Quincy.
Jack Soo and Barney Miller.
Larry Wilcox and CHiPs.
And some actors and actresses became movie stars.
Laurence Fishburne.
Patrick Swayze.
Teri Garr.
Some guest stars on M*A*S*H played roles that helped peel back the layers of the regular staff of the 4077th.
In the episode The More I See You, Blythe Danner plays Carlye, a nurse and long-lost flame of Hawkeye.
We learned that Hawkeye and Carlye actually lived together.
But timing is everything.
The relationship couldn’t go further because Hawkeye was in residency and work was his priority.
Now assigned to the 4077th, Carlye is married. Hawkeye tries to reignite the flame.
And he succeeds.
Until he gives a rambling monologue about commitment while walking around his tent, a.k.a. the Swamp. Carlye shows him that he cannot have a relationship because he’s literally talked himself into a corner while talking about long-term commitment.
Dennis Dugan appears in two M*A*S*H episodes -- Love and Marriage and Strange Bedfellows.
In Strange Bedfellows, he plays Potter’s son-in-law.
And Potter learns about the son-in-law’s betrayal to his wife, Potter’s daughter. Though angry, Potter reveals that he himself got a little friendlier than he should have with a nurse early in his career.
Ron Howard guest stars in the first episode that showed M*A*S*H could go beyond the antics of draftee doctors to places of deep emotion, pathos, and sobriety.
In the landmark episode Sometimes You Hear the Bullet, Hawkeye’s friend, Tommy Gillis, is researching a book about war.
James Callahan plays Gillis.
He theorizes that a soldier never hears the bullet that kills him. Gillis’ theory directly contrasts the depiction of combat in the movies. He wants to call his book You Never Hear the Bullet.
During his research on the front lines, Gillis gets shot and winds up on Hawkeye’s operating table. Gillis tells Hawkeye that he heard the bullet and dies before Hawkeye can operate.
Meanwhile, an underage soldier named Wendell Peterson is in post-op.
Played by Howard, the 15-year-old Wendell stole his brother Walter’s identity to become a soldier only to impress a girl.
Hawkeye initially tells him that the secret will not be revealed.
But after seeing his friend die, Hawkeye gets a speech from Colonel Henry Blake.
There are certain rules about a war. Rule Number One is ‘Young men die.’ Rule number two is ‘Doctors can’t change Rule Number One.’
Hawkeye’s response is to keep one young man from dying in one war.
He reports Peterson to Major Houlihan, thus saving Peterson from future harm, at least on the battle field.
Richie Brockelman, Private Eye
June 19, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Some television spinoffs do very well.
Frasier.
Laverne & Shirley.
The Jeffersons.
And not so well.
Joey.
Models Inc.
Richie Brockelman, Private Eye.
This show was a spinoff of the popular 1970's show The Rockford Files. Richie Brockelman, Private Eye starred Dennis Dugan in the title role, an eager private investigator in his early 20's.
Well, maybe it wasn't technically a spinoff.
Richie Brockelman, Private Eye aired in 1978 with a half-dozen episodes. The character first appeared, however, in a 1976 tv-movie pilot entitled Richie Brockelman: Missing 24 Hours.
Richie appeared in a guest spot in the 2-hour Rockford Files episode The House on Willis Avenue in 1978 that led to the series.
Although Richie Brockelman, Private Eye only lasted five episodes with the pilot being a sixth, the guest star roster is impressive because of the guest stars' contributions to long-running television shows.
Norman Fell -- Three's Company.
Sharon Gless -- Cagney & Lacey.
Suzanne Pleshette -- The Bob Newhart Show.
Charles Siebert -- Trapper John, M.D.
Caroline McWilliams -- Benson.
Barbara Bosson played Sharon, Richie's secretary. She also played Fay Furillo, ex-wife of Captain Frank Furillo, on Hill Street Blues.
Paired back-to-back with The Rockford Files on Friday nights, Richie Brockelman, Private Eye was a fun show to watch.
Where Jim Rockford had a hard-boiled, weathered, and experienced air about him, Richie Brockelman relied on book smarts, enthusiasm, and persistence to solve cases.
But they did share one highly significant factor in their respective quivers of private eye arrows -- the police contact.
Where Rockford had Becker, Brockelman had Coopersmith. Robert Hogan, one of television's ubiquitous character actors, played Coopersmith.
After the shows cancellation, Richie Brockelman returned to The Rockford Files in the 1979 episode Never Send A Boy King To Do A Man's Job.
Dennis Dugan did terrific work on the short-lived show as the eager, youthful, and optimistic private investigator. He may not be the most remembered actor who played a private eye on television, but his resume is outstanding, particularly as a director of comedy films.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry.
Happy Gilmore.
Saving Silverman.
National Security.
Big Daddy.
You Don't Mess With the Zohan.
As for Richie Brockelman, Private Eye, it's long since gone but not forgotten.
david@davidkrell.com
Some television spinoffs do very well.
Frasier.
Laverne & Shirley.
The Jeffersons.
And not so well.
Joey.
Models Inc.
Richie Brockelman, Private Eye.
This show was a spinoff of the popular 1970's show The Rockford Files. Richie Brockelman, Private Eye starred Dennis Dugan in the title role, an eager private investigator in his early 20's.
Well, maybe it wasn't technically a spinoff.
Richie Brockelman, Private Eye aired in 1978 with a half-dozen episodes. The character first appeared, however, in a 1976 tv-movie pilot entitled Richie Brockelman: Missing 24 Hours.
Richie appeared in a guest spot in the 2-hour Rockford Files episode The House on Willis Avenue in 1978 that led to the series.
Although Richie Brockelman, Private Eye only lasted five episodes with the pilot being a sixth, the guest star roster is impressive because of the guest stars' contributions to long-running television shows.
Norman Fell -- Three's Company.
Sharon Gless -- Cagney & Lacey.
Suzanne Pleshette -- The Bob Newhart Show.
Charles Siebert -- Trapper John, M.D.
Caroline McWilliams -- Benson.
Barbara Bosson played Sharon, Richie's secretary. She also played Fay Furillo, ex-wife of Captain Frank Furillo, on Hill Street Blues.
Paired back-to-back with The Rockford Files on Friday nights, Richie Brockelman, Private Eye was a fun show to watch.
Where Jim Rockford had a hard-boiled, weathered, and experienced air about him, Richie Brockelman relied on book smarts, enthusiasm, and persistence to solve cases.
But they did share one highly significant factor in their respective quivers of private eye arrows -- the police contact.
Where Rockford had Becker, Brockelman had Coopersmith. Robert Hogan, one of television's ubiquitous character actors, played Coopersmith.
After the shows cancellation, Richie Brockelman returned to The Rockford Files in the 1979 episode Never Send A Boy King To Do A Man's Job.
Dennis Dugan did terrific work on the short-lived show as the eager, youthful, and optimistic private investigator. He may not be the most remembered actor who played a private eye on television, but his resume is outstanding, particularly as a director of comedy films.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry.
Happy Gilmore.
Saving Silverman.
National Security.
Big Daddy.
You Don't Mess With the Zohan.
As for Richie Brockelman, Private Eye, it's long since gone but not forgotten.