Posted byEric WhiteJanuary 15, 2024January 14, 2024Posted inM*A*S*H LibraryTags:4077, alan, alda, altman, band, book, broadway, brown, burghoff, cbs, charlie, elizabeth, fox, gary, Gena, library, Lynda, mash, memoir, mike, play, series, television, theater
What is it?
Burghoff, Gary.Gary Burghoff: To M*A*S*H and Back: My Life in Poems and Songs (That Nobody ever Wanted to Publish). Albany, GA: BearManor Media, 2009.
Why shouldM*A*S*Hfans care?
Gary Burghoff is perhaps best known as playing Walter “Radar” O’Reilly on M*A*S*H, and he originated the role in Robert Altman’s 1970 MASH film. However, there is much more to Burghoff than M*A*S*H, and the highs and lows of his life and career are reflected on in this personal memoir.
As aM*A*S*Hfan, what part(s) should I read?
I always recommend reading an entire book to get all the necessary context about a person’s life, especially a memoir. But if you only want to read about M*A*S*H, Burghoff discusses the movie and series in chapters 11 through 15.
TL;DR Review
While Burghoff is best known for being an actor on the television series M*A*S*H, he achieved much more as a successful theater actor, musician, song writer, artist, and poet. In his memoir, Burghoff opens up about his struggles in life and how his creativity and faith allowed him to come to terms with those struggles.
Full Review
Gary Burghoff is best known as the spectacled Walter “Radar” O’Reilly from M*A*S*H. In Gary Burghoff: To M*A*S*H and Back: My Life in Poems and Songs (That Nobody ever Wanted to Publish), we learn that there is a lot more to Burghoff than the naive character from Iowa that he portrayed. He came from a successful background in theater and music to act on the big screen and in the living rooms of millions of people in the 1970s. Despite finding fame, his personal life was not always easy, and he found solace in his musical talents, writing, stage acting, painting, activism, family, and faith. This memoir is about much more than just M*A*S*H. It is a journey of self discovery.
Burghoff was born in Connecticut and moved to Wisconsin as a kid. His childhood wasn’t the ideal American story. He struggled in school and his parents weren’t the most supportive. It was his love of music and acting that sparked his creativity. He enjoyed radio and television, and he knew that he wanted to be an actor, despite the advice of his high school guidance counselor to seek a more stable profession. After high school, Burghoff attended the Musical and Dramatic Theater Academy in New York, and he saw Broadway for the first time. Before college, he acted in a local community theater, but it was in 1967 that he landed the role of Charlie Brown in the original Off-Broadway production of You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown. The play was successful, but his life was not all on the stage of a theater. In 1968, Burghoff was the drummer for a band call The Relatives with, future actress, Lynda Carter as the lead singer.
Burghoff found success in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, and, in 1968, he received a call from his agent offering him a part in a movie being produced by Ingo Preminger. After reading the script for M*A*S*H, he accepted the part and was able to take a break from You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown. When Burghoff arrived on set, he worked with Altman and the costume designer to “find” his character, Radar. Burghoff liked the knit helmet liner cap, and he also chose boots that were too big for his feet. In the script, Radar was able to predict what Col. Henry Blake was going to say, so Burghoff suggested that Radar wear glasses. The iconic Radar look was born. The movie filmed at Fox Studios and the Fox Ranch, and Burghoff offers several behind the scenes stories including one about a helicopter crash that took place during filming. M*A*S*H was not an expensive film, but it proved to be an unexpected hit on the box office. Burghoff went back to You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown. Little did he know that in a few short years he would don the knit cap and glasses once again as Radar.
Burghoff found out that M*A*S*H was being adapted for television by Gene Reynolds and Larry Gelbart, and he hoped he would be offered the part. He was. In the book, Burghoff initially discusses M*A*S*H in “fast forward” bursts of information about each season with pauses to discuss incidents in more detail. For season two, for example, he pauses to discuss working with director Jackie Cooper. It has been well documented that Cooper and the cast did not get along (and Cooper didn’t have nice things to say about the M*A*S*H cast in his own memoir), and Burghoff tells a few stories to demonstrate how Cooper’s strict rules and harsh demeanor clashed with the cast. He talks about some other well known facts about his role including how Radar got the name “Walter,” and his first Emmy win after six nominations. Burghoff missed the award ceremony because his life was falling apart behind the scenes. His marriage was falling apart, he was unhappy with the attention brought on by fame, and he took that frustration out on the cast of M*A*S*H and his family. He later wrote to Alan Alda to apologize for his on-set behavior. When he left M*A*S*H in its 8th season, Burghoff was a single dad.
After leaving M*A*S*H, Burghoff’s life was challenging. He said in M*A*S*H: The Comedy that Changed Television that he left the show because his contract ended, and he needed to get his life in order. He discusses both in detail. He and his wife Janet divorced in 1978. They had one daughter together, so he was playing Radar and dad at the same time. He remarried in the 1980s, and he and his wife Elizabeth have two sons. They would separate in the 1990s and divorce in the 2000s. During this time, however, Burghoff discusses his struggles with fatherhood, being a husband, and financial concerns. By 1994, he was back on feet with his artwork selling well, he was making shows for PBS, M*A*S*H residuals had picked up, and he returned to acting on stage. While his life was not always easy, he credits his faith and family for keeping him grounded.
Strangely the book leaves off in 1994 despite being published in 2008. Despite this, the book is very personal, and Burghoff is honest about his mistakes. At the end, there are 39 pages of photographs and another 14 pages featuring his artwork of animals. The stories from his acting career and time on M*A*S*H are not the bulk of this book, so that might disappoint some fans. There are still some great behind the scenes stories. However, it is Burghoff’s life and resilience that I think many fans will benefit from. In the book’s forward, M*A*S*H creator Larry Gelbart sums up To M*A*S*H and Back best by declaring that Burghoff “puts his make-up and wardrobe aside and Gary Burghoff, the author, makes his entrance and gives a glimpse of what the far less public side, the off-stage, off-camera side of Gary Burhoff is all about.” You can order a copy of Burghoff’s memoir on Amazon.
If you’ve made it this far, here’s a fun fact! Did you know that Gary Burghoff has three patents? See them in detail below:
