Radar

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The above pic was sent to by son Thomas.

Here is some Radar and Gary Burghoff trivia . . . 

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Gary Rich Burghoff was born 24 May 1943 and is therefore now 70 years old. 

For those who watched MASH in its first run, does that make you feel old?

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In his youth Burghoff studied tap dance (his mother having been a professional dancer) and became a proficient drummer, playing in a band called The Relatives in 1968, the lead singer being Lynda Carter who went on to play the lead role in Wonder Woman.

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Burghoff has a congenital deformity of the fingers on his left hand, those gingers being clubbed and half the length that they should be, This is usually hidden in MASH episodes by having Radar carry a clipboard or have his hand in his pocket but there are a number of episodes where the deformity is visible: the episode where Radar is throwing a football and one of the episodes where he is playing the drums,

Here are some pics showing the deformity.

The deformity would have made him ineligible for military service.

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Burghoff’s portrayal of Corporal Walter “Radar” O’Reilly in both the film and television versions of MASH makes him the only member of the film cast to portray the same role in the TV series. 

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He left MASH after the seventh season because of burnout and a desire to spend more time with his family, though he returned the following year to film a special two-part farewell episode, “Goodbye Radar”. 

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Apparently behind the scenes Burgoff was difficult and not well liked by the other cast members. According to a 1983 TV Guide article on the end of MASH, Burghoff’s character Radar was better liked than Burghoff himself:

“Although nobody wanted to be quoted for the record, the feelings about Gary Burghoff’s leaving were fairly unanimous: loved Radar, hated Burghoff. As summed up by one of the principals: ‘Gary had personality problems. He always felt there was a conspiracy against him. He was rude to everyone, but if anyone ever said anything back to him, he’d throw a tantrum. He had frequent spats with his cast members, particularly with Alan Alda. Once his other cast member, Mike Farrell told him that his problem was that he could dish it out but he couldn’t take it, and Gary said, ‘And I’m getting real sick and tired of dishing it out.’ The poor guy didn’t even realize what he’d said.’ ”

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Burghoff is an inventor, holding patents for a fishing tackle that draws fish to a boat, a new kind of fishing rod and a device that lifts a toilet seat.

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In 1999, Burghoff headlined a national tour of Neil Simon's Last of the Red Hot Lovers presented by William and Sally Rogers and LPP Theatricals which played over 70 cities throughout the US and Canada. He came out of retirement in 2010 to star in the Christian movie release, Daniel's Lot.

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