Why did document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 2023 FAQS Clear - All Rights Reserved WebOriginally Answered: On the TV show M*A*S*H Why was colonel Blake killed off? Being a genuinely kind-hearted and forgiving person, Henry chose not to reprimand Margaret when she got herself so drunk that she could not even pronounce her own name properly. He did not survive the crash. There were no survivors. He was portrayed by Harry Morgan, and replaced the departing character of Henry Blake as commander of the 4077th MASH. The character Henry Blake left the show because his discharge papers came through, but sadly on his flight home, his plane was show down over the Sea of Japan. But as doctors, theyre forced to continue with their jobs despite their grief. "Over the River and Through the Woods" (, This page was last edited on 15 February 2023, at 17:29. Gary was born with a rare condition called Poland syndrome. His condition is called Brachydactyly. Henry Blake Lt. Col. Henry Blake Henrys Exit In the third seasons finale, Abyssinia, Henry, Blake had finally gained enough points to get him discharged from the unit. Stevenson decided to leave M*A*S*H after the third season when the series enjoyed the fifth highest ratings in the country. This highly rated episode remains notable for its shocking ending: the (off-screen) death of Colonel Henry Blake.. Who turned down the role of Hawkeye in mash? In a related note, Ive found that there are two times when you can judge a person very well: How they behave when they have nothing, and how they behave when they have everything. They tried to hide it throughout the series run by having Radar hold a clipboard or other hand-obscuring prop in virtually all his scenes. He studied tap dance and became a drummer, despite being born with brachydactyly caused by Poland syndrome, which made three fingers on his left hand significantly smaller than those on his right hand. Henry Blake Only one cast member knew Henry Blake would die beforehand, and that was star Alan Alda. Why did Henry Blake leave mash? In 1972, the United States was rocked by the death of a beloved television character. McLean Stevenson; Played Lt. Col. Blake Trapper and Hawkeye threw him a big farewell party where everyone said their goodbye to him. Why did henry leave mash? - Answers WebThe show's writers reluctantly penned him an exit in the final episode of the 19741975 season (entitled "Abyssinia, Henry"), in which Lt. According to multiple accounts, one most famously from co-star Loretta Swift, corroborated by writer Ken Levine, McLean left because he wanted to be No. Subscribe to our newsletter for new stories, tips & events. There were no survivors." Why did Frank Burns leave? McLean Stevenson/Cause of death. Colonel Henry Blake Scene. Claire Mccaskill Husband illness: Unraveling the Health Crisis of Claires Spouse! Your email address will not be published. McLean said, I wanna get off the show, so we finally made a deal with him: Finish the year. He said something similar to Hawkeye and Trapper when explaining that he had not, in fact, signed a dishonorable discharge for a soldier who was homosexual, despite Frank threatening to go over his head again. Similar to Henry, Potter was easygoing, fun-loving and compassionate enough to earn the deep respect of his staff (including Margaret, but not Frank, who resented being passed over for command), but in contrast, Potter was a career soldier and consummate leader and surgeon, and never hesitated to put his foot down when things got out of hand. M*A*S*H character Why Did Henry Blake Leave He did not survive the crash. Some people thought it was great and others were very upset. In the 1970 film there seemed to be little to no father/son bond, though Henry entrusted everything to Radar, who was still company clerk, as opposed to SFC Vollmer, the camp's sergeant major, who invariably found himself one step behind Henry and Radar's machinations. If they started filming the show knowing Henry was a dead man by the end of the episode, their performances would have been quite different. Why did Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a2fea0c7a8cc2c8 They knew the public may be confused since they were both best known for playing the same character. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. The shows creators swore the writers to secrecy. Whatever the reason, it worked. Heart Henry is married to Lorraine (called "Mildred" throughout Season 1), and they have three children, Jane, Molly and Andrew, the latter of whom was born shortly after Henry shipped out for Korea. The expression Abyssinia, Henry comes from a Flapper era, 20s era. We were working on the story of McLean leaving. In the novel M*A*S*H Mania (set in the 1970s) it is revealed that Blake stayed in the Army and had attained the rank of Major General. He was in charge of the 4077th. During season 1 he had an ongoing affair with a Nurse Scorch, and later had affairs with two other nurses; in " A Smattering of Intelligence" it is revaled that prior to coming to Korea Henry had affairs with an underage girl and a prostitute. Andrew (son) Jane and Molly (daughters) Unnamed newborn son (born during Season 1 episode "Showtime") Look, all I know is what they taught me in command school; there are certain rules about a war, and Rule Number 1 is that young men die. While M*A*S*H incorporated comedic elements, it was ultimately a show about war. years later that he regretted his decision to leave. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Lt. Colonel Henry Blake Stevenson decided to leave M*A*S*H after the third season when the series enjoyed the fifth highest ratings in the country. Rogers didnt decide to leave until after season three, so his departure from the show couldnt be planned with an entire episode. Its not often in your life that you see people stunned, Gelbart said. Blake, before he boarded a chopper the day of his departure, changed into a civilian suit. And they really could not believe what was on the page.. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. No, Blake is not still alive. Blake, Commanding officer of the 4077th. In reality, the Army stopped using the point system after World War II, and doctors were never rotated according to points. supporting, role in the series, and he thought he could do better Rogers. Not everybody, not every kid gets to go back to Bloomington, Illinois. The Chicago Tribune's Gary Deeb, for instance, revealed Blake's death nearly two months before the episode aired. He once admitted causing his college football team to lose a championship game after Henry taped the wrong leg of the star running-back. One time when Klinger was being particularly obnoxious, Henry threatened Klinger by saying, Klinger, Ive never hit a woman before.. scene was kept a secret from the cast until immediately before filming; only then did Gelbart hand out the last page of the script. 20th Century Fox sued him for breach of contract, but the lawsuit collapsed. Click to reveal Henry begins planning his return and places a telephone call to Bloomington, Illinois to inform his wife and family of the good news. Why did M*A*S*H Cast and Crew Once Discussed Making - Outsider These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. He is best known for his role as Lt. They didnt want us to suffer through a week of rehearsal, Swit said. In 1980, the Argus-Leader reported that Alan Alda was the highest-paid TV actor of all time, earning $5.6 million a season on M*A*S*H, which also included the money he made as a writer. All were short-lived, and he later conceded that leaving MASH was the mistake of his career. After a commercial break, the episode closes with a "reluctant and affectionate farewell" to Blake by means of a light-hearted montage of clips from past episodes. It was a huge deal at the time because no one had ever seen anything like it before. When Hawkeye accused him of signing it and finding out he hadn't, he wryly acknowledged Henry's character when he replied, "How dare you do the right thing". Several times throughout the series, the awards that Colonel Blake had earned during his service in the army could be seen on his uniform. "[9] Initially, Gelbart and Reynolds hand-wrote letters in response to the feedback, but eventually, due to the overwhelming number of letters, a form response was created explaining the rationale of their decisions. In the latter episode, the final episode produced and the next-to-last aired, Margaret decided to bury a time capsule and asked others to volunteer various items from the camp. Why Did Henry Blake Leave His character dies, and he was that character., Gary Burghoff, who portrayed Radar, said he felt devastated by the cruel finality of it all., Burghoff said: I took Mac aside and said, If you dont want me to do this scene, I wont. I was hoping the shock of it would get him to change his mind. He did not survive the crash. Heart All were short-lived, and he later conceded that leaving MASH was the mistake of his career. Why did (Saying goodbye to camp, Klinger wearing a fruit-basket hat) "Klinger, (Saying goodbye to Radar) "You behave yourself or I'm going to come back and kick your butt.". His strongest bond in Korea was to Radar, for whom Henry became something of a father figure. But Gelbart and fellow creator Gene Reynolds used his exit to drum up emotion. Lieutenant Colonel Henry Braymore Blake is a character introduced in the 1968 Richard Hooker novel M*A*S*H. He also appeared in the 1970 film, played by Roger Bowen, and more famously in the first three seasons of the television series by McLean Stevenson. In the movie the girlfriend was played by actress Indus Arthur The more earnest and faithful family man Captain B.J. Henry generally let their insults roll off his back, but Frank and Margaret frequently went over Henry's head when they didn't get their own way, filing formal complaints to army brass, particularly senior officers whom Margaret is very close to. M*A*S*H was not about everyone having a good time, Gelbart said. The Hollywood Reporter did an oral history on the award-winning show back in 2018. In fact, CBS's distaste with the episode was so great that during a later rerun of the episode, the final O.R. On an episode of the variety series Cher that aired shortly afterward and featured Stevenson as a guest, the situation was parodied when the episode opened to a studio shot of Stevenson as Blake floating on a smoking raft and shouting, "I'm OK! Radar then leaves the operating room as the camera pans across the stunned staff, each visibly fighting to retain composure and continue with their work. Under Henry's watch, Hawkeye and Trapper repeatedly got away with numerous shenanigans, either because Henry looked the other way, or they were able to manipulate him into seeing things their way. The creators wanted fans to experience the loss associated with war, so they ultimately decided to kill Blake off. Abyssinia [means] Ill be seeing you. Kind of corny. Abyssinia, Henry Birthplace: He was also unsure of the success of the show. While he was beloved by most of the camp, particularly Hawkeye and Trapper for his down-to-earth, laid-back manner, he was disliked and scorned by Margaret and Frank, with Margaret preferring stricter military discipline while Frank yearned to take command. Radar was visibly emotional throughout the whole episode. "We didn't want Henry Blake going back to Bloomington, Illinois and going back to the country club and the brown and white shoes, because a lot of guys didn't get back to Bloomington. Henry is being discharged because he has earned enough points. Henry claimed in one episode to be the best diagnostician in Bloomington, Illinois. When Nancy leaves camp, Henry strangely finds himself relieved that she is now gone. Sherman T. Potter. Trapper and Hawkeye make joking comments, but Radar announces, "I have a message. Colonel Sherman Tecumseh Potter appears in the M*A*S*H and AfterMASH television series. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Meg Griffin's plane was shot down over the Sea of Japan. Lt. Colonel Henry Blake [9] It is estimated that over 1,000 letters were received by the producers regarding the episode; "some were from people who understood. Writing a character off a show can be a simple task, especially for a popular part like Henry Blake. In the TV series, Henry is a reservist called up to active duty from his private practice in his hometown of Bloomington, Illinois. He was only 68. In the 1970 film, though SFC Vollmer was the camps Sergeant Major, it was Radar who was company clerk and was invariably entrusted with everything by Colonel Blake. ", "Ever since the dark days before Pearl Harbor, I've been proud to wear this uniform". He wanted more of a starring, instead of a supporting, role in the series, and he thought he could do better because "everyone loved Henry". How was Trapper John written out of MASH? Loretta Swit said it was because he was tired of being in an ensemble and wanted to be number one . (This is also confirmed by MASH writer Ken Levine) The departure would take place the last episode of the third season. They both died of a heart attack as well. M*A*S*H was not about happy endings. In the film, Henry is a career Army man, having been commissioned prior to World War II. Weight: How Did Tom Sizemore Die? The title of the episode refers to the 1920s1930s slang use of "Abyssinia" for "goodbye". People like Henry Blake are lost in war. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. As the tone of the series had evolved to more Who was the first Colonel Blake in Colonel Henry Blake Written by Everett Greenbaum and Jim Fritzell, it was first aired by CBS on March 18, 1975. 1." McLean Stevenson Stevenson was recovering from bladder cancer surgery at the Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center on February 15, 1996, when he suffered a sudden fatal heart attack. Only two actors have portrayed the character of Henry Blake: Coincidentally, both actors died one day apart; Stevenson passed away on February 15, 1996, and Bowen the day after; both died of a heart attack. WebOriginally Answered: On the TV show M*A*S*H Why was colonel Blake killed off? But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Though Henry was a capable doctor and a decent man, he was largely ineffectual as a commanding officer, though in his defense, Henry never professed to be a great leader, and was fully aware that he was in over his head as commander. After the M*A*S*H finale, maybe the most memorable episode of the most memorable TV series was the one in which Col. Blake was supposed to go home.
