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R.I.P. Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III

Bazza

Bazza

TideFans Legend
Oct 1, 2011
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New Smyrna Beach, Florida
[h=1]'M*A*S*H' actor David Ogden Stiers dies at 75[/h]
(CNN)David Ogden Stiers, known for his role as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III in the TV comedy series "M*A*S*H," died Saturday, the agency representing him said.


The actor was 75.
He died "peacefully at his home in Newport, Oregon after a courageous battle with bladder cancer," the MKS Talent Agency tweeted.

"His talent was only surpassed by his heart," the agency added.

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"I do one thing at a time. I do it very well. And then I move on." [Season 6, Episode 1, "Fade in, Fade out"]

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Thanks, Bazz. MASH was, and still is my favorite television show of all time. David Ogden Stiers was a great actor whose abilities allowed him to play such a breadth of roles in his career. His portrayal of Charles Emerson Winchester, III may have been his best. In that role with his privileged, Back Bay Boston rearing, and Harvard education, he thought should set him apart from the other "meatball surgeons", but it was a vehicle for so many comic situations that taught him the horror war and the need for comradeship. Of course, the writers and producers, Gene Reynoids, Larry Gelbart, et al were pure genius in weaving comedy amid the horror and sadness of MASH 4077. He was the perfect foil for Hawkeye and BJ. A great actor and an even greater television series. Rest in Peace, David Ogden Stiers you were one of the best.
 
We’re down to Hawkeye, BJ, Margaret, Radar, and Klinger of the major characters.


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The guy who played Blake in the movie died one day after McClean Stevenson.

I think all the other people who were in the movie that played characters who were on TV are still alive.

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I always liked Winchester better than Frank Burns. Burns was just such an idiotic twit that there was really nowhere to go with the character.

Winchester could (and did) push back on Hawkeye and BJ, and it made for a lot better comedy.

Loved the way the Margaret Houlihan character evolved through the series. She started out as two-dimensional as Frank, but was anything but that at the end.

My favorite episode was the first one shot as if a film crew were shooting a newsreel-type documentary.

One vignette from that episode has stuck with me for over 30 years. It's the one where Father Mulcahy is telling the interviewer about surgeons working in extremely cold conditions, making incisions and warming their hands in the steam rising from the opening before continuing with the surgery.

Even today, I have to pause to recover myself from that one.

There was a second similar episode a few years later. It was good, but that was kind of like making a sequel to Casablanca....the original set such an impossibly high standard that there was no way it could measure up.
 
I loved the scene where Charles is in his lounge coat and dictating a reel to reel recording to his parents and attempts to pour himself a cup of tea. When the tea doesn't come out as expected he puts down the microphone and takes the top off the teapot. He reaches in and pulls out a rubber chicken. He picks up the microphone and finishes his recording by saying to his parents, "let me be succinct, get me the hell out of here".
 
Thanks for the posts and your takes on the show and DOS's role......there is a lot to like about that show and when I watch the reruns today (and I've watched MANY a rerun) I find myself knowing exactly what each character is going to say and do at a given moment - the show was so great and the acting so good - it just sticks with you.

For those interested here is a webpage with some pretty good background info on his character.

The show has special meaning to me because watching it was part of a routine for me when I was right out of college and working two jobs - it keep me sane, I guess as well as giving me something to look forward to while I inhaled my dinner before heading to my night job. ;)
 
My wife and I lived in Columbia, SC in the late 70's and the local TV stations ran MASH reruns everyday from about 5:30 to 7:00 PM. I would rush home from work and watch one, change the channel and watch another and then one more time. I managed to watch an hour and a half of MASH every week day, plus on Tuesday got to see the new ones. I too learned not only every story line, but a lot of the dialogue I can still recite. My wife was not too happy though, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
 
GrayTide said:
My wife and I lived in Columbia, SC in the late 70's and the local TV stations ran MASH reruns everyday from about 5:30 to 7:00 PM. I would rush home from work and watch one, change the channel and watch another and then one more time. I managed to watch an hour and a half of MASH every week day, plus on Tuesday got to see the new ones. I too learned not only every story line, but a lot of the dialogue I can still recite. My wife was not too happy though, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
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i was watching it almost like that as a kid.
 
Mash is my all time favorite TV show and I still watch whenever it's on. My favorite character was Major Sidney Friedman the shrink. He wasn't a regular but it was a great character.
The writing in that show got better as it progressed and the characters developed so well.

RIP Charles.
 
MASH was the only television show I have ever viewed where the replacement characters were better than those they replaced. Loved Sidney Friedman and another good character was Colonel Flagg, the bumbling intelligence officer. Unlike any other television show, when the time came, MASH had the perfect ending, the war ends.
 
4Q Basket Case said:
I always liked Winchester better than Frank Burns. Burns was just such an idiotic twit that there was really nowhere to go with the character.
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I like Winchester but Frank Burns/Hot Lips were the perfect foil for Hawkeye/Trapper John. Burns was the perfect "straight man," imo, his willingness to be the butt of the jokes made him a favorite of mine. The fact that the cast spoke very highly of Larry Linville's ability speaks volumes to me.

Not to mention, Frank Burns had the best line of the whole series, imo: "Individuality is fine, as long as we do it together." That line makes me laugh every time.
Winchester could (and did) push back on Hawkeye and BJ, and it made for a lot better comedy.
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My two favorite Winchester episodes are:

1. The episode in which Hawkeye's father was going into surgery and Hawkeye lost communication and was worrying about his father. Winchester "being there" for Hawkeye was a great episode for me.

2. Winchester/Hawkeye teaming up to prove that people would believe any idle gossip. They spread gossip that "Marilyn Monroe" was coming to 4077. It was also the same episode that B.J. went bonkers over leaving a GI behind while being award a medal.

(Honorable mention: the episode in which he defended a patient with a stutter, because it turns out his sister has a stutter, and the episode with the injured pianist.)

The main difference for me between Winchester and Burns is that there was a genuine respect between Hawkeye/BJ and Winchester, as they appeared to be little to none between Hawkeye/Trapper John and Burns.
Loved the way the Margaret Houlihan character evolved through the series. She started out as two-dimensional as Frank, but was anything but that at the end.
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She was "Hot Lips" with Burns, but once she dump him, she became "Margaret", in my eyes. And that is a good thing. Though I thoroughly disliked her "husband", very much.
 
GrayTide said:
MASH was the only television show I have ever viewed where the replacement characters were better than those they replaced. Loved Sidney Friedman and another good character was Colonel Flagg, the bumbling intelligence officer. Unlike any other television show, when the time came, MASH had the perfect ending, the war ends.
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Freedman/Col Flagg scene was Freedman entering into a battle of wits against an unarmed man, and it was hilarious.
 
Back in college (especially my freshman year), it would come on after I got in from class on USA or something in two hour blocks every day. I would watch it religiously. It was through this (and the DVD set coming out around the same time) that I saw the entire series. It was something I could watch with my parents as well (I was still living at home at the time) because they had watched it religiously themselves back when it was first on.

My favorite line dealing with Maj. Winchester which showed the respect BJ and Hawkeye was this (I forget the context) Hawkeye to Winchester: "Charles, you're pompous, arrogant, conceited and a total bore...but you're alright"


(note: This timeframe is the early 2000s. I was a mere 18 months old when it went off the air).
 
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