Why McLean Stevenson Left His Role As Colonel Henry Blake On MASH
Despite only being on three seasons of "M*A*S*H," McLean Stevenson could never truly leave his role as Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake behind. Stevenson also had several stints in other television series as well, including appearances on "The Doris Day Show," "Hello, Larry," and even the TV version of "Dirty Dancing." In all, he had a few dozen acting roles under his belt before he died in 1996.
Of the variety of television work he did, though, Stevenson wasn't proud of all the shows he appeared on. He said as much to The Baltimore Sun in 1990. "I did some terrible shows," he explained to the outlet. "But nobody made me do it. I did everything by choice. I love working." He lamented to the outlet that after leaving "M*A*S*H," he never quite found something that was quite as good.
Despite his hangups on his post "M*A*S*H" days, Stevenson wasn't afraid of getting the work. "I'm to the point in my life where I'm doing what I want to do," he told The Baltimore Sun. Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20. But why exactly did Stevenson leave his role as Lt. Col. Henry Blake behind?
Stevenson wanted more
When McLean Stevenson auditioned for "M*A*S*H," he did so for a more prominent role like Hawkeye or Trapper. Mark Evanier, who worked with Stevenson on his eponymous show, once claimedStevenson didn't want the role of Henry Blake. However, his agents pushed him to take the role, explaining that producers said it could expand once the series was picked up. Ultimately, the show was picked up — but Stevenson's character remained a supporting role.
Evanier also noted that Stevenson asked for salary increases as his time on "M*A*S*H" wore on, and he didn't receive them while costars like Alan Alda did. Eventually, he left the show for greener pastures when NBC offered him a significant pay bump to do other work, Evanier revealed. He wasn't the only major character to leave the show either, as Gary Burghoff also left his role as Radar.
Leaving ended up being Stevenson's greatest career mistake. "When I left the show, the mistake was not in leaving," he said in a special titled "Memories of MASH" (via the L.A. Times). "The mistake was that I thought everybody in America loved McLean Stevenson. That was not the case. Everybody loved Henry Blake. So if you go and do 'The McLean Stevenson Show,' nobody cares about McLean Stevenson." Even if his swan song was the role of Lt. Col. Henry Blake, Stevenson embodied his comedic chops in other shows that had fans — just maybe not as much panache.
He got his own show
After his time on "M*A*S*H," McLean Stevenson got a comedy series of his own, "The McLean Stevenson Show." The program starred Stevenson as Mac Ferguson and Barbara Stuart as his on-screen wife, Peggy Ferguson. It centered on the empty nester couple who suddenly had their adult children and grandkids, and even Peggy's mother living with them.
Stevenson's sitcom only survived a dozen episodes; it was canceled before the first season was over, with two episodes never making it to air. Still, Stevenson believed it was an excellent series.
"This is not a good show," Stevenson once said (via MeTV). "It is not a fine show. It's a great show. It's great because it's honest; because it could really happen. It doesn't go for jokes. The comedy grows out of the situations that develop, situations that could happen to people you know. Situations that could happen to you." According to MeTV, producers of "The McLean Stevenson Show" had hoped that "M*A*S*H" viewers would tune in for Stevenson's own show, but that just didn't happen.