Alan Alda

Love him in Crimes and Misdemeanors

You know, I never thought Ma would lose her memory. Of course, I never thought Alan Alda would get on my nerves.

Was he ever described as a Nepo Baby?

Love him talking about his of love of classical music!

He reminds me of my dad

Sondheim, Gershwin, Beethoven, Bach, The Beatles, and Mozart.

National treasure

Insufferable unless he's playing a villain---Woody Allen saved his career, by casting him as a buffoon.

Jesus, OP. Do you realize we already know who Alan Alda is?

On Conan

He was great in The Aviator, too!

Yes R11, was just about to post that. Can’t stand a single second of him in MASH but in supporting roles he shines.

I greatly admire him.

He was also good as an impatient publisher in The Object of My Affection, an underrated 1990's romcom with Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd, Allison Janney, Tim Daly, and Nigel Hawthorne.

Hate his fake accent, whatever it’s supposed to be.

He did not grow up in New York, btw, not that that’s what the accent is.

[quote] He is Alan Alda.

No he isn’t, ya cunt!

Man I hope it doesn't come out later that he was a complete bastard because I'm very fond of the guy

[quote] He did not grow up in New York

He grew up on Aldaran

He comes off an intelligent, kind, and laid back. I hope it is not an act

Shit wasn’t he in some sleazy thriller with Annabella Sciorra, early 90s?

I liked him on The West Wing.

Years ago he did a series about food with Scientific American for PBS. I happened to catch the episode "The Bite Stuff - dog food and dog-breath" that was shot at Hill's Science Diet laboratories. They were investigating whether larger kibble helped maintain canine teeth better. So they put their test subject dogs through a variety of trials that involved eating different sizes of kibble.

The vets examined tartar buildup over time and other indicators of good dental health, including the dogs' breath. Sniff test with human evaluators were part of this. The set protocol involved opening the side of the dogs mouth and sticking the nose in for a deep sniff. He was a good sport and did this a number of times. It was pretty hysterical. He'd started to annoy me as MASH went on, so this made me like him.

I can’t imagine a proper production of Our Town…in London. It sounds like shit on so many levels. Ain’t right.

Always seemed like a nice guy and good family man. Conscientious actor. But never had a shred of sex appeal.

Do you think he’s had any type of cosmetic work? Surely some Botox on the forehead and maybe some laser work? I’m 51, taking notes.

He was one of my favorite guests on Dame Edna - he really rolled with her humor. I found the interview hilarious.

Can he sing? His father was the original Sky Masterson

R15

Born in NYC, grew up around the country with New York parents, then high school and college in NYC.

His autobiography is great. I also loved him as Jack's dad on MASH

R1 If it bends it’s funny…

I loved him in MASH, though of course the last couple of seasons became too repetitive.

I have a soft spot for “Sweet Liberty” a comedy he directed in the 80s.

Forever insufferable to me.

He was a good actor and I liked Alan as a person but Hawkeye Pierce was insufferable, both in his childish bully and his sensitive liberal modes.

To piggyback off the popularity of the WML threads, he was often a panelist on the syndicated show. Even as he was starring on MASH.

He stood out in the ‘70s as a celebrity (male) feminist.

[quote]Born in New York, the son of a vaudeville artist,

What the hell are you talking about? Robert Alda got his start in vaudeville, but he became a well-known movie and Broadway actor who played George Gershwin in the movie "Rhapsody in Blue" and originated the role of Sky Masterson in "Guys and Dolls" on Broadway.

I like him but I don’t want to. The whole MASH canonizing annoys me, but I’ve liked him in every movie he’s made and some are long-time favorites Iike The Four Seasons and Same Time Next Year.

I'll keep M*A*S*H on sometimes just to admire his beauty, so tall, that black hair and sparkling eyes, skin to crawl all over.... and he's been an advocate for science, that's hot.

BORING

[quote]I have a soft spot for “Sweet Liberty” a comedy he directed in the 80s.

He wrote and directed it. About a Hollywood production that invades a small North Carolina to film a movie. However he shot the whole thing in the Hamptons and got to sleep in his own bed, smart guy. Worked in a theatre on Long Island and there is a scene in an amusement park and as the scene goes on you could hear the audiences start to recognize that it was Adventureland right down the road. Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grand shot scenes there in "Music And Lyrics" and director Gregg Mottola worked there as a kid and wrote a movie "Adventureland" about it.

I both hate and love that R18 made me Google Aldaran.

Half brother died at 52 of cirrhosis.

He was also in Manhattan Murder Mystery!

[quote] If it bends it’s funny…

If it breaks it’s not funny!

Not quite, r18.

I like him. He's all right. But he can be annoying and he quickly wears out his welcome in leading roles.

R9 Miss OP is a pretentious cunt that think she's James Lipton, teaching all of us great unwashed about culture.

After all, he IS Alan Alda!

He had his Father and Brother guest star on a M.A.S.H. episode, much like Marlo Thomas had her Father, Brother and Sister guest star on a "That Girl" episode. Pretty funny stuff.

Was it Pretty Funny Stuff, R48?

I always liked him better when he played assholes, which seems to be what he devoted his career to after MASH. I never trusted him as a good guy.

[quote]Can he sing? His father was the original Sky Masterson

Judge for yourself, r27...

Stop, r48, and have a Pop with me.

He was also on Broadway in the comedy "The Owl And The Pussycat" with Diana Sands

I hate this fucker.

Are you people too young to know that Alan Alda was a punch line during the height of Women's Lib? He, along with Phil Donahue, was considered the kind of spouse career women wanted - caring, supporting and undemanding. That made me dislike him in the 1970s-80s, and I'm a career woman.

[quote]His autobiography is great. I also loved him as Jack's dad on MASH

Wait, what?

He’s really old now. Sad.

His dad was cool. Very cool. Him? Not so much. He reduced one of the great anarchists in fiction to a scolding crone.

He helped give Loretta her home perm.

I only knew him in MASH as a kid and then saw him in The Mephisto Waltz(?).

Didn't Catherine O'Hara say he was a nightmare on Betsy's Wedding? Not that she is a walk in the park herself.

Robert Altman called him Alan Albert

I really liked him until he got too far up his own ass with MASH, but OP and others here have reminded me that his good work outweighs how insufferable he became as Hawkeye. So I’m back to appreciating him.

Alan Alda is great. Man I loved him in Manhattan Murder Mystery.

I enjoyed the PBS science television specials he hosted many years back.

Jackie Cooper direct a few episodes in the early seasons and he felt undermined by Alda's control of the set. It was more common in those days to have a different director every week, partly to keep a show fresh. Cooper wore a lot of hats in television--actor, executive, etc. and directed other shows, so I think he probably had realistic ideas of what it was like to work on a new set. Moreover, it was a pretty new show.

R56, sorry I meant to say Jack's dad on 30 Rock. But who knew he was so polarizing.

What did he drive three costars off the set of M*A*S*H* ?

He was in an interesting film with Blythe Danner. He was crazy or maybe evil.

Oh, thanks, R67. I didn't remember that role until you mentioned it.

It was To Kill a Clown

Jackie Cooper minced no words about Alan Alda. He wrote Alda set the tone for bad behavior on the MASH set and Loretta Swit followed. McLean Stevenson was an ass, Gary Burghoff was an even bigger ass and the only people he liked were Wayne Rogers and Larry Linville.

Woody Allen doesn’t come right out and say in his memoirs that Alan Alda’s asshole character in Crimes And Misdemeanors is based on Larry Gelbart, but he did say that Alan came in with a lot ideas that Woody liked.

Didn't Alan get his mussy beat up in some prison movie?

I liked him a lot 9n The Seduction of Joe Tynan, one of Meryl's first films.

R68: Wayne Rogers left because his character became less equal over time. Larry Linville felt his character had run its course. McLean Stevenson didn't like taking more than one take and had an inflated opinion of himself, which is why the producers killed off his character (unlike Trapper or Frank).

R74 - this one?

Funny how the least likeable character, Frank Burns, was played by Linville who was I've read more than once was the nicest of guys

He was handsome. Bet he was a heartbreaker in his school days. He married so young and securely I guess we’ll never know.

He used to be hot in an Ichabod Crane kind of way.

Alan Alda wouldn't be hot if his house was on fire.

He gave a memorable performance as Caryl Chessman in a TV movie, "Kill Me If You Can."

ugly, untalented daughters, kindof like La Streep,

Who is the present-day Alda equivalent?

He was HANDSOME, R79???

I always found him average, but his personality and intellect is what elevated my attractiveness to him.

I agree with R79. Skinny, good hair and eyes... maybe not "handsome-handsome," but definitely sexy in his own way.

Once his father came off the road Alan spent his younger years in Los Angeles. He was childhood friends with Carol Burnett who lived across the street.

Carol Burnett grew up in San Antonio

For those who care about such things, he is uncut.

[quote] Carol Burnett grew up in San Antonio

No she did not. She was born in San Antonio but moved to Hollywood with her family as a younger girl. They lived in an apartment building just off Hollywood Blvd. She graduated from Hollywood High.

R91 I don't think so

R36 OP thinks that's what a vaudeville artist is.

I think Carol Burnett said she knew every line of the movie, Ivanhoe (1952), even years later, because as a teenager she worked at the theater where it was showing in Hollywood and they had speakers playing the dialogue inside and outside.

Everyone says...

He's not an exciting actor.

r92

What a voice the Dad had!

[quote] [R91] I don't think so

Well now, don't you feel stupid. You should. You certainly look stupid.

They both grew up in San Antonio

Keep telling yourself these lies R100. Being obstinate and obtuse is not attractive.

....

He was our commencement speaker in 1979 when Jesse Jackson canceled.

He seems a little prickly and pretentious, but also down to Earth

R78 can personally attest. Larry Linville was a terrific guy.

R20 that was Whispers in the Dark.

This may or may not have been mentioned. During MASH Alda and Gary Burghoff did not get along. Actually not many of them got along with Gary, who apparently was his own worst enemy. When he decided to leave the show Mike Farrell tried to get him to be reasonable and told him it was the stupidest decision he would ever make. His work was sporadic after he left MASH. he must have finally hung it up as he hasn't does anything in the last 13 years. But what's a short chunky boy with a fucked up hand supposed to do.

R107 Oh, I dunno, something like this…

In grad school we had a workshop led by the Alan Alda Center for Science Communication. The presenters were pretty awful, very high minded smirking jerks. They were pleased to be presenting in an Ivy League setting, but also weirdly standoffish and pretentious.

Frontiers was a good program, and Alda was an amiable host and presenter. But much of the narrative was scripted for him. He was personable enough when interviewing researchers, though.

R107 Mike Farrell was right

He added some subtle humor to his role as Ray's psychiatrist in "Ray Donovan." Interesting dynamic between the cerebral, wise old man and the "thug" who keeps his sensitivity under wraps.

[QUOTE]Actually not many of them got along with Gary, who apparently was his own worst enemy.

Way back in the early '80s I remember reading that Burghoff was the opposite of the sweet, amiable Radar. OTOH, Larry Linville was the *complete* opposite, beloved by cast and crew.

Sorry, I jumped forward and didn't notice Linville was brought up.

He is a really nice and generous guy. I met him years ago when I was a summer stock intern at a playhouse where he was starring in a tryout comedy.

IIRC, Burghoff thought he was going to be a Vegas star.

At 81...

Does Gary still get royalties?

Here's a rare glimpse of Burghoff's fucked up hand.

And thank God, ImgBB is back up and working. But I see the images aren't displaying automatically here. Bummer.

Cute moment with Alan and Robert Alda on TO TELL THE TRUTH

His portrayal of Dr. Gallo of "And The Band Played On" was brilliant.

Has he ever shown his big Italian cock?

What was Jackie Cooper doing around MASH?

I remember Loretta Swit really going to town with platinum blonde and tee shirt in the last couple of seasons of MASH. I figured she was trying to compete with Charlie’s Angels. Pretty ridiculous in a 1953 war torn Korean field hospital.

[QUOTE]What was Jackie Cooper doing around MASH?

Seriously? He directed the most of the first season's episodes, but you could have known that if only you had highlighted and Googled his name. Are you functionally unable to indulge in your doubts by "doing your own research?"

Bob Alda was hotter than his son

Haven't seen him in too many things but he always seemed bland and mediocre with zero sex appeal

“Joe Tynan” was his first script for a feature film; it was pretty uninspired.

Alda was the one at the helm of the show’s final episode “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen.”

While it made history for its ratings, it hasn’t held up well. Pure drivel, driven by Alda’s massive ego at the time. David Ogden Stiers still manages to beat the lukewarm script and out-acts everyone.

Funny too that Loretta Swit was so proprietary of her character with other writers and directors but let Alda write Hot Lips as a whiny screech owl. She was and is very fond of Alda (there were rumors about them when the show was in production). That’s the only reason I can think of the whole women’s lib theme getting booted out the door.

R128 To be fair, Ogden Stiers was a better than all on set.

I just thought there was good joke in there somewhere R124.

I bet he was really hot in high school

Gary’s hand is icky.

Love WHISPERS IN THE DARK. That, along with A KISS BEFORE DYING are guilty pleasures for me.

What was Jackie Cooper doing around MASH?

Catering, Rose.

R27 Yup. He sings. Look for the original cast album of The Apple Tree. Alan probably isn’t in Robert Alda league(Ihead Robert sing in a summer stock production of Tbe Happy Tine, he even did sone songs after the show) who was glorious.. can’t say just how good AA sings since the show isn’t that demanding for the male lead, but he held his own onstage with Barbara Harris.

he held his own onstage with Barbara Harris

that's upstaging.

He IS Alan Alda!

The Apple Tree