BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) FAMILY BUSINESS
Mr. Alda comes from a long line of entertainers. His dad was an actor and singer and his mom was a showgirl and Miss New York. His half brother, a few of his daughters, and others all got into acting and performing too. I remember one episode of MASH where his dad showed up as an overbearing guy who would have to share in a surgery to save someone’s life. My dad always points that out to me so I think I’ve know that was his dad before the internet was around.
(THREE) SENATOR
Mr. Alda has played three different US Senators in his time. He played the title character in the Seduction of Joe Tynan, Arnold Vick in The West Wing, and then real-life Senator Owen Brewster in Aviator. He was amazing in West Wing and was actually up for Martin Sheen’s role when it was first coming together. It was still his spot in The Aviator that got him an Oscar nomination.
(TWO) TOO MANY AWARDS
If you look at his award nomination and win list then you’ll know that Mr. Alda has more acclaims than the Yankees. He has Emmy Awards for writing, acting AND directing. Of course those are mainly MASH related, but also a supporting actor award for his West Wing work. Then there’s a wall full of Golden Globes, then DGAs, then toney noms, Oscar noms, a spot on the Walk of Fame, and more. He’s earned them all and deserves at least double the awards. If I had an award show I’d make sure he’d walk away with at least one every year.
(ONE) BARELY ON MASH
MASH is one of the best television shows of all time. If you don’t agree then you don’t understand anything. You should just stop reading this now, but I assume if you don’t think MASH is one of the best shows of all time then you do not comprehend simple words anyway. My mind was blown when I read that Mr. Alda didn’t sign on to play Hawkeye until about six hours before they shot the pilot episode. I shudder to think of who they’d have had in this amazing role other than him.
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