Where To Watch
M*A*S*H Facts: Alan Alda's Parkinson's hasn't slowed him down
The M*A*S*H star lives a different life than he used to, but his outlook is bright.
In May of 2025, Netflix premiered The Four Seasons, a new series-length adaptation of Alan Alda's 1981 comedy-drama film of the same name. In it, Alda appears in a cameo role. He joins series regulars Tina Fey, Will Forte, Steve Carell, and Colman Domingo. Importantly, Alda's character lives with Parkinson's Disease, a diagnosis the actor shares in real life.
In an interview with The Guardian, Alda spoke about the disease he went public with in 2018.
"At the moment, I can play anyone with Parkinson’s," said the former "Hawkeye" Pierce.
M*A*S*H fans will be heartened to learn that Alda is still able to live a full, happy life, despite some more pronounced shaking ten years into his diagnosis. The journalist conducting the interview, Simon Hattenstone, asked Alda point-blank how much Parkinson's affects his daily life.
“Not much," said Alda. "I just have to plan for the fact that everything takes three times longer to do or more. Getting your clothes on, taking your pills. I have to type every email three times before I stop saying rude things. I write emails to women I don’t know, and unless I check, before my signature, there are six Xs.”
While Alda's optimism might not be the cure-all we wish it could be, it does seem the actor can balance some of life's struggles with a positive outlook and roll with the punches.
“I rarely get upset at it because I know it’s reality. It’s much easier to take reality than wish for something you haven’t got. I fell into this way of thinking that if a button takes too long to button, I have to find other ways to do it. And eventually, if I land on a way that makes the button go through the buttonhole, it’s a little victory for me, and I feel like a million bucks.”
While many of us would relax in the wake of so much hard work, Alda is busy as ever as he nears his 90th birthday. In addition to cameoing in The Four Seasons, Alda is a celebrated podcast host, bringing listeners new episodes of his Clear + Vivid regularly.
Related
