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Gary Burghoff had to reshoot his final M*A*S*H moment
The actor who played Radar revealed his teary goodbye wasn't the first take
Parting is such sweet sorrow. And in the case of Gary Burghoff, it's also a chance for a do-over.
For seven years, Burghoff was Radar, M*A*S*H's trusted second lieutenant (and later corporal) with extra-sensory paperwork-pushing prowess. In many ways, Radar was the show's beating heart. He was sweet, and maybe a little too innocent for the horrors of war. But aren't we all? The question posed is exactly why Radar's role is so important. There isn't much of an audience surrogate, what with all the battle-hardened seen-it-all doctors of the 4077th. So, Radar serves as the show's soft emotional center.
As the show went on, Burghoff saw less and less of his family. The demands of one of our country's most popular TV shows were many, and they were disruptive to what Burghoff wanted to be a quiet life spent with loved ones. So, as the show concluded its seventh season, Radar bid farewell in "Good-Bye Radar."
Particularly, part 2 of the episode was to feature a teary send-off to both the character and the actor. As Burghoff recalls in the TV special M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television, he was as emotional as his onscreen counterpart.
"I said to myself, what a wonderful moment, I can cry my eyes out and I can do this wonderful dramatic moment, I can just completely fall apart," said Burghoff.
"And the director said, 'If I were you, I would fight the tears.' And I said, 'No, no. Just let me do it, okay?'"
The actor got his way, but the emotional climax didn't pan out how he'd planned.
"The next day, in dailies, I look at the screen and it's awful. I mean, it is just terrible," Burghoff recalled. "The director was right, I was wrong... I said, 'Please can I do this again?' And he said, 'Yes, you may.'"
It's funny to think about how many iconic TV moments come down to a series of decisions made by an actor day-of on the set. Luckily for viewers, M*A*S*H was in very good hands, and the creative powers continued to make excellent decisions until the show reached its finale.
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