Jamie Farr enjoyed a very odd sort of success early in his career. The actor gained popularity in guest appearances on programs like The Danny Kaye Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show. Though fans adored him, his tenure on the shows was always short-lived.

“The better I got on those shows, and the more popular, the faster they got rid of me,” Farr said during an interview with The Houston Chronicle.

Then everything changed when Farr was given an opportunity to audition for M*A*S*H.

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“In M*A*S*H, I managed to get in by trying to get out,” Farr said. “Maybe life is a stage, and I’m enacting this role in real life. But that’s the truth of the matter. I’ve always tried to work within the system, but it hasn’t always worked for me.”

At the time of his first appearance, Farr was seemingly certain that his time playing the character of Klinger would be short-lived.

“I came on for a one-day job,” Farr said. “They asked me to stay, and I thought, ‘This is the kiss of death for me!’ I was putting my foot in the door, and I felt my foot would be stepping outside again. But it didn’t happen! I stayed.”

Farr knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“In show business, as in all art, if somebody doesn’t buy your wares, you begin to doubt yourself,” the actor said. “It’s not just self-indulgence. I hung in because I’m the type of person who refuses to give up. To this day, I don’t know if I have talent, but somebody’s buying it. And I’m not going to tell them any different!”