On M*A*S*H, Larry Linville was tasked with playing one of the least likable characters on that— or any other— show. While Frank Burns had redeeming qualities, they were few and far between. Especially in the character's earliest appearances, Burns was a detestable type. He was worse than the heavy; he was a jobsworth.

What's lower than being an outright villain? How about being an uptight, stuffed-shirt taskmaster? Burns could always fall back on "just doing his job" as an excuse for his behavior. However, his determination to do things "by the book" alienated many of his peers, as he was constantly thwarting plans laid by Hawkeye and his ilk.

As the war waged, Burns found love in Loretta Swit's Maj. Houlihan. This was where we saw Linville bring a real humanity to the character, who was otherwise a total drone. In an interview with WHAS-TV's Omelet, Linville spoke about playing the character and how this onscreen romance allowed for more depth.

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"Well, the man is hypocritical, but hypocrites are real. As real as playing a lover, a murderer, a junkie, a priest, or whatever. He's a person, you know? It's an element of creating something that is real and not cardboard; it's part of the actor's art. It's the reason we exist."

Linville had a tough role in playing Frank Burns. But he brought just enough to make the character watchable. There was the slightest hint of a real person in there. So we kept tuning in.