When McLean Stevenson auditioned for “M*A*S*H,” he did so for a more prominent role like Hawkeye or Trapper. Mark Evanier, who worked with Stevenson on his eponymous show, once claimedStevenson didn’t want the role of Henry Blake. However, his agents pushed him to take the role, explaining that producers said it could expand once the series was picked up. Ultimately, the show was picked up — but Stevenson’s character remained a supporting role.
Evanier also noted that Stevenson asked for salary increases as his time on “M*A*S*H” wore on, and he didn’t receive them while costars like Alan Alda did. Eventually, he left the show for greener pastures when NBC offered him a significant pay bump to do other work, Evanier revealed. He wasn’t the only major character to leave the show either, as Gary Burghoff also left his role as Radar.
Leaving ended up being Stevenson’s greatest career mistake. “When I left the show, the mistake was not in leaving,” he said in a special titled “Memories of MASH” (via the L.A. Times). “The mistake was that I thought everybody in America loved McLean Stevenson. That was not the case. Everybody loved Henry Blake. So if you go and do ‘The McLean Stevenson Show,’ nobody cares about McLean Stevenson.” Even if his swan song was the role of Lt. Col. Henry Blake, Stevenson embodied his comedic chops in other shows that had fans — just maybe not as much panache.
