Trivia

Before his 2003 emergency surgery in Chile, the surgeon tried to explain the procedure he was about to perform in layman's terms. Alda confidently asserted that the operation is called an end-to-end anastomosis. The stunned surgeon asked how he knew that. Alda replied that he had done the procedure numerous times on M*A*S*H (1972).

Childhood friend of Carol Burnett.

He commuted from his home in New Jersey to LA every weekend for 11 years while starring in M*A*S*H (1972). His wife and daughters lived in NJ, and he did not want to uproot the family to LA, especially because he did not know how long the show would last.

Suffered from a severe case of polio as a young child. At its worst point he was only able to move his left arm. He received treatment originally developed by Australian polio expert, nurse Sister Kenny, subject of the movie Sister Kenny (1946).

Is the first person ever to win Emmys for acting, writing, and directing. (He accomplished wins in all three categories for his work on M*A*S*H (1972) before the ending of the series).

Served in the U. S. Army, and he went AWOL every weekend because he was dating the woman that he ultimately married, Arlene Alda.

He did not sign on to play Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H (1972) until 6 hours before filming began on the pilot episode.

He was the only actor to appear in every episode of M*A*S*H (1972).

Once did a cartwheel down the aisle while on his way to accept an award that he had just won.

To show the horrors of war in a television sit-com, Alda had it written into his contract that one scene of every episode must take place in the operating room while surgery occured.

He and Loretta Swit were the only two to appear in both the pilot episode of M*A*S*H (1972) and in the final show (with the exception of the opening credits, where Gary Burghoff's character Radar appears, albeit edited after his departure from the show, and Jamie Farr, who provides the voice of the PA announcer in the pilot episode).

Has succeeded Donald Sutherland in two roles: Hawkeye Pierce in M*A*S*H (1972), and Flan in Six Degrees of Separation (1993). He played the latter part in an Audio Books recording. During an appearance both made at a ceremony/dinner for Queen Elizabeth II, the two happened to be standing in the reception line next to each other. As they waited for the Queen to make her way down the line, Alda whispered to Sutherland, "Thank you for my life.".

His favorite episodes of M*A*S*H (1972) are Dear Sigmund (1976) and In Love and War (1977), which he wrote and directed.

He married his wife, Arlene Alda, in 1957, shortly after finishing his army training.

Earned a reported $200,000 per episode for M*A*S*H (1972) in 1980.

He, his father Robert Alda and his half-brother Antony Alda appeared together in an episode of M*A*S*H (1972), Lend a Hand (1980), during Season 8. Robert had previously appeared in The Consultant (1975) in Season 3.

Appeared on the front cover of TV Guide 11 times.

With the exception of taking a course in Theater Games, he's never studied acting. His degree from Fordham University is in Science. He felt that he was a natural performer and that studying would ruin his gift for being natural.

He was once selected as the most believable actor in the U. S.

Earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Fordham University (New York City, USA) in 1956.

Alda almost turned down the role of Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H (1972) because he did not want war to be a "backdrop for lighthearted hijinks... "I wanted to show that the war was a bad place to be.".

Although he has been married over 50 years, he does not like the feel on his finger of his wedding ring and does not wear it. He began wearing his prop wedding ring from The West Wing instead.

Was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 2015 but didn't actually go public about his condition until July 2018 during an appearance on CBS Mornings (2012) with Norah O'Donnell, Anthony Mason and Alex Wagner.

Made his first appearance onstage in 1936 at the age of six months during a burlesque schoolroom sketch that his father was headlining.

Every Sunday, he used to play tennis with Dick Van Patten, Mel Brooks, and Gene Wilder.

In 2005 he became the fifth actor to receive an Oscar, Emmy and Tony nomination in the same calendar year (for The Aviator (2004), The West Wing (1999) and Glengarry Glen Ross, respectively).

Son of Robert Alda and Joan Brown, a former Miss New York pageant winner.

His favorite curse word is "horse". It stems from an outburst he once had on a set, where he went through every obscenity he could think of, then unable to come up with anymore, he loudly yelled "Horse!" According to Alda, it has since become his favorite curse. Additionally, the character of Colonel Potter (Harry Morgan) on M*A*S*H (1972) used similar language for his version of cursing, using, often yelling, "Horse Hockey!" or "Cow Pucky!" or "Buffalo Cookies!", each referring to solidified animal droppings instead of stronger language.

Once played the role of "Sky Masterson" in "Guys and Dolls," the role first played in the original Broadway production by his father, Robert Alda.

Was one of the actors considered to play President Bartlett on The West Wing (1999). Alda later landed the role of Sen. Arnold Vinick in 2004 on that series.

1975 People's Choice Award: Favourite Male TV-Performer

Has been nominated three times for Broadway's Tony Award: in 1967, as best actor-musical for The Apple Tree, in 1992, as best actor-play for Jake's Women and in 2005 as best performance by a featured actor-play for Glengarry Glen Ross.

Harry Morgan, said to be one of his idols, later replaced McLean Stevenson, on M*A*S*H (1972), for the fourth season.

"If you work very, very hard, this is the kind of actor, writer, and director you may turn out to be. And if you work extra hard, this is the kind of person you may turn out to be." - James Lipton, to students at New School University, where Alda gave an interview.

From 1980 to 1983, he won four consecutive Golden Globes in the Best Actor in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical category for his work in M*A*S*H (1972).

Richard Hooker, who wrote the novel on which the film (M*A*S*H (1970)) and TV show (M*A*S*H (1972)) were based, did not like the TV series and, in particular, did not like Alda's portrayal of Hawkeye Pierce.

Studied at the Sorbonne during his junior year of college.

Was a fan of Dragnet 1967 (1967), which featured his future M*A*S*H (1972) co-star, Harry Morgan.

Was the commencement speaker at the Dwight-Englewood High School Commencement in June 1978 in Englewood, NJ, when his daughter Elizabeth Alda graduated.

Alan and his wife, Arlene Alda, have three daughters: Eve Alda Coffey (born on December 12, 1958), Elizabeth Alda (born on August 20, 1960), and Beatrice Alda (born on August 10, 1961).

On October 19, 2003 he underwent emergency surgery while in La Serena, Chile to clear an intestinal obstruction.

He has twice played characters from Maine, from opposite ends of the ethical spectrum. In M*A*S*H (1972) he was noble surgeon Hawkeye Pierce, whose hometown was Crabapple Cove. In The Aviator (2004) he played corrupt U.S. Sen. Owen Brewster, nemesis of Howard Hughes. The author of the original "M*A*S*H" books, Maine doctor Richard Hornberger (writing as Richard Hooker), based the Pierce character on himself but was said to dislike the TV version of his story as overly moralistic. As for Sen. Brewster, whose smarmy hypocrisy was well-depicted by Alda, he was booted out of the Senate by Maine voters in the next Republican primary.

He was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2013 for his services to arts and entertainment.

His father was of Italian descent and his mother was of Irish ancestry.

Briefly considered a run for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in New Jersey after Bill Bradley announced his retirement in 1995.

Best known by the public for his starring role as Chief of Surgery - Dr. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce on M*A*S*H (1972).

In 1958, he won a three-year Ford Foundation fellowship, making him a paid staff member of the Cleveland Playhouse.

Has the distinction of playing three U.S. Senators--Sen. Joe Tynan in The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979), real-life Sen. Owen Brewster in The Aviator (2004) and Sen. Arnold Vinick in The West Wing (1999) . Furthermore, he received an Oscar nomination for his performance in The Aviator (2004).

Nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award for "Things I Overheard While Talking To Myself" [Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Story Telling)].

Was considered for the role of Father Damien Karras in The Exorcist (1973).