The last MASH

A reader inquired about the final MASH and whether I was involved in that one too. Directly? No. I had left the show several seasons before. But I did take part in some of the celebratory hoopla. You know me – a party in a bag.

As for the episode itself, it was written by Alan Alda and the staff at the time. The last show was broken down into half hour segments and each writer or team would be assigned one. They would then collaborate with Alan. Ironically, like with CHEERS, the final episode was not the last one shot. Each series filmed one additional episode (that obviously aired before the finale). Although, in the case of CHEERS, after that last episode was filmed and the audience was sent home, the final scene of everyone sitting around the bar was shot. So when the final wrap was called it was just the staff there to see it.

But I digress…(as usual)

The cast and staff of MASH from that final season watched the finale in a screening room. I was not invited. I watched the episode at home like one or two other people.

There was however, a huge party for everyone associated with the series at Morton’s restaurant in West Hollywood a week or so before the airing. That I was invited to. Our son Matt was two months old and we got my parents to sit. I think it was our first night out since he was born so my wife and I would have been thrilled to be invited to the premiere party for HOSTEL.

The MASH soirée was tre elegant. Bobby Short played. Imagine being able to just lean on the piano while Bobby Short sang. I also met Larry Gelbart for the first time. Larry had left the show the year before we came aboard. From time to time we would hear second hand that he liked a particular episode and it would boost our spirits for months.

At one point my wife and I approached Gene Reynolds, one of the real creative forces of MASH (and the man who originally hired us. Blame him for our career.) He was in a small group of people. We exchanged greetings and then Gene introduced one of the group members. “Do you know Gerald Ford?” Uh…no, but I’ve heard of him. So there we were chatting up the former president of the United States.

It was a great and memorable night. Too great and memorable. When Executive Producer Burt Metcalfe took my partner David and I aside and said Larry Gelbart was going to create the sequel and wondered if we were interested in getting involved, we might not have said, “Sure! You bet!” AfterMASH sounded a lot better with four glasses of wine and the former leader of the free world saying he enjoyed our work.