Biography
In 1956-1957, Metcalfe was drafted as an enlisted man into the United States Navy, serving two years. He was stationed at Ream Field, San Ysidro, California, where he held a public relations position. During this period, Metcalfe acting as the lead, working closely with some of his fellow enlisted comrades created the "Miss Angel" beauty contest. An "Angel" in Navy terms meaning a helicopter that would swoop in saving downed pilots who ditched their aircraft in the sea and in some cases on land. Ream Field at that time was virtually the "helicopter capitol of the world".
In 1960-1961, Metcalfe landed an acting role as Joe Brigham in the NBC sitcom Happy, starring Ronnie Burns as the manager of a Palm Springs, California, hotel and the father of a talking baby nicknamed "Happy".
His most notable work was as a writer for the hit CBS series M*A*S*H, and he was the only producer to stay with the TV series during its entire run from 1972-1983. Originally the series' associate producer, Metcalfe was promoted to line producer in 1976 when Larry Gelbart left the series and then to executive producer in 1977, when Gene Reynolds moved on to become executive producer for the CBS-TV series Lou Grant.
Read more about this topic: Burt Metcalfe
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