M*A*S*H (TV Series) - Characters

Characters

Main article: List of M*A*S*H characters See also: List of notable guest stars on M*A*S*H and List of M*A*S*H cast members

M*A*S*H maintained a relatively constant ensemble cast, with four characters—Hawkeye, Father Mulcahy, Margaret Houlihan, and Maxwell Q. Klinger—on the show for all eleven seasons. Several other main characters left or joined the show midway through its run. There were also numerous guest and recurring characters. The writers found creating so many names difficult, and used names from elsewhere; for example, characters on the seventh season were named after the 1978 Los Angeles Dodgers.

• Note: Character appearances include double-length episodes as two appearances, making 260 in total.

Character	Actor/Actress	Rank	Role	Appearances
Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce (Seasons 1–11)	Alan Alda	Captain	Chief Surgeon	260
Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Seasons 1–11)	Loretta Swit	Major	Head Nurse, Temporary Adjutant	243
Maxwell Q. Klinger (Seasons 1–11)	Jamie Farr	Corporal, later Sergeant	Corpsman, later Company Clerk	219
John Patrick Francis Mulcahy (Seasons 1–11)	George Morgan (Pilot Episode), replaced by William Christopher	First Lieutenant, later Captain	Chaplain	218
John Francis Xavier "Trapper John" McIntyre (Seasons 1–3)	Wayne Rogers	Captain	Surgeon	74
Henry Braymore Blake (Seasons 1–3)	McLean Stevenson	Lieutenant Colonel	Commanding Officer, Surgeon	70
Franklin Marion "Frank" Burns (Seasons 1–5)	Larry Linville	Major, later Lieutenant Colonel (off-screen)	Surgeon, Executive Officer Temporary Commanding Officer (following the discharge of Henry Blake)	118
Walter Eugene "Radar" O’Reilly (Seasons 1–8)	Gary Burghoff	Corporal (one episode as Second Lieutenant)	Company Clerk, Bugler	156
B. J. Hunnicutt (replaced Trapper; Seasons 4–11)	Mike Farrell	Captain	Surgeon	187
Sherman Tecumseh Potter (replaced Henry Blake; Seasons 4–11)	Harry Morgan	Colonel	Commanding Officer (after Lt. Col. Blake), Surgeon	188
Charles Emerson Winchester III (replaced Frank Burns; Seasons 6–11)	David Ogden Stiers	Major	Surgeon, Executive Officer (after Major Burns)	137