ART VAN DELAY Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Why was Rodgers replaced on MASH ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SugarB Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 I always thought it was because he wanted to leave the show -- is that not the case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morty Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 This is a great story. M*A*S*H was a huge success and it came time to renew the actors contracts. When Rogers read his contract, he noted that there was a "morals clause." This was standard at a lot of studios, it allows the producers to fire an actor if their personal behavior reflects poorly on the production. Rogers told them he had no problem signing the contract, as long as the producers signed one too. He said it would only be fair that they be held to the same moral standards that he was. The producers refused to sign, and the matter was forgotten. Meanwhile, Rogers' investment company is generating far more income than his role on M*A*S*H. Rogers becomes disillusioned with his role on the series that was supposed to be equal to Alan Adla's character. He complains to the producers that he's loosing money by having to hang around the set five days a weeks only to deliver a couple of straight lines to Alda. When things don't improve, Rogers tells Fox that he wouldn't be returning for the fourth season (this happened during the hiatus, this is why he wasn't written out like Mclean Stevenson). Fox tells Rogers that if he's not on set for the first day of shooting he'll be sued for breech of contract. Rogers doesn't show, Fox is ready to haul him into court, when they discover, he never signed his contract the year before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SugarB Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Great story! I always wondered why they exited his character the way they did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ART VAN DELAY Posted November 7, 2008 Author Share Posted November 7, 2008 He played Trapper John and in the movie MASH Trapper was the main character not Hawkeye am I correct ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morty Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 Hmmm..... I don't really remember. Elliott Gould played Trapper John' McIntyre and Donald Sutherland played Hawkeye, and I remember Elliott Gould more than Sutherland, but I haven't seen the movie since it first came out in 1970 (I think I read the book too) and I just don't remember if one of them was more central to the story than the other. Maybe someone that's seen the movie more recently will help us out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SugarB Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 IMO, in the movie, the two characters were more equals, rather than Trapper being more of a "sidekick" to Hawkeye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyami Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 Was it McClane (sp) Stevenson??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SugarB Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 ^^^ That was Colonol Blake in the tv show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ART VAN DELAY Posted November 11, 2008 Author Share Posted November 11, 2008 Roger Bowen played Col Blake in the movie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyami Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 Oh, thanks Sugar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapple Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Mike Farrell had to be the worst replacement in sitcom history. I don't think I ever genuinely laughed at anything he ever said on the show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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