Like Blake, Trapper, and Frank Burns, Radar was also sent home from his stint in Korea.
His departure, however, was due to a family tragedy back home.
In reality,Burghoff wanted to leaveMASHto focus on his family.
Radar’sMASHexit was well done, but that wasn’t always the case.
At this point,Radar was supposed to have a big dramatic moment something that Burghoff wanted to do.
Unfortunately, while Burghoff got his way, he immediately realized the error of his ways.
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And the director said, ‘If I were you, I would fight the tears.’
And I said, ‘No, no.
Just let me do it, okay?'"
MASH is a drama-comedy series set during the Korean War, centering on the lives of the staff at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital as they navigate the challenges of wartime medical service with humor and resilience.*
“The next day, in dailies, I look at the screen and it’s awful.
I mean, it is just terrible.
The director was right, I was wrong…
I said, ‘just can I do this again?’
And he said, ‘Yes, you may.'”
Firstly, it wouldn’t make sense for the character and his story.
Radar, while naive at times, was usually good at holding back his emotions.
Secondly, Radar was being sent home for personal reasons back in Iowa.
He didn’t suffer any losses in Korea.
Ultimately, the more subdued final episode of Radar worked better for the show in general.
The historic series would only go on for a few more years after his exit.
That didn’t mean, however, that losing him was easy.
He kept everything in order as an administrative specialist.
Beyond his responsibilities in the camp, Burghoff character was also special in other ways.
He kept the unit’s morale up during some of its most difficult moments.
Being inMASHfor that long allowed the series to properly develop the character that other departing players didn’t have.
