A Major League Baseball Star Inspired A Major Change To M*A*S*H
Without hyperbole, "M*A*S*H" is one of the greatest TV shows ever made. Centered on the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War, the anti-war comedy-drama became one of the most-watched shows in history and is continually revered by younger generations discovering it for the first time. The show boasted a phenomenal ensemble cast, with Captain Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce (Alan Alda) serving as the defacto main character. He's the chief surgeon after all, but he's also a bit of a lush. Then again, just about everyone on "M*A*S*H" drank from time to time. This is the show that gave us the iconic line, "War isn't Hell. War is war, and Hell is Hell. And of the two, war is a lot worse," so it isn't surprising that there'd be a bit of self-medicating happening. But a few years into the series' run, there was a noticeable shift in how much alcohol was consumed on screen.
In Ed Solomonson and Mark O'Neill's "TV's M*A*S*H: The Ultimate Guide Book," they cite a commentary track from show creator and producer Larry Gelbart, who explained that the change was a result of a request from baseball legend Don Newcombe. For those unaware, Newcombe was one of the greatest baseball pitchers to ever live, but struggled with alcoholism in the 1950s and '60s. It's widely known that at the height of his struggles, he pawned off his World Series ring to feed his addiction. He fortunately got sober in 1966 and soon became an activist and role model for those looking to fight substance abuse. One of his biggest success stories? Curbing the alcohol on "M*A*S*H."
Giving M*A*S*H a case of bottle fatigue
As Gelbart explained, "Somewhere around the end of the second or the start of the third year, we decided to cut down on the amount of drinking, especially in The Swamp. Don Newcombe, former Dodger pitcher and spokesman for alcohol abstinence, made a strong pitch about not letting such popular characters be seen imbibing either to celebrate or to drown their sorrows." The result was not to make all of "M*A*S*H" go cold turkey but to minimize the frequency with which alcohol appeared on the show. This way, the show wouldn't be ignoring the realities of military experience, but wouldn't be glorifying the act for viewers at home. He continued:
"While it is true that an awful lot of drinking goes on in the military, Newcombe's point was well-taken. While our characters obviously did not go on the wagon, we had them stop climbing on to it a bit less frequently. As one who has seen close up and personal the awful human toll that alcohol can and does extract from its abusers, I have never doubted that we made the right choice, but it was sure fun writing dry martini jokes."
Chances are, viewers at home didn't even notice the change. There's even an episode in season 8, "Bottle Fatigue," where Hawkeye decides to quit drinking for a week after charging up a massive bar tab and annoys the crud out of everyone with his sanctimonious attitude about the whole ordeal. It's one of the funniest later season episodes of the series, and even features a guest appearance by Shelley Long a year before she'd land the role of Diane Chambers on a very alcohol-centric series, "Cheers."