Movies - TV
M*A*S*H Censors Somehow Missed Two Of The Show’s Dirtiest Jokes
By VALERIE ETTENHOFER
A bawdy comedy from day one, “M*A*S*H” was able to interject wild, unexpected jokes into its fast-paced episodes, thanks in part to star Alan Alda's knack for nimble verbal comedy.
However, some jokes from “M*A*S*H” got past CBS censors. They were rather dirty, including two that series creator Larry Gelbart still remembered decades after the series ended.
In the “M*A*S*H” guidebook, Gelbart says one joke slipped by in season 2 of “M*A*S*H” when Frank and Margaret decide to charge Colonel Blake for his poor leadership.
The joke comes when Hawkeye walks into a room when Margaret is using an electric neck massager on Frank. Hawkeye says, “Behind every great man, there is a woman with a vibrator.”
The joke was apparently intentionally planned. “Probably the poor schmuck who was the censor didn't know what people did with a vibrator,” Gelbart said.
Another slip-up is in season 1, when Frank gives Margaret an awkward compliment, “Oh, Margaret. You're my snug harbor. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you to sail into.”
Gelbart says it probably got through because the censors were much more focused on curse words rather than wordplay. “I don't know why they allowed that,” he said.
Those are the two dirtiest jokes that were missed, but there are plenty of surprisingly edgy-for-the-seventies jokes that made it onto “M*A*S*H” across its 11 seasons.