Burt Metcalfe, Producer Known for Long Run on ‘MASH,’ Dies at 87
variety.comCynthia Littleton Business EditorBurt Metcalfe, the revered TV producer who worked on all 11 seasons of “MASH,” died July 27 in Los Angeles.
He was 87.Metcalfe was an actor turned director-producer who was recruited to work on “MASH” by director Gene Reynolds, who launched the series adaptation of Robert Altman’s 1970 black comedy released by 20th Century Fox.
Metcalfe started out as an associate producer and rose to showrunner for the show’s final six seasons. He also directed 31 episodes of the series’ 251 installments.Reynolds, who was with “MASH” through the 1976-77 season before moving on to the helm of CBS’ “Lou Grant,” died at age 96 in February 2020.The CBS series adaptation defied low expectations for movie adaptations and became pop culture touchstone of the 1970s and early ’80s.
Set during the Korean War, Alan Alda starred as Col. Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce, a cynical surgeon with a heart of gold who helped run a mobile emergency medical unit populated with colorful Army characters. “MASH” was an allegory for the Vietnam War that started when the latter conflict was still playing out every night on the evening news and the strength of the anti-war movement divided the country.
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