Alan Alda

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Alan Alda
Alan Alda 2015.jpg
Alda in 2015
Born
Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo

(1936-01-28) January 28, 1936 (age 87)
The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Alma materFordham University (BA)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • writer
  • comedian
  • director
Years active1955–present
Spouse
​
(m. 1957)​
Children3, including Elizabeth and Beatrice
Parent
RelativesAntony Alda (half-brother)
AwardsSix Emmy Awards and six Golden Globe Awards
Military career
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service1956–1958
RankUS Army O2 shoulderboard rotated.svg First lieutenant
UnitField Artillery Branch

Alan Alda (/ˈɑːldə/; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor, screenwriter, and director. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner and a three-time Tony Award nominee, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce in the CBS wartime sitcom M*A*S*H (1972–1983). He also wrote and directed numerous episodes of the series.

After starring in the films Same Time, Next Year (1978), California Suite (1978), and The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979), he made his directorial film debut The Four Seasons (1981). Alda was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Owen Brewster in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator (2004). Other notable film roles include in Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993), Everyone Says I Love You (1996), Flirting with Disaster (1996), Tower Heist (2011), Bridge of Spies (2015), and Marriage Story (2019).

Alda won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Senator Arnold Vinick in the NBC series The West Wing. Other Emmy-nominated roles include in And the Band Played On in 1993, ER in 2000, 30 Rock in 2009, and The Blacklist in 2015. He also had recurring roles in The Big C (2011–2013), Horace and Pete (2016), Ray Donovan (2018–2020), and The Good Fight (2018–2019).

Alda has also received three Tony Award nominations for his Broadway performances in The Apple Tree (1967), Jake's Women (1992), and Glengarry Glen Ross (2005). In 2008 he received a Grammy Award for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording nomination for Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself. In 2019, Alda received the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.[1]

Early life[edit]

Alda was born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo on January 28, 1936, in the Bronx,[2] New York City. Alda spent his childhood with his parents travelling around the United States in support of his father's job as a performer in burlesque theatres.[3] His father Robert Alda (born Alfonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo) was an actor and singer, and his mother Joan Browne was a homemaker and former beauty-pageant winner.[4] His father was of Italian descent (D'Abruzzo is a toponymic surname) and his mother was of Irish ancestry.[5]

When Alda was seven years old, he contracted polio. To combat the disease, his parents administered a painful treatment regimen developed by Sister Elizabeth Kenny, consisting of applying hot woollen blankets to his limbs and stretching his muscles.[6] Alda attended Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York.[7] He studied English at Fordham University in the Bronx, where he was a student staff member of its FM radio station, WFUV. During Alda's junior year, he studied in Paris, acted in a play in Rome, and performed with his father on television in Amsterdam.

In 1956, Alda received his Bachelor of Arts degree. A member of the ROTC, he entered the United States Army Reserve and served for a year at Fort Benning, then six months as a gunnery officer[8][9] in Korea.[10][11] In a 2013 interview, Alda joked that he was actually in charge of a mess tent.[12]

Alda's half-brother Antony Alda was born in 1956 and also became an actor.

Career[edit]

Early acting[edit]

Alda began his career in the 1950s, as a member of the Compass Players, an improvisational, comedy revue directed by Paul Sills. He later became a member of the improvisational group Second City in Chicago. He joined the acting company at the Cleveland Play House during the 1958–1959 season as part of a grant from the Ford Foundation, appearing in productions such as To Dorothy a Son, Heaven Come Wednesday, Monique, and Job.[13] In 1958 Alda appeared as Carlyle Thompson III on The Phil Silvers Show in the episode titled "Bilko the Art Lover". In the November 1964 world premiere at the ANTA Playhouse of the stage version of The Owl and The Pussycat, he played Felix the "Owl" opposite the "Pussycat" which was played by actress/singer Diana Sands,[14] an African-American actress with whom he shared an onstage kiss, for which he received hate mail.[15] He continued to play Felix the "Owl" for the 1964–65 Broadway season.[16][17] In 1966, he starred in the musical The Apple Tree on Broadway, with Barbara Harris. He was nominated for the Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical for that role.

Alda said he became a Mainer in 1957 when he played at the Kennebunkport Playhouse.[18]

Alda was part of the cast, along with David Frost, Henry Morgan and Buck Henry, of the American television version of That Was The Week That Was, which ran as a series from January 10, 1964, to May 1965. He made his Hollywood acting debut as a supporting player in Gone Are the Days! – a film version of the Broadway play Purlie Victorious, which co-starred Ruby Dee and her husband, Ossie Davis. Other film roles followed, such as his portrayal of author, humorist, and actor George Plimpton in the film Paper Lion (1968),[7] as well as The Extraordinary Seaman (1969), and the occult-murder-suspense thriller The Mephisto Waltz, with actresses Jacqueline Bisset and Barbara Parkins. During this time, Alda frequently appeared as a panelist on the 1968 revival of What's My Line?. He also appeared as a panelist on I've Got a Secret during its 1972 syndication revival.

Alda also wrote several of the stories and poems that appeared in Marlo Thomas' television show Free to Be... You and Me.

1972–1983: M*A*S*H[edit]

Alda (left of center) as Hawkeye Pierce in M*A*S*H, 1972

In early 1972, Alda auditioned for and was selected to play the role of Hawkeye Pierce in the TV adaptation of the 1970 film M*A*S*H.[7] He was nominated for 21 Emmy Awards, and won five. He took part in writing 19 episodes, including the 1983 2.5-hour series finale "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", which was also the 32nd episode he directed. It remains the single most-watched episode of any American broadcast network television series.[7] Alda was the only series regular to appear in all 256 episodes.[19]

The cast of M*A*S*H from season two, 1974 (clockwise from left): Loretta Swit, Larry Linville, Wayne Rogers, Gary Burghoff, McLean Stevenson, and Alda

Alda commuted from Los Angeles to his home in New Jersey every weekend for 11 years while starring in M*A*S*H.[20] His wife and daughters lived in New Jersey and he did not want to move his family to Los Angeles, initially because he did not know how long the show would last.

Alda's father, Robert Alda, and half-brother Antony Alda appeared together in the 20th episode of season eight of M*A*S*H, "Lend a Hand". Robert had previously appeared in "The Consultant" in season three.

Alan and Robert Alda in 1975

During the first five seasons of the series, the tone of M*A*S*H was largely that of a traditional "service comedy", in the vein of shows such as McHale's Navy. However, as the original writers gradually left the series, Alda gained increasing control, and by the final seasons had become a producer and creative consultant. Under his watch, M*A*S*H retained its comedic foundation, but gradually assumed a somewhat more serious tone, openly addressing political issues. As a result, the 11 years of M*A*S*H are generally split into two eras: the Larry Gelbart/Gene Reynolds "comedy" years (1972–1977), and the Alan Alda "dramatic" years (1977–1983).[citation needed] Alda disagreed with this assessment. In a 2016 interview he stated, "I don't like to write political messages. I don't like plays that have political messages. I do not think I am responsible for that."[21]

Alda and his co-stars Wayne Rogers and McLean Stevenson worked well together during the first three seasons, but over time tensions developed as Alda's role grew in popularity and disrupted the original 'equal' standing of their characters. Rogers and Stevenson both left the show at the end of the third season.[22] Anticipating the fourth season, Alda and the producers sought a replacement actor for the surrogate parent role embodied in the character Colonel Blake. They found veteran actor Harry Morgan, a fan of the series who starred as Colonel Sherman T. Potter, a character who carried on as one of the show's lead protagonists.[23] Mike Farrell was introduced as Hawkeye's new tentmate BJ Hunnicutt.

In his 1981 autobiography, Jackie Cooper (who directed several early episodes) wrote that Alda concealed a lot of hostility beneath the surface, and that the two of them barely spoke to each other by the time Cooper's directing of M*A*S*H ended.[24]

During his M*A*S*H years, Alda made several game-show appearances, most notably in The $10,000 Pyramid and as a frequent panelist on What's My Line? and To Tell the Truth. He also wrote and starred, in the title role, in the 1979 political drama film The Seduction of Joe Tynan.

His favorite episodes of M*A*S*H are "Dear Sigmund" and "In Love and War".[25]

In 1996, Alda was ranked 41st on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.[26]

Writing and directing credits[edit]

The following is a list of M*A*S*H episodes written and/or directed by Alda.

Season Episode Credit
One Episode 19: "The Long John Flap" Written
Two Episode 5: "Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde" Written with Robert Klane
Episode 23: "Mail Call" Directed
Three Episode 16: "Bulletin Board" Directed
Four Episode 4: "The Late Captain Pierce" Directed
Episode 7: "Dear Mildred" Directed
Episode 8: "The Kids" Directed
Episode 16: "Dear Ma" Directed
Five Episode 2: "Margaret's Engagement" Directed
Episode 7: "Dear Sigmund" Written and directed
Episode 12: "Exorcism" Directed
Episode 19: "Hepatitis" Written and directed
Six Episode 2: "Fallen Idol" Written and directed
Episode 4: "War of Nerves" Written and directed
Episode 7: "In Love and War" Written and directed
Episode 12: "Comrades in Arms, Part 1" Written; directed with Burt Metcalfe
Episode 13: "Comrades in Arms, Part 2" Written; directed with Burt Metcalfe
Seven Episode 5: "The Billfold Syndrome" Directed
Episode 8: "Major Ego" Directed
Episode 14: "Dear Sis" Written and directed
Episode 16: "Inga" Written and directed
Episode 25: "The Party" Written with Burt Metcalfe
Eight Episode 3: "Guerilla My Dreams" Directed
Episode 11: "Life Time" Written with Walter D. Dishell, M.D.; Directed
Episode 15: "Yessir, That's Our Baby" Directed
Episode 20: "Lend a Hand" Written and directed
Episode 22: "Dreams" Teleplay; story with James Jay Rubinfier; Directed
Nine Episode 4: "Father's Day" Directed
Episode 12: "Depressing News" Directed
Episode 15: "Bottoms Up" Directed
Episode 20: "The Life You Save" Written with John Rappaport; Directed
Ten Episode 6: "Communication Breakdown" Directed
Episode 10: "Follies of the Living – Concerns of the Dead" Written and directed
Episode 17: "Where There's a Will, There's a War" Directed
Eleven Episode 1: "Hey, Look Me Over" Written with Karen Hall
Episode 16: "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" Written with Burt Metcalfe,
John Rappaport, Dan Wilcox,
Thad Mumford, Elias Davis,
David Pollock and Karen Hall; Directed

1980s[edit]

Alda's prominence in M*A*S*H provided him a platform to speak out on political topics. He has been a strong and vocal supporter of women's rights and the feminist movement.[7][27] He co-chaired, with former First Lady Betty Ford, the Equal Rights Amendment Countdown campaign. In 1976, The Boston Globe dubbed him "the quintessential Honorary Woman: a feminist icon" for his activism on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment.[28]

Alda played Nobel Prize–winning physicist Richard Feynman in the play QED, which had only one other character. Although Peter Parnell wrote the play, Alda both produced and inspired it. Alda has also appeared frequently in the films of Woody Allen, and was a guest star five times on ER, playing Dr. Kerry Weaver's mentor, Gabriel Lawrence. During the later episodes, Lawrence was revealed to be in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Alda also had a co-starring role as Dr. Robert Gallo in the 1993 TV movie And the Band Played On.

During M*A*S*H's run and continuing through the 1980s, Alda embarked on a successful career as a writer and director, with the ensemble dramedy, The Four Seasons being perhaps his most notable hit. Betsy's Wedding is his last directing credit to date. After M*A*S*H, Alda took on a series of roles that either parodied or directly contradicted his "nice guy" image.[7] He then partnered with producer Martin Bregman on various films, first with an agreement at Universal Pictures in 1983, then it was moved to Lorimar Motion Pictures in 1986.[29]

1990s[edit]

Alda at the 1994 Emmys

Alda has frequently appeared in the films of his friend, Woody Allen, including Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) and Everyone Says I Love You (1996). When asked about the controversy surrounding Allen in 2019, Alda stated, "I'd work with him again if he wanted me. I'm not qualified to judge him... I just don't have enough information to convince me I shouldn't work with him. And he's an enormously talented guy."[30]

From the fall season of 1993 until the show ended in 2005, Alda was the host for Scientific American Frontiers, which began on PBS in 1990.[31]

In 1995, he starred as the President of the United States in Michael Moore's political satire/comedy film Canadian Bacon. Around this time, rumors circulated that Alda was considering running for the United States Senate in New Jersey, but he denied this. In 1996, Alda played Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, in Camping With Henry and Tom, based on the book by Mark St. Germain and appeared in the comedy film, Flirting with Disaster. In 1997 Alda played National Security Adviser Alvin Jordan In Murder at 1600. In 1999, Alda portrayed Dr. Gabriel Lawrence in NBC program ER for five episodes and was nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.[32]

Alda starred in the original Broadway production of the play Art, which opened on March 1, 1998, at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. The play won the Tony Award for Best Play.

2000s[edit]

Beginning in 2004, Alda was a regular cast member on the NBC program The West Wing, portraying California Republican U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Arnold Vinick, until the show's conclusion in May 2006. He made his premiere in the sixth season's eighth episode, "In The Room", and was added to the opening credits with the 13th episode, "King Corn". In August 2006, Alda won an Emmy for his portrayal of Vinick in the final season of The West Wing. Alda appeared in a total of 28 episodes during the show's sixth and seventh seasons. Alda had been a serious candidate, along with Sidney Poitier, for the role of President Josiah Bartlet before Martin Sheen was ultimately cast in the role.

In 2004, Alda portrayed conservative Maine Senator Owen Brewster in Martin Scorsese's Academy Award-winning film The Aviator, in which he co-starred with Leonardo DiCaprio. Alda received his first Academy Award nomination for this role in 2005.

Alda also had a part in the 2000 romantic comedy What Women Want, as the CEO of the advertising firm where the main characters worked.

In early 2005, Alda starred as Shelly Levene in the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross, for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play. Throughout 2009 and 2010, he appeared in three episodes of 30 Rock as Milton Greene, the biological father of Jack Donaghy, played by Alec Baldwin. In January 2010, Alda hosted The Human Spark, a three-part series originally broadcast on PBS discussing the nature of human uniqueness and recent studies on the human brain.[33]

In 2006, Alda contributed his voice to a part in the audio book of Max Brooks' World War Z. In this book, he voiced Arthur Sinclair, Jr., the director of the United States government's fictional Department of Strategic Resources (DeStRes).

2010s[edit]

Alda returned to Broadway in November 2014, playing the role of Andrew Makepeace in the revival of Love Letters at the Brooks Atkinson Theater alongside Candice Bergen.[34]

In 2015, Alda appeared as a lawyer, Thomas Watters, alongside Tom Hanks as James Donovan, in Steven Spielberg's critically acclaimed cold war drama film Bridge of Spies which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.

In 2016, Alda gained critical praise for his performance in Louis C.K.'s acclaimed web-based series Horace and Pete as the irascible Uncle Pete. IndieWire critic Sam Adams described as "his best role in years".[35] In regards to C.K.'s recent scandal, Alda stated, "I respect Louis so much as an artist. But he did a terrible thing, and I hope he finds a way to come to terms with both of those things."[36]

Also in 2016, Alda took part in the opening night show of John Mulaney and Nick Kroll's Oh, Hello at the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway. The show is said to be inspired by "two old men at the Strand buying a copy of Alda's book". Before bringing Alda onstage, Mulaney said, "This is genuinely the best guest we ever had."[37]

In 2018, Alda began portraying psychiatrist Dr. Arthur Amiot in Season 6 of Showtime's Ray Donovan.

In 2019, Alda appeared in Noah Baumbach's thirteenth film, Marriage Story, as a warm-hearted lawyer who represents a stage director (Adam Driver) during the divorce proceedings. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Alda discussed the effects of his illness, mainly Parkinson's disease, and other related issues. He stated, "I have this tremor. It's not part of the script so I didn't want it to be distracting if Noah thought it would be distracting."[38] Alda has received widespread acclaim for his performance.

Charitable works[edit]

Alda has done extensive charity work. He helped narrate a 2005 St. Jude Children's Hospital-produced one-hour special TV show Fighting for Life.[39] His wife, Arlene, and he are also close friends of Marlo Thomas, who is very active in fund-raising for the hospital that her father, Danny Thomas founded. The television special featured Ben Bowen as one of six patients being treated for childhood cancer at Saint Jude.[40] Alda and Marlo Thomas had also worked together in the early 1970s on a critically acclaimed children's album entitled Free to Be You and Me, which featured Alda, Thomas, and a number of other well-known character actors. This project remains one of the earliest public signs of his support of women's rights. Alda chaired "Men for the Equal Rights Amendment" and was appointed to the International Women's Year Commission.[41]

Communicating science[edit]

For 14 years, he served as the host of Scientific American Frontiers, a television show that explored cutting-edge advances in science and technology.[31] In 2010, he became a visiting professor at Stony Brook University.[42] In 2009, he was a founder of the university's Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science. He continues as a member of its advisory board.[43] He is also on the advisory board of the Future of Life Institute.[44] He serves on the board of the World Science Festival and is a judge for Math-O-Vision.

Alda also has an avid interest in cosmology, and participated in BBC coverage of the opening of the Large Hadron Collider, at CERN, Geneva, in September 2008.[45]

He was named an Honorary Fellow by the Society for Technical Communication in 2014 for his work with the Center for Communicating Science and the annual Flame Challenge.[46] Alda would like to use his expertise in acting and communication to help scientists communicate more effectively to the public.[47] In 2014 Alda was awarded the American Chemical Society's James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public for his work in science communication.[48] He was awarded the National Academy of Sciences Public Welfare Medal in 2016 "for his extraordinary application of the skills honed as an actor to communicating science on television and stage, and by teaching scientists innovative techniques that allow them to tell their stories to the public".

In 2011 Alda wrote Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie,[49] a full-length play that focuses on Marie Skłodowska Curie's professional and personal life during the time between the Nobel Prizes won by her for physics and chemistry, from 1903 to 1911.

On 18 February 2021, he received the Kavli Foundation's first-ever Distinguished Kavli Science Communicator award for his pioneering work in communicating the excitement, mystery and marvels of science.[50]

Personal life[edit]

Alda, 1960s

In 1956, while attending Fordham, Alda met Arlene Weiss, who was attending Hunter College. They bonded at a mutual friend's dinner party; when a rum cake accidentally fell onto the kitchen floor, they were the only two guests who did not hesitate to eat it.[51] After a screenshot of this Wikipedia article went viral, he addressed the incident saying "We did eat the rum cake off the floor and were inseparable after that. But I was captivated by her even earlier in the meal when I heard her at the end of the table laughing at my jokes. She had me at Ha."[52] A year after his graduation, on March 15, they were married. They have three daughters: Eve, Elizabeth, and Beatrice. Two of his eight grandchildren are aspiring actors. Arlene sometimes calls him "Fonzi" in reference to his birth name "Alphonso".

The Aldas were long-time residents of Leonia, New Jersey.[53] Alda frequented Sol & Sol Deli on Palisade Avenue in the nearby town of Englewood, New Jersey—a fact mirrored in his character's daydream about eating whitefish from the establishment in an episode of M*A*S*H in which Hawkeye sustains a head injury.[54]

In Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, Alda described how as a teen he was raised as a Roman Catholic and eventually he realized he had begun thinking like an agnostic or atheist. While he states that he still prays on occasion, he said he wants to find meaning in this life rather than worrying about the next one.[55] He states that when he talks to God it often comes at times of fear rather than out of a sense of belief.[55] Furthermore, he does not like to be labeled as an agnostic, stating in an interview for the 2008 question section of the Edge Foundation website, that it was too fancy a word for him.[56] He argues he simply is not a believer and questions why people are so frightened of others who hold beliefs different from their own.[56]

On July 31, 2018, he appeared on CBS This Morning and announced he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease three years earlier.[57]

Memoirs[edit]

In 2005, Alda published his first round of memoirs, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: and Other Things I've Learned.[20] Among other stories, he recalls his intestines becoming strangulated while on location in La Serena, Chile, for his PBS show Scientific American Frontiers, during which he mildly surprised a young doctor with his understanding of medical procedures, which he had learned from M*A*S*H. He also talks about his mother's battle with schizophrenia. The title comes from an incident in his childhood, when Alda was distraught about his dog dying and his well-meaning father had the animal stuffed. Alda was horrified by the results, and took from this that sometimes we have to accept things as they are, rather than desperately and fruitlessly trying to change them.

His second memoir, Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself,[58] (2008), weaves together advice from public speeches he has given with personal recollections about his life and beliefs.

His third memoir, If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating,[59] (2017), is a story of his quest to learn how to communicate better, and to teach others to do the same.

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1963 Gone Are the Days! Charlie Cotchipee
1968 Paper Lion George Plimpton
1969 The Extraordinary Seaman Lt. Morton Krim
1970 Jenny Delano
1970 The Moonshine War John W. Martin
1971 The Mephisto Waltz Myles Clarkson
1972 To Kill a Clown Major Evelyn Ritchie
1978 Same Time, Next Year George Peters
1978 California Suite Bill Warren
1979 The Seduction of Joe Tynan Joe Tynan Also writer
1981 The Four Seasons Jack Burroughs Also writer and director
1986 Sweet Liberty Michael Burgess Also writer and director
1988 A New Life Steve Giardino Also writer and director
1989 Crimes and Misdemeanors Lester
1990 Betsy's Wedding Eddie Hopper Also writer and director
1992 Whispers in the Dark Leo Green
1993 Manhattan Murder Mystery Ted
1994 White Mile Dan Cutler
1995 Canadian Bacon President of the United States
1996 Flirting with Disaster Richard Schlichting
1996 Everyone Says I Love You Bob Dandridge
1997 Murder at 1600 National Security Advisor Alvin Jordan
1997 Mad City Kevin Hollander
1998 The Object of My Affection Sidney Miller
1999 Keepers of the Frame Himself Documentary
2000 What Women Want Dan Wanamaker
2004 The Aviator Owen Brewster
2007 Resurrecting the Champ Ralph Metz
2008 Diminished Capacity Uncle Rollie Zerbs
2008 Flash of Genius Gregory Lawson
2008 Nothing but the Truth Albert Burnside
2011 Tower Heist Arthur Shaw
2012 Wanderlust Carvin Wiggins
2015 The Longest Ride Ira Levinson
2015 Bridge of Spies Thomas Watters
2019 Marriage Story Bert Spitz

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1958 The Phil Silvers Show Carlyle Thomson III Episode: "Bilko the Art Lover"
1962 Naked City Young Poet Episode: "Hold for Gloria Christmas"
1963 The Doctors and the Nurses Dr. John Griffin Episodes: "Many a Sullivan", "Night Sounds"
1963 Route 66 Dr. Glazer Episode: "Soda Pop and Paper Flags"
1963 East Side/West Side Freddie Wilcox Episode: "The Sinner"
1965 The Trials of O'Brien Nick Staphos Episode: "Picture Me a Murder"
1967 Coronet Blue Clay Breznia Episode: "Six Months to Mars"
1968 Premiere Frank St. John Episode: "Higher and Higher, Attorneys at Law"
1972 The Glass House Jonathon Paige Television film
1972 Playmates Marshall Barnett Television film
1972–83 M*A*S*H Captain Benjamin Franklin
"Hawkeye" Pierce		 256 episodes
1973 Isn't It Shocking? Dan Barnes Television film
1974 The Carol Burnett Show Himself Episode: "#8.13"
1974 Free to Be... You and Me Himself Television film
1974 6 Rms Riv Vu Paul Friedman Television film
1977 Kill Me If You Can Caryl W. Chessman Television film
1993 And the Band Played On Dr. Robert Gallo Television film
1993–2005 Scientific American Frontiers Himself (Host) 81 episodes[31]
1994 White Mile Dan Cutler Television film
1996 Jake's Women Jake Television film
1999 ER Dr. Gabriel Lawrence 5 episodes
2001 Club Land Willie Walters Television movie
2001 The Killing Yard Ernie Goodman Television film
2004–06 The West Wing Senator Arnold Vinick 28 episodes
2005 Getaway Himself Episode: "Found"
2009–10 30 Rock Milton Greene 3 Episodes
2011–13 The Big C Dr. Atticus Sherman 6 episodes
2012 The Human Spark Himself 3 episodes[33]
2013 Brains on Trial with Alan Alda Himself 2 episodes
2013 50 Children Narrator HBO documentary
2013–14 The Blacklist Alan Fitch 5 episodes
2016 Horace and Pete Uncle Pete 5 episodes
2016 Broad City Dr. Jay Heller Episode: "2016"
2018–19 The Good Fight Solomon Waltzer 3 episodes
2018–20 Ray Donovan Dr. Arthur Amiot 8 episodes
2022 Ray Donovan: The Movie Dr. Arthur Amiot Television film

Stage[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1959 Only in America Telephone Man Cort Theatre, Broadway
1961–62 Purlie Victorious Charlie Cotchipee Longacre Theatre, Broadway
1964 Fair Game for Lovers Benny Cort Theatre, Broadway
1964 Cafe Crown Dr. Irving Gilbert Martin Beck Theatre, Broadway
1964–65 The Owl and the Pussycat F. Sherman Royale Theatre, Broadway
1966–67 The Apple Tree Various Shubert Theatre, Broadway
1991[60] Our Town Stage Manager Shaftesbury Theatre, London
1992 Jake's Women Jake Neil Simon Theatre, Broadway
1998–99 Art Marc Royale Theatre, Broadway
2001–02 QED Richard Feynman Vivian Beaumont Theater, Broadway
2003 The Play What I Wrote Mystery Guest Star Lyceum Theatre, Broadway
2005 Glengarry Glen Ross Shelly Levene Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, Broadway
2014 Love Letters Andrew Makepeace Ladd III Brooks Atkinson Theatre, Broadway
2016 Oh, Hello Himself (opening night) Lyceum Theatre, Broadway

Awards and nominations[edit]

The handprints and noseprint of Alda in front of The Great Movie Ride at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park

Academy Awards

Year Award Nominated work Result
2004 Best Supporting Actor The Aviator Nominated

Tony Awards

Year Award Nominated work Result
1967 Best Actor in a Musical The Apple Tree Nominated
1992 Best Actor in a Play Jake's Women Nominated
2005 Best Featured Actor in a Play Glengarry Glen Ross Nominated

Grammy Awards

Year Award Nominated work Result
2008 Spoken Word Album Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself Nominated

Primetime Emmy Awards

Year Award Nominated work Result
1973 Lead Actor in a Comedy Series M*A*S*H Nominated
1974 Lead Actor in a Comedy Series M*A*S*H Won
1974 Actor of the Year M*A*S*H Won
1974 Lead Actor in a Drama 6 Rms Riv Vu Nominated
1975 Lead Actor in a Comedy Series M*A*S*H Nominated
1975 Directing for a Comedy Series M*A*S*H – Episode: Bulletin Board Nominated
1976 Lead Actor in a Comedy Series M*A*S*H Nominated
1976 Directing for a Comedy Series M*A*S*H – Episode: The Kids Nominated
1977 Lead Actor in a Comedy Series M*A*S*H Nominated
1977 Directing for a Comedy Series M*A*S*H – Episode: Dear Sigmund Won
1977 Writing for a Comedy Series M*A*S*H – Episode: Bulletin Board Nominated
1978 Lead Actor in a Comedy Series M*A*S*H Nominated
1978 Directing for a Comedy Series M*A*S*H – Episode: Commrades in Arms, Part I Nominated
1978 Writing for a Comedy Series M*A*S*H – Episode: Fallen Idol Nominated
1978 Lead Actor in a Special Kill Me if You Can Nominated
1979 Lead Actor in a Comedy Series M*A*S*H Nominated
1979 Directing for a Comedy Series M*A*S*H – Episode: Dear Sis Nominated
1979 Writing for a Comedy Series M*A*S*H – Episode: Inga Won
1980 Lead Actor in a Comedy Series M*A*S*H Nominated
1980 Directing for a Comedy Series M*A*S*H – Episode: Dreams Nominated
1981 Lead Actor in a Comedy Series M*A*S*H Nominated
1981 Directing for a Comedy Series M*A*S*H – Episode: The Life You Save Nominated
1982 Lead Actor in a Comedy Series M*A*S*H Won
1982 Directing for a Comedy Series M*A*S*H – Episode: Where There's a Will, There's a War Nominated
1982 Writing for a Comedy Series M*A*S*H – Episode: Follies of the Living – Concerns of the Dead Nominated
1983 Lead Actor in a Comedy Series M*A*S*H Nominated
1983 Directing for a Comedy Series M*A*S*H – Episode: Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen Nominated
1994 Supporting Actor in a Miniseries And the Band Played On Nominated
2000 Guest Actor in a Drama Series ER Nominated
2001 Supporting Actor in a Miniseries Club Land Nominated
2005 Supporting Actor in a Drama Series The West Wing Nominated
2006 Supporting Actor in a Drama Series The West Wing Won
2009 Guest Actor in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Nominated
2015 Guest Actor in a Drama Series The Blacklist Nominated

British Academy Film Awards

Year Award Nominated work Result
1991 Best Supporting Actor Crimes and Misdemeanors Nominated
2004 Best Supporting Actor The Aviator Nominated

Golden Globe Award

Year Award Nominated work Result
1969 Most Promising Newcomer – Male Paper Lion Nominated
1973 Best TV Actor – Comedy or Musical M*A*S*H Nominated
1973 Best TV Actor – Comedy or Musical M*A*S*H Nominated
1974 Best TV Actor – Comedy or Musical M*A*S*H Nominated
1975 Best TV Actor – Comedy or Musical M*A*S*H Won
1976 Best TV Actor – Comedy or Musical M*A*S*H Won
1977 Best TV Actor – Comedy or Musical M*A*S*H Nominated
1978 Best TV Actor – Comedy or Musical M*A*S*H Nominated
1979 Best TV Actor – Comedy or Musical M*A*S*H Nominated
1979 Best Film Actor – Comedy of Musical Same Time, Next Year Nominated
1980 Best TV Actor – Comedy or Musical M*A*S*H Won
1981 Best TV Actor – Comedy or Musical M*A*S*H Won
1982 Best TV Actor -Comedy or Musical M*A*S*H Won
1982 Best TV Actor – Comedy or Musical The Four Seasons Nominated
1982 Best Screenplay – Film The Four Seasons Nominated
1983 Best TV Actor -Comedy or Musical M*A*S*H Won
1994 Best Actor – Miniseries or TV Film White Mile Nominated

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Year Award Nominated work Result
2002 Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Club Land Nominated
2005 Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture The Aviator Nominated
2006 Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series The West Wing Nominated
2006 Outstanding Performance by Male Actor in a Drama Series The West Wing Nominated
2019 Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award Won

Other Awards

Honorary degrees[edit]

Alan Alda has been awarded several honorary degrees in recognition of his acting career and promotion of educational initiatives. These include:

Location Date School Degree
 New Jersey 1974 Saint Peter's University Doctorate[64]
 New York 1978 Fordham University Doctorate
 New Jersey 1979 Drew University Doctorate[65][66]
 Connecticut 1983 Wesleyan University Doctor of Fine Arts (DFA)[67]
 New York 2004 Long Island University Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.)[68]
 Pennsylvania May 17, 2015 Carnegie Mellon University Doctor of Fine Arts (DFA)[69]
 Scotland June 2017 University of Dundee Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)[70]
 New York May 2019 Stony Brook University Doctor of Fine Arts (DFA)[71]

Works[edit]

  • — (2006). Never Have Your Dog Stuffed. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 978-0-09-179652-5. OCLC 64931144.
  • — (2007). Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6617-9. OCLC 122309367.
  • — (2013). Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie. Samuel French, Inc. ISBN 978-0-573-70060-6.
  • — (2017). If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-8129-8914-4. OCLC 970641564.
  • — (2020). Soldiers of Science: An Interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci. Audible Original.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Alan Alda to Receive SAG Life Achievement Award". Variety. October 4, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  2. ^ Twomey, Bill (June 24, 2016). "Fordham graduate known for award-winning MASH role". Bronx Times Reporter.
  3. ^ Alan Alda, interviewed by Jian Ghomeshi, CBC Radio, March 28, 2013. In response to Ghomeshi's comment that Alda had grown up in the Bronx, Alda said, "No I didn't but I can tell you're a Wikipedia reader."
  4. ^ Alda, Alan. "Alan Alda TV Legends Interview, Part I (13:25-14:30)". Archive of American Television. Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  5. ^ Berk, Philip (December 11, 1998). "A question of roots". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2007.
  6. ^ Smiley, Tavis (December 2, 2004). "Alan Alda". PBS. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved May 2, 2007.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Stated on Inside the Actors Studio, 2000
  8. ^ "Famous Warrior Citizens". www.usar.army.mil.
  9. ^ Famous Veterans: Alan Alda. Military.com. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  10. ^ Delach, Brian (May 6, 2013). "Alan Alda Gets Personal About Life After MASH". NBC Connecticut.
  11. ^ "Military People: Alan Alda". militaryhub.com. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2010. After graduation, Alda joined the U.S. Army Reserve and served a six-month tour of duty in Korea.
  12. ^ "Alan Alda Gets Personal About Life After MASH".
  13. ^ Oldenburg, Chloe (1985). Leaps of Faith: History of the Cleveland Play House, 1915–85. Cleveland. p. 85,87.
  14. ^ Nancy (June 6, 2014). "Strange bedfellows".
  15. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krhRvWCu5IA. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ^ "The Owl and the Pussycat". IBDb.com.
  17. ^ "The Owl and the Pussycat 1964 fall selection playbill cover".
  18. ^ "Alda Ego | PORTLAND MAGAZINE". February 14, 2014.
  19. ^ "Hawkeye Trivia and Quotes". Tv.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
  20. ^ a b Alda, Alan (2006). Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: and Other Things I've Learned. New York: Random House. ISBN 1-4000-6409-0.
  21. ^ Maron, Marc. "WTF Podcast #735 – Alan Alda". WTFPOD.com. WTF Podcast. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  22. ^ "Mclean Stevenson, 'Mash' Star". The Seattle Times. February 17, 1996.
  23. ^ Stassel, Stephanie (December 7, 2011). "Harry Morgan dies at 96; star of TV's 'MASH'". Los Angeles Times.
  24. ^ Jackie Cooper, Please Don't Shoot My Dog, Page 290, William Morrow & Company, 1981
  25. ^ M*A*S*H: The Martinis & Medicine Collection – Special Features: Disc 1 – "My Favorite MASH"
  26. ^ "Special Collectors' Issue: 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time". TV Guide. No. December 14–20. 1996.
  27. ^ Hoffman, Jordan (October 15, 2015). "Alan Alda Knows His Feminist History". Vanity Fair. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  28. ^ "Alda, Alan: U.S. Actor". The Museum of Broadcast Communications.
  29. ^ "Alda & Bregman In Pact with Lorimar". Variety. April 23, 1986. p. 5.
  30. ^ Wright, Megh (January 25, 2019). "Alan Alda Says He'd Work With Woody Allen Again: 'I Don't Know All the Facts'". Vulture.
  31. ^ a b c "Alan Alda, on season 4". Scientific American Frontiers. Chedd-Angier Production Company. 1993–1994. PBS. Archived from the original on 2006.
  32. ^ "Alan Alda | Television Academy". Television Academy. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  33. ^ a b "The Human Spark". Archived from the original on January 1, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  34. ^ "Candice Bergen & Alan Alda Step into A.R. Gurney's Love Letters on Broadway". Broadway.com.
  35. ^ Sam Adams, Is There More to Louis C.K.'s 'Horace and Pete' Than Its Surprise Release? Archived March 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Indiewire, February 1, 2016
  36. ^ Wright, Megh (January 25, 2019). "Alan Alda Says He'd Work With Woody Allen Again: 'I Don't Know All the Facts'". Vulture. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  37. ^ "Oh, Hello's Inspiration, Alan Alda, Was Served Too Much Tuna on Opening Night". Vulture. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  38. ^ Gamerman, Ellen (November 5, 2019). "In 'Marriage Story,' Alan Alda Lets His Parkinson's Show". The Wall Street Journal.
  39. ^ "Saint Jude TV – Fighting For Life". Saint Jude Web Site. December 1, 2005. Archived from the original on March 16, 2007. Retrieved April 11, 2007.
  40. ^ "Show Buz". CBS News. December 1, 2005. Retrieved April 11, 2007.[permanent dead link]
  41. ^ "4/14/75 – International Women's Year Commission" (PDF). Sheila Weidenfeld Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  42. ^ "Alan Alda Joins SOJ Faculty". SUNY Stony Brook School of Journalism. December 14, 2010. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  43. ^ "Advisory Board: Alan Alda". November 17, 2010. Center For Communicating Science. Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  44. ^ Who We Are, Future of Life Institute, retrieved April 20, 2014
  45. ^ "Big Bang Day: Physics Rocks". BBC Web Site. September 10, 2008. Archived from the original on September 10, 2008. Retrieved September 10, 2008.
  46. ^ "Alan Alda Named STC Honorary Fellow". Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  47. ^ "Discovering a Common Language with Alan Alda | The New York Academy of Sciences". www.nyas.org. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  48. ^ "Alan Alda receives James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry | Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science®". Centerforcommunicatingscience.org. Archived from the original on February 12, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  49. ^ Q & A with Alan Alda on Marie Curie https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/q-and-a-with-alan-alda-on-marie-curie-126676227/
  50. ^ "Alan Alda and the Art of Communicating Science".
  51. ^ Brady, Lois Smith (February 13, 2015). "State of the Unions: There's Always Room for Rum Cake". The New York Times. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  52. ^ White, Adam. "Alan Alda addresses viral claim he met wife when they both ate a cake off the floor". The Independent. Archived from the original on August 20, 2021.
  53. ^ Kolbert, Elizabeth (May 18, 1994). "At Lunch With: Alan Alda; Hawkeye Turns Mean, Sensitively". The New York Times. Retrieved November 24, 2007. Ever since M*A*S*H, Alda has split his time between the East Coast, where he has houses in the Hamptons and the West, where he owns a home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles.
  54. ^ Kingergan, Ashley (September 27, 2010). "Noted Englewood deli closes after 60-plus years". The Record. Archived from the original on September 22, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2010. Perhaps the greatest tribute to the deli came from the 1970s television show M*A*S*H. Hawkeye, one of the main characters in M*A*S*H*, daydreams about whitefish from Sol & Sol after sustaining a head injury.
  55. ^ a b Alda, Alan (September 4, 2007). Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-58836-648-1. for awhile in my teens.
  56. ^ a b Alda, Alan (2008). "So far, I've changed my mind twice about God". The World Question Center 2008. Edge Foundation Web Site: 8. Archived from the original on January 2, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2008.
  57. ^ "Alan Alda reveals he has Parkinson's disease". CBS News / CBS This Morning. July 31, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  58. ^ Alda, Alan (2008). Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself. Random House Trade Paperbacks – New York. ISBN 978-0-8129-7752-3.
  59. ^ Alda, Alan. "If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating". Penguin Books.
  60. ^ "Our Town by Thornton Wilder in London from 16 May 2019 through to 22 May 2019 – theatre tickets and information". thisistheatre.com. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  61. ^ "Alan Alda" (PDF). Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  62. ^ "2005-06 Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations Announced". Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  63. ^ Broadcasters, National Association of. "NAB Awards | Past Award Recipients". National Association of Broadcasters. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  64. ^ "Honorary Degree Recipients". Saintpeters.edu. Saint Peter's University. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  65. ^ "Drew University". Drew University. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  66. ^ "Commencement program" (PDF). www.drew.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 23, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  67. ^ "Past Honorary Degree Recipients, Reunion & Commencement – Wesleyan University". Wesleyan.edu. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  68. ^ "Roll out the honours – Education News". The Age. June 13, 2005. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  69. ^ Walters, Ken (April 23, 2015). "Alan Alda to Give Keynote Address at Carnegie Mellon Commencement, May 17". Cmu.edu. Carnegie Mellon University News. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  70. ^ Hill, Grant (May 19, 2017). "University to honour leading international figures". Dundee.ac.uk. University of Dundee. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
  71. ^ "Alan Alda Receives Honorary Degree At Stony Brook's Largest, Most Diverse Commencement Ceremony" (Press release). Stony Brook University. May 24, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2019 – via PR Newswire.

External links[edit]

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