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McLean Stevenson
Age: 68 (passed away Feb. 15th, 1996) Height: 6' 2 1/2"
Birth Place: Normal, Illinois, USA Born: Nov. 14th, 1927
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McLean Stevenson's Main TV Roles
NOTE: Complete List of Works can be found at
IMDB
BIOGRAPHY: McLean Stevenson began in show business at age 31. During the 1960s, he worked in night clubs and comedy cabarets, did summer stock theater and some television before moving to Hollywood, where he worked as a comedy writer for Tom Smothers. He eventually began acting in sketches. Mr. Stevenson is best known as the fumbling commanding officer, Lt. Colonel Henry Blake, on the CBS television series "M*A*S*H" (1972). Over a period of thirty years, he also appeared on a number of television series and was a regular guest star on Johnny Carson (I)'s "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962) and the game show _"Hollywood Squares, The" (1966)_.
TRIVIA:
- Spoke often at youth groups and organizations, promoting the acting field.
- Stevenson died one day before 'Roger Bowen' (qv). Bowen played the role of Col. Henry Blake in the movie _MASH (1970)_ (qv); Stevenson played the role on TV.
- Originally auditioned for the role of Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H (1972) before being convinced to take the role of Henry Blake.
- Interred at Forest Lawn (Hollywood Hills), Hollywood, California, USA, in the Columbarium of Valor.
- After the news of Col. Blake's death on _"M*A*S*H" (1972)_ (qv) (He left at the end of the third season) shocked the world, the very next night on "The Carol Burnett Show" (1967), the opening shot was of Henry Blake in a smoking raft, waving his arms, hollering, "I'm OK! I'm OK!".
- The unexpected death of Stevenson's Henry Blake character from M*A*S*H's at the end of the third season (1975) caused such a strong fan backlash, with countless letters of hate mail being received over the character's death, that the show's writers and producers all agreed that in the future, should one of their actors wish to leave, they would never give that actor's character a tragic send off.
- In the season finale of the first season of _"M*A*S*H" (1972)_ (qv), the name of his character's (Henry Blake) wife is Mildred. In the second season, her name was changed to Lorraine. When he was replaced by 'Harry Morgan (I)' (qv), Morgan's character, Colonel Potter, had a wife named Mildred.
- McLean's father was Edgar McLean Stevenson who's mother was named Lottie Bell McLean. He was born and raised in McLean County, Illinois.
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