I’ve added a M*A*S*H clue from the December 2nd, 2008 edition of Jeopardy! to the M*A*S*H on Jeopardy! page. It was a good but easy clue — and in poem form — and one of the contestants was able to correctly answer.

I’ve updated M*A*S*H References on Television with a reference from Mork & Mindy. Joanne originally submitted the reference, although she was a little vague, but luckily I saw the episode a few weeks ago when SCI FI Channel had a marathon:

During the episode “I Heard It Through the Morkvine,” Mork calls up information on the telephone, looking for gossip:

“Hello, information? Yes. Hi, I’d like the truth about M*A*S*H. Yes, is it true Corporal Klinger is really Danny Thomas’s sister?”

I’ve also changed the format of the page in an attempt to make it a little bit easier to read. Let me know what you think. And be sure to keep your eyes and ears open for references to M*A*S*H on television.

Pat Hingle, an actor who had a memorable role in “April Fools,” the season finale of the eighth season of M*A*S*H has died at 84 according to CNN.com. Hingle played Colonel Daniel Webster Tucker in the episode, originally broadcast March 24th, 1980, that saw Colonel Potter desperately trying to keep Hawkeye, B.J., Charles and Margaret from pulling April Fools Day pranks while Colonel Tucker is visiting the 4077th. Potter gets the last laugh, however, with the help of Tucker.

Pat Hingle as Colonel Daniel Webster Tucker

Hingle’s career dates back to 1954 when he had an uncredited role in On the Waterfront. He had guest roles in dozens of television shows, including Dr. Kildare, The Fugitive, Gunsmoke, Hawaii Five-O, Trapper John, M.D. and Murder, She Wrote. He also played Commissioner Gordon in 1989′s Batman and its three sequels.

I’ve put together a new version of my frequently asked questions (FAQ) list that actually reflects questions I’ve been asked at least once. In the past, I answered questions that I simply assumed were widely asked.

For the past few months I’ve been slowly going through a large stack of New Yorker magazines from 2004/2005 that have been sitting on my bookshelf since they were first published. In the September 5th, 2005 issue I found a short article about Alan Alda. At the time, he was wrapping up his run in David Mamet’s play Glengarry Glen Ross and his autobiography, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed And Other Things I’ve Learned, was about to be published. The article, called “Alda Onstage,” was written by Lillian Ross (it appears on page 56) and discusses the play and why Alda decided to return to the stage.

Ross also mentions Alda’s famous father, Robert Alda, and there is a lengthy quote from Alda about working alongside his father in an episode of M*A*S*H:

Six years before he died, I had an idea for a part for him in ‘M*A*S*H.’ He had always wanted to be a doctor. He had wanted me to be a doctor, too, but I couldn’t stand the idea of touching sick people. I made him an older, controlling type of surgeon, who couldn’t get along with me. In the episode, both of us were wounded; he could use only his right hand, and I only my left hand, and that way we were able to operate together. My father was delighted.

Robert Alda first appeared on M*A*S*H in a 1973 episode called “The Consultant.” He would reprise the role of Dr. Anthony Borelli in 1980 during M*A*S*H‘s eighth season in “Lend a Hand,” the episode Alan Alda discusses above. Robert Alda died in 1986.