Here’s the second of two goofs from “Potter’s Retirement,” originally broadcast February 20th, 1978. Again, I’m afraid I don’t know who e-mailed me with this one. But here it is:

When BJ and Hawkeye are looking in Charles foot locker and Hawkeye reads the letter BJ has the scarf wrapped around his shoulders. When they stand up to tell Charles about the secret reports about the colonel, the scarf is just hanging around his shoulders and then after that the scarf is wrapped around his shoulder again and his arms didn’t move.

Here are four images from the scene in question. First, Hawkeye and B.J. are sitting and going through the locker. B.J. has the scarf wrapped around his neck. Then, when Charles confronts them, they stand up and all three are shown from the side and the scarf is still around B.J.’s neck. Next, Hawkeye and B.J. are shown from the waist up in a two shot and the scarf is straight. Finally, another shot of all three from the side and the scarf is once again wrapped around B.J.’s neck.

“Potter’s Retirement”

“Potter’s Retirement”

“Potter’s Retirement”

“Potter’s Retirement”

Here’s the first of two goofs from the Season Six episode “Potter’s Retirement,” originally broadcast February 20th, 1978. Unfortunately, I don’t have the name of the person who sent this one in. But here’s the goof:

The Kentucky Derby is taking place and the gang decides to have a party in the Mess Tent. As Potter enters in the background, they are singing and Hawkeye is straddling a wood thing. While he’s singing, he loses his balance and is falling off the wood thing and has to grab BJ’s shoulder for support while he regains his balance.

Sure enough, these images show Hawkeye (and Alan Alda) losing his balance. Notice the man in the background with his arm around a nurse (who looks like Marcia Gelman) is grinning in the second image. Notice, too, that the sawhorse Hawkeye is sitting on is named Whirlaway, after the 1941 Triple Crown winner.

“Potter’s Retirement”

“Potter’s Retirement”

Check back tomorrow for the other “Potter’s Retirement” goof.

It looks like Gary Burghoff has joined many of his fellow M*A*S*H alum and penned an autobiography. According to Amazon.com, Gary Burghoff: To M*A*S*H and Back (subtitled “My Life in Poems and Songs (That Nobody Ever Wanted to Publish”) was released just last week on June 10th. Larry Gelbart provided the foreward.

Here’s the summary from the website for publisher BearManor Media:

To millions of faithful television viewers, Gary Burghoff will always be Walter “Radar” O’Reilly, the lovable telepathic assistant to Colonel Potter on M*A*S*H. But the man behind the bespectacled TV Land icon is a true Renaissance man. He’s a classically trained stage actor, a jazz musician, an environmentalist, a poet, a songwriter, an inventor, a wildlife artist, and now – a writer.

In this intensely personal memoir, the author takes you on his journey from his family’s home in Wisconsin to his successful carreer on the New York stage, from the Hollywood film version of M*A*S*H to the hit television show, from the challenges of married life to the rewards of single fatherhood. Often funny, occationally poignant and always honest, To M*A*S*H and Back is an account you will long remember.

Earlier autobiographies from the cast and crew of M*A*S*H include Jamie Farr’s Just Farr Fun (1994), Larry Gelbart’s Laughing Matters: On Writing M*A*S*H, Tootsie, Oh, God!, and a Few Other Funny Things (1998), Alan Alda’s Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I’ve Learned (2006) and Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself (2008) and Mike Farrell’s Just Call Me Mike: A Journey to Actor and Activist (2008). Not to mention William Christopher’s Mixed Blessings (1990) and Jeff Maxwell’s Secrets of The M*A*S*H Mess: The Lost Recipes of Private Igor (1997).

I should mention that I haven’t read any of these books.

Thanks to David Goehner at the Bulletin Board for bringing this to my attention.

This past Tuesday (June 16th), a teddy bear made by Larry Linville sold for $108.88 on eBay. The listing, which will be removed in approximately 30 days, can be found here. Also included was an autographed photograph of Linville with the inscription “Bears to You! Larry Linville.”

Teddy Bear Made by Larry Linville

Here’s the seller’s description:

What a special bear! This little guy was handmade by Larry Linville. My Mother went to his home a bought this cute bear. He is fully jointed and has glasses on his nose. His fur is black and gray and has a irovy ribbon around his neck. This bear has what looks like leather paw pads and is 12″ tall. He has a label on his back seam that says ” Larry Linville”. The bear has tiny ears and has a full body. He can sit or stand. I think my Mom purchased him in the 80′s. Most of her huge bear collection was from that time. I think Larry Linville took up sewing bears after the MASH show. My Mom said he was a very nice man and they had fun talking about teddy bears.

A February 26th, 1983 Associated Press article discussing the end of M*A*S*H noted that Larry Linville had started making teddy bears because his sister-in-law ran a teddy bear store called Grin ‘n’ Bear It. Said Linville, “It started out as a joke and now I’m up to my butt in cloth, stuffing and bears. My wife dared me to make a bear and, after six or seven disasters, I came up with a decent-looking bear. They’re cute as hell and we’ve sold lots of them. Making the things is good therapy in between acting roles” [1].

Autographed Photo of Larry Linville

Another article, this one in published in Newsweek on December 24th, 1984, reported that the sister-in-law owned a chain of stores called Bear ‘N Grin It (as opposed to Grin ‘N Bear It), in which Linville’s bears were sold. The article also revealed that Linville’s childhood bear, named Ignatz, had been lost during a move [2].

Works Cited:
1 “Four Stars Who Left ‘M-A-S-H’ Over the Years Doing Well.” Associated Press. 26 Feb. 1983: AM Cycle.
2 Beck, Melidan. “Looking for Mr. Good Bear.” Newsweek. 24 Dec. 1984: 66.

Here’s today’s image. Can you name the episode it’s from? Feel free to post guesses in the comments section.

Name That Episode