I’ve updated the Same Face, Different Name section of my Nurses of the 4077th feature with information on actress Lynette Mettey, who appeared in six episodes of M*A*S*H as four different characters. She played Lt. Nancy Griffin (or just Nancy) in three Season One episodes and then, for some reason, was later credited as Nurse Sheila Anderson, Nurse Baker and Nurse Able. Did the writers simply forget about her earlier character?
Not the writers, they wrote the scripts without knowing the cast. Whoever did the casting should have then talked to the writers or whoever about making her Nancy – but I think it is a case of which came first the chicken (the script) or the egg (the actress that played the part).
I should have said producers and/or casting director rather than writers. In any event, once the decision was made to cast Lynette Mettey (in “Carry On, Hawkeye” for example) somebody should have remembered about her brief recurring role.
I do recall reading somewhere that the writer(s) of an episode in which a recurring character originally appeared is paid royalties whenever that character reappears, so perhaps there was a discussion about whether to name the character Nancy Griffin after Mettey was cast in “Carry On, Hawkeye” and someone decided to just rename the character rather than pay the royalties.
Who was the nurse with pigtails who rode hawkeye in the mash olympics?
Unfortunately, M*A*S*H was notorious for using extras in their nursing staff when they didn’t have a speaking role. The actress was an uncredited extra. No names available.