William Self (1921-2010)

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If you don’t recognize the name William Self, don’t worry. He was an executive at 20th Century-Fox Television, the production company behind M*A*S*H. According to James H. Wittebols in Watching M*A*S*H, Watching America, “William Self at 20th Century-Fox Television saw a potential situation comedy in the movie and recruited Gene Reynolds, a solidly credentialed producer, to organize and shoot a pilot episode” [1]. In a 2001 interview with the Archive of American Television, Self explained that he thought the movie “was an ideal television show” but because a sequel (“M*A*S*H Goes to Maine”) was in the works he was initially unable to move forward with a television version.

Only after the sequel was scrapped was he able to proceed. He refused to accept a “script development deal” for the series and insisted on a guaranteed pilot episode. Fred Silverman, vice president of programs for CBS-TV, felt the concept wouldn’t work because the movie relied on nudity, sex, profanity and irreverenceAr to God. Self thought the show would be “about doctors who, crazy as they are, are good doctors.” He was able to get a pilot guarantee from Silverman and the rest is television history. Self left 20th Century-Fox Television in 1974.

Here’s the portion of the Archive of American Television interview in which Self discusses M*A*S*H, roughly from the 09:11 mark to the 20:00 mark:

An obituary for Self can be found at The Los Angeles Times.

Works Cited:

1 Wittebols, James H. Watching M*A*S*H, Watching America. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 1998. Page 16.

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