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McLean Stevenson and The Carol Burnett Show
Last week, on the Thursday, June 23rd installment of Jeopardy! one of the clues during the first round was about M*A*S*H. The category was TV Toe Tags, about deceased television characters. None of the contestants were able to ring in with the correct answer. Here’s the $1000 clue:
After his sitcom alter ego died in 1975, this actor surfaced on “The Carol Burnett Show” in a raft, screaming, “I’m OK”
The answer? McLean Stevenson, according to host Alex Trebek. But is this clue true?
The story about Stevenson appearing on The Carol Burnett Show shortly after “Abyssinia, Henry” was originally broadcast, floating in a raft and waving his arms has been around for as long as I can remember. But the only sources that I’ve ever seen, aside from M*A*S*H websites and random message board postings, are Wikipedia, the Internet Movie Database and TV.com. I admit that I have had it listed here at my site in the past, having seen it mentioned so many other times that I assumed it was true.
I have never been able to confirm that the cameo appearance by Stevenson actually took place. As far as I know, no one has ever come forward to say they actually remember watching it. “Abyssinia, Henry” was broadcast on Tuesday, March 18th, 1975. The Carol Burnett Show, which like M*A*S*H aired on CBS, broadcast its next episode on Saturday, March 22nd, 1975. Guests for the episode were Steve Lawrence and Sally Struthers. I’ve looked at some contemporary television listings and found no mention of McLean Stevenson; I also was unable to find any reviews or news stories mentioning the cameo.
Rob Kelly discussed this at his blog in January of 2010 and someone in the comments suggested it might actually have been an episode of Tony Orlando & Dawn that aired the day after “Abyssinia, Henry” on Wednesday, March 19th, 1975, also on CBS. I’ve also seen the story attributed to an installment of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson at least once.
The only way to know for sure if the raft gag was real would be for someone to view the episode. As far as I know, it has never been released commercially on VHS or DVD. However, the UCLA Film & Television Archive has a copy of the episode in question. So, does anyone at UCLA want to take a look?
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I’ve been wanting to see that clip for the LONGEST time… I heard that it was posted on YouTube at least once, years ago, but was removed as a copyright infringement.
But at the same time, I’ve also held some reservations as to how legitimate this appearance really is, sometimes I wonder if it’s an urban legend like that “lost” episode that was supposed to be a condensed retelling of the first eight seasons or so, featuring reprising roles of Trapper, Henry, Frank, Radar, Spearchucker, Ugly John, etc.
So I’m not the only one who’s been wanting to see that clip for years!
And Big Daddy, could you tell me more about this “lost” episode? I’ve never heard anything about it until you mentioned it.
I’d have to look it up again, as I don’t remember… it’s definitely a creative urban legend, I believe the story said the episode was titled “A Sound, A Song, and Surprise”, or something like that, and again, the description was like a half-hour retelling of the first eight seasons or so…
I also forgot to mention that part of the legend was that the lyrics of “Suicide is Painless” were actually sung during the opening credits.
Wow, really? I’ve never heard of that story. That definitely would have been an interesting episode! And yes, I have to agree, that IS one very creative tale! Plus, I wonder how they could have fit the “Suicide is Painless” lyrics into the normal 52 second version of the theme the episodes used, unless the entire song was played over an extended intro.
The reason that ‘M*A*S*H’: “A Sound, A Song, and Surprise” doesn’t show up in broadcast histories of the show is that it may have been distributed as an affiliate special (and not necessarily aired in every market).
There have been a number of series over the years that have done these preview-/recap-type specials, usually to help promote a change in storyline, a cast changeover or even a new timeslot. These specials often also carry a special national sponsorship, with a generous time split given to affiliates. I don’t know the ‘M*A*S*H’ series well enough to know why they might have done this for the eighth season (Radar’s impending departure?), but if I can find anything in my 1979-80 season notes to enlighten, I’ll post a follow-up.
As an example of this type of affiliate special, a few seasons back, ABC did a half-hour ‘Lost’ affiliate special that very few people saw because most affiliates aired it during daytime or on weekend afternoons. It never showed up on the season sets either, and people talk about it and the cast interviews and revelations about the series within it.
So what you’re saying is that “A Sound, A Song, and A Surprise” may in fact actually exist?
I want to say I have seen that show – or at least that clip, but what if it is just an “acquired” memory – you know, one you have heard for so long you actually think you saw it?
The only live show mentioned was Tonight Show. None of the other shows would have found out in advance that M*A*S*H was killing off Henry Blake, so it would have either been a last minute addition or done perhaps a week or 2 later (as opposed to same week as M*A*S*H).
IMDB says that in this episode of Carol Burnett – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0536667/combined
Season 8, that McLean Stevenson was on the show as himself.
I also saw a clip of a Carol Burnett reunion show on Password Plus, and McLean was one of the contestants.
The episode supposedly aired the following night, and as Carol Burnett was done live, it is possible they put that clip at the beginning, as they would have had 24 hours to film it.
I’m going to keep looking
I also checked on Snopes.com, and there is nothing about it – which makes me think it really happened, as Snopes is pretty accurate as to rumors and hoaxes, and one thing they talk a lot about is the final episode. It is really good if you want to read it. http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/mash.asp But nothing about him not really appearing on Carol Burnett the next evening.
You have to take IMDb with a grain of salt — anyone can submit contributions.
I remember that Carol Burnett episode. My folks and I never watched Tony Orlando & Dawn….if we did, it was only one or two episodes! We always watched Carol Burnett. I babysat a lot on Saturday nights at that time. The kids’ parents would tell me their bedtime was 9pm. After their parents left, the kids would beg and plead with me to let them stay up until 10pm so they could see Carol Burnett! It was a great bargaining card for me because I told them I’d let them watch ONLY if they would go to bed immediately after the show and not make up excuses at to why they couldn’t go to sleep. It worked every time and made my job a lot easier! Also, it was such a great show and really wholesome family entertainment, so I didn’t feel bad about letting them watch. I don’t know if the parents ever found out about it. I think I told the kids to not tell their folks! LOL! Anyway, I remember my mom exploding with laughter at the segment in Carol’s opening monologue/Q & A session of the show. Maybe I’m wrong and dementia has taken it’s toll, but I doubt it because we never watched Tony Orlando & Dawn much because it was a sucky show. (We did watch Sonny & Cher every week, too!) Just sayin’ -voodoogal