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?

I’ve updated the Nurses from the Opening Credits section of my Nurses of the 4077th feature with information on all five actresses who appeared as “running nurses” in the opening credits:

• Gwen Farrell
• Marcia Gelman
• Kathy Denny Fradella
• Sheila Lauritsen
• Sandra Hull

I’ve also added new images and rewritten the introduction.

I’ve updated the Nurses with Recurring Roles section of my Nurses of the 4077th feature to add information on four nurses who appeared in two episodes each:

• Lt. Dish (Karen Philipp)
• Lt. Jones (Barbara Brownell)
• Nurse Webster (Deborah Harmon)
• Nurse Lacey (Rita Wilson)

I believe I’ve now included just about every nurse who appeared in at least two episodes as the same character. I hope to update the other sections of the Nurses of the 4077th feature later this week.

This past January I wrote about the identity of the brunette running in the front of the nurses during the opening credits of M*A*S*H. You can read all about the “running nurses” here (two are still unidentified). Back in 1978 someone wrote to the TV Talkback section of The Los Angeles Times asking about this nurse. The paper couldn’t answer the question but a few weeks later the actress in question wrote in and identified herself as Kathy Denny Fradella.

Kathy Denny Fradella Leading the “Running Nurses”

A few days ago Kathy e-mailed me to confirm that she was indeed the running nurse at the front of the pack. Here’s what she had to say:

Hello my name is Kathy Fradella (Baker) I am the brunette nurse that runs in the front during the opening credits of mash. I stumbled across your website and thought I would comment,just in case you still thought it was Michele Lee. I worked on the show as an extra the first season. I went on to do stunt work and small bit parts as an actress. I am still living in Southern California. Since Mash I have married and had two children (grown up now).
I am no longer working in the film industry.
I hope this solves the puzzle.
Thank You!
Kathy (Mystery Nurse)

So that mystery is finally solved for good. A big thank you to Kathy for taking the time to e-mail me.

It’s something that has puzzled M*A*S*H fans for decades. Who is that brunette nurse running towards the chopper pad in the opening credits? I thought I had discovered the identity of this brunette actress last year when a fan of the series e-mailed me suggesting it was Michele Lee. But a pair of articles in The Los Angeles Times from 1978 point in another direction.

In the May 26th, 1978 edition of the “TV Talkback” section of The Los Angeles Times, the following question and answer appeared:

About a month later, in the April 16th, 1978 edition of “TV Talkback,” the following exchange was printed:

Here’s a head shot of Ms. Fradella from the April 16th, 1978 edition The Los Angeles Times:

Be sure to check out my feature Nurses of the 4077th: The “Running Nurses” from the Opening Credits for information on two of the other actresses in the opening credits.

References

• “TV Talkback.” Los Angeles Times. 26 Mar. 1978: N27.
• “TV Talkback.” Los Angeles Times. 16 Apr. 1978: P4.