Death of Henry Blake

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Hawkeye Pierce
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Death of Henry Blake

Post by Hawkeye Pierce »

Why did the writers decided to have Henry Blake die; rather than having him going home? What a shocking sad ending. I bet his wife and children were devastated and heartbroken.
BeccaLeo1972
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Re: Death of Henry Blake

Post by BeccaLeo1972 »

Impact. Henry's death represented that war is horrific and devastating. It takes away good people and that no one is safe when they are in the middle of it.
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Hawkeye Pierce
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Re: Death of Henry Blake

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I asked why the writers chose to have him die.
Major Tuttle Jnr
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Re: Death of Henry Blake

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Larry Gelbart on killing off "Henry Blake" on "M.A.S.H" - EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3Rh2EkQWhw

Loretta Swit on killing off Henry Blake on "M.A.S.H" - EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DXPtuPhKGc

As a You Tube Commentator said;

"Looking back on MASH it's amazing how loud the anti-war message was on that show. I really wonder if a TV show, especially a comedy, could be that brave today."

Michel Chossudovsky at Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdVK1ZyXJew
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Hawkeye Pierce
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Re: Death of Henry Blake

Post by Hawkeye Pierce »

They chose to have him die because...?
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Big Daddy O'Reilly
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Re: Death of Henry Blake

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Because McLean Stevenson was a pest and nusance on the set always complaining about the horrible working conditions and complaining about having to play second fiddle to Alan Alda and Wayne Rogers, so when he announced he was leaving the show, they chose to kill Henry so that way they could be rid of meddling McLean permanently and not have to deal with him anymore - if his character is dead, there's nothing for him to come back to if he changed his mind.
Major Tuttle Jnr
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Re: Death of Henry Blake

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Major Tuttle Jnr wrote: Mon May 01, 2017 9:26 am Larry Gelbart on killing off "Henry Blake" on "M.A.S.H" - EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3Rh2EkQWhw
I C&P these two quotes from the link below;

"Norman Bethune was a skilled and innovative surgeon who was at the forefront of the fight for public health care in Canada. But he’s mainly known for participating in two wars in the late 1930s: The Spanish Civil War and the Second Sino-Japanese War. In the Second Sino-Japanese War Bethune joined Mao’s forces as a frontline surgeon in the resistance against Japanese efforts to colonize China."

"Bethune denounced as an enemy of the human race the very same class which rules in Washington. In his view, in its hunt for profits, this class starts the wars which create the wounds which he was, and all frontline surgeons are, called upon to heal."

The Real Defenders of Democracy: Syria and the Struggle against the International Despotism of Wall Street

http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-real-d ... et/5588103
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Re: Death of Henry Blake

Post by kkt »

If you're asking why they had a main character die, because MASH was a drama, not just a comedy. In war, people die. It would be strange if none of the characters from MASH died.

If you're asking why Henry in paricular, on a practical level the actor wanted to leave the show. Trapper was also leaving the show, but the show established Henry's wife and kids more clearly, showing them in a home movie once etc. So if you want to show the effects of the war, Henry's death is a more forceful way to do it.
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Big Daddy O'Reilly
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Re: Death of Henry Blake

Post by Big Daddy O'Reilly »

kkt wrote: Sun May 28, 2017 2:50 pm Trapper was also leaving the show, but the show established Henry's wife and kids more clearly, showing them in a home movie once etc. So if you want to show the effects of the war, Henry's death is a more forceful way to do it.
Actually, it's because McLean Stevenson had already informed the producers he was not going to renew his contract after the third season, so they knew ahead of time that this would be his final season, thus giving them the time to write a proper (albeit "forceful") farewell for Henry. Wayne Rogers, on the other hand, decided to leave the show abruptly inbetween seasons, which is why Trapper's departure was handled a lot more hap-hazardly beginning the following season.
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Re: Death of Henry Blake

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Larry Gelbart was furious that Stevenson wanted to depart a hit show with 2 years left on his contract in order to pursue his newfound popularity on game shows and variety stuff. He wanted to make it harder for Stevenson to find work after he left as sort of a punishment by letting it be known he broke his contract and could be a liability to other projects. Call it his way of getting even. Larry had given him a shot at the show when casting him. McClean was actually a writer who auditioned for the show and they gave him a shot at Henry. So the slap in the face caused them to instruct Frizzel and Greenbaum to include the last scene in the script which Gelbart distributed to the cast just before they shot the scene... Only people who knew in advance were the writers, Reynolds, Gelbart who directed the episode and Alda..
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Re: Death of Henry Blake

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Big Daddy O'Reilly wrote: Mon May 01, 2017 10:08 am Because McLean Stevenson was a pest and nusance on the set always complaining about the horrible working conditions and complaining about having to play second fiddle to Alan Alda and Wayne Rogers, so when he announced he was leaving the show, they chose to kill Henry so that way they could be rid of meddling McLean permanently and not have to deal with him anymore - if his character is dead, there's nothing for him to come back to if he changed his mind.
They could of brought him back in a dreaming episode - like Klinker could of been having a dream were he was having a pool game with Henry in Toledo. Actually your explanation bummed me out a bit - I knew nothing about Mclean Stevenson just the cool character he played, And to now hear he wasn't cool and he made it hard for the other stars is a bit of a bummer. But now I'm glad they wrote him out because there is no "I" in team or M.A.S.H. Cheers and happy weekend!
The rain falls on the rivers and trees and we live by the Golden rule. But a hard road can bring us all to our knees and we can die by our own point of view.
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