Actor and producer James “Jimmy” Lydon died earlier this year (March 9) at the age of 98. Although he never appeared on M*A*S*H, you’ve likely heard his voice without knowing it. Lydon served as one of the uncredited PA announcers during the first two seasons of M*A*S*H.
You can hear Lydon making announcements in “M*A*S*H — The Pilot,” “Requiem for a Lightweight,” “Chief Surgeon Who?,” “I Hate a Mystery,” “Germ Warfare,” “Divided We Stand,” “Radar’s Report,” and “L.I.P. (Local Indigenous Personnel).” That’s according to TV’s M*A*S*H: The Ultimate Guide Book by Ed Solomonson and Ed O’Neill, who helpfully identify the PA announcer for every episode with announcements.
Lydon began acting in the late 1930s. He’s perhaps best known for playing teenager Henry Aldrich in nine movies made between 1941 and 1944. He took over the role from Jackie Cooper, who later went on to direct more than a dozen early episodes of M*A*S*H.
From 1950 to 1952, Lydon starred in The First Hundred Years, one of network television’s first daytime soap operas. He continued acting regularly on television throughout the 1950s and into the early 1960s before making the transition to producing. Lydon served as an associate producer on 77 Sunset Strip and Mister Roberts.
Lydon also served as an associate producer on the short-lived CBS sitcom Roll Out, created by Gene Reynolds and Larry Gelbart. Set during World War II, the series followed the misadventures of a predominately African-American trucking company, part of the famed Red Ball Express that supplied the U.S. Army throughout Europe. Roll Out ran for just 12 episodes during the 1973-1974 TV season.
Before retiring from acting in the late 1980s, Lydon made sporadic guest appearances in episodes of TV shows like Lou Grant, The Greatest American Hero, Simon & Simon, and St. Elsewhere.
Obituaries can be found at The Hollywood Reporter and The Washington Post.
ROLL OUT! was M*A*S*H’s lesser-known sister show; after M*A*S*H ended up becoming a hit, CBS turned to Gene Reynolds & Larry Gelbart, wanting them to create another military sitcom to bank on that success, which is how ROLL OUT! was born . . . it would have been like after SEINFELD became a success, if NBC turned to Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld and asked them to create another sitcom about a stand-up comedian’s personal life.
Either way, I take it this was the particular P.A. announcer who was often mistaken for being Jamie Farr, since his voice sounded similar to Klinger.