‘M*A*S*H’ Star Mike Farrell Makes Bold Confession About Replacing Wayne Rogers

M*A*S*H star Mike Farrell just made a bold confession about replacing Wayne Rogers in the TV series.

During an April 20 appearance on the Still Here Hollywood podcast, Farrell, 87, opened up about being cast as Captain B. J. Hunnicutt after Rogers, who played Trapper John McIntyre, abruptly exited the series at the end of Season 3. Like Trapper, BJ became close with “Hawkeye” Pierce (Alan Alda).

“I screamed aloud and ran down to my car,” Farrell recalled of learning he landed the part. “…[Alda] talked about the show and his hopes for it, and his dreams, and his intentions, and about the hopes for this character, and what it could be, what it could mean after Trapper left. And I thought, ‘Oh my god, I’ve died and gone to heaven.'”

Joining the cast of M*A*S*H in Season 4 was a dream come true for Farrell. However, he was nervous about how the cast members would receive him as he replaced Rogers.

“M*A*S*H is thought of as being a kind of family, a group that really cares about each other, and they’re very connected,” Farrell explained. “And I thought, ‘Oh, am I going to be the stepchild who forced out one of their brethren?’”

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Ultimately, his fears were unwarranted. “I walked on the set and the first person that came up, stuck out his hand, said, ‘Welcome, Mike. Happy to have you here,’ was Gary Burghoff,” he shared. Other cast members, including Jamie Farr and Loretta Swit, also greeted him warmly.

“It was a dream to be part of a show like that,” Farrell said. “And then it became for me an eight-year dream. It was just a fabulous experience.”

M*A*S*H aired for 11 seasons from 1972 to 1983.

M*A*S*H, streaming on Hulu, Disney+, and FRNDLY TV