Alan Alda

Alan Alda Headshot

Actor • Director • Writer • Educator

Birth Date: January 28, 1936

Age: 88 years old

Birth Place: New York City, New York

Parents: Robert Alda

Though a successful stage and film actor, Alan Alda made his most lasting impact playing Hawkeye Pierce, the suave but goofy surgeon fond of homemade martinis and chasing after nurses on the classic television series "M*A*S*H" (CBS, 1972-1983). Because of his long, successful stint on what many considered the greatest show of all time, Alda managed to branch out of acting into writing and directing, becoming the only creative personality to have won Emmy awards in all three categories. Prior to "M*A*S*H," Alda was an acclaimed actor on stage and in films, making notable performances in "Purlie Victorious" (1961-62), "The Apple Tree" (1966-67) and "Paper Lion" (1968). After directing the last episode of "M*A*S*H," the most watched series finale in history, Alda went on to further success, both in front of and behind the camera, directing and starring in "The Four Seasons" (1981), "Sweet Liberty" (1986) and "A New Life" (1988). He delivered strong, acclaimed performances in "Crimes and Misdemeanors" (1989) and "And the Band Played On" (HBO, 1993), both of which turned his nice guy persona on its head. By the time he won an Emmy for playing a Republican presidential candidate on "The West Wing" (NBC, 1999-2006), Alda was revered for being one of the most accomplished and versatile actors in the business. Though he continued working into his 80s, a diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease slowed his productivity.

Born Jan. 28, 1936 in New York City, NY, Alan Alda was raised by his father, Robert, an actor and singer best known for playing George Gershwin in "Rhapsody in Blue" (1945), and his mother, Joan, a former Miss New York who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, which plagued the household with constant tension and occasional violence. When he was a toddler, Alda's father worked in burlesque, giving him the opportunity to watch strippers, comics and chorus girls from the wings. At age seven, Alda suffered from a bout with polio, which at the time had no cure - either one died or, like the then current president, FDR, became paralyzed. But doctors were able to alleviate the condition with an intense regiment of hot towels, heat packs and deep massage, an excruciatingly painful process that was developed by Sister Elizabeth Kenny, a nurse from Africa who traveled the United States teaching the method two years before Alda contracted the disease. Thankfully, the youth suffered no residual effects after the successful treatment.

Because of his early exposure to show business, it was only a matter of time until Alda tried his own hand in that arena. When he was 15, Alda performed Abbot and Costello-style routines with his dad at the famed GI hangout, The Hollywood Canteen. Two years later, he made his theatrical debut starring in a summer stock production of "Charley's Aunt" in Barnesville, PA. After graduating high school, he attended medical school at Fordham University, but switched to English once he accepted the fact that becoming a doctor was his father's dream, not his. During his junior year at Fordham, Alda traveled to Europe, where he acted with his father on stage in Rome and on television in Amsterdam. Back in the States, he attended the Cleveland Playhouse on a Ford Foundation grant, where he studied improvisational acting with Paul Sills. Alda continued his training at The Compass in Hyannisport, MA, before joining The Second City improv troupe in Chicago. Though he made his New York stage debut as an understudy in "The Hot Corner" (1956), Alda became known for his performance as Charlie Cotchipee in the Broadway production of "Purlie Victorious" (1961-62).

Alda made his film debut with "Gone Are the Days" (1963), then had his television series debut on the pioneering political satire show "That Was the Week That Was" (NBC, 1964). Returning to the New York stage, Alda had his first lead, starring opposite Diana Sands in the two-character hit "The Owl and the Pussycat" (1964-65), which he followed with a Tony-nominated performance in the musical "The Apple Tree" (1966-67). On the big screen, Alda starred in "Paper Lion" (1968), playing George Plimpton, the real-life journalist who became an honorary quarterback for the Detroit Lions in an unsuccessful and painful fashion. Alda went on to star in several more films, playing a man looking to avoid the military draft by marrying a pregnant woman (Marlo Thomas) in "Jenny" (1969) and one of four American soldiers stranded on a deserted island during World War II in John Frankenheimer's mediocre comedy, "The Extraordinary Seaman" (1969). After starring in the offbeat thriller, "The Mephisto Waltz" (1971), Alda played a college professor convicted of manslaughter who is adjusting to life in prison in the gripping drama "The Glass House" (1972).

In 1972, Alda landed the role that changed his fame and fortune forever, playing the goofy, hooch-drinking, nurse-chasing surgeon Hawkeye Pierce on the acclaimed TV version of the successful Robert Altman film, "M*A*S*H" (CBS, 1972-1983), a searing comedy-drama about the wild antics of the medical staff at a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War. Though his character started off the series as a carefree anti-authoritarian whose favorite pastime - besides bedding nurses - was getting under the skin of tent-mate Frank Burns (Larry Linville), Hawkeye slowly evolved into a man of conscience and morality in a world gone insane, reflecting the political leanings of the actor, though some fans who loved the amiable goofball decried the change. The change was largely steered by Alda himself; over the years, he gained more and more control over the creative direction of the series as several writers and producers left. By the final season, Alda had become a writer and director, as well as the central star of the show, earning an astounding 21 Emmy nominations for all three categories. In the end, Alda won five Emmy Awards, becoming the only person ever to win for acting, writing and directing, and was the only series regular to appear in all 251 episodes. Perhaps most significantly, Alda directed the famed series finale, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen," which lived on as the single-most watched episode in television history.

During his success on "M*A*S*H," Alda continued with outside projects, co-directing and co-starring opposite Carol Burnett in an adaptation of the Broadway comedy "6 Rms Riv Vu" (CBS, 1974), for which he earned an Emmy nod for his performance. Alda picked up yet another Emmy nomination, playing convicted killer Caryl Chessman in the made-for-television movie "Kill Me if You Can" (NBC, 1977). Back on the big screen, Alda starred in "Same Time, Next Year" (1978), a warm comedy-drama in which he played a married man who shares a weekend getaway once a year with a housewife (Ellen Burstyn) for a quarter century, through which the audience witnesses the ever-changing attitude of America. After appearing in the ensemble cast of the amusing Neil Simon comedy "California Suite" (1978), Alda made an assured feature screenwriting debut with " The Seduction of Joe Tynan " (1979), a political drama that featured Alda as the titular U.S. Senator juggling relationships with his Southern mistress (Meryl Streep) and his long-suffering wife (Barbara Harris). Though not as searing as other political films of the decade, "The Seduction of Joe Tynan" was nonetheless a well-intentioned indictment of a system gone wrong.

Throughout the 1980s, Alda wrote, directed and starred in a series of genteel comedies of variable quality which depicted the foibles of American bourgeois life, starting with "The Four Seasons" (1981), a bittersweet comedy-of-manners about the trials and tribulations of a group of middle-aged friends over the course of a year. Thanks to a strong ensemble cast that also included Carol Burnett, "The Four Seasons" was a commercial and critical success. After "M*A*S*H" took its final bow in 1983, Alda tried to revamp "The Four Seasons" (CBS, 1983-84) for television, which failed to catch on with audiences, leading to an abbreviated first season. Returning to the big screen, Alda directed his second feature, "Sweet Liberty" (1986), a light satirical comedy about a college professor (Alda) whose historical novel about the American Revolution gets the Hollywood treatment, much to his dismay and frustration. He next directed "A New Life" (1988) and played a recent divorcee who finds new love with a younger doctor (Veronica Hamel), while his ex-wife (Ann-Margret) falls in and out with a sculptor (John Shea). Veering from his nice guy image, Alda received rave reviews for his performance as a sleazy, egotistical television director in Woody Allen's masterpiece, "Crimes and Misdemeanors" (1989).

After directing and starring in "Betsy's Wedding" (1990), a mediocre family comedy about a middle class father (Alda) forced to ask his mobster brother-in-law (Joe Pesci) to help pay for his daughter's overblown wedding, Alda retreated from directing features to focus squarely on acting, though his capacity as a leading man was diminished by the 1990s. His work on stage also continued, notably as the star of Neil Simon's mild farce "Jake's Women" (1992), a role which earned him a Tony Award nomination, and which he later recreated for the 1996 television adaptation. Meanwhile, he gave another strong performance as an unsympathetic character, playing controversial National Institute of Health official Dr. Robert Gallo in acclaimed expose of the AIDS crisis, "And the Band Played On" (HBO, 1993), for which he earned an Emmy nod for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Special. Following another collaboration with Woody Allen on "Manhattan Murder Mystery" (1993), he played an unrepentant advertising executive responsible for five deaths on a white-water rafting expedition in "White Mile" (HBO, 1994). After a forgettable turn in "Canadian Bacon" (1995), playing the bumbling President of the United States who starts a new Cold War with Canada, Alda received more kudos for his pairing with Lily Tomlin as the aging hippie parents of Ben Stiller in David O Russell's comedy, "Flirting With Disaster" (1996).

By the second half of the 1990s, Alda had become secure playing a variety of supporting roles, while allowing other younger actors to take the lead. He once again joined forces with Woody Allen to co-star in the director's musical romantic comedy, "Everyone Says I Love You" (1997). In "Murder at 1600" (1997), an ill-received political thriller involving murder at the White House, Alda played Alvin Jordan, a benevolent National Security Advisor who helps a Washington D.C. detective (Wesley Snipes) investigate the case when no one else will. As television news anchor Kevin Hollander in "Mad City" (1997), Alda aided the firing of an investigative journalist (Dustin Hoffman) from the network after an altercation. He then appeared as literary agent Sidney Miller in the Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy "The Object of My Affection" (1998), directed by Nicholas Hytner. After playing Mel Gibson's boss in the box office hit "What Women Want" (2000), he returned to television and earned more Emmy nominations - his 29th and 30th - for a recurring role as a prominent physician in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease on "ER" (NBC, 1994-2009) and as a hard-nosed talent agent in Showtime's "Club Land" (2001).

Back on the big screen, Alda shined opposite Leonard DiCaprio in "The Aviator" (2004), Martin Scorsese's epic biography about Howard Hughes (DiCaprio). Alda played Ralph Owen Brewster, the bought-and-sold chairman of a Senate committee dedicated to publicly ruining the maverick airline tycoon. Going against his nice guy persona, Alda played the corrupt Senator with typical charm and ease, earning the praise of critics and a nomination for an Academy Award. That same year, he joined the cast of "The West Wing" (NBC, 1999-2006) playing the former Republican senator of California and presidential candidate, Arnold Vinick, who ran against and lost to Democratic congressman Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits). Alda was nominated for two Emmy awards for his portrayal of the so-called maverick Republican, earning a statue for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2006.

In a return to the stage, Alda delivered a Tony Award-caliber performance in a Broadway revival of David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross," playing down-and-out salesman Shelley "The Machine" Levene. In "Resurrecting the Champ" (2007), Alda played a stubborn newspaper editor who refuses to take a struggling reporter (Josh Hartnett) off the boxing beat, then starred opposite Matthew Broderick in the independent comedy about memory loss, "Diminished Capacity" (2008). On the small screen, he earned an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his portrayal of Jack Donaghy's (Alec Baldwin) ailing biological father in the season three finale of "30 Rock" (NBC, 2006-2013). Back in features, Alda played a scheming billionaire who becomes the target of revenge by a motley crew of apartment building employees in the caper comedy from Brett Ratner "Tower Heist" (2011). That same year, he had a widely praised guest starring role on "The Big C" (Showtime, 2010-13), playing a doctor with a new method of treatment Cathy (Laura Linney) hopes to use. This was followed by an arc in crime drama "The Blacklist" (NBC 2013- ) and supporting roles in neo-Western "The Longest Ride" (2015) and Steven Spielberg's Cold War espionage drama "Bridge of Spies" (2015). In 2018, Alda announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, though he was showing few physical symptoms.

Credits

M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed TelevisionStream

Self
Special
2024

Remembering Gene Wilder

Self
Movie
2023
90%

CBS Saturday Morning

Guest
Show
2021

Itzhak Perlman - geniusz i pasja

Self
Show
2021

Marriage StoryStream

Actor
Bert Spitz
Movie
2019
95%

The Emperor's Newest Clothes

Voice
The Narrator
Show
2018

Today 3rd Hour

Guest
Show
2018

Kavliprisen 2018

Host
Show
2018

Sidelines

Guest
Show
2017

Live with Kelly and Ryan

Guest
Talk
2017

The Good FightStream

Guest Star
Solomon Waltzer
Series
2017
95%

Horace and PeteStream

Actor
Uncle Pete
Miniseries
2016
96%

The Late Show With Stephen ColbertStream

Guest
Talk
2015

The Weekly with Charlie Pickering

Guest
Show
2015

StarTalkStream

Guest
Docuseries
2015

The Late Late Show

Guest
Show
2015

The Longest RideStream

Actor
Ira Levinson
Movie
2015
31%

Bridge of SpiesStream

Actor
Thomas Watters
Movie
2015
91%

q

Guest
Show
2014

Alan Alda and the Actor Within You: A YoungArts Masterclass

Actor
Show
2014

Late Night With Seth MeyersStream

Guest
Talk
2014

Broad CityStream

Guest Star
Dr. Jay Heller
Series
2014
99%

Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem

Narrator
Movie
2014

Homeward Bound

Host
Show
2013

The BlacklistStream

Guest Star
Alan Fitch
Series
2013
91%

Brains on Trial With Alan Alda

Host
Show
2013

On the Money

Guest
Show
2013

CBS This Morning: Saturday

Guest
Show
2012

CBS This Morning

Guest
Show
2012

Wanderlust

Actor
Carvin
Movie
2012

To Save a Life

Narrator
Movie
2012

Q With Jian Ghomeshi

Guest
Show
2011

Tower HeistStream

Actor
Arthur Shaw
Movie
2011
67%

The Talk

Guest
Talk
2010

George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight

Guest
Show
2010

The Big C

Guest Star
Show
2010

The Human Spark

Host
Show
2010

The Project

Guest
Show
2009

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

Guest
Talk
2009

Skavlan

Guest
Show
2009

My Generation

Guest
Show
2008

Nothing but the Truth

Actor
Albert Burnside
Movie
2008

Diminished Capacity

Actor
Rollie
Movie
2008

Flash of Genius

Actor
Gregory Lawson
Movie
2008

Today With Kathie Lee & Hoda

Guest
Show
2007

Resurrecting the ChampStream

Actor
Metz
Movie
2007
61%

30 RockStream

Guest Star
Milton Greene
Series
2006
78%

Rachael Ray ShowStream

Guest
Talk
2006

The Colbert Report

Guest
Talk
2005

The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson

Guest
Talk
2005

Tavis Smiley

Guest
Talk
2004

The AviatorStream

Actor
Sen. Ralph Owen Brewster
Movie
2004
86%

Alan Alda in Scientific American Frontiers

Host
Show
2002

M*A*S*H: 30th Anniversary Reunion Special

Actor
Show
2002

Live With Regis and Kelly

Guest
Show
2001

Club Land

Actor
Willie Walters
Movie
2001

The Killing Yard

Actor
Ernie Goodman
Movie
2001

What Women WantStream

Actor
Dan Wanamaker
Movie
2000
54%

The West WingStream

Actor
Senator Arnold Vinick
Series
1999
81%

The West WingStream

Guest Star
Senator Arnold Vinick
Series
1999
81%

The Daily Show With Jon StewartStream

Guest
Talk
1999

Keepers of the Frame

Self
Movie
1999

The Object of My AffectionStream

Actor
Sidney Miller
Movie
1998
53%

The View

Guest
Talk
1997

Murder at 1600Stream

Actor
Jordan
Movie
1997
32%

Mad City

Actor
Kevin Hollander
Movie
1997

Fox News Sunday

Guest
News
1996

Jake's Women

Actor
Jake
Movie
1996

Flirting With Disaster

Actor
Richard Schlichting
Movie
1996

Everyone Says I Love YouStream

Actor
Bob Dandridge
Movie
1996
77%

Canadian Bacon

Actor
President of the United States
Movie
1995

ERStream

Guest Star
Dr. Gabriel Lawrence
Series
1994

White Mile

Actor
Dan Cutler
Movie
1994

Late Night With Conan O'Brien

Guest
Talk
1993

And the Band Played OnStream

Actor
Dr. Robert Gallo
Movie
1993
100%

Manhattan Murder MysteryStream

Actor
Ted
Movie
1993
94%

Whispers in the Dark

Actor
Leo Green
Movie
1992

The All-Star Salute to Our Troops

Actor
Show
1991

Charlie RoseStream

Guest
Talk
1991

Scientific American Frontiers

Host
Show
1990

Betsy's Wedding

Actor
Eddie Hopper
Movie
1990

Betsy's Wedding

Director
Movie
1990

Crimes and Misdemeanors

Actor
Lester
Movie
1989
92%

A New Life

Actor
Steve
Movie
1988

A New Life

Director
Movie
1988

Un Nouveau départ

Actor
Movie
1988

Sweet Liberty

Actor
Michael Burgess
Movie
1986

Sweet Liberty

Director
Movie
1986

Sweet Liberty

Screenwriter
Movie
1986

M*A*S*H: Goodbye, Farewell, Amen

Actor
Benjamin Franklin "Hawkye" Pierce
Movie
1983

M*A*S*H: Goodbye, Farewell, Amen

Director
Movie
1983

The Four SeasonsStream

Actor
Jack Burroughs
Movie
1981
76%

The Four SeasonsStream

Director
Movie
1981
76%

CBS News Sunday Morning

Guest
News
1979

The Seduction of Joe Tynan

Actor
Joe Tynan
Movie
1979

The 30th Primetime Emmy Awards

Host
Show
1978

Same Time, Next Year

Actor
George Peters
Movie
1978

California Suite

Actor
Bill Warren
Movie
1978

Kill Me if You Can

Actor
Caryl W. Chessman
Movie
1977

Live From Lincoln Center

Host
Show
1976

Free to Be... You & Me

Actor
Movie
1974

Lily

Actor
Show
1973

Cuánto Tiempo Ha Pasado

Actor
Movie
1973

Isn't It Shocking?

Actor
Dan
Movie
1973

M*A*S*HStream

Actor
Capt. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce
Series
1972

M*A*S*HStream

Director
Series
1972

Playmates

Actor
Marshall Barnett
Movie
1972

The Glass House

Actor
Jonathon Paige
Movie
1972

To Kill a Clown

Actor
Maj. Evelyn Ritchie
Movie
1972

Le Couple idéal

Actor
Movie
1972

Parkinson

Guest
Show
1971

Satan mon amour

Actor
Movie
1971

The Mephisto Waltz

Actor
Myles Clarkson
Movie
1971

Guerra Entre Contrabandistas

Actor
Movie
1970

Jenny

Actor
Delano
Movie
1970

The Moonshine War

Actor
John W. "Son" Martin
Movie
1970

La Guerre des Bootleggers

Actor
Movie
1970

The Extraordinary Seaman

Actor
Lt. Morton Krim
Movie
1969

Premiere

Actor
Frank St John
Show
1968

Un Reportero en la Jugada

Actor
Movie
1968

Paper Lion

Actor
George Plimpton
Movie
1968

The Carol Burnett ShowStream

Guest
Variety Show
1967

Coronet Blue

Guest Star
Show
1967

Where's Everett?

Actor
Arnold Barker
Show
1966

The Trials of O'Brien

Guest Star
Nick Staphos
Show
1965

East Side West Side

Guest Star
Series
1963

Gone Are the Days

Actor
Charlie Cotchipee
Movie
1963

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny CarsonStream

Actor
Talk
1962

Route 66Stream

Guest Star
Dr. Glazer
Series
1960

Naked CityStream

Guest Star
Series
1958

Today

Guest
News
1952

The Sam Levenson Show

Self
Show
1951

What's My Line?Stream

Guest
Game Show
1950

News aboutAlan Alda