Gary Burghoff is a popular retired American actor who is most famous for portraying the character Radar O’Reilly on the CBS sitcom “MASH.” He quit his television job to spend more quality time with his family.
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Early life and family
Gary Rich Burghoff was born on May 24, 1943, in Bristol, Connecticut USA, therefore holds American citizenship, and his zodiac sign is Gemini. Gary was born to Rodney and Ann Burghoff; her father worked for the local clock company, while her mother was in the theater as a professional dancer; she has also directed several local stage productions. Gary has an older brother, David Burghoff.
From an early age, Gary was interested in nature, especially animals. When he was eight years old, his parents gave him an angelfish which he cared for very responsibly.
Happy birthday to Gary Burghoff! Burghoff (now 73) is best known for his role as Walter “Radar” O’Reilly on the television series M*A*S*H.
Posted by Mash Notes on Tuesday May 24th, 2016
Around the age of 10, he took pity on a flock of ducks that he thought were too bored living on his neighbor’s farm, so he released them into the nearby lake. At age 14, Gary got his first job at a local pet store. Later, his father found a new job in Delavan, Wisconsin, so the whole family moved there when Gary was a high school student.
Schooling
Gary was educated at the local high school in Bristol, Connecticut, until he moved to Delavan, Wisconsin, where he enrolled at his local high school in 1961. While in college, he took classes dancing, because he was very fond of tap dancing. He also became a drummer, although he had a congenital defect of three shorter fingers on his left hand. When his mother got a new job as a choreographer in Wisconsin, he got a chance to try his hand at acting at the Belfry Theater, landing the role of Bobby in the production of “The Boy Friend.”
Later, Gary studied at HB Studio, located in New York.
Along with his musical endeavors (Gary played drums in Milwaukee clubs, performing with the Bud Wilber Orchestra), he was also very good at painting. His work “Men of Jazz” earned him the Hallmark Award in 1961; he also exhibited this work at the Hallmark Student Art Exhibition, held in Washington D.C., representing his state of Wisconsin.
Career
Acting career: first steps
During his acting studies, Gary had to work as a salesman in the underwear store, located on Saks Fifth Avenue, because he needed to earn money for his lessons and just to live. His acting studio mates were James Tuttle, Sandy Meisner and Charles Nelson Reilly. He also formed a jazz trio – “The We Three” – and performed in local night bars and clubs.
In 1967, Gary landed the role of Charlie Brown in the original off-Broadway production “You’re a Good Man”, which was his first serious stage work. He still didn’t want to give up his music career, so he also played drums in the band Relatives in 1968, performing mostly late nights at the Sahara Hotel and Casino lounge, located in Las Vegas. The singer of the group was Lynda Carter, who also became a famous actress. Gary and Lynda then worked together in the cast of the popular series “The New Adventures of Wonder Woman”, appearing in the episode “The Man Who Wouldn’t Tell” in 1978.
New success, join the cast of “MASH”
In 1970, Robert Altman invited Gary to appear in his film “MASH”, a dark comedy about a group of doctors who worked at Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) during the Korean War era.
Gary was to play the character of the head clerk, Corporal Walter Eugene “Radar” O’Reilly.
After the film drew high ratings and positive reviews from critics, the creator decided to expand on the plot, which was based on Richard Hooker’s book “M*A*S*H: A Novel About Three Army Doctors”, and released the television series. Gary was the only person to appear in both the film and the series, playing the same character. However, Gary later admitted that he made his character on the show think and behave very differently from how he did in the film: “In the original MASH feature, I created Radar as a solitary, darker, and somewhat sardonic character; some kind of dark character <,,,> I started making Radar a more innocent and naive character, unlike the other characters,” Gary reflects on his role.
Gary’s work on the “M*A*S*H” series (1972-1980) earned him six Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. During his constant occupation in “M * A * S * H”, Gary still had the chance to work in other series of films, the list of which includes “Insight”, “Sweepstakes” and “Ellery Queen”.
Leaving “M*A*S*H”
At the end of 1979, Gary quit the cast of “M*A*S*H”, as he was tired of the public attention and complained that he couldn’t go anywhere with his family to relax like he could. would be both. recognized by someone: “Family, for me, became the most important thing… I was not available as a father because of my work. It doesn’t stop when the work stops,” Gary explained his decision to leave the show. Later, he appeared again in the special episode called “Goodbye, Radar”.
In 1984, Gary appeared in two spin-offs of the series, “W*A*L*T*E*R” and “AfterMASH”. He could also be seen in an episode of the series “Burke’s Law” in 1995, and in the movie “Behind the Waterfall” the same year. In 2010, already supposedly retired, Gary appeared in the movie “Daniel’s Lot”, landing the role of Pastor Mahoney.
Retirement and inventions
Gary’s retired life wasn’t boring at all; he could finally spend as much time fishing as he wanted. He even became the inventor of a special “Chum Magic” fishing tackle, which was supposed to attract fish to the fisherman’s boat. He also invented and obtained patents for a new type of fishing rod and a handle for lifting a toilet seat.
Gary could also spend his free time painting the California wilderness.
In 2018, Gary was invited by fellow actress Alan Alda to join the ‘Clear + Vivid’ podcast, bringing together all the other cast members of ‘M*A*S*H’: ‘Loretta Swit and I will talk about New York, Mike Farrell will be in a studio in Los Angeles, Jamie Farr will be on the phone from his home in Bell Canyon and Gary Burghoff will be on the phone from Northern California. Alda announcement the podcast. He shared that the podcast was supposed to take place a little earlier, but Jamie Farr nearly lost his home in the wildfires spanning California at the time, so they had to delay the reunion.
Personal life, ex-wives Janet Gale and Elisabeth Bostrom
Gary Burghoff married Janet Gale in 1971. In 1975 Janet gave birth to their daughter Gena, who later became an actress and even starred with her father in the movie “Behind The Waterfall.”
Gary divorced Janet in 1979, then in 1985 he married Elisabeth Bostrom, who bore Gary two sons, Miles and Jordan. Within two decades, the couple divorced in 2005, citing different religious beliefs that ruined their union. Elisabeth, who is an experienced dental assistant, still lives in Connecticut with their two sons.
Hobbies, favorite things and interesting facts
In 2009, Gary published the book “To M*A*S*H and Back: My Life in Poems and Songs”.
Gary is a philatelist; he collects coins and stamps, and in 1988 he was invited to become the narrator of the film “The Video Guide to Philately”, which was supposed to teach novice collectors the principles of philately, and also presented different types of stamps from different periods. In 1994 he judged the Federal Duck Stamp Contest.
Gary’s other passion, painting, saved his family’s life during difficult times when Gary did not appear in any movies or series. He started selling his paintings and the money he earned helped him and his family survive. When Gary lived in California, his neighbors called him “The Birdman of Malibu” because his yard was always filled with birds of all kinds. Gary’s favorite sport is baseball.
Appearance
Gary has short gray hair and blue eyes. He is 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in); his weight and vital statistics are not available.
Net Worth and Salary
As of 2020, Gary Burghoff net worth is estimated to be around $6 million.
