Press Pass 42: McLean Stevenson and Cher (1975)

For years, M*A*S*H fans swore that a show in the mid-1970s had a scene of McLean Stevenson as Lt. Col. Henry Blake in a raft saying that he had survived the plane crash. Then, in 2016, RJ at mash4077tv.com found the clip and solved the mystery! There was a scene in which Blake says that he survived the plane crash and was okay, and it was from a variety show called Cher. The series was a follow-up to the successful The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour that ended after the couple’s divorce. The episode with Stevenson aired on May 4, 1975. That means that it aired less than two months after “Abyssinia, Henry” (03×24) originally aired on CBS. Stevenson was a guest on Cher’s show, and the scene where he played Col. Blake was a brief skit from the episode. It is also a little surprising that Stevenson agreed to play Col. Blake again given how hurt he was by the death of the character. In this week’s post, we look at a press photo from Stevenson’s appearance on that episode Cher, and learn more about the appearance that fans thought was lost to the ages.

The death of Henry Blake angered many M*A*S*H fans and it caused a well publicized backlash in the weeks following March 18, 1975, when the episode first aired. So when Stevenson appeared on Cher, it is not surprising that the writers took advantage of the headlines and the popularity of the character. They had him reprise his role as Col. Blake in a very brief scene during the introduction of Stevenson in Cher’s opening monologue. In the cutaway scene, we see Col. Blake in a life raft saying “Hey guys, I’m okay! I’m okay!” And that’s it. Just a few seconds that got the attention of M*A*S*H fans and remained lost for decades. See an embedded video of the scene below (the title of the video incorrectly identifies the source of the video as The Carol Burnett Show). In the press photo, we see a photo of Stevenson in a suit with Cher from that episode. Dated May 3, 1975, the photo talks about Stevenson’s appearance on Cher the following night and his recent departure from M*A*S*H. However, it did not mention that he briefly appeared on the show as Col. Blake. The Associated Press Wirephoto was sent in advance of the episode for publicity purposes. It is interesting that they chose not show him dressed as Col. Blake because that might have been a draw for more M*A*S*H fans to tune in.

I really enjoy stories when content that was previously thought to be lost to time is found. I also understand the frustration of fans who knew this clip of Stevenson existed, but there was no record of it. That is one reason why I work to preserve the history of M*A*S*H. The series was made in a time when things were written/printed on paper or saved to film. Tangible records exist of M*A*S*H that can be preserved for decades, and that leads to the possibility of the future rediscovery of something that was once known. In today’s digital world, a lot of that ephemera is gone because it was a sent as an attachment to an email instead of printed on paper. The same is true for this press photo. Most publications would have thrown away a press release like this after the article was published. The rediscovery of this clip from Cher was likely found because someone found an old film. This press photo, in combination with the rediscovered clip, are sources that corroborate that Stevenson was on the May 4, 1975 episode of Cher, and he did briefly play Col. Blake. Thankfully, we continue to find, document, and preserve the history of M*A*S*H and the characters we love.