February 28, 1983 was an important day in the history of television. On that night, when the M*A*S*H finale, “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen,” aired on CBS, it became the most watched television event in history. To this day, it still holds the record as the most watched scripted episode of television. However, for the cast and crew and M*A*S*H, the true goodbye had taken place more than a month before the finale aired. On January 14, 1983, on Stage 9 of Twentieth Century Fox, hundreds of members of the press and guests gathered to watch as cast and crew filmed the final scenes of M*A*S*H. But those scenes were not for the epic, grand finale. Instead, they were for the penultimate episode of M*A*S*H, “As Time Goes By” (11×15) which aired a week before the finale, on February 21. After filming completed, there was a press conference during which the cast members and producers addressed the end of the series. There is video of the final scenes being filmed and of that final press conference. But one thing that many people may not know is that there was a big wrap party after the press left that was exclusive to the cast and crew members of M*A*S*H. In this week’s post, we look at a ticket from an attendee of that party.
On that January day, after filming was complete and the press conference ended, the cast and crew members from M*A*S*H gathered one last time to celebrate the end of the series. Wrap parties were a common occurrence at the end of each season, but they are far more poignant when they wrap a series, especially one that had lasted eleven years. According to the wrap party ticket/pass, the ticket was good for one cast/crew member and a guest. The ticket mimicked a plane ticket that departed Seoul, Korea in July 1953 (the month and year the Korean War ended), and arrived at Stage 9 on the Twentieth Century Fox lot on January 14, 1983 at 7:30pm. The pass also notes that it is “not transferrable,” “not replaceable,” and “not valid for children under eighteen.” I have not found a lot of information about the party itself because it was a private event for the cast and crew to say their goodbyes and celebrate eleven successful years.
If you own either The Martinis & Medicine Collection or the Goodbye, Farewell and Amen DVD collections, there is a bonus feature that that shows scenes from the final day of filming. However, I have never seen any videos or photos from this final party. From the little information that I have found, I know that specially labeled bottles of wine were served, but I cannot find much else. The press was allowed on Stage 9 for the final few scenes being filmed and the press conference, but this ticket offers a rare insight into what happened after all the cameras stopped rolling, the press left, and the M*A*S*H cast and crew gathered to say goodbye. Some of the cast members and producers would see each other again in February 1983 for the finale, but for many of the crew members, this was their final time to celebrate their time working on one of the most important shows in the history of television.
The M*A*S*H Historian 
Wow, what a cool, rare find! Thanks for sharing.
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