On January 14, 1983, the entertainment world paused to celebrate the end of M*A*S*H. As the cast and crew filmed the penultimate episode of the series, “As Time Goes By” (11×15), hundreds of members of the press were on the set to capture the moment. Headlines around the world heralded the final day of filming and discussed the upcoming series finale. There was so much interest in the end of M*A*S*H that there were books, news casts, and photos as the cast wrapped filming and held a final press conference together (see some behind the scenes video from the final day, read the quotes from the actors from the final press conference, and see Alan and Arlene Alda’s book from the final days of M*A*S*H). But that wasn’t the end of the story for the cast and crew of M*A*S*H. After the crowds of reporters and photographers left Stage 9 on the 20th Century Fox lot, the cast, crew, and their families gathered for one final, private wrap party. In this (delayed) post, we look at a bottle of wine that was “selected and especially bottled for [the] M*A*S*H 11th season farewell!”
Every wrap party needs food and drinks, and the M*A*S*H wrap party was no exception! Over the years, I have seen a few bottles of wine from the wrap party sell at auction, and I was finally able to get my hands on a sealed bottle. But then I had a question. Who produced and bottled it? The label says “Made and bottled by San Antonio Winery, Los Angeles, California.” The San Antonio Winery is still in business today, and continues to be family owned and operated. I reached out to the owners of the winery to find out more about this bottle and how they got the job to bottle the wine for such a big event in television history. When I heard back from the winery, they confirmed that they did bottle the wine for the M*A*S*H wrap party. But I was surprised by a fairly simple explanation of how they were selected to provide the wine. The owner explained that, at the time, they were one of only two wineries in the state of California that offered custom label services on their bottles. The other winery was in northern California, so being in Los Angeles, they were selected by 20th Century Fox Television! While this may not be the most exciting story, it is confirmation that these bottles are authentic and a rare peek inside the private party held for the M*A*S*H cast, crew, and their families when the series wrapped.
While there are hundred of photos and hours of footage from January 14, 1983, that only showed what the public was intended to see. To my knowledge there aren’t any publicly available photos or videos from the final M*A*S*H wrap party, and that is understandable. The M*A*S*H finale was a spectacle from the announcement that season 11 would end the series, to the final day of filming, then to the airing of “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” on February 28th. On January 14, the cast and crew gathered with each other and their loved ones to celebrate the last time many of them would be together in the same room working on M*A*S*H. The sets on Stage 9 and at Malibu Creek State Park would come down and the actors and crew members would move on to new roles and jobs. The final wrap party was their chance to celebrate 11 years of awards, ratings success, and say goodbye. I am truly honored to be able to preserve something from such a momentous events in television history.
The M*A*S*H Historian 