In August 1978, the seventh season of M*A*S*H was about to debut on CBS. In addition to press releases from CBS and 20th Century Fox Television as a part of the lead up to the new season, it was not uncommon for cast members, producers, and directors of popular television shows to give interviews to help promote the series. In an August 27, 1978 article for The Los Angeles Times (and syndicated to newspapers across the country), entertainment journalist Wayne Warga interviewed M*A*S*H producer Burt Metcalfe. In the four printed pages of his column, Warga and Metcalfe discussed his role as a producer on M*A*S*H, the continued involvement of past series producers Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds, and the Emmy nomination that Metcalfe received. The interview was well written and was a good profile of the man who led M*A*S*H for its final six seasons.
Newspaper columns, such as this one for The Los Angeles Times, were often defined by how much space they took up in the newspaper since there was a limit to the space on a page. Warga’s interview with Metcalfe is fairly long at around four printed pages. That would have filled a column or two in news print, but M*A*S*H was popular show, so editors of entertainment sections of newspapers were likely to feature it. In the interview, Warga and Metcalfe discuss how he got into the television business as a producer and eventually, a director. Metcalfe told an interesting story of how Jackie Cooper was involved in his transition to television. They also discuss the fact that Metcalfe and Alan Alda were nominated for an Emmy award for directing the two-part episode “Comrades in Arms.” The most interesting revelation to me was that Metcalfe still regularly met with former M*A*S*H producers Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds to discuss the series. Gelbart left the show after the fourth season, and Reynolds left after the fifth season. The season that had just wrapped, the show’s sixth, was Metcalfe’s first season executive producing M*A*S*H on his own, so it is understandable that he would continue to meet with the former producers to ensure continuity.
Warga’s interview was well written, and he chose his quotes well. One of the best quotes from Metcalfe in the article was about finding balance when producing 24 episodes of a show in a season. Metcalfe said, “Gene Reynolds says the definition of a good TV series is the one that makes the fewest bad episodes. We’re trying to have fewer bad ones than anyone else in the business.” By that metric, M*A*S*H certainly succeeded, and Metcalfe was a major contributor to the series’ success having been involved with the production for all eleven seasons. After the publication of this article, M*A*S*H’s seventh season would debut on September 18. The night before, at the 30th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, Metcalfe and Alda did not win the Emmy for directing. That was a rough year for M*A*S*H since they did not win any Emmy’s despite being nominated for eight awards. Nevertheless, Warga had a long career as an entertainment journalist, and his article provided an inside look at popular television shows. After this interview, Metcalfe continued to serve as M*A*S*H‘s executive producer until the show’s end in 1983. Sadly, Warga passed away in 1994 after battling cancer.
The M*A*S*H Historian 