 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gary Burghoff | |
|
Gary Burghoff was the only actor in Twentieth Century Fox’s hit film M*A*S*H who was asked to reprise his character for the extremely successful television series. Burghoff’s performance as the naïve, but omniscient Radar O’Reilly was rewarded with an Emmy as Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1977. Although Burghoff was unable to attend the Emmy ceremony, the presenter was M*A*S*H star Alan Alda, who said he was glad Burghoff could not appear because "it gives me an opportunity to tell the world what a wonderful, gifted and outstanding person Gary Burghoff is -- something he, of course, would not say about himself." Burghoff’s acting career started during his high school days when he appeared as Bobby in "The Boy Friend." After graduation, he headed to New York to study with Sandy Meisner, James Tuttle and Charles Nelson Reilly. At New York night clubs such as Duplex and Nag’s Head Inn, Burghoff honed his singing talents. He performed at New Haven’s Long Wharf Theatre as Og in "Finian’s Rainbow" and as Eugene in "Look Homeward, Angel" at the Music Theatre in Rochester, N.H. He also had roles in "Bells Are Ringing" and "The Sound Of Music" on stage. Other performances on stage include "Play it Again, Sam," "You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown," "The Owl and the Pussycat," "Whose Life Is It Anyway?" and "The Nerd." After making his TV debut in "Repertoire Workshop," Burghoff appeared in such television programs as "Twigs," "The Love Boat," "The Kids on the Block," "Tales of the Unexpected," "Fantasy Island," "The Donna Fargo Show" and was a series regular on "The Don Knotts Show. Burghoff also appeared on a host of game shows and talk shows, including "Dinah," "The Mike Douglas Show," "The Match Game," and "Hollywood Squares." Although he left M*A*S*H shortly after the start of its eighth season, he returned for two episodes of AfterMASH, reprising his still-popular role as Radar. He appeared as himself in the TV documentary "Memories of M*A*S*H," in 1991, which reunited the cast and, once again, in Fox’s two-hour TV special (May, 2001) "M*A*S*H 30th Anniversary Reunion"which reunited the cast and producers. Burghoff also hosted the TV series "Pets: Part of the Family," in 1999, for which he received a Daytime Emmy nomination. On the silver screen, Burghoff had roles in "B.S. I Love You," "The Man In The Santa Claus Suit," starring Fred Astaire, and "Behind the Waterfall." Burghoff’s talent is not limited to acting. He has written more than 100 songs and has been a three-time winner of the ASCAP Award for Excellence. He created his own All-Star Dixieland Jazz Band, which recorded an album and toured some of the nation’s jazz clubs. |
|
|
|
