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McLean Stevenson | |
McLean Stevenson is best remembered for his portrayal of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake in M*A*S*H. Fortunately, he did not follow his cousin Adlai Stevenson II into the family "business." After serving as press secretary during both of Adlai’s Democratic Presidential campaigns, McLean started his successful career as an actor. The Bloomington, Illinois native, born in 1929, graduated from Northwestern University without knowing exactly what he wanted to do. Stevenson became an assistant director of athletics at Northwestern, sold medical supplies and insurance. Following his stint as Adlai’s press secretary, he took his cousin’s advice to look into a show-business career. Stevenson’s teachers included the well-respected Lee Strasberg, Sandy Meisner, David Craig, Lehman Engel and Sue Seaton. In Warsaw, Indiana, Stevenson appeared regularly in summer stock productions before making the jump to the New York stage and television commercials. He collected many credits both as a performer and as a writer, with his talents being utilized in various revues at New York’s "Upstairs at the Downstairs" nightclub. On Broadway, Stevenson performed in "Bye Bye Birdie" and "I’ll Always Remember Miss What’s Her Name." Before co-starring in M*A*S*H, Stevenson was a regular on both "The Doris Day Show" and "The Tim Conway Comedy Hour." The role of Henry Blake, however, catapulted him to stardom. His performance on Twentieth Television’s hit comedy series was widely hailed. During three years on the series, Stevenson collected three Emmy nominations for his work as an actor. In 1974, he also garnered an Emmy nomination for writing a M*A*S*H episode entitled "The Trial of Henry Blake." Stevenson appeared in many movies of the week, game and talk shows. Upon leaving M*A*S*H, he starred in such series as "Celebrity Challenge of the Sexes," "Condo," "Match Game," "Hello, Larry," "In the Beginning," "The McLean Stevenson Show," and "Dirty Dancing;" in addition to many appearances on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson." He appeared in "Memories of M*A*S*H (1991) as himself and in the successful cable mini-series "Tales of the City" (1993) based on Amistead Maupin’s book. He later appeared in archival footage on the two-hour TV special "M*A*S*H: 30th Anniversary Reunion" (May, 2002). Stevenson had returned to stage productions, was a spokesman for USAir and First Alert, appeared in scores of golf telethons and other fund-raising events for charity causes, and dabbled in script writing, prior to his sudden death of a heart attack on February 15, 1996, in a Tarzana, California hospital. He is survived by his wife of 15 years, Ginny, a daughter, Lindsey, son Jeffrey MacGregor by a previous marriage, and a sister. |
