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elleng

(135,751 posts)
Sat Mar 3, 2018, 08:47 PM Mar 2018

M*A*S*H*' STAR DAVID OGDEN STIERS DEAD AT 75

David Odgen Stiers -- best known for playing Major Charles Winchester on "M*A*S*H" -- has died after a battle with bladder cancer ... according to his agent.

The actor joined the cast of "M*A*S*H" in 1977, playing an arrogant aristocrat and talented surgeon who filled the void left by the departure of the show's Frank Burns character. Stiers did it splendidly too ... earning himself 2 Emmy nominations.

http://www.tmz.com/2018/03/03/mash-star-david-ogden-stiers-dead-at-75/

73 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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M*A*S*H*' STAR DAVID OGDEN STIERS DEAD AT 75 (Original Post) elleng Mar 2018 OP
. Lucky Luciano Mar 2018 #1
... Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Mar 2018 #2
i didnt know he was so young! samnsara Mar 2018 #3
Enjoyed his performance. May he rest in peace. oasis Mar 2018 #4
bad audio but... lapfog_1 Mar 2018 #5
THANKS! elleng Mar 2018 #9
Poor audio or not, that brought me back to 1983... Dennis Donovan Mar 2018 #13
After MASH ended, he did a lot of conducting jmowreader Mar 2018 #55
IRL he loved classical music and was a conductor Duppers Mar 2018 #63
loved his performance in those episodes Eliot Rosewater Mar 2018 #6
Ohh... that is a loss hlthe2b Mar 2018 #7
He will always be Timicin to me Takket Mar 2018 #8
I saw that episode recently. RIP. N/T CottonBear Mar 2018 #36
He narrated Ric Burns' exceptional "New York" documentary... Dennis Donovan Mar 2018 #10
+10000 Elwood P Dowd Mar 2018 #17
His narration was, well, unique from David McCullough's or Oliver Platt's... Dennis Donovan Mar 2018 #20
And Chicago "City of the Century" on PBS chuckstevens Mar 2018 #33
Available now on Amazon prime video n/t 7wo7rees Mar 2018 #41
Splendidly, indeed. 3catwoman3 Mar 2018 #11
My favorite M"A"S"H" elisode Thunderbeast Mar 2018 #12
I couldn't have stated it better myself... Dennis Donovan Mar 2018 #15
That one and the "stuttering" episode. He gave heart and soul to a character created as a heavy. TeamPooka Mar 2018 #24
Oh hell yeah... dhill926 Mar 2018 #50
He was in THX-1138 as well. Codeine Mar 2018 #14
Fine actor. May he rest peacefully. WillowTree Mar 2018 #16
Charles was a great character... lame54 Mar 2018 #18
They were always very good at creating completely new characters. Lucky Luciano Mar 2018 #67
Charles Emerson Winchester III... apkhgp Mar 2018 #19
North & South Chicago1980 Mar 2018 #21
A man with a very long and impressive acting career Siwsan Mar 2018 #22
I shall drink brandy in his memory Weed Man Mar 2018 #23
Here's the episode Weed Man Mar 2018 #68
R.I.P. Loved that show. sinkingfeeling Mar 2018 #25
He had a wonderful role in a film named BAD COMPANY starring Ellen Barkin & Laurence Fishburne TeamPooka Mar 2018 #26
... Docreed2003 Mar 2018 #27
Fine Actor May he Rest in Peace burrowowl Mar 2018 #28
May he rest in peace Gothmog Mar 2018 #29
RIP orangecrush Mar 2018 #30
Excellent actor ailsagirl Mar 2018 #31
R.I.P. Charles Winchester was a great character. He gave Hawkeye and B.J. an opponent who, unlike StevieM Mar 2018 #32
Yes, so much stopwastingmymoney Mar 2018 #48
Thank you for the kind words. Yes, I do remember that episode. I believe he was in Tokyo. StevieM Mar 2018 #53
The third!!! I remember this episode well. Weed Man Mar 2018 #69
R.I.P. to a fine talent. dalton99a Mar 2018 #34
Following the Frank Burns character was an amazing feat Miles Archer Mar 2018 #35
Awww. He was in one of my favorite Frasier episodes, "Fathers and Sons." spooky3 Mar 2018 #37
Was that the one where they suspected he had an affair with their mother? Elwood P Dowd Mar 2018 #58
Thats the one. He was charming. Nt spooky3 Mar 2018 #60
He was in the PBS rendition of Innocents Abroad. El Supremo Mar 2018 #38
RIP Major 47of74 Mar 2018 #39
Another gay actor lost to the ages. Liberalagogo Mar 2018 #40
There will always be gay actors... Lithos Mar 2018 #65
It was sad that he had to wait Liberalagogo Mar 2018 #66
Oh,no. Too young. Bladder cancer? Honeycombe8 Mar 2018 #42
My grandfather had bladder cancer. Weed Man Mar 2018 #70
Wow. You are so lucky. I didn't know you could be tested. Honeycombe8 Mar 2018 #71
My mom has been after me for months to get myself tested. Weed Man Mar 2018 #72
Rockin' it! Honeycombe8 Mar 2018 #73
Great voiceover actor too RhodeIslandOne Mar 2018 #43
I remember watching M*A*S*H* with my grandparents The Genealogist Mar 2018 #44
Same 47of74 Mar 2018 #59
While his character was arrogant question everything Mar 2018 #45
There was a third episode that I remember too. ClusterFreak Mar 2018 #64
Awww damn. Hard to take. DinahMoeHum Mar 2018 #46
Dammit. GoCubsGo Mar 2018 #47
I shall raise a glass to him tonight RainCaster Mar 2018 #49
RIP...We were just watching an old show with him today. Liberal In Texas Mar 2018 #51
Met him once in San Diego left-of-center2012 Mar 2018 #52
I loved him as Charles. The poolball scene with George Wendt is a classic rpannier Mar 2018 #54
Thank you for that stopwastingmymoney Mar 2018 #56
Gentlemen brettdale Mar 2018 #57
Oh, no1 CTyankee Mar 2018 #61
... lunamagica Mar 2018 #62

elleng

(135,751 posts)
9. THANKS!
Sat Mar 3, 2018, 08:57 PM
Mar 2018

Just now watching MASH on Sundance, an episode wherein he played a major role attending to dying patients, and discussing death with them.

Duppers

(28,239 posts)
63. IRL he loved classical music and was a conductor
Sun Mar 4, 2018, 01:40 AM
Mar 2018

From Wiki...

Stiers was the associate conductor for the Newport (Oregon) Symphony Orchestra and the Ernest Bloch Music Festival.[8] He also guest-conducted over 70 orchestras around the world, including the Oregon Mozart Players, the Vancouver Symphony, the Virginia Symphony, the Oregon Chamber Players, the Yaquina (Oregon) Chamber Orchestra, as well as orchestras in San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Chicago and Toronto.[9][10][11]



hlthe2b

(106,029 posts)
7. Ohh... that is a loss
Sat Mar 3, 2018, 08:55 PM
Mar 2018

I really came to enjoy him--not only on MASH, but a couple of guest stints on Frasier, his role in the Dead Zone and a lot of voice work he did over the years.

RIP... You will be remembered and missed.

Dennis Donovan

(24,717 posts)
10. He narrated Ric Burns' exceptional "New York" documentary...
Sat Mar 3, 2018, 08:58 PM
Mar 2018

His "Chahles" was exquisite on M*A*S*H, but his narration of the Ric Burns "New York" series was so... damn, the best!

Elwood P Dowd

(11,444 posts)
17. +10000
Sat Mar 3, 2018, 09:08 PM
Mar 2018

I have the DVD set of that. Took me a week to watch them all, but they were incredible. Been a few years, so maybe it's time to view them again.

Dennis Donovan

(24,717 posts)
20. His narration was, well, unique from David McCullough's or Oliver Platt's...
Sat Mar 3, 2018, 09:18 PM
Mar 2018

Both of whom do an OUTSTANDING job narrating American Experience, but DOS's is something we will not hear again.

Thunderbeast

(3,528 posts)
12. My favorite M"A"S"H" elisode
Sat Mar 3, 2018, 09:03 PM
Mar 2018

featured Stiers consoling a pianist who fell into depression after losing an arm in combat. Finding music played by one hand, his patient recoiled. Major Winchester lamented that as much as he wished, he did not posess the musical "gift".

After over 50 years playing with my guitar, I can relate to Winchester's frustration.

Stiers was a master of that role.

Lucky Luciano

(11,400 posts)
67. They were always very good at creating completely new characters.
Sun Mar 4, 2018, 09:40 PM
Mar 2018

Trapper John —> BJ Honeycutt
Burns —> Winchester
Colonel Blake —> Potter

These were very different characters! No shortcuts or cheap ways of trying to continue the old character.

 

Weed Man

(304 posts)
23. I shall drink brandy in his memory
Sat Mar 3, 2018, 09:23 PM
Mar 2018

I remember that episode where Potter was the last guy in his unit that received a French brandy saved since WWII. Shared it with everyone and Winchester commented that the brandy would be very smooth.

StevieM

(10,536 posts)
32. R.I.P. Charles Winchester was a great character. He gave Hawkeye and B.J. an opponent who, unlike
Sat Mar 3, 2018, 09:45 PM
Mar 2018

Frank Burns, could compete with them at their level. You saw that on the first episode he was in. They left a snake in his bed and when Pierce got back to the swamp it was waiting for him in his own bed. We saw a wry smile come over Charles's face.

He also could show you a decent, human side that Frank Burns rarely, if ever, could. He was usually the antagonist but he had a good heart that made you like him.

stopwastingmymoney

(2,143 posts)
48. Yes, so much
Sat Mar 3, 2018, 11:21 PM
Mar 2018

I loved Charles and was reading down the thread thinking about what I could add.

There are many good comments above, but yours is the best I think, thank you for putting it so well.

Given a selection in the DVR, I'll always choose a good Charles episode. Remember when he came back from RnR...married?

StevieM

(10,536 posts)
53. Thank you for the kind words. Yes, I do remember that episode. I believe he was in Tokyo.
Sat Mar 3, 2018, 11:37 PM
Mar 2018

Last edited Sun Mar 4, 2018, 11:26 PM - Edit history (1)

My favorite Charles episodes include:

1) When he stayed with Hawkeye while he waited for news from the States on Pierce's sick father. I remember two lines in particular. "I have a father. You have a dad;" and the toast at the end. "To our fathers. And their sons."

2) When Charles stood up for the stuttering soldier, and we later learned that his sister Hanoria stuttered in a tape she sent him. Actually, I also liked the episode where he took an interest in a soldier who was a concert pianist and whose hand was permanently injured in battle.

3) When Charles gave sweets to the orphan children, anonymously, and later learned that they were sold on the black market. Charles was angry at first but then learned that they were sold to buy a month's supply of rice and cabbage. He said to the director of the orphanage. "It is very inappropriate to give desert to a child who has not yet had dinner." We also learned that his family has a tradition of going out on Christmas and doing acts of charity anonymously.

 

Weed Man

(304 posts)
69. The third!!! I remember this episode well.
Sun Mar 4, 2018, 10:18 PM
Mar 2018

Klinger returned the favor by giving Winchester the leftovers from the party. Said, this was donated anonymously, with a smile.

Loved that episode

Miles Archer

(18,960 posts)
35. Following the Frank Burns character was an amazing feat
Sat Mar 3, 2018, 09:56 PM
Mar 2018

Over time, the character was given many layers. At first, the Winchester character may have seemed like a distant cousin of Burns, but he soon transcended it. Primarily "unlikable," like Burns, but the writers (and Stiers) revealed the humanity under the arrogance.

R.I.P., Mr. Stiers.

spooky3

(36,012 posts)
37. Awww. He was in one of my favorite Frasier episodes, "Fathers and Sons."
Sat Mar 3, 2018, 09:59 PM
Mar 2018

This wasn't the best part of the episode but all I could find:

Elwood P Dowd

(11,444 posts)
58. Was that the one where they suspected he had an affair with their mother?
Sun Mar 4, 2018, 12:12 AM
Mar 2018

Turns out he was gay I think.

El Supremo

(20,377 posts)
38. He was in the PBS rendition of Innocents Abroad.
Sat Mar 3, 2018, 10:03 PM
Mar 2018

Part of their excellent Mark Twain series 40+ years ago.

 

Liberalagogo

(1,770 posts)
40. Another gay actor lost to the ages.
Sat Mar 3, 2018, 10:10 PM
Mar 2018

What a quality person he was. Everything he did was great. I loved him as Cogsworth in Beauty & the Beast (1991)

Lithos

(26,449 posts)
65. There will always be gay actors...
Sun Mar 4, 2018, 06:10 PM
Mar 2018

And Mr. Stiers was indeed a professional who was great in almost everything he did.

What I hope for the ages is that he will be one of the last who do not have to wait (in his case until age 66) to no longer balance what the world thinks in order to maintain a professional career vs being comfortable in his skin.

L-

 

Liberalagogo

(1,770 posts)
66. It was sad that he had to wait
Sun Mar 4, 2018, 07:06 PM
Mar 2018

until 2009, to officially come out. I knew about him bad in college in the 80s. I guy I knew had a fling with him.
I mean look at what Ellen had to go through when she came out in the 90s. It took her a while to bounce back.

Honeycombe8

(37,648 posts)
42. Oh,no. Too young. Bladder cancer?
Sat Mar 3, 2018, 10:15 PM
Mar 2018

Who thinks that s/he will get bladder cancer, of all things? You can't even protect against that. Terrible.

 

Weed Man

(304 posts)
70. My grandfather had bladder cancer.
Sun Mar 4, 2018, 10:22 PM
Mar 2018

He survived that, and lived to be around 95 or so (we aren't sure of his age because he lied about it, during the Holocaust)

Back in 1991, after my sister's wedding, he was critical and was not expected to survive. He rallied, and lived for another 10 more years, before passing on with natural causes..

So yeah, cancer sucks, my father died of leukemia in 2014 at the age of 67. It was his father that passed in 2001.

I recently went through genetic testing to determine if I am at risk of cancers. They tested everything and I found out I'm not prone to any cancer. Which is amazing considering both sides of my family have had cancers.

Honeycombe8

(37,648 posts)
71. Wow. You are so lucky. I didn't know you could be tested.
Sun Mar 4, 2018, 10:42 PM
Mar 2018

Tested to see if you're prone for cancers? Does ins. cover that? Of course the risk would be, if the ACA is cancelled, ins. cos. might not take you, if your tests show you are prone.

Glad you are not prone. Lucky.

 

Weed Man

(304 posts)
72. My mom has been after me for months to get myself tested.
Sun Mar 4, 2018, 11:08 PM
Mar 2018

I did that last year, and found out that I'm clear of any abnormalities of my genes.

But my health is ok otherwise, I've dropped 40 pounds in the past year (a big accomplishment), and I'm diabetic, so knocking on wood.

Honeycombe8

(37,648 posts)
73. Rockin' it!
Mon Mar 5, 2018, 07:58 AM
Mar 2018
I lost 30 # years ago after gaining that weight slowly over years after quitting smoking. Losing that 30 # took so long and was so hard. So I know what it took to lose 40! Rockin it!

The Genealogist

(4,735 posts)
44. I remember watching M*A*S*H* with my grandparents
Sat Mar 3, 2018, 10:22 PM
Mar 2018

Grandma was kind of a stuffy lady who didn't go in for a lot of TV. Hell, I don't think they bought a TV until the late 60s or so. They could afford it, the programming was vulgar(common) But boy she loved watching M*A*S*H*, and I enjoyed watching it with my grandparents. Grandpa reminded me in a lot of ways of Colonel Potter. When I was a kid, I didn't care much for Winchester, I thought he was a hateful man! But as I grew up, I came to appreciate the fact that David Ogden Stiers did a fantastic job of portraying the character. Sad knowing he has passed. RIP.

 

47of74

(18,470 posts)
59. Same
Sun Mar 4, 2018, 12:34 AM
Mar 2018

My mom used to like watching M*A*S*H* when it was first on but I didn't get in to it until I was older and it was going in syndication.

Col. Potter reminded me of my Grandpa as well. Morgan was just a few years older than my Grandpa.

Yeah, Stiers did such a great job portraying Major Winchester. Took real talent to pull of a character like Winchester. RIP Major.

question everything

(48,718 posts)
45. While his character was arrogant
Sat Mar 3, 2018, 10:53 PM
Mar 2018

I remember two episodes when his softer side showed:

One, there was a character who was stammering, "Charles" was on his side, I think. Because the last scene he was listening to an audio letter from his sister who was... stammering.

The second, perhaps was the finale, he taught a a group of Chinese prisoners a Mozart quintet and then, when they were all killed, he had the record and just threw it away.

Too young. And getting too close for comfort.



ClusterFreak

(3,112 posts)
64. There was a third episode that I remember too.
Sun Mar 4, 2018, 04:48 PM
Mar 2018

The one in which Hawkeye's dad needs some delicate surgery and Hawkeye was having trouble getting any news about how things were going. He and Charles shared some sincere reflections on their lives as sons of two very different kinds of dads. It was a nice episode. It was the same episode where the MASH bowling team finally beat the Marines, that was the funny part of the episode.

left-of-center2012

(34,195 posts)
52. Met him once in San Diego
Sat Mar 3, 2018, 11:29 PM
Mar 2018

He stayed at a hotel where I worked around 1983,
while he was appearing in a play at the 'Old Globe Theater' in Balboa Park.

He came up to the desk for mail/messages. Very friendly and a decent guy.

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