An Interview with Wayne Rogers

A mainstream sitcom about war — injected with a laugh track. In a bizarre, satirical mix of comedy and drama set during the Korean War, soldier doctors on M*A*S*H (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) bandaged the servicemen bloodied by combat. Sure, he was needed in the operating room. But Dr. "Trapper" John's character most often sought relief from the absurdity of war swilling gin, chasing skirt, and pulling daft pranks.

Narrowly escaping cancellation its first season on CBS (1972), the M*A*S*H finale, aired 11 years later, boasts the largest audience of any sitcom episode in American television history. Grandparents.com caught up with Golden Globe-nominated grandfather of four, Wayne Rogers (who played "Trapper" John from1972-5) to ask if a show poking fun at war could be so wildly popular in a U.S. mired in the Iraq War.

Grandparents.com: M*A*S*H Iraq. Would Americans go for it?

Wayne Rogers: Absolutely! War was serious — there weren't laugh tracks in the operating room. But, M*A*S*H made fun of how ridiculous and outrageous war is. The humor came from the foolishness of this horror. Face that every day, and you go nuts. You deal with it through humor.

GP: That's rebellious. People are sending their grandchildren off to war knowing they might die. And, laugh tracks?

WR: Rebellious is not a bad word. Doctors take a pledge to save lives. War is about killing people. Obviously, the two are opposed. By their very nature, doctors don't want war. So, yes it's rebellious, rightfully so.

GP: Would you go to a casting call for M*A*S*H Iraq?

WR: Yes, but it wouldn't be any different. M*A*S*H was about the Korean War, but applies to any war. We were fighting in Vietnam when it aired. People thought it was about that. There's nothing more righteous about the Iraq War than the Korean or Vietnam Wars. I was against those. I'm against the Iraq War. Not on moral terms, but because it's dumb. The U.S. is engaging in an intellectually bankrupt policy.

GP: Will you engage your granddaughter and three grandsons in political discussions?

WR: I want them to have their own points of view. When they ask me questions, I'll answer. Politics, morals, religions are personal things. I don't believe in enforcing my thoughts on anyone. If they have a good reason to be doing what they're doing, I wouldn't care if they, you know, turn out to be communist or fascist. They'll have a reason, I assume. I hope they would have read everything to make them cognizant of their choices. That's all I can do. My job is to get them educated. The choices are theirs.

GP: So, grandparents shouldn't be obligated to talk politics with grandchildren?

WR: Obligated? No. The obligation is to educate children and grandchildren. That's a responsibility. Not a right, a responsibility.

GP: What do your grandchildren call you?

WR: Poppi.

GP: In your acting career, you played quite a few — a lot — of bad guys: a child molester, a corrupt politician, a wife-rapist. How will you explain playing such characters to grandkids?

WR: Playing a bad guy is easier. He drives the script. He wants something. He pushes the action.

GP: Are you in touch with your M*A*S*H co-actors?

WR: I see Alan. I see Loretta, and Jamie, occasionally. I don't know where Gary is. McLean passed away.

GP: The upcoming presidential elections. Predictions?

WR: The Democrats will win. I think George Bush has single-handedly destroyed the Republican Party. Just as James Carville said about Clinton's first election, "It's the economy, stupid." This is all about the war, stupid. The Iraq War has essentially wrecked the Republican Party.

GP: Do you hope your grandkids follow your footsteps: become actors, attend Princeton University, get nominated for Golden Globes?

WR: No, I don't care. I want them to be their own people. I have no feelings of imprinted legacy. If they want to go to Slippery Rock State Teachers' College, that's Ok by me. I wouldn't necessarily encourage them to be in show business.

GP: Really? That's surprising.

WR: Let me tell you something. The last time the Screen Actors Guild had a labor dispute some 20 years ago, the union had some 34,000 members. About 2,100 of them were working. Only 400 of those working made more than $25,000 a year. Why would anybody in his right mind encourage grandchildren to go into a business like this?

GP: What golden nugget of advice do you offer your grandkids?

WR: Education. Read everything you can get your hands on. Constantly improve your mind. That brings you the greatest happiness, and perhaps the greatest unhappiness. The one thing that distinguishes us from other animals is our brain.