Gary Rich Burghoff
Burghoff at a convention in 2003
Born	Gary Rich Burghoff[1][2] (1943-05-24) May 24, 1943 (age 69)[3] Bristol, Connecticut, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, artist, jazz drummer
Years active	1967–present
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Spouse(s)	Janet Gayle (1971-1979) Elizabeth Bostrom (1985-2005)[4]
Children	(first marriage) Gena Gayle (second marriage) Miles & Jordan[5]

Gary Rich Burghoff (born May 24, 1943^[3]) is an American actor, known for playing Charlie Brown in the 1967 Off-Broadway musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and the character Corporal Walter Eugene "Radar" O'Reilly in the M*A*S*H movie and TV series.

Life and career [edit]

Burghoff was born in Bristol, Connecticut. He studied tap dance and became a proficient drummer, despite having a congenital deformity of three fingers on his left hand.^[3] In 1967 he originated the role of Charlie Brown in the original Off-Broadway production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. He was the drummer for a band called the Relatives in 1968. Actress Lynda Carter was the band's singer. The group opened at the Sahara Hotel and Casino lounge in Las Vegas, Nevada and played there for three months. He and Carter remained friends, and she helped cast him in an episode of her later hit series The New Adventures of Wonder Woman, in the 1978 episode "The Man Who Wouldn't Tell".

M*A*S*H [edit]

Although several actors from the original MASH film made guest appearances in the television series, Burghoff was the only actor cast as a regular, continuing in the role of Radar O'Reilly. He left M*A*S*H after the seventh season because of burnout and a desire to spend more time with his family, though he returned the following year to film a special two-part farewell episode, "Goodbye Radar." Mike Farrell tried to persuade Burghoff to stay on the show, citing the lacklustre careers of former M*A*S*H regulars Larry Linville and McLean Stevenson after their departures. Burghoff was nominated for six Emmy Awards for the show in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and, of those nominations, he won an Emmy in 1977.

Covering the conclusion of M*A*S*H for TV Guide in 1983, Burt Prelutsky wrote, "Although nobody wanted to be quoted for the record, the feelings about Gary Burghoff's leaving were fairly unanimous: loved Radar, hated Burghoff. As summed up by one of the principals: 'Gary had personality problems. He always felt there was a conspiracy against him. He was rude to everyone, but if anyone ever said anything back to him, he'd throw a tantrum. He had frequent spats with his cast members, particularly with Alan Alda. Once his other cast member, Mike Farrell told him that his problem was that he could dish it out but he couldn't take it, and Gary said, "And I'm getting real sick and tired of dishing it out." The poor guy didn't even realize what he'd said.'"^[6]

Match Game [edit]

Burghoff also frequently appeared on the game show Match Game in the 1970's, both as a standin for regular Charles Nelson Reilly and also as the "special male guest" occupying the top left seat. He often sat in for Reilly from late 1974 until Match Game Episode 471, when Reilly returned in 1975 from Broadway. He appeared in 248 episodes of Match Game through its daytime run, syndicated run, and the nighttime version of the show. 215 episodes daytime, 18 episodes on Match Game PM (nighttime), and 15 episodes during the syndicated version.

Later career [edit]

Burghoff appeared regularly on TV, making appearances on other game shows as well like Tattletales, Hollywood Squares, and Showoffs. He also appeared in the film B.S. I Love You, as well as an episode of The Love Boat and Ellery Queen. His M*A*S*H character Radar O'Reilly was spun off into an unsold TV show called W*A*L*T*E*R. Burghoff also appeared in an episode of The New Adventures of Wonder Woman "The Man Who Wouldn't Tell" in 1978, where he was reunited with his former band member Diana Prince a.k.a. Wonder Woman (played by Lynda Carter).

Burghoff is a self-taught amateur wildlife painter who is also qualified to handle injured wildlife in California.^[7] and has also worked as a professional jazz drummer, heading the trio The We Three (in the episode "Showtime," Radar is seen playing a solo on the drums; it is a misconception that the sound was dubbed in; it was Gary Burghoff's actual performance^[8]). Burghoff is also the inventor of (and holds a patent on) the "Chum Magic", a fishing tackle invention that attracts fish toward the user's boat.^[9][10] Other Burghoff inventions include a toilet seat lifting handle and a new type of fishing pole.^[11]

Burghoff is a philatelist^[12] and in 1993 Burghoff was asked to help pick a postal stamp for United States hunters.^[7] In 2000, Burghoff was also a spokesman for dot-com era auction aggregation site PriceRadar.com.^[13]

He came out of retirement in 2010 to star in the Christian movie release, Daniel's Lot.^[14]

Marriages [edit]

Burghoff was married to Janet Gayle, from 1971 to 1979; they had one child before their divorce. In 1985, he married Elisabeth Bostrom; the couple had two children and divorced in 2005.^{[citation needed]}

Works [edit]

• Burghoff, G (2009). To M*A*S*H and Back: My Life in Poems and Songs. Albany: BearManor Media. ISBN 1-59393-343-6. 

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gary Burghoff

• Gary Burghoff at the Internet Movie Database
• Gary Burghoff at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• M*A*S*H at TV.com