MASH star Wayne Rogers dies at 82

(Image credit: Twitter.com/BBCWorld)

published 1 January 2016

Wayne Rogers, the actor best known for playing the beloved MASH character Trapper John McIntyre, died Thursday in Los Angeles of complications from pneumonia. He was 82.

A native of Alabama and a graduate of Princeton, Rogers starred as Trapper John for the first three seasons of MASH, alongside Alan Alda's Hawkeye Pierce. Originally, he was considered for the Hawkeye role, but he preferred Trapper's happier disposition, The Associated Press reports. Once MASH started to focus more on other characters and his role began to diminish, Rogers left the show. He later had a recurring role on Murder, She Wrote, and worked as a money manager and investor, helping actor friends like Peter Falk recoup money from business managers. Rogers is survived by his wife, Amy; children Bill and Laura; and four grandchildren.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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