Wayne William Rogers McMillan Memorial

Wayne Rogers, who portrayed wisecracking Army surgeon "Trapper John" McIntyre in the first three seasons of TV's "M*A*S*H," died Thursday, his publicist Rona Menashe told Reuters.

He was 82. He died of complications from pneumonia in Los Angeles, Menashe said.

Rogers' Trapper John was paired with Alan Alda's Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce in CBS' Korean War comedy-drama. The character was played by Elliott Gould in the 1970 movie.

The doctors, whether in surgical scrubs, Hawaiian shirts or bathrobes, had plenty of pithy one-liners. Fellow doctor Frank Burns and nurse Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan were favorite targets.

In one episode, Burns said he was taking a matter to "a higher authority." Trapper John quipped: "Aw, Frank... you're not going to write your mother again."


Rogers left the series in a contract dispute in 1975, his character written off as having been discharged. He was replaced by Mike Farrell's B.J. Hunnicutt.

As former "M*A*S*H" writer Ken Levine notes, Rogers was "frustrated" because Trapper John and Hawkeye were supposed to be equals. But Hawkeye proved more popular with the public.

Rogers later said that had he realized "M*A*S*H" would last so long, he might have "kept my mouth shut and stayed put," according to Reuters.

But Rogers never had a problem with his castmates, and he and Alda stayed friends long after he left the show.

In a tweet, Alda said, "He was smart, funny, curious and dedicated. We made a pact to give MASH all we had and it bonded us. I loved Wayne. I'll miss him very much."

Source : CNN