Editing Gary Burghoff

{{short description|American actor (born 1943)}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Gary Burghoff
| image              = GaryBurghoff03.jpg
| caption            = Burghoff at a convention in 2003
| birth_name         = Gary Rich Burghoff<ref name = TMZ>{{cite web | url = http://www.tmz.com/person/gary-burghoff/ | title = Gary Burghoff | publisher = [[TMZ (website)|TMZ]] | access-date = January 7, 2013 }}</ref>
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age |mf=yes|1943|5|24}}<ref name=NYT>{{cite news | url = https://movies.nytimes.com/person/9579/Gary-Burghoff/biography | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130130054745/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/9579/Gary-Burghoff/biography | url-status = dead | archive-date = January 30, 2013 | title = Movies & TV: Gary Burghoff | year = 2010 | department = Movies & TV Dept. | work = [[The New York Times]] | author = Hal Erickson | author-link = Hal Erickson (author) | access-date = January 1, 2013 }}</ref>
| birth_place        = [[Bristol, Connecticut]], U.S.
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| education          = Delavan High School, [[Delavan, Wisconsin]]
| occupation         = Actor
| years_active       = 1967–1995, 2010
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Janet Gayle|1971|1979|reason=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Elisabeth Bostrom|1985|2005|reason=divorced}}
}}
| children           = 3<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/45/Gary-Burghoff.html|title=Gary Burghoff Biography (1943-)|work=Film Reference}}</ref>
}}
'''Gary Rich Burghoff''' (born May 24, 1943) is an American actor who is known for originating the role of [[Charlie Brown]] in the 1967 [[Off-Broadway]] [[Musical theater|musical]] ''[[You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown]]'', and the character [[Corporal]] [[Radar O'Reilly|Walter Eugene "Radar" O'Reilly]] in the film ''[[M*A*S*H (film)|M*A*S*H]]'', as well as the [[M*A*S*H (TV series)|TV series]]. He was a regular on television game show ''[[Match Game]]'' from 1974 to 1979 for 204 episodes, standing in for [[Charles Nelson Reilly]], who was in New York doing a Broadway play, and continued to make recurring appearances afterwards.

==Early life==
Burghoff was born in [[Bristol, Connecticut]], moved to [[Clinton, Connecticut]], and then later moved to [[Delavan, Wisconsin]].<ref>[http://www.bestcareanywhere.net/garyburghoff/biography.htm http://www.bestcareanywhere.net/garyburghoff/biography.htm] retrieved November 2, 2018.</ref>

He studied [[tap dance]] and became a drummer, despite being born with [[brachydactyly]] caused by [[Poland syndrome]], which made three fingers on his left hand significantly smaller than those on his right hand. He gained early experience acting with the [[Belfry Players]] of [[Williams Bay|Williams Bay, Wisconsin]].<ref>{{citation| type= Theatre program| title= The Belfry Players... Twenty-Ninth Season of Plays| year= 1962}}</ref> He received his acting training at [[HB Studio]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hbstudio.org/about-hb-studio/alumni/|title=HB Studio - Notable Alumni - One of the Original Acting Studios in NYC}}</ref> in New York City.

==Career==
In 1967, Burghoff portrayed 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. [[Lynda Carter]], later a well-known actress, was the band's singer. The group opened at the [[Sahara Hotel and Casino]] lounge in [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]], and played there for three months. He and Carter remained friends, and much later they appeared together in an episode of her hit series ''[[Wonder Woman (TV series)#Season 2|The New Adventures of Wonder Woman]]'' in the 1978 episode "The Man Who Wouldn't Tell".

===''M*A*S*H''===
[[File:MASH TV cast 1974.JPG|thumb|right|(L to R) [[Larry Linville]], [[Loretta Swit]], [[Wayne Rogers]], [[Alan Alda]], Gary Burghoff, and [[McLean Stevenson]]]]
Burghoff made his feature film debut in [[Robert Altman]]'s ''[[M*A*S*H (film)|M*A*S*H]]'' (1970). Although several actors from the original film made guest appearances in the television series ''[[M*A*S*H (TV series)|M*A*S*H]]'', Burghoff was the only actor to continue as a regular, in the role of [[Radar O'Reilly]]. Although he played the same character in the series as in the film, Burghoff has cited differences in the portrayal: <blockquote>In the original feature film M*A*S*H, I created Radar as a lone, darker and somewhat sardonic character; kind of a shadowy figure. I continued these qualities for a short time until I realized that the TV M*A*S*H characters were developing in a different direction from the film characters. It became a group of sophisticated, highly educated doctors (and one head nurse) who would rather be anywhere else and who understood the nature of the "hellhole" they were stuck in. With [Larry] [[Larry Gelbart|Gelbart]]'s help, I began to mold Radar into a more innocent, naïve character as contrast to the other characters, so that while the others might deplore the immorality and shame of war (from an intellectual and judgmental viewpoint), Radar could just REACT from a position of total innocence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kenlevine.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/gary-burghoff-explains-radar.html| first= Ken| last= Levine| title= Gary Burghoff explains Radar|work= By Ken Levine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415073732/http://kenlevine.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/gary-burghoff-explains-radar.html|archive-date=15 April 2014| date= 2012-05-30}}</ref></blockquote>

Burghoff was nominated for six [[Emmy Award]]s for ''M*A*S*H'' in the category of [[Primetime Emmy Award|Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series]] and, of those nominations, he won an Emmy in 1977. Burghoff's co-star [[Alan Alda]] accepted the award on his behalf.

Burghoff left ''M*A*S*H'' in 1979 after the seventh season because of [[Occupational burnout|burnout]] and a desire to spend more time with his family, though he returned the following season to film a special two-part farewell episode, "[[Goodbye Radar]]". He explained, "Family, to me, became the most important thing. I was not available as a father because of my work. That doesn't stop when the work stops. Whenever you go out as a family, you're always torn from family to deal with public recognition."<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2006/s06050004.htm|work=Assist News Service|title=Fighting for family, life after M*A*S*H|date=August 25, 1989|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224024058/http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2006/s06050004.htm|archive-date=February 24, 2014}}</ref> "Goodbye Radar" was supposed to be the final episode of season 7, but at the behest of [[CBS]], it was extended into a double-episode for the [[November sweeps]] the next season. Fellow cast member [[Mike Farrell]] tried to persuade Burghoff to stay on the show, citing the lackluster careers of former ''M*A*S*H'' regulars [[Larry Linville]] and [[McLean Stevenson]] after their departures.

Farrell later said, "Gary Burghoff may well have been the best actor in the company, it's always seemed to me. His focus, his ability to find those little gems of behavior that made everything absolutely true were a marvel to behold."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mikefarrell.org/interviews/MASH.html|title=Mike Farrell Online| first= Mike| last= Farrell| work=mikefarrell.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060125013241/http://www.mikefarrell.org/interviews/MASH.html|archive-date=January 25, 2006}}</ref>

===Later career===
Burghoff appeared regularly on TV, making appearances on such game shows as ''[[Match Game]]'', ''[[Tattletales]]'', ''[[Liar's Club]]'', ''[[Hollywood Squares]]'', and ''[[Showoffs]]''. He also appeared in the film ''[[B.S. I Love You]]'', as well as one episode each of ''[[The Love Boat]]'' and ''[[Ellery Queen (TV series)|Ellery Queen]]''. His ''M*A*S*H'' character, Radar O'Reilly, appeared on two episodes in the first season of ''[[AfterMASH]]''.  It was then spun off into ''[[W*A*L*T*E*R]],'' which aired only once in the Eastern and Central time zones.

In the 1980s, Burghoff was the TV spokesman for [[BP]] gasoline and [[IBM]] computers. In 2000, Burghoff was a spokesman for [[Dot-com boom|dot-com era]] auction aggregation site PriceRadar.com.<ref>{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20000407104400/http://priceradar.com/ | url = http://priceradar.com/ | website = PriceRadar.com | title = Home Page | archive-date = April 7, 2000 | access-date = January 1, 2013 }}</ref>

Burghoff is a self-taught amateur wildlife painter who also is qualified to handle injured wildlife in California.<ref name = NYT2>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/29/nyregion/a-second-act-paintbrush-in-hand-for-gary-burghoff.html | title = A Second Act, Paintbrush in Hand, for Gary Burghoff | last = Moore | first = AS | date = August 29, 2004 | access-date = January 1, 2013 | work = The [[New York Times]] }}</ref>

He worked as a professional [[jazz drummer]], heading the trio The We Three. In the ''M*A*S*H'' episode "[[Showtime (M*A*S*H)|Showtime]]", Radar is seen playing a solo on the drums; he was actually performing, and the music was not [[overdub]]bed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tv.com/mash/showtime/episode/43223/summary.html |title=M*A*S*H: Showtime |website=TV.com |date=December 12, 2007 |access-date=May 17, 2011 |archive-date=May 22, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090522132305/http://www.tv.com/mash/showtime/episode/43223/summary.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> He can also be seen playing drums in the ''M*A*S*H'' episode "Bulletin Board" in the picnic scene and the episode "[[Dear Dad...Again]]" in the no-talent show scene.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mash4077tv.com/2017/05/episode-spotlight-bulletin-board/ |title=Episode Spotlight: Bulletin Board | website= mash4077tv.com |date=May 1, 2017 |access-date=February 8, 2020}}</ref>

Burghoff is the inventor ({{US Patent|5117577}}, {{US Patent|5235774}}) of "Chum Magic", a [[fishing tackle]] invention that attracts fish toward the user's boat.<ref>{{cite news | first=Tim | last=Ryan | url=http://starbulletin.com/97/04/17/features/story3.html | title=The reality of "Radar" | work=[[Honolulu Star-Bulletin]] | access-date=March 26, 2008 | archive-date=December 25, 2004 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041225220628/http://starbulletin.com/97/04/17/features/story3.html | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite patent |country= US |number= 5235774 |status= patent |title= Enhanced fish attractor device |gdate= August 17, 1993|inventor= Gary Burghoff }}</ref> Other Burghoff inventions include a toilet seat lifting handle ({{US Patent|D314322}}) and a new type of fishing pole.<ref>{{cite web|last=Harrington |first=Amy and Nancy |url=https://www.yahoo.com/tv/ss/m-a-s-h-where-are-they-now-slideshow/photo-gary-burghoff-photo-1347582636.html |title=MASH: Where are they now? |publisher= Yahoo |date=September 16, 2012 |access-date=December 31, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223104339/https://www.yahoo.com/tv/ss/m-a-s-h-where-are-they-now-slideshow/photo-gary-burghoff-photo-1347582636.html |archive-date=December 23, 2015 }}</ref>

Burghoff is a [[Philately|philatelist]].<ref>{{cite magazine | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0WYEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA63 | page = 63 | first= Jeff| last= Csatari| title = Stamps & Coins | magazine = [[Boys' Life]] |date=May 1989 | via= Google Books }}</ref> He was asked in 1993 to help select a postal stamp for United States hunters.<ref name = NYT2/>

Burghoff came out of retirement in 2010 to star in the film ''Daniel's Lot''.<ref>{{IMDb title|id=1675291 | title = Daniel's Lot}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Burghoff was married to Janet Gayle from 1971 to 1979. They have one daughter.

In 1985, he married Elisabeth Bostrom. The couple have two sons; they divorced in 2005.

==Works==
* {{cite book | first = G | last = Burghoff | title = To M*A*S*H and Back: My Life in Poems and Songs | publisher = BearManor Media | location = Albany | year = 2009 | isbn = 978-1-59393-343-2 }}

==Filmography==

===Film===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 1970 || ''[[M*A*S*H (film)|M*A*S*H]]'' || [[List of M*A*S*H characters#Radar O'Reilly|Cpl. Walter "Radar" O'Reilly]] ||
|-
| 1971 || ''[[B.S. I Love You]]'' || Ted Bufman ||
|-
| 1975 || ''Twigs'' || Clergyman || TV movie
|-
| 1979 || ''[[The Man in the Santa Claus Suit]]'' || Bob Willis || TV movie
|-
| 1980 || ''[[Casino (1980 film)|Casino]]'' || Bill Taylor || TV movie
|-
| 1991 || ''Doubles'' || Arnie ||
|-
| 1992 || ''Small Kill'' || Fleck / Lady Esmerelda || Also director
|-
| 1995 || ''Behind the Waterfall'' || Mr. Connors ||
|-
| 2010 || ''Daniel's Lot'' || Pastor Mahoney ||
|}

===Television===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 1967 || ''[[NET Playhouse]]'' || Boy || Episode: "An Evening Journey to Conway Massachusetts"
|-
| 1969 || ''[[The Good Guys (1968 TV series)|The Good Guys]]'' || Mike Butterworth || Episode: "Take a Computer to Lunch"
|-
| 1970 || ''[[The Name of the Game (TV series)|The Name of the Game]]'' || Watson || Episode: "Man of the People"
|-
| 1972–79 || ''[[M*A*S*H (TV series)|M*A*S*H]]'' || [[List of M*A*S*H characters#Radar O'Reilly|Cpl. Walter "Radar" O'Reilly]] || 174 episodes (seasons 1-8)
|-
| 1973 || ''[[Love, American Style]]'' || Sydney Melvin Wimple / Wilbur Wright || Episodes: "Love and the Crisis Line", "Love and the Plane Fantasy"
|-
| 1974–75 || ''[[Insight (American TV series)|Insight]]'' || Milo / Mombo || Episodes: "Five Without Faces", "The Incredible Man"
|-
| 1974–81 || ''[[Match Game]]'' || Self || Episodes: 311-315, 331-335, 341-350, 356-365, 371-415, 417-470 (129 episodes, 1974-75). Recurring appearances afterwards from 1975 to 1981
|-
| 1976 || ''[[Ellery Queen (TV series)|Ellery Queen]]'' || Gerald Hacker || Episode: "The Adventure of the Disappearing Dagger"
|-
| 1977 || ''[[The Love Boat]]'' || Donald M. Flanders || Episode: "The Captain's Captain/Romance Roulette/Hounded (A Dog's Life)"
|-
| 1978 || ''[[America 2-Night]]'' || Himself || Episode: "Help Every Little Person"
|-
| 1978 || ''[[Fantasy Island]]'' || Richard C. Delaney || Episode: "Superstar/Salem"
|-
| 1978 || ''[[Wonder Woman (TV series)|The New Adventures of Wonder Woman]]'' || Alan || Episode: "The Man Who Wouldn't Tell"
|-
| 1979 || ''[[Sweepstakes (TV series)|$weepstake$]]'' || Roscoe Fuller || Episode: "Roscoe, Elizabeth, and the M.C."
|-
| 1980 || ''[[Fantasy Island]]'' || Gordon Hughes || Episode: "The Love Doctor/Pleasure Palace/Possessed"
|-
| 1981 || ''[[The Love Boat]]'' || Eddie Martin || Episode: "Maid for Each Other/Lost and Found/Then There Were Two"
|-
| 1981 || ''[[Tales of the Unexpected (TV series)|Tales of the Unexpected]]'' || Harry Flock || Episode: "The Best Policy"
|-
| 1984 || ''[[AfterMASH]]'' || rowspan=2 | Walter "Radar" O'Reilly || Episodes: "Yours Truly, Max Klinger", "It Had to Be You"
|-
| 1984 || ''[[W*A*L*T*E*R]]'' || Unsold pilot
|-
|1984
|''Carnival of the Animals''
|himself/host
|TV special featuring music of [[Camille Saint-Saëns]]
|-
| 1995 || ''[[Burke's Law (1994 TV series)|Burke's Law]]'' || Patrick Noyes || Episode: "Who Killed the Hollywood Headshrinker?"
|}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*{{IMDb name|0121400}}
*{{iobdb name|9207}}

{{EmmyAward ComedySupportingActor 1976-2000}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burghoff, Gary}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:American male musical theatre actors]]
[[Category:American philatelists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners]]
[[Category:Singers from Connecticut]]
[[Category:People from Bristol, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Male actors from Connecticut]]
[[Category:People from Delavan, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Inventors from Connecticut]]