History Characters / Mash

Originally introduced in the novel and movie as a ringer for an inter-unit football game, he vanished about midway through the show's first season. Reasons vary for why he was cut, but they boil down to four: first that the writers were under the mistaken impression that there weren't any black {{MASH}} surgeons in Korea[[note]]this was incorrect, as there is documentary evidence for at least two, including one who became Chief Surgeon at his {{MASH}}[[/note]] and Creator/LarryGelbart wasn't interested in including a TokenMinority purely for the sake of including a TokenMinority instead making sure he had a reason to actually ''be'' there; second because adding another character to scenes unecessarily complicated them (the three-handers with Hawkeye, Trapper and Frank had Spearchucker as a third wheel); third, that budgetary considerations caused a general cull of characters from the cast (this also took out Dish, Ho-Jon, Ugly John and Boone); and fourth that CBS was leery of the nickname "Spearchucker", a clearly racist epithet[[note]] CBS had already ordered the producers to never again use the nickname "Dago Red" for Father Mulcahy after the pilot due to fears of complaints from Italian-American pressure groups[[/note]] and it was easier to drop the character than the nickname that had unfortunately become associated with him from the novel and movie.

Originally introduced in the novel and movie as a ringer for an inter-unit football game, he vanished about midway through the show's first season, due to the writers deciding that there wasn't any material left for him after Hawkeye and Trapper John's narratives were crafted (other sources state that they couldn't find evidence for black surgeons in the war, despite their serving being a matter of historical record; Larry Gelbart wrote on the alt.tv.mash UsefulNotes/{{Usenet}} group in the mid-to-late 90's that he couldn't find any evidence of black doctors in Korea, and that characters had to be cut for budgetary reasons).

* SpecialGuest

* GoodGuyBar:

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: He sometimes will even break the fourth wall during the credits.

!!Others
[[folder:Col. Sam Flagg]]
!!Lt. Col. (later Col.) Sam Flagg
[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Flagg_9783.jpg]]

->'''Played by:''' Creator/EdwardWinter

A psychopathic governmental intelligence agent (read: spy) who occasionally blows through the 4077, always on the look-out for Communist subversives and so paranoidedly overzealous that the doctors took a delight in leading him headlong into disasters of his own making.

* TheDitz: He's frequently portrayed as a mild version of this. Most notably, in one episode revolving around the celebrations of a year spent in Korea, he takes the ears of corn lovingly grown by Father Mulcahy and ''creams them'', affrontedly suggesting that next time he'll just roast them on the cob (which is what Mulcahy and the others had wanted in the first place) when he sees the Irish priest's angry disbelief. HE also washes his hands before digging latrines instead of afterwards so as to not contaminate the latrine with the food from the mess hall.

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Inverted. The book describes him [[IronicNickname as attractive]], whereas on the show he's... well, [[http://oi61.tinypic.com/2vci4ye.jpg ugly]].

Originally introduced in the novel and movie as a ringer for an inter-unit football game, he vanished about midway through the show's first season, due to the writers deciding that there wasn't any material left for him after Hawkeye and Trapper John's narratives were crafted (Other sources state that they couldn't find evidence for black surgeons in the war, despite their serving being a matter of historical record).

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: After his last appearance (which comes in Radar's farewell episode, coincidentally enough) he vanishes without explanation.

* BookEnds: In his first appearance on the show, he exits the scene by telling the doctors, "Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice. Pull down your pants, and slide on the ice."[[note]]The originator of the phrase was Creator/AllanSherman.[[/note]] In the series finale, after deeming Hawkeye mentally fit, and knowing this will probably be the last time he sees everyone in the 4077th, he deliberately invokes this by once again exiting with that line.

Originally introduced in the novel and movie as a ringer for an inter-unit football game, he vanished about midway through the show's first season, ostensibly after the network learned that there weren't any black surgeons in the theatre.

* TokenMinorityCouple: At least one episode has him dating Nurse Ginger, who - you guessed it - is also black.

* LyingToProtectYourFeelings: Sidney knows full well that what Hawkeye needs most (in what can be given in an army setting) is reassurance that he will be okay, and that all Sidney can really do is give him tools so he can cope until the next breakdown. This has drawbacks, as Hawkeye gets steadily chipped away until the end.

* BookEnds: In his first appearance on the show, he exits the scene by telling the doctors, "Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice. Pull down your pants, and slide on the ice."[[note]]The originator of the phrase was Allan Sherman.[[/note]] In the series finale, after deeming Hawkeye mentally fit, and knowing this will probably be the last time he sees everyone in the 4077th, he deliberately invokes this by once again exiting with that line.

* MeaningfulEcho: As he's bidding farewell in the final episode, he repeats a line he used in Season 3's "O.R." when he first appeared. Alan Alda noted in the reunion special that he personally selected this line as Sidney's departing line because it was the one that resonated best.

* HonoraryTrueCompanion: The 4077th seem to regard Sidney as one of their own, even though he's not stationed with them. He nevertheless fits right in with them due to the similarities he shares with them.

** And it transferred to offscreen as well – Allan Arbus was so well-liked by the cast and crew that the producers apparently offered to make him a regular at one point.[[note]]One version of the story had him offered the spot in the cast vacated by Creator/GaryBurghoff when he left the show in Season 7.[[/note]] He turned them down, as he didn't want to be tied to a regular series role, but kept on making guest appearances up until the final episode.

** And it transferred to offscreen as well -- Allan Arbus was so well-liked by the cast and crew that he was apparently at one point offered a spot in the regular cast.[[note]]One version of the story had him offered the spot in the cast vacated by Creator/GaryBurghoff when he left the show in Season 7.[[/note]] He turned it down as he didn't want to be tied to a regular series, but he kept making guest appearances up till the final episode.

* TheOmniscient: Downplayed. He’s too good of a therapist for the fifties, and understands things (that there’s more pain buried in "Hawk's Nightmare" for example) before Hawkeye can process them, but he doesn’t push and lets Hawkeye figure it out in his own time.

* VillainRespect: He gets along fabulously with Hawkeye and B.J. despite being part of the [[GreaterScopeVillain The Korean's People Army]], impressed by their surgical skills, techniques, and most of all their compassion. The respect is mutual with Hawkeye and B.J. arguing against sending him to a P.O.W. camp over a "technicality".

* MeaningfulEcho: As he's bidding farewell in the final episode, he repeats a line he'd used in Season 3's "O.R." when he first appeared. Alan Alda noted in the reunion special that he personally selected this line as Sidney's departing line because it was the one that resonated best.

* LyingToProtectYourFeelings: Knows full well that what Hawkeye needs most (in what can be given in an army setting) is reassurance that he will be okay, and that all Sidney can really do is give him tools so he can cope until the next breakdown. This has drawbacks, as Hawkeye gets steadily chipped away until the end.

->'''Played by:''' None

!!4077 Enlisted Personnel
[[folder:Pvt. Igor Straminsky]]
!!Pvt. Igor Straminsky
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Straminsky_2944.jpg]]

->'''Played by:''' Jeff Maxwell (usually; [[TheOtherDarrin Peter Riegert]] replaced Maxwell in two sixth season episodes)

The 4077's long-suffering mess hall and kitchen staffer, who endures the bulk of the camp's disgust-fueled abuse over the lousy quality of their rations.

* TheBartender: When not in the mess hall he sometimes tends bar at the officer's club.
* ButtMonkey: Whenever people are upset about the food, they always take it out on him. And he has to listen all of their complaints before ''he'' can eat any of the food himself. After putting up with it for so long, he finally calls them out in "Morale Victory".
* CampCook[=/=]LethalChef: Although technically, he merely serves the awful food rather than cooking it. (The actual cook, a Sgt. Pernelli, was mostly unseen but did appear in a few later-season episodes.)
* TheDitz: He's frequently portrayed as a mild version of this. Most notably, in one episode revolving around the celebrations of a year spent in Korea, he takes the ears of corn lovingly grown by Father Mulcahy and ''creams them'', affrontedly suggesting that next time he'll just roast them on the cob (which is what Mulcahy and the others had wanted in the first place) when he sees the Irish priest's angry disbelief. HE also washes his hands before digging latrines instead of afterwards so as to not contaminate the latrine with the food from the mess hall.
* DumbButDiligent: He won't win any medals for intelligence, but Igor is competent and hard-working enough that no one complains about him (they just complain about everything else his job entails).
* NeverMyFault: He takes out his frustrations at not getting promoted on Hawkeye (one of the members of the promotion committee) despite the fact that he was patently unfit for promotion, as shown during his oral exam when he couldn't answer basic Army questions that even a ''civilian'' would know.
* SuddenNameChange: In the "Bug Out" episode he's addressed as "Sowkowitz" by Hawkeye and B.J..
** In one episode, Frank demands his name. The actor accidentally gave his real last name of Maxwell and Larry Linville decided to ThrowItIn and kept going.%%invoked

[[folder:Sgt. Zelmo Zale]]
!!Sgt. Zelmo Zale
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Zelmo_Zale_2639.jpg]]

->'''Played by:''' Creator/JohnnyHaymer

One of the minor sergeants who were part of the 4077's staff, the Brooklyn-born Zale was officially rostered as the unit's supply sergeant. Appeared rarely, and was mostly notable for his hot temper and frequent bickering with Klinger.

* AlliterativeName: Zelmo Zale.
* ArchEnemy: He and Klinger had a long-running feud.
* BrooklynRage: Very much a hot-blooded New Yorker.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: After his last appearance (which comes in Radar's farewell episode, coincidentally enough) he vanishes without explanation.
* GadgeteerGenius: Claims to be one, but his invention ends up failing spectacularly and injuring Hawkeye.
* SitcomArchNemesis: With Klinger, with him mocking Klinger's cross-dressing, discharge attempts, and hometown. It culminates in the episode "End Run", when Burns suggests they fight out their troubles after Klinger refuses to take part in a bar fight at Rosie's and Zale calls him out [[{{Hypocrite}} despite Zale himself sitting out the fight.]] They settle their differences before the fight, and further interactions between them are less heated.

[[folder:Sgt. Luther Rizzo]]
!!Sgt. Luther Rizzo
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Luther_Rizzo_3694.jpg]]

->'''Played by:''' Creator/GWBailey

The unit's motor pool sergeant. A lazy, unambitious sluggard from Louisiana who by his own admission only joined the service because he thought it was a perfectly good skive. As he puts it, where else but in the Army can you be a bum and actually get ''paid'' for it?

* BunnyEarsLawyer: Downplayed. He seems to be asleep whenever he's on duty, drunk or gambling whenever he's not, but the motor pool is always ready to go. He's also a pretty good teacher as all of the students who take his remedial driving course pass the written exam with high scores on the first try (except Col. Potter, who slept through most of it).
* DrillSergeantNasty: While normally laid back, he's pretty tough on the people he works through re-qualifying for their driver's licenses. At least until he finds out Colonel Potter (who he's terrified of flunking or shouting at) is in his latest class.
* LazyBum: He's often sleeping on the job and openly boasts that he joined the army to get paid for being a bum.
* LoanShark: He puts the bite on Winchester (at 100% interest per day) in "That Darn Kid".
* {{Sleepyhead}}: Uses his assignment in the motor pool as an excuse to spend the day sleeping underneath the Jeeps that he's ostensibly repairing.
-->'''Rizzo:''' Could you hold it down? There are people trying to work--Oh my gosh, it's night. Could you hold it down? There are people trying to sleep.
* SimpleMindedWisdom: Not very bright, but he does show moments of wisdom like when he gives Klinger advice about how to handle army life.
* [[SouthernFriedPrivate Southern Fried Sergeant]]: A sergeant with a thick southern accent and mannerisms.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: He is not happy to find out that Colonel Potter is in his driving class.

!!Others
[[folder:Col. Sam Flagg]]
!!Lt. Col. (later Col.) Sam Flagg
[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Flagg_9783.jpg]]

->'''Played by:''' Creator/EdwardWinter

A psychopathic governmental intelligence agent (read: spy) who occasionally blows through the 4077, always on the look-out for Communist subversives and so paranoidedly overzealous that the doctors took a delight in leading him headlong into disasters of his own making.