M*A*S*H star had to reshoot exit from show: 'It's awful'

After playing the role of Radar on the CBS sitcom M*A*S*H for seven seasons, Gary Burghoff was determined his character should break down during his last sequences on the show, which concluded the 1979 episode "Good-Bye Radar: Part 2." As Burghoff recalls in a new two-hour celebration of the classic series, M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television, the results left the actor upset in real life.

In an exclusive clip from the special (below), Burghoff explains how he saw an opportunity in Radar's goodbye party being interrupted by the arrival of wounded. "I said to myself, what a wonderful moment, I can cry my eyes out and I can do this wonderful dramatic moment, I can just completely fall apart," he says. "And the director said, 'If I were you, I would fight the tears.' And I said, 'No, no. Just let me do it, okay?'"

Burghoff got his way, but his big dramatic moment did not turn out as he'd expected. "The next day, in dailies, I look at the screen and it's awful. I mean, it is just terrible," he recalls. "The director was right, I was wrong... I said, 'Please can I do this again?' And he said, 'Yes, you may.'"

M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television also features new interviews with Burghoff's fellow cast members Alan Alda, William Christopher, Jamie Farr, Mike Farrell, Wayne Rogers, and Loretta Swit. The special premieres New Year's Day at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.

Exclusively watch Burghoff talk about saying goodbye to Radar below.

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