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Gary Burghoff gave Radar his first name
"I don't think people realize what a creative team that was," said Burghoff.
The beauty of M*A*S*H doesn't lie in any action scenes or flashy eye-catching sequences; the true appeal of M*A*S*H was in the moments where the humanity of the series was put on display. M*A*S*H used a series about war to expose the raw underbelly of mankind. The series arguably wouldn't have been as critically acclaimed as it was without its core mission of remaining honest, no matter how brutal the truth may look.
One of the show's stars, Gary Burghoff, better known as Radar O'Reilly, credited the show's creators as well as the writing staff for the show's success.
"I don't think people realize what a creative team that was," said Burghoff during an interview with The Forum. "We had some of the best writers in the industry," said the actor. "We had the round table where we would sit down with those scripts when they were fresh off the press, and we would talk about them and improve them together."
Series developer Larry Gelbart didn't consider a television series a one-man affair; he often encouraged the actors on set to share their opinions on plot points, and even injected pieces of their own lives into their characters. Burghoff revealed that he was actually responsible for the creation of Radar's first name, Walter. The actor named his character after a close friend who he felt embodied Radar's positive energy.
"I'm never looking for television," said Burghoff. "M*A*S*H found me."
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