Though it deals with heavy societal topics like war and trauma, what makes M*A*S*H truly special is that the heart of the series comes from its humanity. That’s why casting for the popular series was such a challenge. Audiences weren’t just expected to watch members of the 4077th; they were supposed to sympathize and relate to them, to love them as though they were real.

For executive producer Gene Reynolds, it was no small feat, though he accomplished his goal.

Reynolds' fellow producer, Larry Gelbart, explained the process in his memoir, Laughing Matters.

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“Gene and associate producer Burt Metcalfe started the casting process in California. The job they did revealed that the two men were obviously all thumbs - and each one of them bright green. Their choices were superb.”

However, one casting stood out above all the rest; that of Hawkeye, played by Alan Alda. At first, it was assumed that Alda would have little interest in joining a series. To sway him, Gene and Burt chose a simple, straightforward approach.

“The coup was hitting upon the idea of, and then being able to land, Alan Alda,” wrote Gelbart. “Alda had starred on Broadway in a number of theatrical productions and given memorable performances in several television movies. The conventional wisdom was that he would not be interested in tying himself up with a weekly series. Gene and Burt, being unconventional fools, sent Alan the pilot script and he was ours. And how lucky we were.”

Alda was crucial in gaining the support of the audience. “What is true of movies is also true when it comes to TV,” wrote Gelbart. “What first grabs an audience’s attention and later earns its loyalty are the faces they see on the screen and the positive emotions those faces evoke. Alan was our guarantor that that would happen. Alan, plus the balance of the ensemble, which reflected the flawless choices made by Gene and Burt.”