Today, learn whether Gary Burghoff really hid his left hand throughout the filming of the TV series, M*A*S*H.
TV URBAN LEGEND: Radar O’Reilly’s left hand was never shown on M*A*S*H
Gary Burghoff, otherwise known as Radar O’Reilly, was one of the few actors to star in both the film M*A*S*H. and the TV series M*A*S*H.
Radar was the innocent supply clerk for the M.A.S.H. unit (his naivatee was contrasted with the surgeons, who would do all sorts of crazy stuff, like have a casino in their tent), and Burghoff is one of the actors most associated with M*A*S*H (perhaps only Jamie Farr and Alan Alda are more associated with the series than Burghoff).
Look again at the picture above. Notice anything? In the photo, Burghoff is hiding his left hand. This is because Burghoff had the disorder, Poland Syndrome, when he was born, leaving him with three fingers on his left hand that were much smaller than the fingers on his right hand. Reader Eric P. wrote in to ask if it was true that Burghoff’s left hand was never seen on the series.
The answer is no. While Burghoff hid the hand quite often (often through the use of holding clipboards), there are more than a few instances where it is visible, including interestingly enough, in his first scene in the first episode of the series!
Check it out…
Here is a detail…
So no, Eric, while they did hide it, they did not hide it entirely.
The legend is…
STATUS: False
Thanks to Eric for the question!
Everyone else, feel free (heck, I implore you!) to write in with your suggestions for future installments! My e-mail address is brian@poprefs.com
