Rest In Peace, Trapper
Wayne Rogers passed away yesterday. He was 82.
Rogers was a professional actor for many years; his most famous role was that of “Trapper John” McIntyre on the TV series “MASH”. In later life, he became a respected financial expert and investment counselor, a financial commenter for Fox News, and testified before Congress on financial matters.
That’s not why his passing is listed here, though. Rogers was also a Navy vet – he received a commission in 1954 after graduating from Princeton and was assigned to serve as Navigator for the USS Denebola.
Rogers’ ship was sent to drydock at Red Hook, Brooklyn, in 1955. During that period, Rogers was invited to attend a play rehearsal for a Broadway play. Rogers described attending that rehearsal as a “turning point” in his life; he decided afterwards to pursue a career in acting (he’d previously planned to attend Harvard Law School after the Navy).
He resigned his commission in 1957. The Navy’s loss was the entertainment industry’s gain.
Fair winds and following seas, elder brother-in-arms. And thanks for the memories.
Category: Blue Skies
RIP Sailor
Thank you Wayne Rogers…you will always warm our hearts and minds as the myth, the legend, the Trapper.
Have fun in heaven with Ferret face and Henry.
RIP!
We continue to lose many of the people that we spent many hours of our lives with.
RIP Sir. You are a credit to the US Navy and America as a whole.
Well, nuts. He left before I could say good-bye. See you later, Trap.
I grew up watching “MASH” reruns with my Grandpa after school. The show went downhill without Wayne Rogers and Larry Linville, until it just became Alan Alda’s personal ultra-leftist soap box.
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I’m adding my amen to TOW!
I read a book written by actor/director Jackie Cooper, and he pretty much said the same thing. As the show grew in popularity, Alan Alda got more and more “creative control”, making it the Alan Alda Political Half Hour Show. Alan Alda made a point of not participating in PSA Christmas messages to service members overseas.
I watch Fox News’s “Cashin In” on Saturday mornings just to listen to Wayne talk. The guy was a renaissance man. RIP sir.
Also, prolific actor & U.S. Army vet Jason Wingreen passed away at 95. He was most famous for playing Harry the bartender on “All in the Family” and “Archie Bunker’s Place”, and provided the voice of the bounty hunter Boba Fett in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
http://news.yahoo.com/jason-wingreen-family-bartender-voice-boba-fett-star-193854669.html?nf=1
https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=1&tf=F&q=Jason+Wingreen&bc=&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=3215481
Fair winds and following seas, sailor!
We weren’t allowed to watch War movies or sitcoms, until my pop watched Hogans Heros…When I was older I asked why that program… That’s exactly how stupid some Nazis are….RIP TRAPPER, you made my pop laugh…