Most people know about “M*A*S*H,” the immensely popular war comedy that racked up 109 Primetime Emmy nominations and 14 Emmys during its 11-season run. But unless you were at home watching primetime television in the early to mid-1980s, you might not realize that “M*A*S*H” had a spin-off medical procedural drama series called “Trapper John, M.D.” that dealt with one character’s life after leaving the Korean War.
The series follows Dr. “Trapper” John McIntyre (Pernell Roberts), the deadpan MASH doc played by Wayne Rogers (who sadly passed away in 2015) in the comedy series, nearly three decades after the war in his role as Chief of Surgery at San Francisco Memorial Hospital. The story follows Trapper’s mentorship of Dr. George Alonzo “Gonzo” Gates (Gregory Harrison), a young doctor who worked on a MASH unit during the Vietnam War.
The Winnebago-dwelling Gonzo serves as a character foil for Trapper, providing a connection to the humor and free-spiritedness he had in his younger years. The series, which ran for seven seasons and 151 episodes, was a quality medical procedural that still stands up well today.
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Trapper John was based on a real person
Trapper John checks a patient in “Trapper John, M.D.” (1979-1986) – 20th Century Fox Television
Trapper John’s eponymous TV series would mark the doc’s fourth appearance in the “M*A*S*H” franchise. The original, California-filmed “M*A*S*H” sitcom was a spin-off of a 1970 black comedy film, which was inspired by the 1968 novel “MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors” by surgeon Richard “Dick” Hornberger, writing under the name Richard Hooker. The character of Trapper John was inspired by real-life surgeon John Elliott Lyday.
Although not quite as colorful a character as the Trapper John in the M*A*S*H universe, the real John Lyday served during World War II, proving himself as a decorated gunner and radioman on a B-24 Liberator. During the Korean War, the real Trapper John would go on to serve as a combat surgeon at the 8055th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in Korea. Hornberger, who served alongside him as a fellow surgeon, would go on to use his sarcastic brother-in-arms as inspiration for the central figure in his medical war comedy.
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Read the original article on Looper.
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