"Well, I was a nurse at the tail-end of World War II and... now this, and... You wanna know something? I've had it."
[Nurse Bigelow, from Goodbye, Farewell and Amen]
Lieutenant Peggy Bigelow was a character who appeared in 13 episodes of M*A*S*H TV series starting from Season 5 in 1976 to the final TV film in 1983. There are also possibly some uncredited background appearances but these have not been identified or confirmed. Nurse Bigelow was played by actress Enid Kent.
About Nurse Bigelow[]
Bigelow is quite unique among the "extras" and day players of the M*A*S*H cast in that, besides being credited in a large number of episodes, she got many more lines than most, including many wisecracks, and she often played a significant role in the plots. Like most nurse characters, she often found herself the target of Hawkeye's flirtations, but she often gave as good as she got and even made the first move sometimes. She was quite often paired with Nurse Able played by Judy Farrell probably because of the interesting contrast in their heights.
Bigelow first appears in Season 5 "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" where she comes with Able (Judy Farrell - also her first appearance) to the Swamp to persuade Hawkeye to come help relight the stove in the their tent. Later in the season, she makes a brief appearance in "Ping Pong" where Hawkeye tries to hit on her but she fends him off successfully by telling him "some other time". In this episode she is billed simply as "the nurse" but in every other episode her last name will be given.
Five episodes later, in "Movie Tonight", she again appears with Nurse Able as one of four nurses who have decided to skip the MASH movie night to attend a party thrown by some chopper pilots. But when they hear the singing and frivolity in the Mess Tent, they change their minds and decide to stay in camp instead, even contributing a verse to the song "I Don't Want No More of Army Life".
Bigelow next appears a few episodes into Season 6 in "The Light that Failed" where she is very active in helping B.J. and Hawkeye work out the murderer in the novel "The Rooster Crowed at Midnight". She also helps the two doctors revive a patient who goes into a coma after Winchester accidentally injects curare into him.
The very next episode, during "In Love and War", Bigelow is assigned by Margaret to work with the newly arrived Lieutenant Gleason. While exchanging small talk in the O.R., Gleason accidentally mentions that she had been flirting with a "cluck", a certain Lieutenant-colonel "Donald". Margaret is immediately suspicious but Bigelow tries to reassure her that it surely could not be her Donald. During this episode Bigelow mentions her first name "Peggy" when she introduces herself to Gleason.
Shortly after, in "Images" the Bigelow/Able team is together again when they come to see Hawkeye and B.J. for a favor. They want them to persuade Margaret to cut some slack for the newly arrived Lieutenant Sandra Cooper who was having difficulty adjusting to the horrific conditions in the MASH. Bigelow tells Hawkeye that she herself needed some time to get used to the conditions in the MASH, even though she used to work in Emergency in Chicago handling accidents, suicides and homicides.
In Season 7 "They Call the Wind Korea", Bigelow invites Hawkeye for a private get together later with "hot chocolate and marshmallows". Hawkeye says he will be there with bells on. Later she is injured by a falling water tower and is treated by Hawkeye and Margaret.
Later in the season, in "Hot Lips is Back in Town", Bigelow, now recovered, joins bunk mates Baker (Jan Jordan) and Kellye in welcoming the new nurse Linda Nugent. During this episode, Bigelow tells Nugent that she comes from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.
In the final episode, the highly successful 2-1/2 hour "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", when various members of the 4077th announce their post-war plans, Bigelow, looking burned out, wearily recounts her days as a nurse both in World War II and in Korea and quietly says, "I've had it."
