Monster M*A*S*H
Monster M*A*S*H
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Klinger-dear uncle abdul

We seldom see any of Klinger's many uncles on screen. Here he is writing a letter to one of them in "Dear Uncle Abdul" in Season 8.

One of the running jokes from episode to episode was the references to Klinger's numerous, and infamous, uncles. Whenever a connection stateside was needed, Klinger would somehow have an uncle who could supply it. Among his many uncles were:

  • an Uncle (unnamed) who was a Chicago hitman and who would kill for $100, mentioned in "Adam's Ribs" (Season 3). Possibly "Hasan the enforcer" the most important member of the Klinger Clan {10.17}.
  • an Uncle Jake who may have died {after Klinger gets hysterical after receiving a scratch from an accidental gunshot wound} {4.3}
  • an Uncle Zak who used a wedding dress to get out of World War I. He gives it to Margaret for her marriage to Donald (5.25).
  • Uncle Gus
    • He is friends with a Congressman who gets Klinger a West Point application in Season 6 "Change Day"
    • He "avoided" service in World War I as "Aunt Gussie".
    • Hawkeye jokes that he catered the Valentine's Day Massacre.
  • an Uncle Bob who wore woman's stockings to get out of Navy in World War II {4.15}; served two years for involvement in Toledo's "Payolla Scandal" (6.19)
  • an Uncle Achmed who could get him a job at City Hall (7.25) (possibly Klinger's unnamed uncle who is a member of Toledo City Council. {7.17})
  • Uncle Abdul
    • He translates Arabic to English for Klinger's mother in Season 7 "The Party".
    • Klinger also writes a letter to his Uncle Abdul in Season 8 "Dear Uncle Abdul".
    • In Season 9 "Tell It to the Marines", Klinger gets Winchester silk sheets and says he hasn't seen sheets as smooth as that since his Uncle Abdul's wedding. All the ushers were wearing them.
  • an Uncle "7199199", in jail for counterfeiting (9.12); possibly his Uncle Habib who is serving a jail sentence of "1 to 5"; he sent Klinger a Zoot Suit in (11.2). Could also be his Uncle Gus, who Hawkeye suggested "catered the St Valentine's Day Massacre" (6.8)
  • Uncle Amos
    • Mentioned in Season 9 "Cementing Relationships". He runs a birdbath-building business. Klinger spent two summers working for him and learned all about laying cement.
    • Could be the same Uncle Amos who gives Klinger "sage advice." (10.4)
  • an Uncle Harry, supposedly the best "whiplash lawyer" in Toledo who is serving a jail sentence of "15 to 25" (10.9)
  • an Uncle Eustis, who is warned not to go outside (10.11)
  • an Uncle Amir, who is an out of work door-to-door pita salesman in (11.5)
  • an Uncle Shlemiel, a Bedouin who taught Klinger camouflage {11/16} {Note Shlemiel is a Jewish word, not an Arabic word, for humor}
  • Two Uncle Joes who visit him with the rest of the Klinger family in the AfterMASH episode The Thanksgiving of '53. We hear much less about Klinger's aunts. In this episode we meet his Aunt Nada.
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