Nurse Jo Ann was a character who was credited in 14 episodes of the CBS-TV series M*A*S*H from Seasons 7-11. She also has many uncredited appearances from Season 4 onwards. The part of the aptly named Nurse Jo Ann was played by Jo Ann Thompson (sometimes billed as Joann Thompson).
About Nurse Jo Ann[]
Among her 14 credited appearances, she was usually listed simply as "nurse". Only in two episodes would her name be given. She also had numerous uncredited appearances.
Probably her earliest appearance was as an uncredited O.R. nurse at the beginning of the Season 4 episode "The Kids". As the opening credits are streaming, she is shown getting herself a drink and then serving Hawkeye one.
Another notable early uncredited appearance was in Season 5 "Movie Tonight" where she was one of four nurses (with Bigelow, Able and Gwen) who were skipping the 4077th's movie night because they had been invited to a party by some chopper pilots.
Jo Ann made her first credited appearance in the Season 7 episode "Dear Sis", in which she received socks for Christmas and was very impressed with the gift Klinger received. Later in "A Night at Rosie's", she was at Rosie's Bar with Nurse Kellye relaxing off-duty. When Margaret came in, they invite her to join them but she got distracted by the appearance of Jack Scully.
In Season 8 "Life Time", Nurse Jo Ann helped B.J. harvest an arterial graft from a dead soldier in order to save another patient. This would be the first of two episodes where the credits list her name, in this case as "Jo Ann".
In Season 9 she first appeared in an uncredited part in "No Sweat" where she assisted Hawkeye, B.J. and Margaret with a patient. Although uncredited, Hawkeye addressed her as "Jo Ann". A few episodes on she made another uncredited appearance in Bottoms Up.
Next episode, Jo Ann assisted Hawkeye in surgery in “The Red/White Blues”.
In Season 10 Identity Crisis (TV series episode), she assisted the doctors during the triage scene at the beginning of the episode. B.J. summoned her over, addressing her as "Thompson" and asked her to type and crossmatch the blood of Corporal Gerald Mullen who appeared to have a transfusion reaction. This is probably the only time we hear Jo Ann's last name and it happens to be the same last name as the actress who played the character.
Later in Communication Breakdown (TV series episode), she alerted the rest of the camp to the newspaper stash Charles was keeping in “Communication Breakdown”.
Gallery[]
List of Appearances[]
| Season | Episode | Role (as credited) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | The Kids | uncredited | |
| 5 | Out of Sight, Out of Mind | uncredited | |
| 5 | Movie Tonight | uncredited | |
| 6 | Fade Out, Fade In | uncredited | early triage scene |
| 7 | Dear Sis | Nurse | |
| 7 | A Night at Rosie's | Nurse | |
| 8 | Life Time | Jo Ann | as Joann Thompson |
| 8 | Captains Outrageous | uncredited | |
| 9 | Taking the Fifth | uncredited | |
| 9 | No Sweat | uncredited | Hawkeye and Margaret call her Jo Ann |
| 9 | Bottoms Up | uncredited | |
| 9 | The Red/White Blues | Nurse | |
| 10 | That's Show Biz | uncredited | |
| 10 | Identity Crisis | Nurse | B.J. calls her "Thompson" |
| 10 | Communication Breakdown | ||
| 10 | Heroes | ||
| 11 | Foreign Affairs | ||
| 11 | Who Knew? | ||
| 11 | Friends and Enemies | ||
| 11 | As Time Goes By | ||
| 11 | Goodbye, Farewell and Amen |
External links[]
- Nurse Jo Ann (character) at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
- Nurses with Recurring Roles at MASH4077th website