Wayne Rogers, best known for playing Captain “Trapper” John McIntyre on TV comedy series “M.A.S.H.,” died Thursday in Los Angeles from complications of pneumonia. He was 82.
He appeared on “M.A.S.H.” for only the first three of 11 seasons, but the army surgeon was one of the most popular characters on the show, known for his repartee with Alan Alda’s Hawkeye Pierce. He was reportedly frustrated by the show’s focus on Alda when he quit after three seasons, with Mike Farrell replacing him as B.J. Hunnicut.
Entertainment Tonight first reported the death of the actor who also appeared on “City of Angels,” “House Calls” and “Murder, She Wrote.”
Rogers was born in Alabama and attended Princeton. While serving in the Navy, he started acting and worked in the theater in the 1950s before getting small film roles in movies such as “The Glory Guys” and “Cool Hand Luke.”
He co-starred opposite Robert Bray in TV Western “Stagecoach West” and made appearances on numerous shows including “Gunsmoke,” “The F.B.I.,” “Cannon” and “Barnaby Jones” before his career-defining role in “M.A.S.H.”
In later years, he received a Golden Globe nomination for a role on “House Calls,” and appeared in TV movies throughout the 1980s.
Though his acting career slowed down in the ’90s, he began to invest in stocks and real estate and appeared regularly as a panelist on Fox Business Network’s show “Cashin’ In” as well as acting as a spokesman for reverse mortgage companies.
He is survived by his wife, Amy, a son, a daughter and four grandchildren
Source: http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/wayne-rogers-trapper-john-mash-dies-dead-1201670510/