Conversations with Alan Alda (2019)

A Q&A with Alan Alda on November 19, 2019. Moderated by Brian Rose.

Alan Alda is indelibly linked to his eleven seasons as Dr. Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H, which debuted in 1972. His work on the comedic drama set in the Korean War made him the only person to win acting, directing and writing Emmys® for the same series. M*A*S*H became a ratings juggernaut, and remains popular with old and new audiences on streaming services and DVD. In addition to his starring role, Alda directed and co-wrote its feature-length final episode in 1983, “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen.” That episode still ranks in the top ten list of most-watched programs in the U.S., bested only by Super Bowls; when it originally aired, over 70 percent of all televisions in the country tuned in.

In 2004, Alda joined the sixth season of the Peabody Award winning The West Wing as Senator Arnold Vinick. He received an Emmy® for his performance in that role, which he portrayed throughout the critically acclaimed show’s finale twenty-eight episodes later. In all, he has received 7 EMMY awards.

Alda made his first major foray into nonfiction between those two series. He was invited to take over as the host of Scientific American Frontiers in 1993 and continued with what became Alan Alda in Scientific American Frontiers until the PBS show ended in 2005. Alda broke the mold by actively helping scientists communicate their work to viewers on a personal level, chipping away at the jargon and specialized knowledge until he – and therefore the viewer – could understand.

Throughout his television career Alda has also been in demand for guest roles, starting with a role on The Phil Silvers Show in 1958 and continuing to the present day in shows including ER, 30 Rock, The Blacklist (for which Alda received an Emmy® nomination), The Big C, Horace and Pete, The Good Fight and, most recently, Ray Donovan. Alda has won a total of seven Emmy awards—including an International Emmy in 2012—and has been nominated 34 times. In January 2019, he was honored with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.

Alda landed his first movie role in 1963’s Gone Are the Days!, which starred the legendary Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. He went on to show his range in dozens of additional movies, including his Oscar® nominated role as Senator Ralph Owen Brewster in 2004’s The Aviator.

Among Alda’s many other films are Bridge of Spies (2015), The Longest Ride (2015), Wanderlust (2012), Tower Heist (2011), Everyone Says I Love You (1996), Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Neil Simon’s California Suite (1978), Same Time, Next Year (1978), The Mephisto Waltz (1971) and Paper Lion (1968). He also starred in and wrote The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979), and starred in, wrote and directed A New Life (1988), Sweet Liberty (1986) and The Four Seasons (1981).

Alda plays attorney Bert Spitz in Noah Baumbach’s 2019 film Marriage Story, which is currently in theaters, and will stream on Netflix in December.

Alda began his acting career on stage in improvisational theater and the Cleveland Play House acting company, but was soon working on Broadway. In 1962 he was in Purlie Victorious as Charley Cotchipee (a role he reprised in the movie version, Gone Are the Days!). By 1964 he was starring as F. Sherman (Felix, the “Owl”) in The Owl and The Pussycat. Two years later, his tripartite role performance earned a Tony® nomination as Best Actor in a Musical for the Mike Nichols-directed The Apple Tree.

Two additional Tony® nominations followed, one for the title role in Jake’s Women and the other for playing Shelly Levene in Glengarry Glen Ross. Alda most recently was seen on stage starring in the 2014 revival of Love Letters opposite Candice Bergen.