Wayne Rogers, Best Known As Trapper John On 'M.A.S.H.,' Dies At 82

Wayne Rogers, whose Trapper John McIntyre on “MASH” was among the most beloved characters on one of the most popular TV shows of all time, died Thursday. He was 82.

The actor was surrounded by family when he died in Los Angeles of complications from pneumonia, said his publicist and longtime friend, Rona Menashe.

Rogers' Army surgeon Trapper John teamed with Alan Alda's Hawkeye Pierce to form one of the most beloved duos in TV history, despite Rogers' appearing in only the first three of the show's 11 seasons on CBS.

The two skilled doctors blew off steam between surgeries by pulling pranks, romancing nurses and tormenting their tent mate, Frank Burns, always with an endless supply of booze and one-liners at the ready.

Rogers was on “MASH” from 1972 to 1975, becoming one of many original cast members to leave the wildly popular show, which lasted until 1983. He was initially considered for Alda's character, but he preferred Trapper's sunnier disposition to Hawkeye's darkly acerbic personality.

From left, the cast of "MASH": Larry Linville, Loretta Swit, Wayne Rogers, Alan Alda, Gary Burghoff and McLean Stevenson.

An Alabama native and Princeton graduate, Rogers auditioned his way into the estimable Neighborhood Playhouse in New York and emerged as a well-trained actor, further polished by the daily discipline of a soap opera ("The Edge of Night").

Rogers had parts on many short-lived shows before “MASH,” specialising in westerns such as “Law of the Plainsman” and “Stagecoach West.” He had a bit part in the 1967 film “Cool Hand Luke” with Paul Newman.

In the years after “MASH” he returned to TV regularly, with a recurring role in the early 1990s on “Murder, She Wrote.”

He moved beyond acting to see success later in life as a money manager and investor. 

In 1988 and 1990 he appeared as an expert witness before the House Judiciary Committee to speak in favor of maintaining the Glass-Steagall banking laws of the 1930s.

In recent years he was a regular panelist on the Fox News stock investment show “Cashin’ In.”

Rogers is survived by his wife, Amy; two children, Bill and Laura; and four grandchildren.