McLean Stevenson

American actor and comedian best known for his role as Lt. Colonel Henry Blake in the television series "M*A*S*H" (1972-1975) which earned him nominations for four successive Emmys, and won him a Golden Globe Award in 1974. Stevenson also appeared on a number of television series, notably "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" and "The Doris Day Show."

McLean grew up in quiet surroundings with his sister, Ann Whitney, now an actress, his dad E. M. Stevenson, a doctor who made house calls until the year before he died at 80 of cancer and his mom, Sara, a former nurse whose family had theatrical leanings, who died at 63 of stroke. When he was six he was a burn victim as his sweater caught fire when he leaned over a Jack-o-lantern lit with a candle. Skin grafts from his left arm to his neck were so successful he didn’t have a scar later in life. Graduating from Bloomington High School in 1946, he spent two years in the Navy, then studied speech at Northwestern University graduating with a degree in Theater Arts. A cousin of Adlai Stevenson, McLean worked on his presidential campaigns in 1952 and 1956 and formed Young Democrats for Stevenson across the country. Originally an assistant athletic director at Northwestern and a salesman for hospital supplies and insurance, he was 32 when he finally committed to acting.

He schooled himself by acting in commercials in New York City and Los Angeles, summer stock and in comedy clubs making his stage debut in "Music Man" in 1962. Writing comedy sketches, he got the attention of Tommy Smothers. He was hired as a writer for "The Glen Campbell Show," "That Was the Week That Was" and "The Smothers Brother’s Comedy Hour." He began acting in sketches he had written and played a part in "The Christian Licorice Store" in 1971, "Win, Place or Steal," 1975 and "The Cat From Outer Space" in 1978. His first big TV role was as an unassuming magazine editor on CBS’s "Doris Day Show" (1969-1971). He played Lt.