McLean Stevenson Biography

Fast Facts

• Served in the Navy after high school and was assistant athletic director at his alma mater, Northwestern University
• Was press secretary for cousin Adlai Stevenson's Presidential bids in 1952 and '56
• Decided to pursuing acting after attending one of his cousin's parties in New York where he met numerous theater people
• Acting debut was in the title role of The Music Man in summer stock
• Established himself as a comedy writer on That Was the Week That Was and occasionally appeared in sketches with Alan Alda
• Wrote for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour before landing a lead role on The Doris Day Show in 1969 as her boss
• Big break came when cast as Lt
• Col
• Henry Blake on M*A*S*H
• Guest hosted The Tonight Show for Johnny Carson 58 times
• Headlined several series, including In the Beginning, The McLean Stevenson Show and Hello, Larry, but all were short lived
• In 1985, co-founded and served as national spokesman for the Children's Burn Foundation, having been burned as a child by a Halloween pumpkin