I’ve updated the Same Face, Different Name section of my Nurses of the 4077th feature with information on actress Lynette Mettey, who appeared in six episodes of M*A*S*H as four different characters. She played Lt. Nancy Griffin (or just Nancy) in three Season One episodes and then, for some reason, was later credited as Nurse Sheila Anderson, Nurse Baker and Nurse Able. Did the writers simply forget about her earlier character?

I’ve updated the Nurses from the Opening Credits section of my Nurses of the 4077th feature with information on all five actresses who appeared as “running nurses” in the opening credits:

• Gwen Farrell
• Marcia Gelman
• Kathy Denny Fradella
• Sheila Lauritsen
• Sandra Hull

I’ve also added new images and rewritten the introduction.

I’ve updated the Nurses with Recurring Roles section of my Nurses of the 4077th feature to add information on four nurses who appeared in two episodes each:

• Lt. Dish (Karen Philipp)
• Lt. Jones (Barbara Brownell)
• Nurse Webster (Deborah Harmon)
• Nurse Lacey (Rita Wilson)

I believe I’ve now included just about every nurse who appeared in at least two episodes as the same character. I hope to update the other sections of the Nurses of the 4077th feature later this week.

It’s something that has puzzled M*A*S*H fans for decades. Who is that brunette nurse running towards the chopper pad in the opening credits? I thought I had discovered the identity of this brunette actress last year when a fan of the series e-mailed me suggesting it was Michele Lee. But a pair of articles in The Los Angeles Times from 1978 point in another direction.

In the May 26th, 1978 edition of the “TV Talkback” section of The Los Angeles Times, the following question and answer appeared:

About a month later, in the April 16th, 1978 edition of “TV Talkback,” the following exchange was printed:

Here’s a head shot of Ms. Fradella from the April 16th, 1978 edition The Los Angeles Times:

Be sure to check out my feature Nurses of the 4077th: The “Running Nurses” from the Opening Credits for information on two of the other actresses in the opening credits.

References

• “TV Talkback.” Los Angeles Times. 26 Mar. 1978: N27.
• “TV Talkback.” Los Angeles Times. 16 Apr. 1978: P4.

I’ve added another page of Memorable Moments. I’ve also made minor updates to both Nurses with Recurring Roles and The “Running Nurses” from the Opening Credits. Finally, head over to Television Obscurities and check out the expanded article on W*A*L*T*E*R, the unsold pilot starring Gary Burghoff as Walter O’Reilly.

A new feature, Tristar Collectibles, is now available for your enjoyment. It focuses on Tristar International’s line of M*A*S*H toys — action figures, vehicles and a playbase — released in 1982. M*A*S*H fan and toy collector Peter Kurch both wrote the feature and took the time to photograph his own collection of Tristar items. I am happy to be able to add it to M*A*S*H, Finest Kind. It’s a great read. I’ve also created a photo gallery with almost forty photographs of Peter’s collection. See it here.