Rise to Fame
Before Radar, he was Charlie Brown. The 1967 off-Broadway production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown gave him his first real attention. The bigger break came in 1970 with Robert Altman's M*A*S*H film, and when the TV series launched, Burghoff was the only cast member who crossed over as a regular. He reworked the character deliberately. Film Radar was darker, sardonic. TV Radar became wide-eyed and naive, a contrast that gave the show its emotional center. Six Emmy nominations. One win in 1977.
In the Spotlight
He walked away from M*A*S*H in 1979, midway through the show's run, citing burnout and wanting to be home. The show ran three more seasons without him. After filming a two-part farewell episode, he moved through local theater, a stint pitching for BP, and eventually financial strain when the stage work dried up. Since the early 1990s, he's been painting wildlife professionally and touring US galleries. That career is now longer than his entire time on M*A*S*H.
Side Notes
He holds a U.S. patent for a fish attractor device. He was the 'Birdman of Malibu' during his years in California, maintaining a wildlife sanctuary in his backyard, and that passion reportedly shaped the plotline where Radar keeps animals at the 4077th. Before M*A*S*H, he was a jazz drummer leading a trio called The We Three. He won the Hallmark Award for painting in 1961. The post-MASH wildlife pivot looks less like a retreat from fame and more like where he was always headed.