Alan Alda Has the Zest of Curiosity
He's come a long way from being Hawkeye—and even he can hardly wait to see what he'll come up with next.
By: Jane Ciabattari | THURSDAY, September 18, 2008
Credit: © Robert Galbraith—Reuters/Corbis
"Be loose," says Alda. "Life is one surprise after another."
Where to Learn More
Alan Alda, Iconic Actor
Alan Alda became a television icon when he starred as Hawkeye Pierce, the wisecracking army surgeon in a Mobile Army Surgical Unit (M*A*S*H) during the Korean War. In 11 seasons Alda won five Emmys. (CNN lists Alan Alda's favorite episodes. The full series is available on DVD. Revisit the early season intros (1972-1974), with the theme song "Suicide Is Painless," on YouTube.)
His career since then has been varied and full:
- Alda wrote, directed and starred in the 1981 hit comedy The Four Seasons. The film followed three midlife couples who vacation together in spring, summer, fall, and winter. Carol Burnett played Alda's wife. The tagline: "Here's to our friends... and the strength to put up with them." The New York Times critic Janet Maslin found the film "fond" and "generous." (Available on DVD)
- Five years later, in 1986, Alda wrote, directed, and acted in Sweet Liberty. He played a professor whose book about the Revolutionary War is being filmed in his hometown, with the newcomer Michelle Pfeiffer playing the lead. Alda discussed the film with David Letterman.
- Alda played Dr. Gabe Lawrence in five episodes on ER in 1999. Facing his diagnosis of Alzheimer's, Dr. Lawrence says, "I was thinking of committing suicide, but I wasn't sure when I should do it. If I did it too early, I'd miss out on what little life I had left. If I waited too long, I wouldn't remember to do it." (ER reruns on cable; check your listings.)
- Alda was nominated for an Oscar for his role as the smarmy Senator Ralph Owen Brewster, whose investigation targets Howard Hughes (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) in the 2004 film The Aviator. (Available on DVD)
- In February 2004, Alda joined the cast of the hit television drama West Wing as Senator Arnold Vinick. Vinick was a conservative presidential candidate running against Matt Santos, played by Jimmy Smits, in real time. (Hear his NPR radio interview given at the time.) In June 2005, Entertainment Weekly praised the two for reviving the political drama. By April 2006, Vinick had lost the election, but Alda had won an Emmy. (The series, over in May 2006, is available on DVD.)
Alda Talks with Harvard Psychologist about Humanity of Language
In his quest for knowledge about what makes us human, Alda visited Dr. Steven Pinker in the psychology department at Harvard University. Posted April 9, 2009 on Alda's PBS blog, The Human Spark, the conversation elicits Pinker's ideas of three key aspects that define humanity.
Alan Alda the Science Maven
Alda's enthusiasm for science has influenced millions of television viewers, readers, and theater goers:
- As host of the PBS series Scientific American Frontiers for 11 years, Alda interviewed hundreds of scientists around the world. He also managed to survive a number of death-defying moves: In "Shark Trackers," he put a radio transmitter on a 13-foot tiger shark in Hawaii and in another episode, he climbed Mount Vesuvius to explain how it could erupt at any moment. (Scientific American Frontiers archives are accessible on PBS.com.)
- Alda played quantum physicist Richard Feynman in Peter Parnell's play QED. The New York Times critic noted, "The Feynman legend, already burnished by a spate of books and biographies, has taken another quantum leap. QED stands for 'Quantum Electrodynamics.'"
- On June 1, 2008, Alda's new play, Dear Albert, based on letters of Albert Einstein, his wives and friends, premiered at the first World Science Festival.
- In 2009, Alda returns to PBS as host of The Human Spark, a three-part series that asks, What makes us human? Alda tracks down our predecessors, the Neanderthals, and visits the 30,000-year-old paintings on caves in France that may be the first sign of the "human spark." He even has his own head examined (his brain, that is). The ongoing series blog details the shoots, which began July 4, 2008.
Alan Alda, Author Author
Alda started writing his best selling first memoir, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, after he almost died on a mountain in Chile. He described the episode at a Washington, D.C. Borders bookstore.
Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, the best selling second volume of Alda's memoirs, is out in paperback as of September 2008, with a new "Afterword." Read the first chapter. In another excerpt, Alda reflects upon the daily rituals of his life, including taking three minutes each morning to make oatmeal.
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