MASH’s Wayne Rogers has died

According to Variety, the veteran actor passed away Thursday in Los Angeles from complications of pneumonia.

Actor Wayne Rogers of “MASH” arrives at the 7th Annual TV Land Awards held at Gibson Amphitheatre on April 19, 2009 in Universal City, California.

The Alabama native went on to play another physician on House Calls 1979-82, and his film credits include Odds Against Tomorrow, Cool Hand Luke, Chamber of Horrors, Pocket Money, WUSA and Ghosts of Mississippi.

As army surgeon Trapper John, Mr. Rogers swapped wisecracks with partner in martinis and mischief Hawkeye Pierce, played by Alan Alda.

And in another line that typified the show’s ethos, Trapper answers a question with “How should I know?”

One of the original cast members of the hit TV series M*A*S*H has died.

The characters were essentially equals when the show began, but it increasingly focused on Alda, which was a factor in Mr. Rogers’ departure.

He was known as Trapper John on the popular long running TV show M.A.S.H. He graduated from Princeton University with a degree in history, and though he did some acting with a group out of college, he didn’t devote himself to it full time until after military service in the 1950s.

After M.A.S.H., Rogers became a successful businessman – founding an investment strategy firm and a production company.

Rogers returned to television, most notably as a recurring character of Murder She Wrote in the early 1990’s. In recent years, he appeared as a panelist on the Fox News show “Cashin’ In”. In his personal life, Rogers married and had two children with Mitzi McWhorter.