M*A*S*H star Wayne Rogers dies aged 82

The actor was surrounded by family when he died Thursday in Los Angeles of complications from pneumonia at age 82, his publicist and longtime friend Rona Menashe told The Associated Press.

Three decades after the show went off the air, a spinoff called Trapper John, MD aired but Rogers did not play the character.

Despite Rogers’ departure from the show, he remained friendly with Alda, who saluted hisRogers in a Twitter message: “He was smart, funny, curious and dedicated”, Alda wrote.

Rogers left the show after three seasons in 1975, citing contract disputes. Radar O’Reilly, played by Gary Burghoff, was the one who delivered the news to both the world and the cast, who, other than Alan Alda, only learned of the major plot development as the scene was shot.

Prior to turning into an actor, Rogers served within the US Navy.

In 2005, Wayne Rogers was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.

‘Well, nobody defined an ‘immoral fashion, ‘ as it were – so it was at the whim of whoever ran the studio’.

He was known as Trapper John on the popular long running TV show M.A.S.H.

In the years after M*A*S*H he returned to TV regularly, with a recurring role in the early 1990s on Murder, She Wrote. Survivors include his wife, Amy Hirsh Rogers; two children from his first marriage; and four grandchildren.

Rogers also made appearances on TV’s Law of the Plainsman, Zane Grey Theater and Gunsmoke, and he was a frequent guest on Fox News Channel’s Cashin’ In investment program.