Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Additional Online Media

Catalog Data

Author:
Levine, Ken, 1950- (scriptwriter)  Search this
Alda, Alan (actor, scriptwriter)  Search this
Bull, Sheldon (scriptwriter)  Search this
Bloodworth, Linda (scriptwriter)  Search this
Davis, Elias (scriptwriter)  Search this
Greenbaum, Everett (scriptwriter)  Search this
Gelbart, Larry, 1928-2009 (television scriptwriter)  Search this
Hall, Karen (scriptwriter)  Search this
Isaacs, David (scriptwriter)  Search this
Klane, Robert (scriptwriter)  Search this
Koenig, Dennis (scriptwriter)  Search this
Marks, Laurance (scriptwriter)  Search this
Mumford, Thad (scriptwriter)  Search this
Place, Mary Kay (scriptwriter)  Search this
Rappaport, John (scriptwriter)  Search this
Reynolds, Gene (scriptwriter)  Search this
Wilcox, Dan (scriptwriter)  Search this
Producer:
Twentieth Century-Fox  Search this
Collector:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Community Life  Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Science, Medicine, and Society  Search this
Extent:
8.4 Cubic feet (28 boxes, 1 map-folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Television scripts
Transcripts
Music cue sheets
Interviews
Date:
1950 - 1982, undated
Summary:
The television show M*A*S*H was initially broadcast from September 17, 1972 to February 28, 1983. It told the story of doctors and nurses assigned to a fictitious medical unit, the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, based in Uijeongbu, Korea during the 1950-1953 war.
Scope and Contents:
The collection includes the scripts from the television shows starting with the pilot episode and continuing through the eleven season run of two hundred and fifty one episodes. Also included are transcripts of over fifty50 interviews conducted by the writers and producers with former doctors and nurses that served in Mash units in Korea and Vietnam and soldiers who were patients in those units. These transcripts reveal the source of many of the story lines. There are a number of letters from viewers, mostly concerning their regret over the death of one of the characters, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake. Notes on Korean customs and the history of an actual Mash unit are included in the collection.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into four series. Series 1, Scripts, Storylines and Music Cue Sheets 1971-1982 Subseries 1.1, Scripts, 1971-1982 Subseries 1.2, Storylines and Music Cue Sheets, 1971-1982 Subseries 1.3, Script Notes 1973-1974 Series 2, Interviews of Mobile Army Surgical Hospital Personnel and Patients, 1973-1977 Series 3, Other Materials, 1970-1975, undated Series 4, Photographic Materials, 1950-1970, undated
Biographical / Historical:
M*A*S*H was an award winning television show based on the bestselling novel and Oscar winning motion picture film of the same title. It portrayed the lives of doctors and nurses assigned to a fictitious medical unit, the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, based in Uijeongbu, Korea. While the goal of producers was for the program to be a comedy series, it often portrayed very different sentiments of war and in this case the Korean War. The program was initially broadcasted from September 17, 1972 to February 28, 1983 and achieved a very successful run.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center Thomas Garvin Korean War Scrapbook (AC0756)
Provenance:
Collection donated to the National Museum of American History Museum by Twentieth Century Fox, through Suzy Kalter on July 23, 1984.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Television programs  Search this
Television music  Search this
Nurses  Search this
Entertainment  Search this
Physicians -- 1950-2000  Search this
Korean War, 1950-1953  Search this
Genre/Form:
Television scripts
Transcripts
Music cue sheets
Interviews -- 1970-1990
Citation:
M*A*S*H Television Show Collection, 1950-1984, undated, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0117
See more items in:
M*A*S*H Television Show Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8dae445a2-c282-4c39-925f-e1ee5e6d11d7
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0117