Alda was born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo on January 28, 1936, inManhattan, New York City.[3] He spent his childhood traveling around the United States with his parents, in support of his father's job as a performer.[4] His father,Robert Alda (born Alfonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo), was an actor and singer; and his mother, Joan Browne, was a homemaker and former beauty-pageant winner.[5] His father was ofItalian descent (D'Abruzzo is atoponymic surname) and his mother ofIrish descent.[6]
When Alda was 7, he contractedpolio. To combat the disease, his parents administered a painful treatment regimen developed by SisterElizabeth Kenny, consisting of applying hot woollen blankets to his limbs and stretching his muscles.[7] Alda attendedArchbishop Stepinac High School inWhite Plains, New York.[8] He studied English atFordham University in the Bronx, where he was a student staff member of itsFM radio station,WFUV. During his junior year, he studied in Paris, acted in a play in Rome, and performed with his father on television inAmsterdam.
In 1956, Alda received his Bachelor of Arts degree. A member of theROTC, he entered theUnited States Army Reserve and served for six months atFort Benning.[9] Despite some erroneous reports on military sites that Alda then served in Korea,[10][11][12][13] he has repeatedly said he did not serve there, instead following up active duty of six months at Fort Benning with a time in the reserves in New York City.[14][15] In a 2013 interview, he joked that he was in charge of a mess tent.[16]
Alda's half-brotherAntony Alda was born in 1956 and also became an actor.
Alda began his career in the 1950s as a member of theCompass Players, an improvisational comedy revue directed byPaul Sills. He later joined the improvisational group Second City in Chicago. He joined the acting company at theCleveland Play House during their 1958–1959 season as part of a grant from theFord Foundation, appearing in productions such asTo Dorothy a Son,Heaven Come Wednesday,Monique, andJob.[17] In 1958, he appeared as Carlyle Thompson III onThe Phil Silvers Show in the episode titled "Bilko the Art Lover".
Alda (left of center) as Hawkeye Pierce inM*A*S*H, 1972
In early 1972, Alda was selected to play Hawkeye Pierce in theTV adaptation of the 1970 filmM*A*S*H.[8] He was nominated for 21Emmy Awards, and won five. He took part in writing 19 episodes, including the 1983 2.5-hour series finale "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", which was also the 32nd episode he directed. Alda was the only series regular to appear in all 256 episodes.[23]
Alda commuted from Los Angeles to his home inNew Jersey every weekend for 11 years while starring inM*A*S*H.[24] His wife and daughters lived in New Jersey and he did not want to move his family to Los Angeles, initially because he did not know how long the show would last. Alda's father Robert Alda and half-brother Antony Alda appeared together in the 20th episode ofseason eight ofM*A*S*H, "Lend a Hand". Robert had previously appeared in "The Consultant" inseason three.
During the series' first five seasons, its tone was largely that of a traditional "service comedy" in the vein of shows such asMcHale's Navy. As the original writers gradually left the show, Alda gained increasing control, and by the final seasons had become a producer and creative consultant. Under his watch,M*A*S*H retained its comedic foundation, but gradually assumed a more serious tone, openly addressing political and social issues. As a result, the 11 years ofM*A*S*H are generally split into two eras: theLarry Gelbart/Gene Reynolds "comedy" years (1972–1977), and the Alan Alda "dramatic" years (1977–1983).[citation needed] Alda disagreed with this assessment. In a 2016 interview he said, "I don't like to write political messages. I don't like plays that have political messages. I do not think I am responsible for that."[25]
Alda and his co-starsWayne Rogers andMcLean Stevenson worked well together during the first three seasons, but over time tensions developed as Alda's role grew in popularity and disrupted their characters' original 'equal' standing. Rogers and Stevenson left the show at the end of the third season.[26] Anticipating the fourth season, Alda and the producers sought a replacement for the surrogate parent role embodied in the character of Colonel Blake. Veteran actorHarry Morgan, who was a fan of the series, joined the cast as ColonelSherman T. Potter and carried on as one of the show's lead protagonists.[27]Mike Farrell was introduced as Hawkeye's new tentmateBJ Hunnicutt.
By 1981, he was the highest paid person on a TV show with a contract paying him $225,000 an episode ($5.4 million per season).[28]
In his 1981 autobiography,Jackie Cooper, who directed several earlyM*A*S*H episodes, wrote that Alda concealed a lot of hostility, and that the two of them barely spoke by the end of Cooper's tenure there.[29] During hisM*A*S*H years, Alda made several game-show appearances, most notably onThe $10,000 Pyramid, and as a frequent panelist onWhat's My Line? andTo Tell the Truth. He also starred in films including the 1978 comedy filmsSame Time, Next Year andCalifornia Suite, and wrote and starred in the title role of the 1979 political drama filmThe Seduction of Joe Tynan. His favorite episodes ofM*A*S*H are "Dear Sigmund" and "In Love and War".[30] In 1996, Alda was ranked 41st onTV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.[31]
Alda's prominence inM*A*S*H provided him a platform to speak out on political topics. He has been a strong and vocal supporter ofwomen's rights and thefeminist movement.[8][32] He co-chaired, with formerFirst LadyBetty Ford, theEqual Rights Amendment Countdown campaign. In 1976,The Boston Globe dubbed him "the quintessential Honorary Woman: a feminist icon" for his activism on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment.[33]
DuringM*A*S*H's run and continuing through the 1980s, Alda embarked on a successful career as a writer and director, with the ensemblecomedy drama,The Four Seasons (1981) being perhaps his most notable hit. AfterM*A*S*H, Alda took on a series of roles that either parodied or directly contradicted his "nice guy" image.[8] He then partnered with producerMartin Bregman on various films, first with an agreement atUniversal Pictures in 1983, then it was moved toLorimar Motion Pictures in 1986.[34] In 1988, Alda starred oppositeAnn-Margret in the marital comedyA New Life. He also appeared frequently in the films ofWoody Allen, beginning withCrimes and Misdemeanors (1989).
Alda at the 1994 Emmys
Betsy's Wedding (1990) is Alda's last directing credit to date. Alda had a co-starring role as Dr.Robert Gallo in the 1993 television filmAnd the Band Played On. He continued appearing in the films of his friend Woody Allen, includingManhattan Murder Mystery (1993) andEveryone Says I Love You (1996). When asked about the controversy surrounding Allen in 2019, Alda stated, "I'd work with him again if he wanted me. I'm not qualified to judge him... I just don't have enough information to convince me I shouldn't work with him. And he's an enormously talented guy."[35]
Alda played Nobel Prize–winning physicistRichard Feynman in the playQED, which had only one other character. AlthoughPeter Parnell wrote the play, Alda both produced and inspired it. From the fall season of 1993 until the show ended in 2005, Alda was the host forScientific American Frontiers, which began onPBS in 1990.[36] In 1995, he starred as the President of the United States inMichael Moore'spolitical satire/comedy filmCanadian Bacon. Around this time, rumors circulated that Alda was considering running for theUnited States Senate inNew Jersey, but he denied this. In 1996, Alda playedHenry Ford, founder of theFord Motor Company, inCamping With Henry and Tom, based on the book byMark St. Germain and appeared in the comedy film,Flirting with Disaster. In 1997, Alda played National Security Adviser Alvin Jordan InMurder at 1600. In 1999, Alda portrayed Dr. Gabriel Lawrence, Dr.Kerry Weaver's mentor, in the NBC programER for five episodes. During the later episodes, Lawrence was revealed to be in the early stages ofAlzheimer's disease. Alda was nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.[37]
Alda starred in the original Broadway production of the playArt, which opened on March 1, 1998, at theBernard B. Jacobs Theatre. The play won the Tony Award for Best Play.
Beginning in 2004, Alda was a regular cast member on the NBC programThe West Wing, portrayingCalifornia RepublicanU.S. Senator and presidential candidateArnold Vinick, until the show's conclusion in May 2006. He made his premiere in the sixth season's eighth episode, "In The Room", and was added to the opening credits with the 13th episode, "King Corn". In August 2006, Alda won anEmmy for his portrayal of Vinick in the final season ofThe West Wing. Alda appeared in a total of 28 episodes during the show's sixth and seventh seasons. Alda had been a serious candidate, along withSidney Poitier, for the role ofPresident Josiah Bartlet beforeMartin Sheen was ultimately cast in the role. In 2004, Alda portrayed conservative Maine SenatorOwen Brewster inMartin Scorsese's Academy Award-winning filmThe Aviator, in which he co-starred withLeonardo DiCaprio. Alda received his firstAcademy Award nomination for this role in 2005. Alda also had a part in the 2000 romantic comedyWhat Women Want, as the CEO of the advertising firm where the main characters worked.
In early 2005, Alda starred as Shelly Levene in the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival ofDavid Mamet'sGlengarry Glen Ross, for which he received a nomination for theTony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play losing to his co-starLiev Schreiber. Throughout 2009 and 2010, he appeared in three episodes of30 Rock as Milton Greene, the biological father ofJack Donaghy, played byAlec Baldwin. In January 2010, Alda hostedThe Human Spark, a three-part series originally broadcast on PBS discussing the nature of human uniqueness and recent studies on the human brain.[38] In 2006, Alda contributed his voice to a part in the audio book ofMax Brooks'World War Z. In this book, he voiced Arthur Sinclair Jr., the director of the United States government's fictional Department of Strategic Resources (DeStRes).
Alda returned to Broadway in November 2014, playing the role of Andrew Makepeace in the revival ofLove Letters at theBrooks Atkinson Theater alongsideCandice Bergen.[39] In 2015, Alda appeared as a lawyer, Thomas Watters, alongsideTom Hanks as James Donovan, inSteven Spielberg's critically acclaimed cold war drama filmBridge of Spies which received anAcademy Award nomination forBest Picture. In 2016, Alda gained critical praise for his performance inLouis C.K.'s acclaimed web-based seriesHorace and Pete as the irascible Uncle Pete.IndieWire critic Sam Adams described as "his best role in years".[40] In regard to C.K.'s recent scandal, Alda stated, "I respect Louis so much as an artist. But he did a terrible thing, and I hope he finds a way to come to terms with both of those things."[41] Also in 2016, Alda took part in the opening night show ofJohn Mulaney andNick Kroll'sThe Oh, Hello Show at theLyceum Theatre on Broadway. The show is said to be inspired by "two old men at the Strand buying a copy of Alda's book". Before bringing Alda onstage, Mulaney said, "This is genuinely the best guest we ever had."[42]
From 2018 to 2020, Alda portrayed psychiatrist Dr. Arthur Amiot in theShowtime'sRay Donovan. He reprised this role inRay Donovan: The Movie (2022). In 2019, Alda appeared inNoah Baumbach's thirteenth film,Marriage Story, as a warm-hearted lawyer who represents a stage director (Adam Driver) during the divorce proceedings. In an interview withThe Wall Street Journal, Alda discussed the effects of his illness, mainlyParkinson's disease, and other related issues. He stated, "I have this tremor. It's not part of the script so I didn't want it to be distracting if Noah thought it would be distracting."[43] Alda has received widespread acclaim for his performance.
Alda has done extensive charity work. He helped narrate a 2005St. Jude Children's Research Hospital-produced one-hour special TV showFighting for Life.[44] His wife, Arlene, and he are also close friends ofMarlo Thomas, who is very active in fund-raising for the hospital that her father,Danny Thomas founded. The television special featuredBen Bowen as one of six patients being treated for childhood cancer at Saint Jude.[45] Alda and Marlo Thomas had also worked together in the early 1970s on a critically acclaimed children's album entitledFree to Be... You and Me, which featured Alda, Thomas, and a number of other well-known character actors. This project remains one of the earliest public signs of his support of women's rights. Alda chaired "Men for the Equal Rights Amendment" and was appointed to the International Women's Year Commission.[46]
He was named an Honorary Fellow by the Society for Technical Communication in 2014 for his work with the Center for Communicating Science and the annual Flame Challenge.[51] Alda would like to use his expertise in acting and communication to help scientists communicate more effectively to the public.[52] In 2014 Alda was awarded theAmerican Chemical Society'sJames T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public for his work in science communication.[53] He was awarded theNational Academy of SciencesPublic Welfare Medal in 2016 "for his extraordinary application of the skills honed as an actor to communicating science on television and stage, and by teaching scientists innovative techniques that allow them to tell their stories to the public".
In 2011 Alda wroteRadiance: The Passion of Marie Curie,[54] a full-length play that focuses onMarie Curie's professional and personal life during the time between the Nobel Prizes won by her for physics and chemistry, from 1903 to 1911.
On February 18, 2021, he received theKavli Foundation's first-ever Distinguished Kavli Science Communicator award for his pioneering work in communicating the excitement, mystery and marvels of science.[55]
In 1956, while attending Fordham, Alda metArlene Weiss, who was attendingHunter College. They bonded at a mutual friend's dinner party; when a rum cake accidentally fell onto the kitchen floor, they were the only two guests who did not hesitate to eat it.[56] He addressed the incident saying "We did eat the rum cake off the floor and were inseparable after that. But I was captivated by her even earlier in the meal when I heard her at the end of the table laughing at my jokes. She had me at Ha."[57] A year after his graduation, on March 15, they were married. They have three daughters: Eve, Elizabeth, andBeatrice. Two of his eight grandchildren are aspiring actors. Arlene sometimes calls him "Fonzi" in reference to his birth name "Alphonso".
The Aldas were long-time residents ofLeonia, New Jersey.[58] Alda frequented Sol & Sol Deli on Palisade Avenue in the nearby town ofEnglewood, New Jersey—a fact mirrored in his character's daydream about eating whitefish from the establishment in an episode ofM*A*S*H in which Hawkeye sustains a head injury.[59]
InThings I Overheard While Talking to Myself, Alda described how as a teen he was raised as a Roman Catholic and eventually he realized he had begun thinking like an agnostic or atheist. While he states that he still prays on occasion, he said he wants to find meaning in this life rather than worrying about the next one.[60] He states that when he talks to God it often comes at times of fear rather than out of a sense of belief.[60] Furthermore, he does not like to be labeled as an agnostic, stating in an interview for the 2008 question section of theEdge Foundation website, that it was too fancy a word for him.[61] He argues he simply is not a believer and questions why people are so frightened of others who hold beliefs different from their own.[61]
In 2005, Alda published his first memoir,Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: and Other Things I've Learned.[24] Among other stories, he recalls hisintestines becoming strangulated while on location inLa Serena, Chile, for his PBS showScientific American Frontiers, during which he mildly surprised a young doctor with his understanding of medical procedures, which he had learned fromM*A*S*H. He also talks about his mother's battle withschizophrenia. The title comes from an incident in his childhood, when Alda was distraught about his dog dying and his well-meaning father had the animalstuffed. Alda was horrified by the results, and took from this that sometimes we have to accept things as they are, rather than desperately and fruitlessly trying to change them.
His second memoir,Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself[63] (2008), weaves together advice from public speeches he has given with personal recollections about his life and beliefs.
His third memoir,If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating[64] (2017), is a story of his quest to learn how to communicate better, and to teach others to do the same.
^Alan Alda, interviewed by Jian Ghomeshi, CBC Radio, March 28, 2013. In response to Ghomeshi's comments that Alda had grown up in the Bronx, Alda said, "No I didn't but I can tell you're a Wikipedia reader."
^"Military People: Alan Alda".militaryhub.com. Archived fromthe original on March 12, 2012. RetrievedOctober 2, 2010.After graduation, Alda joined the U.S. Army Reserve and served a six-month tour of duty in Korea.
^Oldenburg, Chloe (1985).Leaps of Faith: History of the Cleveland Play House, 1915–85. Cleveland. p. 85,87.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Kolbert, Elizabeth (May 18, 1994)."At Lunch With: Alan Alda; Hawkeye Turns Mean, Sensitively".The New York Times. RetrievedNovember 24, 2007.Ever sinceM*A*S*H, Alda has split his time between the East Coast, where he has houses in the Hamptons and the West, where he owns a home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles.
^Kingergan, Ashley (September 27, 2010)."Noted Englewood deli closes after 60-plus years".The Record. Archived fromthe original on September 22, 2012. RetrievedSeptember 27, 2010.Perhaps the greatest tribute to the deli came from the 1970s television show M*A*S*H. Hawkeye, one of the main characters inM*A*S*H*, daydreams about whitefish from Sol & Sol after sustaining a head injury.
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