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Alan Alda (born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an Academy Award nominated, Emmy award
Emmy Award

The Emmy Award, also known as the 'Emmy', is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards....
-winning American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 actor
Actor

An actor or actress is a person who acting in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio programming in that capacity....
, director
Television director

A television director directs the activities involved in making a television episode....
 and screenwriter
Screenwriter

Screenwriters or scenarists are scriptwriters who write the screenplays from which films and television programs are made.Most screenwriters start their careers writing on speculation....
. He is well known for his role as "Hawkeye Pierce
Hawkeye Pierce

Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce is a fictional character and lead protagonist in the M*A*S*H M*A*S*H , MASH , and M*A*S*H . The character was played by Donald Sutherland in the MASH and by Alan Alda on M*A*S*H ....
" in the television
Television

Television is a widely used telecommunication mass-media for transmitting and receiving moving , either monochrome or color, usually accompanied by sound....
 series M*A*S*H
M*A*S*H (TV series)

M*A*S*H is an United States television series developed by Larry Gelbart, adapted from the 1970 in film feature film MASH . The series is a medical drama/black comedy that was produced by 20th Television Fox for CBS....
. During the 1970s and '80s, he was viewed as the archetypal
Archetype

An archetype is an original model of a person, ideal example, or a prototype after which others are copied, patterned, or emulated; a symbol universally recognized by all....
 sympathetic male, though in recent years, he has appeared in roles that counter that image.

Family and early life Alda was born in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
.






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Alan Alda (born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an Academy Award nominated, Emmy award
Emmy Award

The Emmy Award, also known as the 'Emmy', is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards....
-winning American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 actor
Actor

An actor or actress is a person who acting in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio programming in that capacity....
, director
Television director

A television director directs the activities involved in making a television episode....
 and screenwriter
Screenwriter

Screenwriters or scenarists are scriptwriters who write the screenplays from which films and television programs are made.Most screenwriters start their careers writing on speculation....
. He is well known for his role as "Hawkeye Pierce
Hawkeye Pierce

Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce is a fictional character and lead protagonist in the M*A*S*H M*A*S*H , MASH , and M*A*S*H . The character was played by Donald Sutherland in the MASH and by Alan Alda on M*A*S*H ....
" in the television
Television

Television is a widely used telecommunication mass-media for transmitting and receiving moving , either monochrome or color, usually accompanied by sound....
 series M*A*S*H
M*A*S*H (TV series)

M*A*S*H is an United States television series developed by Larry Gelbart, adapted from the 1970 in film feature film MASH . The series is a medical drama/black comedy that was produced by 20th Television Fox for CBS....
. During the 1970s and '80s, he was viewed as the archetypal
Archetype

An archetype is an original model of a person, ideal example, or a prototype after which others are copied, patterned, or emulated; a symbol universally recognized by all....
 sympathetic male, though in recent years, he has appeared in roles that counter that image.

Biography


Family and early life

Alda was born in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
. His father, Robert Alda
Robert Alda

Robert Alda born Alfonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo, was an United States actor. He was the father of actor Alan Alda....
 (born Alphonso Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo), was an actor and singer, and his mother, Joan Brown, was a former Miss New York
Miss New York

The Miss New York competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of New York in the Miss America pageant. Miss New York has twice won the Miss America Crown....
. Alda is of Italian and Irish descent. His adopted surname, "Alda," is a combination of ALphonso and D'Abruzzo. When Alda was seven years old he contracted polio. To combat the disease, his parents administered a painful treatment regimen developed by Sister Elizabeth Kenny
Elizabeth Kenny

Elizabeth Kenny was an Australian pioneering physical therapist....
 that consisted of applying hot woolen blankets to his limbs and stretching his muscles. This allowed him to recover from most effects of the disease. Later, Alda attended Archbishop Stepinac High School
Archbishop Stepinac High School

Archbishop Stepinac High School is an all-boys Roman Catholic high school in White Plains, New York, operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York....
 in White Plains, New York
White Plains, New York

The City of White Plains is the county seat of Westchester County, New York. It is located in south-central Westchester, about east of the Hudson River and northwest of Long Island Sound....
. In 1956 he received his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts for three, four, or in some cases and countries, five or six years....
 from Fordham College of Fordham University
Fordham University

'Fordham University' is a private university university in the United States, with three campuses located in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York in 1841 as St....
 in the Bronx, where he was a student staff member of its FM radio station, WFUV. During his junior year, he studied in Paris
Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
, where he acted in a play in Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
 and performed with his father on television in Amsterdam
Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the Capital of the Netherlands and List of cities in the Netherlands with over 100,000 people of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands of North Holland in the west of the country....
. After graduation, he joined the U.S. Army Reserve
United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
 and served a six-month tour of duty as a gunnery officer in Korea
Korea

Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries, a civilization, and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia....
 following the Korean War
Korean War

The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korea and South Korea regimes, with major hostilities lasting from June 25, 1950 until the armistice signed on July 27, 1953....
. A year after graduation, he married Arlene Weiss, with whom he has three daughters, Eve, Elizabeth, and Beatrice; and seven grandchildren. The Aldas have been longtime residents of Leonia, New Jersey
Leonia, New Jersey

Leonia is a Borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 8,914....
.

Career


Early acting
Alda began his career in the 1950s as a member of the Compass Players
Compass Players

The Compass Players was a 1950s cabaret revue show started by alumni, dropouts and hangers-on from the University of Chicago.. The troupe was active from 1955-1958 in Chicago and St....
 comedy revue. In 1966, he starred in the musical The Apple Tree
The Apple Tree

The Apple Tree is a series of three musical Play s with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and a book by Bock and Harnick with contributions from Jerome Coopersmith....
 on Broadway
Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City....
; he was nominated for the Tony award
Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live United States theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City....
 as Best Actor in a Musical for that role.

Alda made his Hollywood acting debut as a supporting player in Gone are the Days!—a 1963 film version of the highly successful Broadway play Purlie Victorious, which co-starred veteran actors Ruby Dee
Ruby Dee

Ruby Dee is an Academy Award nominated American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and activism....
 and her husband, the late Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis

Ossie Davis was an American film actor, film director, poet, playwright, writer, and activism....
. Other film roles would follow, such as his portrayal of author, humorist, and actor George Plimpton
George Plimpton

George Ames Plimpton was an United States journalist, writer, Literary editor, and actor. He is best-remembered for his sports writing and for founding The Paris Review....
 in the film Paper Lion
Paper Lion

Paper Lion, published in 1966, is a non-fiction book by prominent United States writer George Plimpton.Plimpton pitched to a lineup of baseball stars in an All-Star exhibition, presumably to answer the question, "How would the average man off of the street fare in an attempt to compete with the stars of professional sports?" He chronic...
 (1968) as well as The Extraordinary Seaman
The Extraordinary Seaman

The Extraordinary Seaman is a 1969 in film American comedy film war film directed by John Frankenheimer. It starred Faye Dunaway, David Niven, Alan Alda and Mickey Rooney....
 (1969) and the occult-murder-suspense thriller The Mephisto Waltz, (1971) with actress Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset

Jacqueline Bisset is an English actress....
.

M*A*S*H Series (1972-1983)
In early 1972 Alda auditioned for and was selected to play the role of "Hawkeye Pierce" in the TV adaptation of the 1970 film M*A*S*H. He was nominated for 21 Emmy Awards, and won five. He took part in writing 19 episodes, including the Finale, and directed 32. When he won his first Emmy Award for writing, he was so happy that he performed a cartwheel
Cartwheel (gymnastics)

In gymnastics, a cartwheel is the movement where one moves sideways in a straight line keeping the back straight placing the hand of the same side on the ground followed by the other hand as the legs are passed over the body and then come down as the hands and body come up to a standing up position....
 before running up to the stage to accept the award. He was also the first person to win Emmy Awards for acting, writing and directing for the same series. Richard Hooker
H. Richard Hornberger

H. Richard Hornberger was an United States writer and surgeon, born in Trenton, New Jersey, who wrote under the pseudonym Richard Hooker....
, who wrote the novel on which M*A*S*H was based, did not like Alan Alda's portrayal of Hawkeye Pierce (Hooker, a Republican
Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major party contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party . It is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP....
, had based Hawkeye on himself, whereas Alda took the character in a more left-wing direction). Alda also directed the show's 1983 2½ hour series finale "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen" which remains the single most-watched episode
List of most-watched television episodes

The following is a list of most-watched television broadcasts, organized by country and based on various criteria....
 of a TV series. Alda is the only series regular to appear in all 251 episodes.

As more and more of the original series writers left the series, Alda gained more control and by the final seasons he had become project and creative consultant. Under his watch, M*A*S*H more openly addressed political issues. As a result, the 11 years of M*A*S*H are generally split into two eras: The Larry Gelbart
Larry Gelbart

Larry Simon Gelbart is an American comedy writer and playwright with over sixty years of credits....
/Gene Reynolds
Gene Reynolds

Eugene "Gene" Reynolds Blumenthal is a former actor turned writer and television director.Gene grew up in Detroit, Michigan, and spent the first ten years of his life there....
 "comedy" years (1972-1977), and the Alan Alda "dramatic" years (1977-1983). During this time, Alda frequently appeared as a panelist on the 1968 revival of What's My Line?
What's My Line?

What's My Line? is a weekly panel game show which was produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. When first sold to CBS, the proposed title was Occupation Unknown....
. He also appeared as a panelist on I've Got a Secret
I've Got a Secret

I've Got a Secret is a weekly panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show What's My Line?....
 during its 1972 syndication revival.

After M*A*S*H
Alda's prominence in the enormously successful M*A*S*H gave him a platform to speak out on political topics, and he has been a strong and vocal supporter of women's rights
Women's rights

The term women's rights refers to Freedom and entitlements of women and girls of all ages. These rights may or may not be institutionalized, ignored or suppressed by law, local custom, and behavior in a particular society....
. In 1976, the Boston Globe dubbed him "the quintessential Honorary Woman: a feminist icon" for his activism on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment
Equal Rights Amendment

The Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed Article Five of the United States Constitution to the United States Constitution which was intended to guarantee Women's rights under the law for United States regardless of sex....
. As a liberal
Liberalism

Liberalism is a broad class of political philosophy that considers individualism liberty and equality to be the most important political goals....
 activist he has been a target for some political and social conservatives.

Alan Alda has also played Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize , established in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel; it was first awarded in Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Nobel Prize in Literature, and Nobel Peace Prize in 1901....
-winning physicist Richard Feynman
Richard Feynman

Richard Phillips Feynman was an United States physicist known for the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as work in particle physics ....
 in the play QED
QED (play)

QED is a play by United States playwright Peter Parnell, which chronicles a day in the life of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman....
, which has only one other character. Although Peter Parnell
Peter Parnell

Peter Parnell is an United States playwright. His plays include The Cider House Rules, Flaubert's Latest, Hyde In Hollywood, An Imaginary Life, QED , Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket, Romance Language, Scooter Thomas Makes It To The Top Of The World, and Sorrows of Stephen....
 wrote the play, Alda both produced and inspired it. Alda has also appeared frequently in the films of Woody Allen
Woody Allen

Woody Allen is an Cinema of the United States film director, writer, actor, comedian, musician and playwright.Allen's distinctive films, which run the gamut from dramas to Screwball comedy film, have made him one of the most respected living American directors....
, and he has been a guest star five times on ER
ER (TV series)

ER is an Emmy Award-winning Television in the United States medical drama television series created by the late novelist Michael Crichton and airing on NBC....
, playing Dr. Kerry Weaver
Kerry Weaver

Dr. Kerry Weaver, portrayed by Laura Innes, was a fictional character on the NBC television series ER ; she first appeared as a recurring character actor in season 2, and became a regular cast member in season 3....
's mentor, Gabriel Lawrence. During the later episodes, it was revealed that Dr. Lawrence was suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease , also called Alzheimer disease, Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer Type or simply Alzheimer's, is the most common form of dementia....
. Alda also had a co-starring role as Dr. Robert Gallo
Robert Gallo

Robert Charles Gallo is a U.S. biomedical researcher. He is best known for his co-discovery of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus , the pathogen responsible for the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome , and he has been a major contributor to subsequent HIV research....
 in the 1993 TV movie And the Band Played On
And the Band Played On (film)

And the Band Played On is a 1993 American television film docudrama directed by Roger Spottiswoode. The screenplay by Arnold Schulman is based on the best-selling 1987 non-fiction book And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts....
.

During M*A*S*Hs run and continuing through the 1980s, Alda embarked on a successful career as a writer and director, with the ensemble dramedy The Four Seasons being perhaps his most notable hit. Betsy's Wedding
Betsy's Wedding (film)

Betsy's Wedding is a 1990 in film comedy film written and directed by Alan Alda. It co-stars Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Madeline Kahn, Joey Bishop, Joe Pesci, Anthony LaPaglia, Burt Young and Catherine O'Hara....
 (1990) is his last directing credit to date. After M*A*S*H, Alda took on a series of roles that either parodied or directly contradicted his "nice guy" image. His role as a pompous celebrity comedian in Crimes and Misdemeanors
Crimes and Misdemeanors

Crimes and Misdemeanors is a black comedy/thriller film written and directed by Woody Allen. It stars Allen, Martin Landau, Mia Farrow, Anjelica Huston, Jerry Orbach, Alan Alda, Sam Waterston and Joanna Gleason....
 was widely seen as a self-parody, although Alda denied this.

Later roles
In 1995 he starred as the President in Michael Moore
Michael Moore

Michael Francis Moore is an Academy Award-winning United States filmmaker, author and Modern liberalism in the United States political commentator....
's political satire
Political satire

Political satire is a significant part of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where such arguments are expressly forbidden....
/comedy
Comedy

Comedy as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse generally intended to amuse, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western culture origins are found in Ancient Greece....
 film Canadian Bacon
Canadian Bacon (film)

Canadian Bacon is a 1995 comedy/satire, and the only fictional film written, directed and produced by Michael Moore. It was the last film released to star John Candy, although it was filmed before Wagons East!....
. Around this time, rumours circulated that Alda was considering running for the United States Senate
United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism United States Congress, the lower house being the United States House of Representatives....
 in New Jersey
New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
, but he himself has denied this. In 1996, Alda played Henry Ford
Henry Ford

Henry Ford was the United States founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of modern assembly lines used in mass production. His introduction of the Model T History of the automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry....
 in Camping With Henry and Tom, based on the book by Mark St. Germain. Beginning in 2004, Alda was a regular cast member on the NBC program The West Wing
The West Wing (TV series)

The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast from 1999 to 2006. It was produced/written by Sorkin and also produced by Thomas Schlamme....
, portraying Republican
Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major party contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party . It is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP....
 U.S. Senator
United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism United States Congress, the lower house being the United States House of Representatives....
 and presidential hopeful Arnold Vinick
Arnold Vinick

Arnold Vinick is a fictional character on the television series The West Wing played by Alan Alda....
, 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 thirteenth episode, "King Corn." In August 2006, Alda won an Emmy for his portrayal of Arnold Vinick in the final season of The West Wing.

In 2004, Alda portrayed the late conservative Maine Senator Owen Brewster
Owen Brewster

Ralph Owen Brewster was an Politics of the United States from Maine. Brewster, a Republican Party , was solidly Conservatism, a close confidant of Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin and antagonist of Howard Hughes....
 in Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese

Martin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese is an Academy Award-winning American filmmaker, screenwriter, film producer, and film historian. Also affectionately known as "Marty", he is the founder of the World Cinema Foundation and a recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award for his contributions to the cinema and has won awards from the Gol...
's Academy-Award winning film The Aviator
The Aviator

The Aviator is an Cinema of the United States biographical film drama film, film director by Martin Scorsese and based on the life of Howard Hughes....
 in which he co-starred with Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor, film producer whose career rose with his role in the television sit-com Growing Pains and quickly moved to films....
.

Throughout his career, Alda has received 31 Emmy Award nominations and two Tony Award
Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live United States theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City....
 nominations, and has won seven People's Choice Awards, six Golden Globe awards, and three Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America

Directors Guild of America is the trade union which represents the interests of film director and television director directors in the United States motion picture industry....
 awards. However, it was not until 2004, after a long distinguished acting career, that Alda received his first Academy Award nomination for his role in The Aviator
The Aviator

The Aviator is an Cinema of the United States biographical film drama film, film director by Martin Scorsese and based on the life of Howard Hughes....
.

Alda also wrote several of the stories and poems that appeared in Marlo Thomas
Marlo Thomas

Margaret Julia ?Marlo? Thomas Donahue is an United States actor, who first achieved fame on the TV series That Girl in the 1960s....
's Free to Be... You and Me television show.

Alda starred in the original Broadway production of the play 'Art', which opened on March 1, 1998 at the Royale Theatre. The play won the Tony Award for best original play.

In the spring of 2005, Alda starred as Shelly Levene in the Tony Award
Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live United States theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City....
-winning Broadway
Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City....
 revival of David Mamet
David Mamet

David Alan Mamet is an United Statesn author, essayist, playwright, screenwriter and film director. His works are known for their clever, terse, sometimes vulgar dialogue and arcane stylized phrasing, as well as for his exploration of masculinity....
's Glengarry Glen Ross
Glengarry Glen Ross

Glengarry Glen Ross is a 1982 play written by David Mamet. The play shows parts of two days in the lives of four desperate Chicago real estate agents who are prepared to engage in any number of unethical, illegal acts?from lies and flattery to bribery, threats, intimidation, and burglary?to sell undesirable real estate to unwilling prosp...
, for which he received a Tony Award
Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live United States theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City....
 nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play.

Charitable work, other interests

Alda has done extensive charity work. He helped narrate a 2005 St. Jude's Children's Hospital produced one-hour special TV show Fighting for Life. He and his wife, Arlene, are also close friends of Marlo Thomas
Marlo Thomas

Margaret Julia ?Marlo? Thomas Donahue is an United States actor, who first achieved fame on the TV series That Girl in the 1960s....
, who is very active in fund raising for the hospital her father founded. The special featured Ben Bowen
Ben Bowen

Benjamin David Bowen, commonly called "Big Ben" Bowen, was a young Huntington, West Virginia, West Virginia boy who was diagnosed with a very aggressive brain tumour on March 2, 2004....
 as one of six patients being treated for childhood cancer
Cancer

Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cell display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis . These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, do not invade or metastasize....
 at Saint Jude.

In 2005, Alda published his first round of memoirs, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: and Other Things I've Learned. Among other stories, he recalls his intestine
Intestine

In anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the Gastrointestinal tract extending from the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine....
s becoming strangulated while on location in Chile
Chile

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow coastal strip wedged between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean....
 for his PBS show Scientific American Frontiers
Scientific American Frontiers

Scientific American Frontiers was an United States television program primarily focused on informing the public about new technology and discoveries in science and medicine....
, during which he mildly surprised a young doctor with his understanding of medical procedures, which he had learned from M*A*S*H. He also talks about his mother's battle with schizophrenia
Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia , from the Ancient Greek Root schizein and phren, phren- is a psychiatry diagnosis that describes a mental disorder characterized by abnormalities in the perception or expression of reality....
. The title comes from an incident in his childhood, when Alda was distraught about his dog dying and his well-meaning father had the animal stuffed
Taxidermy

Taxidermy is the art of mounting or reproducing dead animals for display or for other sources of study. Taxidermy can be done on all species of animals including humans....
. 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.

In 2006, Alda contributed his voice to a part in the audio book of Max Brooks
Max Brooks

Maximillian Michael "Max" Brooks is an author and screenwriter....
' World War Z
World War Z

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War is a 2006 novel by Max Brooks. Though a follow-up to his deadpan previous book, The Zombie Survival Guide, World War Z is more serious in tone, and strives to be both factually and psychologically convincing....
. In this book, he voiced Arthur Sinclair Jr., the director of the United States Government's fictional "Department of Strategic Resources (DeStRes)".

His second memoir, Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, weaves together advice from public speeches he has given with personal recollections about his life and beliefs.

Alda also has an avid interest in cosmology
Cosmology

Cosmology is study of the Universe in its totality, and by extension, humanity's place in it. Though the word cosmology is recent , study of the Universe has a long history involving science, philosophy, esotericism, and religion....
, and participated in BBC coverage of the opening of the Large Hadron Collider
Large Hadron Collider

The Large Hadron Collider is the List of accelerators in particle physics#Hadron colliders particle accelerator, intended to Collider opposing Charged particle beam, of either protons at an energy of 7 TeV/particle, or lead nuclei at an energy of 574 TeV/nucleus....
, at CERN
CERN

The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , , is the world's largest particle physics laboratory, situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the France-Switzerland border, established in 1954 in science....
, Geneva
Geneva

Geneva is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie . Situated where the Rh?ne River exits Lake Geneva , it is the capital of the Canton of Geneva....
, in September 2008.

Alda has been an activist for feminism
Feminism

Feminism is the belief that women should have equal political, social, sexual, intellectual and economic rights to men. It involves various movements, Theory, and philosophies, all concerned with issues of gender difference, that advocate equality for women and that campaign for women's rights and interests....
 for many years.

Personal beliefs and other views

In the above-mentioned memoir, Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, Alda candidly describes how briefly, at one time in his life he realized that he had begun thinking like an agnostic or atheist, although he had been raised as a Catholic
Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
:

Speaking further on agnosticism
Agnosticism

Agnosticism is the philosophy view that the logical value of certain claims ? particularly metaphysics claims regarding theology, afterlife or the existence of deity, ghosts, or even ultimate reality ? is unknown or, depending on the form of agnosticism, inherently impossible to prove or disprove....
, Alda goes on to say: Alda made these comments in an interview for the 2008 question section of the Edge Foundation
Edge Foundation, Inc.

The Edge Foundation, Inc. is an organization of science and technology intellectuals created in 1988 as an outgrowth of The Reality Club. Its motto is 'to seek out the most complex and sophisticated minds, put them in a room together and have themselves ask each other the questions they are asking themselves.' Currently, its main activity is...
 website."

Awards and nominations

Awards
  • Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2006, for his portrayal of Senator & Presidential candidate Arnold Vinick in The West Wing
    The West Wing (TV series)

    The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast from 1999 to 2006. It was produced/written by Sorkin and also produced by Thomas Schlamme....
  • Emmy Award for "Outstanding writing in a comedy" in 1979.
Nominations
  • The audiobook version of Things I Overheard While Talking To Myself was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award
    Grammy Award

    The Grammy Awards ?or Grammys?are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry....
     in the category of Best Spoken Word Album
    50th Grammy Awards

    The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, California, on February 10, 2008, starting at 8PM Eastern Time Zone ....
    .


  • Alda received his first nomination for an Academy Award for his supporting role as Senator Ralph Owen Brewster in Martin Scorsese
    Martin Scorsese

    Martin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese is an Academy Award-winning American filmmaker, screenwriter, film producer, and film historian. Also affectionately known as "Marty", he is the founder of the World Cinema Foundation and a recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award for his contributions to the cinema and has won awards from the Gol...
    's film The Aviator
    The Aviator

    The Aviator is an Cinema of the United States biographical film drama film, film director by Martin Scorsese and based on the life of Howard Hughes....
    .


Filmography


Film

  • Gone Are the Days! (1963)
  • Paper Lion
    Paper Lion

    Paper Lion, published in 1966, is a non-fiction book by prominent United States writer George Plimpton.Plimpton pitched to a lineup of baseball stars in an All-Star exhibition, presumably to answer the question, "How would the average man off of the street fare in an attempt to compete with the stars of professional sports?" He chronic...
     (1968)
  • The Extraordinary Seaman
    The Extraordinary Seaman

    The Extraordinary Seaman is a 1969 in film American comedy film war film directed by John Frankenheimer. It starred Faye Dunaway, David Niven, Alan Alda and Mickey Rooney....
     (1969)
  • Jenny
    Jenny (film)

    Jenny is a 1970 film starring Marlo Thomas and Alan Alda, released by ABC Pictures. The film was rated "M" for "Mature Audiences." Singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson provided Jenny 's theme song, "Waiting"....
     (1970)
  • The Moonshine War
    The Moonshine War

    The Moonshine War is a 1970 in film film directed by Richard Quine, based on the novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard. It starred Patrick McGoohan, Richard Widmark, Alan Alda, Will Geer, John Schuck, and Teri Garr....
     (1970)
  • The Mephisto Waltz (1971)
  • To Kill a Clown (1972)
  • Kill Me If You Can (1977)
  • Same Time, Next Year
    Same Time, Next Year (film)

    Same Time, Next Year is a 1978 in film United States comedy film directed by Robert Mulligan. The screenplay by Bernard Slade is based on his Same Time, Next Year....
     (1978)
  • California Suite
    California Suite (film)

    California Suite is a 1978 in film film based on the Play by Neil Simon....
     (1978)
  • The Seduction of Joe Tynan
    The Seduction of Joe Tynan

    The Seduction of Joe Tynan is a 1979 in film political film drama made by Universal Pictures, directed by Jerry Schatzberg and produced by Martin Bregman....
     (1979)
  • The Four Seasons
    The Four Seasons (film)

    The Four Seasons is a 1981 in film romantic comedy film starring Alan Alda, Carol Burnett, Len Cariou, Sandy Dennis, Rita Moreno, Jack Weston and Bess Armstrong....
     (1981)
  • Sweet Liberty
    Sweet Liberty

    Sweet Liberty is a 1986 in film USA comedy film about an author forced to deal with a film crew who comes to town to shoot a film adaption of his book on the Battle of Cowpens during the American Revolutionary War....
     (1986)
  • A New Life (1988)
  • Crimes and Misdemeanors
    Crimes and Misdemeanors

    Crimes and Misdemeanors is a black comedy/thriller film written and directed by Woody Allen. It stars Allen, Martin Landau, Mia Farrow, Anjelica Huston, Jerry Orbach, Alan Alda, Sam Waterston and Joanna Gleason....
     (1989)
  • Betsy's Wedding
    Betsy's Wedding (film)

    Betsy's Wedding is a 1990 in film comedy film written and directed by Alan Alda. It co-stars Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Madeline Kahn, Joey Bishop, Joe Pesci, Anthony LaPaglia, Burt Young and Catherine O'Hara....
     (1990)
  • Whispers in the Dark (1992)
  • Manhattan Murder Mystery
    Manhattan Murder Mystery

    Manhattan Murder Mystery is a comedy murder mystery film directed by, and starring Woody Allen and written by Marshall Brickman and Woody Allen...
     (1993)
  • Canadian Bacon
    Canadian Bacon (film)

    Canadian Bacon is a 1995 comedy/satire, and the only fictional film written, directed and produced by Michael Moore. It was the last film released to star John Candy, although it was filmed before Wagons East!....
     (1995)
  • Flirting with Disaster
    Flirting with Disaster

    For the album by rock band Molly Hatchet, see Flirtin' with Disaster.Flirting with Disaster is a 1996 in film Cinema of the United States comedy film written and directed by David O....
     (1996)
  • Everyone Says I Love You
    Everyone Says I Love You

    Everyone Says I Love You is a Golden Globe-nominated musical film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film features many stars, including Julia Roberts, Alan Alda, Edward Norton, Drew Barrymore, Gaby Hoffmann, Tim Roth, Goldie Hawn, and Natalie Portman....
     (1996)
  • Murder at 1600
    Murder at 1600

    Murder at 1600 is a 1997 film Thriller starring Wesley Snipes, Diane Lane, Dennis Miller, Ronny Cox, Daniel Benzali and Alan Alda. The 1600 in the title refers to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the address of the White House....
     (1997)
  • Mad City (1997)
  • The Object of My Affection
    The Object of My Affection

    The Object of My Affection is a 1998 movie, adapted from the book of the same title by Stephen McCauley. The film is directed by Nicholas Hytner and based on a screenplay by Wendy Wasserstein....
     (1998)
  • Keepers of the Frame (1999)
  • What Women Want
    What Women Want

    What Women Want is a 2000 in film United States film, film director by Nancy Meyers and starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. The movie achieved enormous success with a domestic gross of $182,811,707 and a worldwide gross of $374,111,707, against a budget of $40 million....
     (2000)
  • The Aviator
    The Aviator

    The Aviator is an Cinema of the United States biographical film drama film, film director by Martin Scorsese and based on the life of Howard Hughes....
     (2004)
  • Resurrecting the Champ
    Resurrecting the Champ

    Resurrecting the Champ is a 2007 in film drama film directed by Rod Lurie and written by Michael Bortman and Allison Burnett, based on the Los Angeles Times article by J.R....
     (2007)
  • Diminished Capacity
    Diminished Capacity

    Diminished Capacity is a comedy film directed by Terry Kinney and starring Matthew Broderick, Virginia Madsen, and Alan Alda. It was released at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and opened in theaters in July 2008....
     (2008)
  • Flash of Genius
    Flash of Genius (film)

    Flash of Genius is a film about the life of Robert Kearns, directed by Marc Abraham and starring Greg Kinnear, Lauren Graham, and Dermot Mulroney....
     (2008)
  • Nothing But the Truth
    Nothing But the Truth (2008 film)

    Nothing But The Truth is a 2008 in film thriller written and directed by Rod Lurie. The story centers on a female newspaper reporter who outs a Central Intelligence Agency agent and is imprisoned for refusing to reveal her source....
     (2008)


Television

  • The Phil Silvers Show
    The Phil Silvers Show

    The Phil Silvers Show was a comedy television series which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959 for a total of 143 episodes . The series starred Phil Silvers as master sergeant Ernest G....
     (1958)
  • That Was The Week That Was
    That Was The Week That Was

    That Was The Week That Was, also known as TW3, was a satirical television comedy programme on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced and directed by Ned Sherrin and presented by David Frost ....
     (1964-1965)
  • Where's Everett (1966) (pilot)
  • The Glass House (1972)
  • M*A*S*H
    M*A*S*H (TV series)

    M*A*S*H is an United States television series developed by Larry Gelbart, adapted from the 1970 in film feature film MASH . The series is a medical drama/black comedy that was produced by 20th Television Fox for CBS....
     (1972-1983)
  • Playmates (1972)
  • Isn't It Shocking? (1973)
  • Free to Be… You and Me
    Free to Be… You and Me

    Free to Be? You and Me is a record album and illustrated songbook for children, first released in November 1972, and later in 1974 as a television special, featuring songs and stories from celebrities ....
     (1974)
  • 6 Rms Riv Vu
    6 Rms Riv Vu

    6 Rms Riv Vu is a play by Bob Randall, who also wrote The Magic Show.6 Rms Riv Vu derives its title from shorthand used by National Association of Realtors in classified advertising....
     (1974)
  • Kill Me If You Can (1977)
  • And the Band Played On
    And the Band Played On (film)

    And the Band Played On is a 1993 American television film docudrama directed by Roger Spottiswoode. The screenplay by Arnold Schulman is based on the best-selling 1987 non-fiction book And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts....
     (1993)
  • Scientific American Frontiers
    Scientific American Frontiers

    Scientific American Frontiers was an United States television program primarily focused on informing the public about new technology and discoveries in science and medicine....
     (1993-2005)
  • White Mile (1994)
  • Jake's Women
    Jake's Women

    Jake's Women is a play by Neil Simon. It centers on Jake, a writer with a struggling marriage. Jake talks to many of the women he knows, both in real life and in his imagination, as he works to save his marriage....
     (1996)
  • ER
    ER (TV series)

    ER is an Emmy Award-winning Television in the United States medical drama television series created by the late novelist Michael Crichton and airing on NBC....
     (1999)
  • Club Land (2001)
  • The Killing Yard (2001)
  • The West Wing
    The West Wing (TV series)

    The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast from 1999 to 2006. It was produced/written by Sorkin and also produced by Thomas Schlamme....
     (2004-2006)


Voice acting

  • World War Z
    World War Z

    World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War is a 2006 novel by Max Brooks. Though a follow-up to his deadpan previous book, The Zombie Survival Guide, World War Z is more serious in tone, and strives to be both factually and psychologically convincing....
     (2006) (voice of Director Arthur Sinclair Jr.)


Bibliography



External links

  • at USC's Annenberg School
  • on NPR's
    National Public Radio

    National Public Radio is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national Radio syndication to 797 public radio List of NPR stations in the United States....
         Fresh Air
    Fresh Air

    Fresh Air is a radio talk show hosted by Terry Gross, broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States. In 2004, the show was syndicated to 445 stations and claimed 4.4 million listeners....
     (September 21, 2005)
  • Working in the Theatre seminar video at American Theatre Wing.org
    American Theatre Wing

    The American Theatre Wing is a New York City-based organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre," according to its mission statement....
    , April 1992