Larry Lavon Linville (September 29, 1939 – April 10, 2000) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor. He was perhaps best known for his portrayal of obnoxious, pious, self-important and inept surgeon Major Frank Burns in the
televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
series
M*A*S*HM*A*S*H is an American television series developed by Larry Gelbart, adapted from the 1970 feature film MASH . The series is a medical drama/black comedy that was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for CBS...
.
In stark contrast to the belligerent, callous, mean-spirited, selfish Frank, Larry Linville himself has often been described by the show's other cast members as a kind, friendly man who was very open-minded and courteous to those around him.
Larry Lavon Linville (September 29, 1939 – April 10, 2000) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor. He was perhaps best known for his portrayal of obnoxious, pious, self-important and inept surgeon Major Frank Burns in the
televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
series
M*A*S*HM*A*S*H is an American television series developed by Larry Gelbart, adapted from the 1970 feature film MASH . The series is a medical drama/black comedy that was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for CBS...
.
Career
In stark contrast to the belligerent, callous, mean-spirited, selfish Frank, Larry Linville himself has often been described by the show's other cast members as a kind, friendly man who was very open-minded and courteous to those around him. When the show started, Larry signed a five-year contract and was offered a renewal for two more seasons when his contract expired, but he declined. After five seasons, Larry had grown tired of playing the same negative, cartoonish
antagonistAn antagonist is a character, group of characters, or an institution, who represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
, especially since during that period, the show's tone had changed from pure comedy to more drama-focused story lines. Linville also felt that he had taken the Frank Burns character as far as he could, given how
M*A*S*H had developed, and decided to leave the series so that he could pursue other, more challenging roles.
Linville starred in a total of twenty-eight
moviesFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
and
TV showsTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
. He guest-starred in many television shows, most frequently
Murder, She WroteMurder, She Wrote was an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for twelve seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series, The Law & Harry McGraw...
;
Fantasy Island This article is about the television series. For the amusement park, see Martin's Fantasy Island or Fantasy Island UKFantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:Before it became a...
(he appears as an inept
genieIn Islam, a Djinn is a supernatural creature which occupies a parallel world to that of mankind, and together with humans and angels makes up the three sentient creations of Allah...
trapped in a bottle);
The Love BoatThe Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24, 1977 until May 24, 1986. The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain, who encourages his customers to find romance...
;
BonanzaBonanza is an American television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons, it is among the longest running Western television series and continues to air in syndication....
(He played a corrupt Frank Burns type POW officer);
MannixMannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is an Armenian-American private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors, an...
; and
CHiPsCHiPs is an American television drama series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977 to June 17, 1983. CHiPs followed the lives of two motorcycle police officers of the California Highway Patrol...
. He also appeared on episodes of
Mission: ImpossibleMission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force...
(he usually played a vicious, unfunny Frank Burns-type
GestapoThe was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning in April 1934, it was under the overall administration of the Schutzstaffel under Heinrich Himmler in his position as leader of the SS and Chief of German Police...
secret policeman),
Murder She Wrote (In which he plays a policeman who thinks Jessica Fletcher is a CIA Agent),
The Rockford FilesThe Rockford Files is an American detective television drama originally aired on the NBC television network between September 13, 1974 and January 10, 1980; it has remained in constant syndication to the present day. The show is notable for the quality of its writing, largely from Stephen J...
(playing a petulant Frank Burns-type psychologist), and
Kolchak: The Night StalkerKolchak: The Night Stalker is an American television series that aired on ABC in 1974. It featured a newspaper reporter — Carl Kolchak, played by Darren McGavin — who investigates crimes with mysterious and unlikely causes that the proper authorities won't accept or pursue. Each week...
, in which he played the youngest police captain on the force. Before appearing on
M*A*S*H, Linville played a doctor on the TV Movie
The Night Stalker, a predecessor of the
Kolchak television series. After
M*A*S*H, he played a
stock characterA stock character is a stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes, but they are often more narrowly defined...
—the
Crazy General—along with
Edward WinterEdward Dean Winter was an American actor, perhaps most well-known for his role as Military Intelligence officer Colonel Flagg on the television series M*A*S*H.-Early career:...
in the pilot episode of
Misfits of ScienceMisfits of Science is an American superhero fantasy television series that aired on NBC from October 1985 to February 1986. It featured a cast of super-powered humans and their madcap adventures. The show was co-created by Tim Kring, later the creator of the NBC show Heroes...
. He also starred in the short-lived
The JeffersonsThe Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes produced by T.AT. Communications Company from 1975-1982 and Embassy Television from 1982-1985...
spinoff
Checking InChecking In is a short-lived 1981 television sitcom and spin-off of The Jeffersons, which itself had spun off from All in the Family....
, where he played Florence Johnston's (
Marla GibbsMarla Gibbs is an African-American television and film actress.She is best known for her role as Isabel Sanford's and Sherman Hemsley's sarcastic maid, Florence Johnston, on The Jeffersons and its short-lived spinoff, Checking In...
) nemesis, Lyle Block; however, this series only lasted four episodes. Linville co-starred in 1984 on
Paper DollsPaper Dolls is an American prime time soap opera set in New York's fashion industry. The show centered around the head of a top modeling agency , her conflicts with the family of a cosmetics tycoon , and the careers of two teenage models...
, a nighttime drama on ABC offering a glimpse behind-the-scenes of the fashion industry. In 1991, Linville appeared on an episode of the television series
Night CourtNight Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 1984 until May 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone...
as a doctor.
Personal life
Linville was born in
Ojai, CaliforniaOjai is a city in Ventura County, California, USA. It is situated in the Ojai Valley, surrounded by hills and mountains. In 2003, the estimated population was 8,006, making it one of the smaller towns in the county.-History:Chumash Indians were the early inhabitants of the valley...
, the son of Fay Pauline (née Kennedy) and Harry Lavon Linville. Raised in Sacramento, Linville studied aeronautical engineering at the University of Colorado, before he applied for a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. He was one of only three Americans out of 300 applicants to win.
He was married five times: to Vana Tribbey, Kate Geer, Melissa Gallant, Susan Haganand, and Deborah Guydon. His only child, Kelly Linville (born 1970), is a photo technician in
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
.
A longtime smoker and drinker, Linville underwent surgery in February 1998 to remove part of his
lungThe lung or pulmonary system is the essential respiration organ in air-breathing animals, including most tetrapods, a few fish and a few snails. In mammals and the more complex life forms, the two lungs are located in the chest on either side of the heart...
after doctors found a malignant
tumorA tumor or tumour is the name for a swelling or lesion formed by an abnormal growth of cells . Tumor is not synonymous with cancer. A tumor can be benign, pre-malignant or malignant, whereas cancer is by definition malignant....
under his
sternumThe sternum is a long flat bone shaped like a capital 'T' located in the center of the thorax...
. His health problems continued over the next two years. Linville died of
pneumoniaPneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the lung. Frequently, it is described as lung parenchyma/alveolar inflammation and abnormal alveolar filling with fluid ....
in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
on April 10, 2000 (fellow
M*A*S*H actor
Harry MorganHarry Morgan is an American television actor. Morgan is perhaps best-known as Colonel Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H , Pete Porter on both Pete and Gladys and December Bride , Detective Bill Gannon on Dragnet , and Amos Coogan on Hec Ramsey ,-Early life and career:Morgan was born Harry...
's 85th birthday) after complications from
cancerCancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis...
surgerySurgery is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, to help improve bodily function or appearance, or sometimes for some other reason...
.
External links