Burt Metcalfe, Producer of ‘M*A*S*H’ TV Series, Dies at 87

Burt Metcalfe, who produced, wrote and directed on all 11 seasons of “M*A*S*H,” has died. He was 87.

Metcalfe died Wednesday in Los Angeles of natural causes, according to Jan Jorden, his wife of 43 years told The Hollywood Reporter. Jorden is an actress who played a recurring role on the CBS hit comedy that ran from 1972-1983.

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Metcalfe was born in Saskatoon, Canada, moving to Los Angeles in 1949 to study theater at UCLA. He served in the Navy in 1956-1957 (a few years after the U.S. disengaged from the Korean War, the setting for “M*A*S*H”).

He appeared in several TV shows, including the first season of “The Twilight Zone,” and played newlywed Buckley Dunston on TV’s “Father of the Bride.” His brief career as a casting director led him to work for Gene Reynolds, who was developing the “M*A*S*H” pilot at Fox.

He produced all but a handful of the show’s 256 episodes, directed 31, wrote three and acted once.

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