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He did not sign on to play Hawkeye Pierce on "M*A*S*H" (1972) until 6 hours before filming began on the pilot episode. Son of Robert Alda and Joan Brown, a former Miss New York pageant winner. Alda almost turned down the role of Hawkeye Pierce on "M*A*S*H" (1972) because he did not want war to be a "backdrop for lighthearted high jinks... "I wanted to show that the war was a bad place to be." He had served in the Korean War. Has three daughters: Eve, Elizabeth Alda and Beatrice Alda. Studied at Fordham University in New York "If you work very, very hard, this is the kind of actor, writer, and director you may turn out to be. And if you work extra hard, this is the kind of person you may turn out to be." - James Lipton, to students at New School University, where Alda gave an interview. Is the first person ever to win an Emmy for acting, writing, and directing. (He accomplished to win in all three categories for his work on "M*A*S*H" (1972)). Served in the U. S. Army, and he went AWOL every weekend because he was dating the woman that he ultimately married, Arlene Alda. Once did a cartwheel down the aisle while on his way to accept an award that he had just won. Attended Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, NY. - Underwent emergency surgery in La Serena, Chile to clear an intestinal obstruction. [October 19, 2003] Was the only actor to appear in every episode of "M*A*S*H" (1972). With the exception of taking a course in Theater Games, he's never studied acting. His degree from Fordham University is in Science. He felt that he was a natural performer and that studying would ruin his gift for being natural. He is an Italian-American. He has twice played characters from Maine, from opposite ends of the ethical spectrum. In "M*A*S*H" (1972) he was noble surgeon Hawkeye Pierce, whose hometown was Crabapple Cove. In The Aviator (2004) he played corrupt U.S. Sen. Owen Brewster, nemesis of Howard Hughes. The author of the original "M*A*S*H" books, Maine doctor Richard Hornberger (writing as Richard Hooker), based the Pierce character on himself but was said to dislike the TV version of his story as overly moralistic. As for Sen. Brewster, whose smarmy hypocrisy was well-depicted by Alda, he was booted out of the Senate by Maine voters in the next Republican primary. Has the distinction of playing three U.S. Senators--Sen. Joe Tynan in The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979), real-life Sen. Owen Brewster in The Aviator (2004) and Sen. Arnold Vinick in "The West Wing" (1999) . Furthermore, he received an Oscar nomination for his performance in The Aviator (2004). Was the commencement speaker at Caltech's 108th commencement in June 2002. Richard Hooker, who wrote the novel on which the film (M*A*S*H (1970)) and TV show ("M*A*S*H" (1972)) were based, did not like the TV series and in particular did not like Alda's portrayal of Hawkeye Pierce. Despite being an active Democrat, he has recently played two Republican senators in TV and film--the fictitious Arnold Vinick in "The West Wing" (1999) (which garnered him an Emmy win) and the real-life Owen Brewster in The Aviator (2004) (for which he received an Academy Award nomination). Nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award for "Things I Overheard While Talking To Myself" [Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Story Telling)]. Best known by the public for his starring role as Chief of Surgery - Dr. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce on "M*A*S*H" (1972). Out of his seven grandchildren, two are interested in pursuing careers in acting; his oldest granddaughter, 17 and his oldest grandson, 16.