Lean Stevenson News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Apparently, we have a clever casting director and an ABC special to thank for McLean Stevenson's casting on M*A*S*H.

M*A*S*H fans loved McLean Stevenson as Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake but weren't as dedicated when he left the show to pursue his own series.

David Ogden Stiers added something invaluable to the M*A*S*H cast dynamic, something that his predecessor, Larry Linville, couldn't quite capture.

Here's what happened when McLean Stevenson decided he wanted to leave M*A*S*H.

When done well — as "Succession" just proved — the passing of a television character can inspire powerful material involving shock and grief, or perhaps guilt and relief. It can also be an occasion for big laughs, something "Seinfeld" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" managed to pull off.