Name: Larry Linville
Date of Birth: 29 September 1939 Was raised in Sacramento, CaliforniaStudied aeronautical engineering at the University of ColoradoStudied at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic ArtsHis only child, Kelly Linville (born 1970), is a photo technician in L.A.Los Angeles Times 4/11/00 reports Linville, who died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center is survived by his wife, Deborah Linville.(12 February 1998) Underwent surgery to remove part of his lung after doctors found a malignant tumor under his sternum.His ex-wife, Kate, was... the daughter of 'Will Geer' (qv).After college, he applied for a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, England; he was one of three Americans out of 300 applicants to win.Selected to appear opposite 'Ingrid Bergman (I)' (qv) on Broadway because, he said, he was one of the few actors tall enough to play opposite her.Linville and actor 'David Ogden Stiers' (qv), who'd played Major Winchester, were both VIP guests at the ceremonial closing of the last active M*A*S*H unit in Korea, in the 1990s. Ironically, Stiers had replaced Linville on the show, and neither they nor their characters had ever met - but Winchester's last comment in the last regular episode had been about Major Burns.Contrary to his much-maligned character Frank Burns, Linville was actually well-liked by his "M*A*S*H" cast-mates. He and 'Gary Burghoff' (qv) were close friends off the show; Burghoff described Linville as a "renaissance man" who knew about the intricacies of the Egyptian pyramids and who once even built and flew his own airplane. Alan Alda also remembered Linville fondly, after his death.Stated in a 1990s People magazine "Where are they now?" feature about TV doctors that he had no regrets about leaving '"M*A*S*H" (1972)' six years before it ended.Chose not to renew his _"M*A*S*H" (1972)_ (qv) contract because "I felt I had done everything possible with the character" of Frank Burns. Said later that the fifth season (his last) had been hardest for him, since Frank no longer had 'Loretta Swit' (qv)'s character Hot Lips on his side, leaving him to bear the brunt of the insults alone. Even stopped attending dailies, because Linville was tired of seeing his character as the butt of so many jokes.The nickname "ferret face" that was used to describe his Frank Burns character M*A*S*H was coined up by his own brother.Frequently played stuffed-shirt characters; an interesting exception was when he appeared as a wise, all-powerful genie on _"Fantasy Island" (1978)_ (qv).Read more Larry Linville movies (actor)User Comments |
