William Christopher
Encyclopedia
William Christopher is an American
actor
who is best known for playing Father Mulcahy on the television
series M*A*S*H and Private Lester Hummel on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
, and graduated from Wesleyan University
in Middletown, Connecticut
, with a B.A. in drama. He also participated in fencing
, soccer, and the glee club
. He was initiated as a member of the Sigma Chi
fraternity while in college. He met his future wife, Barbara, on a blind date, with whom he would eventually have two sons, John and Ned.
productions, such as The Hostage
at One Sheridan Square. His Broadway debut came in Beyond the Fringe
, a British
revue
.
Christopher left the New York
stage
for Hollywood to attempt to gain work in television
, where he guest-starred in several well-known series, including: The Andy Griffith Show
(he portrayed a new, young doctor
scheduling Opie Taylor
for a tonsillectomy
) and also as an IRS agent who came to collect taxes due from Aunt Bee
(who had won some prizes on a TV show), Death Valley Days
, The Patty Duke Show
, The Men from Shiloh and Good Times
(he portrayed the military doctor examining J. J. Evans
). Christopher had recurring roles on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
, That Girl
and Hogan's Heroes
. He also made a guest appearance on The Love Boat
. In 1972, Christopher landed the role of Father Mulcahy in the television series M* A* S* H, when the actor who originated the role, George Morgan, was replaced after just one appearance in the pilot episode.
Immediately following M*A*S*H, Christopher continued the role for the two seasons of the short-lived spin-off
, AfterMASH
.
In feature film
s, Christopher performed in The Fortune Cookie
, The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell
, The Shakiest Gun in the West
, With Six You Get Eggroll
, and Hearts of the West. He won parts in such telefilms as The Movie Maker, The Perils of Pauline
, and For the Love of It. The Doris Day
film With Six You Get Eggroll
is notable for fans of M*A*S*H as Jamie Farr
appears along with Christopher five years before the show, both playing hippies. The film also features Herb Voland, who played General Clayton in seven episodes of the first two seasons of M*A*S*H. Farr and Christopher also had bit parts (co-pilot and radio operator respectively) in the 1958 Andy Griffith movie, No Time For Sergeants.
Christopher has appeared on various series, including Murder, She Wrote
. In 1998, Christopher guest-starred in an episode of Mad About You
. Christopher has also remained active in the theater, including a tour of the U.S. in the mid-1990s with Jamie Farr
doing Neil Simon
's The Odd Couple
on stage. He appeared with Jamie Farr and Loretta Swit
in an episode of Diagnosis: Murder
and Lois & Clark.
Christopher was seen in 2008–2009 across the U.S. on stage in productions of Church Basement Ladies. In the fall of 2009, he was on tour with the show.
, doing public service announcement
s to bring attention to autism. In 1985, he and his wife Barbara wrote Mixed Blessings, a book about their experiences raising Ned.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who is best known for playing Father Mulcahy on the television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series M*A*S*H and Private Lester Hummel on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.The show renders the title as Gomer Pyle - USMC. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spinoff of The Andy Griffith Show, and the pilot was aired as the finale of the fourth season of The Andy...
Early life
Christopher attended New Trier High School in Winnetka, IllinoisWinnetka, Illinois
Winnetka is an affluent North Shore village located approximately north of downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. Winnetka was featured on the list of America's 25 top-earning towns and "one of the best places to live" by CNN Money in 2011...
, and graduated from Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
in Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated as a town under its original Indian name, Mattabeseck. It received its present name in 1653. In 1784, the central...
, with a B.A. in drama. He also participated in fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
, soccer, and the glee club
Glee club
A glee club is a musical group or choir group, historically of male voices but also of female or mixed voices, which traditionally specializes in the singing of short songs—glees—by trios or quartets. In the late 19th Century it was very popular in most schools and was made a tradition...
. He was initiated as a member of the Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...
fraternity while in college. He met his future wife, Barbara, on a blind date, with whom he would eventually have two sons, John and Ned.
Career
Christopher appeared in a variety of regional productions, and eventually a number of Off-BroadwayOff-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
productions, such as The Hostage
The Hostage (play)
The Hostage is a loose 1958 English version, with songs, adapted in a much longer text from a one-act Irish language play An Giall, by its author, Brendan Behan.-Plot:...
at One Sheridan Square. His Broadway debut came in Beyond the Fringe
Beyond the Fringe
Beyond the Fringe was a British comedy stage revue written and performed by Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett, and Jonathan Miller. It played in London's West End and then on New York's Broadway in the early 1960s, and is widely regarded as seminal to the rise of satire in 1960s Britain.-The...
, a British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
.
Christopher left the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
stage
Stage (theatre)
In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...
for Hollywood to attempt to gain work in television
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
, where he guest-starred in several well-known series, including: The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
(he portrayed a new, young doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
scheduling Opie Taylor
Opie Taylor
Opie Taylor is a fictional character in the American television program, The Andy Griffith Show which was televised on CBS from October 3, 1960 to April 1, 1968...
for a tonsillectomy
Tonsillectomy
A tonsillectomy is a 3,000-year-old surgical procedure in which the tonsils are removed from either side of the throat. The procedure is performed in response to cases of repeated occurrence of acute tonsillitis or adenoiditis, obstructive sleep apnea, nasal airway obstruction, snoring, or...
) and also as an IRS agent who came to collect taxes due from Aunt Bee
Aunt Bee
Beatrice Taylor is a fictional character from the 1960s American television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show. The show was televised on CBS from October 3, 1960, until April 1, 1968...
(who had won some prizes on a TV show), Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. It continued from 1952 to 1975 as a syndicated television series...
, The Patty Duke Show
The Patty Duke Show
The Patty Duke Show is an American sitcom which ran on ABC from September 18, 1963, until May 4, 1966, with reruns airing through August 31, 1966. The show was created as a vehicle for rising star Patty Duke...
, The Men from Shiloh and Good Times
Good Times
Good Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1, 1979, on the CBS television network. It was created by Eric Monte and Michael Evans, and developed by Norman Lear, the series' primary executive producer...
(he portrayed the military doctor examining J. J. Evans
J. J. Evans
James Evans, Jr. is a fictional character on the 1970s sitcom, Good Times. He was created by Norman Lear and portrayed by Jimmie Walker. The character was known as simply "J.J.", and is commonly seen as the show's breakout character. His favorite expression was "Dyno-MITE!"-Character...
). Christopher had recurring roles on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.The show renders the title as Gomer Pyle - USMC. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spinoff of The Andy Griffith Show, and the pilot was aired as the finale of the fourth season of The Andy...
, That Girl
That Girl
That Girl is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971. It stars Marlo Thomas as the title character, Ann Marie, an aspiring actress, who had moved from her hometown of Brewster, New York to make it big in New York City...
and Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom that ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to March 28, 1971, on the CBS network. The show was set in a German prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. Bob Crane had the starring role as Colonel Robert E...
. He also made a guest appearance on The Love Boat
The Love Boat
The 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...
. In 1972, Christopher landed the role of Father Mulcahy in the television series M* A* S* H, when the actor who originated the role, George Morgan, was replaced after just one appearance in the pilot episode.
Immediately following M*A*S*H, Christopher continued the role for the two seasons of the short-lived spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
, AfterMASH
AfterMASH
AfterMASH was an American situation comedy that aired on CBS from September 26, 1983 to December 11, 1984. A spin-off of the series M*A*S*H , the show took place immediately following the end of the Korean War and chronicled the adventures of three characters from the original series: Colonel...
.
In feature film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s, Christopher performed in The Fortune Cookie
The Fortune Cookie
The Fortune Cookie is a 1966 film starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon in their first on-screen collaboration, and directed by Billy Wilder.- Plot :...
, The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell
The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell
The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell is a 1968 film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring Bob Hope and Phyllis Diller. It was filmed in Puerto Rico in 1967...
, The Shakiest Gun in the West
The Shakiest Gun in the West
The Shakiest Gun in the West is a 1968 Western comedy film starring Don Knotts. It was directed by Alan Rafkin and written by Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum.The film is a remake of The Paleface, a 1948 movie starring Bob Hope and Jane Russell....
, With Six You Get Eggroll
With Six You Get Eggroll
With Six You Get Eggroll is a family comedy, starring Doris Day and Brian Keith. Other cast members include George Carlin, Jamie Farr, William Christopher, Barbara Hershey, Alice Ghostley and Pat Carroll....
, and Hearts of the West. He won parts in such telefilms as The Movie Maker, The Perils of Pauline
The Perils of Pauline (1967 film)
The Perils of Pauline is a 1967 comedy film, which enjoyed neither the commercial nor critical success of the earlier Paulines. Inspired by the Batman TV series, with the same kind of florid villainy and dauntless heroics, this TV pilot starred Pamela Austin, best known for her appearances in Dodge...
, and For the Love of It. The Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
film With Six You Get Eggroll
With Six You Get Eggroll
With Six You Get Eggroll is a family comedy, starring Doris Day and Brian Keith. Other cast members include George Carlin, Jamie Farr, William Christopher, Barbara Hershey, Alice Ghostley and Pat Carroll....
is notable for fans of M*A*S*H as Jamie Farr
Jamie Farr
Jamie Farr is an American television, film, and theater actor. He is best known for having played the role of cross-dressing Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger in the television sitcom M*A*S*H.-Early life:...
appears along with Christopher five years before the show, both playing hippies. The film also features Herb Voland, who played General Clayton in seven episodes of the first two seasons of M*A*S*H. Farr and Christopher also had bit parts (co-pilot and radio operator respectively) in the 1958 Andy Griffith movie, No Time For Sergeants.
Christopher has appeared on various series, including Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...
. In 1998, Christopher guest-starred in an episode of Mad About You
Mad About You
Mad About You is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 23, 1992 to May 24, 1999. The show starred Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a newly married couple in New York City. Reiser played Paul Buchman, a documentary film maker. Hunt played Jamie Stemple Buchman, a public relations specialist...
. Christopher has also remained active in the theater, including a tour of the U.S. in the mid-1990s with Jamie Farr
Jamie Farr
Jamie Farr is an American television, film, and theater actor. He is best known for having played the role of cross-dressing Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger in the television sitcom M*A*S*H.-Early life:...
doing Neil Simon
Neil Simon
Neil Simon is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has written numerous Broadway plays, including Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and The Odd Couple. He won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Lost In Yonkers. He has written the screenplays for several of his plays that...
's The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple is a 1965 Broadway play by Neil Simon, followed by a successful film and television series, as well as other derivative works and spin offs, many featuring one or more of the same actors. The plot concerns two mismatched roommates, one neat and uptight, the other more easygoing and...
on stage. He appeared with Jamie Farr and Loretta Swit
Loretta Swit
Loretta Swit is an American stage and television actress known for her character roles. Swit is best-known for her portrayal of Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on M*A*S*H.-Early life:...
in an episode of Diagnosis: Murder
Diagnosis: Murder
Diagnosis: Murder is a mystery/medical/crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son, a homicide detective played by his real-life son Barry Van Dyke. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman...
and Lois & Clark.
Christopher was seen in 2008–2009 across the U.S. on stage in productions of Church Basement Ladies. In the fall of 2009, he was on tour with the show.
Charity work
Christopher, whose son, Ned, is autistic, devotes much of his spare time to the National Autistic SocietyNational Autistic Society
The National Autistic Society is a British charity for people with autistic spectrum disorders , including autism and Asperger's Syndrome. The purpose of the organisation is primarily to improve of the lives of people with Autism in the United Kingdom.Founded in 1962 as the Autistic Children's Aid...
, doing public service announcement
Public service announcement
A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...
s to bring attention to autism. In 1985, he and his wife Barbara wrote Mixed Blessings, a book about their experiences raising Ned.