Is it even possible to choose a favorite Alan Alda character?
asserted
it → choose → character
For his work on "M*A*S*H," which aired on CBS for 11 seasons beginning in 1972, Alda won five of his six Emmy Awards for acting, writing and directing.
asserted
Alda → air → acting
"I have doctors coming up to me on the street all the time telling me that seeing me in the show made them want to become a doctor," Alda said.
asserted
Alda → have → show
"Not a single one said it made them want to become an actor!"
asserted
them → say → ?
Long before playing Pierce, Alda – now 90 – was on the other side of the stethoscope.
asserted
Alda → play → stethoscope
As a seven-year-old he had polio, before there was a vaccine.
asserted
he → have → polio
"My father had just gotten a huge part in a movie, playing George Gershwin," he said.
asserted
he → get → Gershwin
"And about a week after he started shooting, I got polio.
asserted
I → start → polio
And he and my mother had to administer the treatment, which was almost-scalding hot packs of wool on every limb.
asserted
which → have → limb
So, they were practically torturing their kid.
asserted
they → torture → kid
I remember thinking it was hard on them.
asserted
it → remember → them
As a boy, Alda studied his father Robert Alda's performances in vaudeville and burlesque, and also on Broadway, when Robert starred in the original cast of "Guys and Dolls."
asserted
Robert → study → Guys
"I stood in the wings and watched that every Saturday," Alan said.
asserted
Alan → stand → that
But Lady Luck dealt the family a difficult hand.
asserted
Luck → deal → hand
"My mother was mentally ill, had schizophrenia and was paranoid," Alda said.
asserted
Alda → have → schizophrenia
"So sometimes the communication would be about the crack in the wall was where they had a camera taking pictures of us.
asserted
they → have → us
I think that contributed a lot to tools I later had, trying to figure out what's real and what's not real.
asserted
what → think → tools
I had to pick one reality and try to stick with that. …
asserted
I → have → that
It made me more observant.
asserted
me → make → ?
And I think it even helped – I'm just realizing this for the first time in this moment! – I think it made me a little more curious."
asserted
me → think → moment
He's been especially curious about human connection, something he fostered on the set of "M*A*S*H."
asserted
he → foster → M*A*S*H.
"We didn't go back to our dressing rooms between shots," he said.
asserted
he → go → shots
"It was just, like, an hour or two hours where they light the new set, we stayed in our chairs in a circle and made fun of one another and laughed.
asserted
we → light → one
And that connection that we had, we carried with us onto the set.
asserted
we → have → set
"
Which had a huge impact on viewers.
asserted
Which → have → viewers
More than 100 million people watched the series' final episode.
asserted
people → watch → episode
"They think 106.
asserted
They → think → 106
But I think it was probably more.
asserted
it → think → ?
Not that I'm greedy!" he laughed.
asserted
he → laugh → ?
For years, Alda has been concerned that scientists and health care professionals often use technical language that's hard for the general public to understand.
asserted
public → concern → language
With that in mind, in 2009, New York's Stony Brook University founded the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science.
asserted
University → found → Science
, our own Tracy Smith watched Alda use methods from his own acting experience, including improvisation.
asserted
Alda → watch → improvisation
He said, "Improvisation really puts you in touch with the other person, and that's when I realized the value of connection."
Connecting is one of Alan Alda's superpowers.
asserted
Connecting → say → superpowers
Since 2018, on his podcast "Clear+Vivid," he's been interviewing guests like Paul McCartney, Michael J. Fox, Noah Wyle, and recently, Joy Behar.
asserted
he → interview → McCartney
To Alda, connecting with people means being clear and honest, which is why he will openly discuss his Parkinson's disease.
asserted
he → connect → disease
"I had a symptom, which at the time was not that well-known: Acting out your dreams," he said.
asserted
he → have → dreams
"I had a dream that somebody was attacking me.
asserted
somebody → have → me
And I picked up a sack of potatoes and threw it at 'em.
asserted
I → pick → 'em
What I was really doing was throwing a pillow at Arlene, my wife."
asserted
doing → do → Arlene
At the time he had no other symptoms: "I had no twitch, no tremor, no problems with my voice."
asserted
I → have → voice
…and 24 more, not listed.
The Aporia
