REMEMBERING WILLIAM CHRISTOPHER ’54

Actor William Christopher ’54, best known for his role as Father Francis Mulcahy in the popular television series M*A*S*H, died December 31, 2016, at his home in Pasadena, Calif.

Christopher’s Father Mulcahy was a Roman Catholic chaplain assigned to a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War on the award-winning television series, which aired from 1972 through 1983.

A theater major at Wesleyan, Christopher began his acting career in New York, playing in Broadway and off-Broadway productions before moving to Los Angeles, where he worked in television and appeared in a number of popular shows in addition to M*A*S*H, including The Andy Griffith Show, The Patty Duke Show, and Hogan’s Heroes.

In a statement shared with the press, actress Loretta Swit (M*A*S*H’s Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan), said, “He became TV’s quintessential padre. It was the most perfect casting ever known.”