Alan Alda

Alan Alda has been married to Arlene Alda since 1957. They have three daughters, Elizabeth, Beatrice, and Eve. The couple met while Alda was attending Fordham University, after they were among the guests who ate a rum cake that had fallen onto the floor at a dinner party.

Alda was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2015 and publicly discussed the diagnosis in 2018. He has also described living with prosopagnosia, a condition that makes it difficult to recognize familiar faces.

Alda began acting in summer stock and developed his performance skills with improvisational groups including the Compass Players and Second City. He later worked at the Cleveland Play House on a Ford Foundation grant. During his time at Fordham University, he studied in Europe, acted in a play in Rome, and appeared on television in Amsterdam with his father, actor Robert Alda.

His Broadway breakthrough came with the role of Charlie Cotchipee in Purlie Victorious in 1961. He later appeared in The Owl and the Pussycat and received a Tony Award nomination for The Apple Tree. His subsequent Broadway credits included Jake's Women, QED, Art, Glengarry Glen Ross, and Love Letters.

In 1972, Alda was cast as chief surgeon Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce in MASH*, the comedy-drama about medical personnel serving during the Korean War. He appeared in all 256 episodes and became the series' central performer as Hawkeye developed from a carefree anti-authoritarian surgeon into a more morally serious character.

Alda also wrote and directed numerous episodes, including the 1983 finale, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen." He wrote 19 episodes and directed 32, while also serving as a producer and creative consultant. His work on the series made him the first person to win Emmy Awards for acting, writing, and directing.

While starring in MASH, Alda commuted between Los Angeles and his home in New Jersey on weekends for 11 years so that his wife and daughters could remain there. The show's success also led to prominent film roles in Same Time, Next Year, California Suite, and The Seduction of Joe Tynan*.

Alda made his feature directing debut with The Four Seasons in 1981, a comedy-drama in which he also wrote and played Jack Burroughs. He subsequently wrote, directed, and starred in Sweet Liberty and A New Life, and directed Betsy's Wedding in 1990.

As an actor, Alda took on a range of roles that moved beyond the genial image associated with Hawkeye Pierce. He played a morally compromised television producer in Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors, a political figure in The Aviator, and a lawyer in Marriage Story. His performance as Owen Brewster in The Aviator earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

From 2004 to 2006, Alda played Republican senator and presidential candidate Arnold Vinick in The West Wing. He appeared in 28 episodes and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the role.

His later television work included recurring roles in ER, 30 Rock, The Big C, The Blacklist, The Good Fight, and Ray Donovan. He also appeared in Horace and Pete, played Dr. Arthur Amiot in Ray Donovan: The Movie, and hosted the podcast Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda.

Alda hosted Scientific American Frontiers, a PBS program focused on science and technology, beginning in 1993. He later hosted The Human Spark and Brains on Trial with Alan Alda, programs that explored human uniqueness, brain science, and the relationship between neuroscience and the justice system.

He helped found the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University, where he became a visiting professor. He also created the Flame Challenge, an international competition that asks scientists to explain complex ideas in ways accessible to children.

Alda wrote the play Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie and published memoirs including Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, and If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?