You have to love Alan Alda. You have to hate war...

‘My mother didn’t try to stab my father until I was six’: Alan Alda on childhood, marriage and 60 years of stardom

Best known as Hawkeye in M*A*S*H in the 70s, the 89-year-old actor has topped the Netflix charts with a revamp of his 1981 film The Four Seasons. He talks about Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen – and what he really thinks of Donald Trump

The GuardianSimon Hattenstone

"Is it unusual for a couple in his business to have stayed together so long? Not really, he says. “You know, we’ve been good friends for decades with Mel Brooks and we were with Carl Reiner [who died in 2020], and both had very long marriages. And there are plenty of friends who have been married for 50 or 60 years.” He pauses, and I can see his mouth creasing into that sunny smile. “To multiple people, but at least they were only married to one at a time.” I burst out laughing. Have you ever said that before? “No, I don’t think I have!” And he sounds so happy."

Hawkeye, the character played by Alda, had a wonderful smile and a sparkling twinkle in his eye. My mother loved him.

I used to religiously watch M.A.S.H. with my her, back in the 70s and 80s. It was a comedy about U.S. Army medics serving during the Korean War. It must have had a bittersweet resonance for her because two of her relatives - American cousins, I believe - were victims of that war. One lost a leg in combat, the other is, to this day, Missing In Action, his remains never recovered.

The Korean War is often forgotten. Some years ago, when I was doing some family research, trying to learn more about these relatives, I came across a newsletter, 'The Korean War Project', published by two sons of a Korean War veteran. Coincidentally, I received the latest newsletter today - Memorial Day in the U.S. Hal and Ted Barker, keepers of the KWP newsletter, invite us to remember.

Today, we pause to remember all those who have paid the ultimate price in Korea as well as all the wars or conflicts in which the United States has been involved. We also include all families of our allies with whom we fought alongside, in the air, on the ground and at sea. 

While I have little time for those who order men and women into combat, I respect those who serve and have made the ultimate sacrifice. I suspect Alan Alda does too.

John Prine's classic song, 'Hello In There', contains the poignant lines:

We lost Davy in the Korean War
And I still don't know what for
Don't matter anymore...

It matters though...