Cowboy (M*A*S*H) Cowboy (M*A*S*H) "Cowboy" was the eighth episode of the M*A*S*H television series. Originally shown on November 12, 1972 and repeated May 6, 1973, it was written by Bob Klane and directed by Don Weis. It is the only first-season episode listed in "TV Guide" as a "classic episode". The episode's guest stars are Billy Green Bush as John "Cowboy" Hodges, Patrick Adiarte as Ho-Jon, Timothy Brown as Spearchucker Jones, Mike Robello as the cook, Jean Powell as a nurse, Joe Corey as Goldstein, and John Orchard as Capt. "Ugly John" Black. "The Cowboy", a chopper pilot whose nickname stems from
Alan Alda play "QED", which had only one other character. Although Peter Parnell wrote the play, Alda both produced and inspired it. Alda has also appeared frequently in the films of Woody Allen, and was a guest star five times on "ER", playing Dr. Kerry Weaver's mentor, Gabriel Lawrence. During the later episodes, Dr. Lawrence was revealed to be suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Alda also had a co-starring role as Dr. Robert Gallo in the 1993 TV movie "And the Band Played On". During "M*A*S*H"'s run and continuing through the 1980s, Alda embarked on a successful career as