M*A*S*H notable success selling the film and seasons of the TV series on DVD. Richard Hooker wrote "" (1968), based on his experiences as a surgeon at the 8055th MASH in South Korea. He published several other novels based on that group. A total of 15 M*A*S*H novels were published between 1968 and 1977, some co-authored by William E. Butterworth. "MASH" is a 1970 feature film adaptation of the original novel. The film was directed by Robert Altman and starred Donald Sutherland as Hawkeye Pierce and Elliott Gould as Trapper John McIntyre. Although the title had no punctuation onscreen, in and
Alan Alda was scheduled to guest star on "", portraying former police and naval officer John Winters, the father of the former main character . It is unknown whether he filmed his role before the series was redesigned and Rex Winters written off. After the release of his movie "Tower Heist", Alda was devastated when on December 7, 2011, his decades-long friend Harry Morgan from "M*A*S*H" died. Alda returned to Broadway in November 2014, playing the role of Andrew Makepeace in the revival of "Love Letters" at the Brooks Atkinson Theater alongside Candice Bergen. In 2016, Alda appeared in Louis C.K.'s web-based