Which writer assisted Richard Hooker on the original M*A*S*H novel?

W. C. Heinz assisted Richard Hooker on the original MASH novel.

MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors was published in 1968 under the pen name Richard Hooker. Hooker was actually H. Richard Hornberger, a former Army surgeon whose experiences with the 8055th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital helped inspire the book. Heinz, a respected writer and former war correspondent, helped revise and shape the manuscript.

The collaboration was more substantial than a simple proofreading assignment. Heinz worked through the manuscript with Hornberger, helping clean up its medical jokes, organize the material, and tie its succession of operations, stories, and character episodes together. The novel’s credited author remained Richard Hooker.

The book became the foundation of the M*A*S*H franchise. It inspired the 1970 film, whose screenplay was written by Ring Lardner Jr., and the television series that ran from 1972 to 1983. Heinz is therefore associated with the novel’s development, not with the film screenplay or television production.