Who played Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger in M*A*S*H?

Jamie Farr played Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger in M*A*S*H. Klinger was a Lebanese-American soldier from Toledo, Ohio, assigned to the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital as an orderly and later a company clerk.

Klinger was initially written as a comic character desperate to receive a Section 8 discharge, which was then associated with being declared mentally unfit for military service. He wore elaborate women’s clothing and accessories to convince the Army that he was psychologically unable to serve. The joke eventually gave way to a fuller character, and Klinger’s resourcefulness and loyalty became central to the series.

Farr was hired in October 1972 for what was expected to be a one-day appearance. Klinger proved popular, returned for additional episodes, and became a series regular beginning in season four. Farr later reprised the role in the spin-off AfterMASH.

Klinger is sometimes confused with Radar O’Reilly because both were enlisted members of the 4077th staff. Radar was the unit’s famously perceptive company clerk, while Klinger began as an orderly and was later promoted to company clerk and eventually sergeant.