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Blake, Henry Braymore M (Skipper)
Blake, Henry Braymore M (Skipper)
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Contents
M*A*S*H character
Vital information Lieutenant Colonel (O-5), U.S. Army Reserve (discharged) Commanding Officer/Senior Surgeon at the 4077th M*A*S*H His hometwon, Home Bloomington, Illinois during Korean War Hair Color: Eye Color: Height: Weight: Sandy Brown Blue 6'3" 200 lbs.
Lorraine, ?-1952 , his death Jane and Molly (daughters) Andrew (son)
"Abyssinia, Henry"
(Season 4 TV series season finale)
he did not watch his language, Henry would have no choice but to punch Hot Lips right in the mouth. Another time, when Frank was arguing with Trapper, Henry told Frank that if he didn't calm down, he would have no choice but to put it in Frank's records that Frank did not work and play well with others. Frank and Hot Lips were always going over Henrys head when they didnt get their way, filing formal complaints to full colonels or generals. At one point, Henry mocked Hot Lips by saying that she had gone over his head so many times that he had athletes scalp. He said something similar to Hawkeye and Trapper when explaining that he had not, in fact, signed a dishonorable discharge for a soldier who was homosexual: "Frank said he'd go over my head. I said go! He's done it so many times I've got footprints on my scalp!" But, being a genuinely kind-hearted and forgiving person, Henry chose not to file charges against Hot Lips when she got herself so drunk that she could not even pronounce her own name properly. In fact, Henry even ordered Hawkeye and Trapper to sober her up quickly for incoming wounded so that the incident would not show up on her permanent military record. Eerily enough, the drunken Hot Lips told Henry that he looked just like her father before he died, even though her father was actually still alive. Henry merely shrugged and replied, Yeah, a lot of people have said that.
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27/03/2014
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Henry was not completely incapable of following military regulation. He continually refused to discharge Corporal Max Klinger (Jamie Farr) for being mentally unstable, despite all the exuberant dresses that Klinger wore and ludicrous schemes Klinger cooked up in order to convince his superiors that he was insane. Henry even had a file full of Klingers various false reasons Klinger had given him for discharge regarding the apparently poor state of Klingers family. One of Henrys personal favorites was that half of Klingers family was dying while the other half was pregnant. One time when Klinger was being particularly obnoxious, Henry threatened Klinger by saying, Klinger, Ive never hit a woman before! Blake's stubbornness almost resulted in getting him killed, when he constantly refused to let a distraught helicopter pilot go on leave to see his wife and the nearly unbalanced pilot nearly killed Blake four times.
Family life/Personal
Back in Illinois, Henry had a wife, Lorraine (called Mildred more than once) and three children; two daughters Jane and Molly, and a son Andrew, who was born shortly after he left. At least twice Henry mentioned having a pet dog and twice remarked of having a pet cat. Henry cared deeply for his family, even though he had a tendency to fraternize with the nurses like Hawkeye and Trapper did. One constant source of frustration was that his wife was always sending Henry her bills and check books so that he could balance things long distance-although Henry is incompetent as a home accountant. According to Henry, his wife, a former Succotash Queen at Illinois-Normal, was a terrific cook and made a great chocolate cake. Two negative comments he makes about her is that when he left she had a fistful of credit cards and she acted like Frank Burns in drag. She was also pigeontoed and is 35 years old with $3,500 worth of bridgework (on which Henry still owes $1,500{!}) {Hot Lips and Empty Arms} . She was seen in a color home movie sent to Henry showing his daughters birthday party. On one occasion, he got a letter from his wife saying he was allowed to cheat on her, but he interpreted this as a way of saying she cheated on him. A phone call to his wife confirmed that she was attracted to someone, which really hurt him. However, although Blake loves his wife, he himself had an ongoing affair with a nurse (Lt. Leslie Scorch, played by Linda Meiklejohn) during the first season. In the season two episode, "Henry in Love", Henry almost leaves his wife {age 42} for a woman half his age -he was 44 and she was 21. Like Frank Burns, Blake also had extramarital affairs-such as having one with a underage girl in 1947 at the Happy Hour motel which was secretly recorded by camera and microphone by US Army Intelligence and a affair with a "rent-A-girl" in a 1949 AMA convention in Houston{"A Smattering of Intelligence"}.
Decorations
Several times throughout the series, the awards that Colonel Blake had earned during his service in the army could be seen on his uniform. He had earned the following: Army Commendation Medal Purple Heart World War II Victory Medal Army of Occupation Medal
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National Defense Service Medal Korean Service Medal United Nations Service Medal
Quotes
"I never claimed to be a junior General MacArthur. Look, I'm a doctor. All I try to do is patch kids up and run a hospital." "Frank, the one thing that will get you nowhere with me is impersonating my wife." "I've got command giving me a hard time and a mess tent full of Greeks waiting for their Easter dinner that is on its way to Iowa to become Radar's little brother." (To Frank and Margaret) "You two have gone over my head so many times, I've got Athlete's Scalp" (Comforting Hawkeye after the death of a friend) "If I had all the answers I'd be at the Mayo Clinic. Does this place look like the Mayo Clinic? Look, all I know is what they taught me in command school; and that is that there are certain rules in a war: Rule Number 1 is that young men die and Rule Number 2 is that doctors can't change Rule Number 1." (After Frank tells Henry he does not wish to be transferred and that he is Henry's forever:) "I've gone to sleep with happier thoughts." "Thar she blows!" "Klinger, I know how much you want out of the army but it is my considered opinion that no one is going to believe that you're pregnant." "Honey, marriage has nothing to do with sex!" (After kissing Margaret) "All yours, Frank." "Frank, it's after six. You can stop being snotty." (Reviewing Klinger's file) "Father dying last year... Mother dying last year... Mother and father dying... Mother, father and older sister dying... Mother dying and older sister pregnant... Older sister dying and mother pregnant... Younger sister pregnant and older sister dying... Here's an oldie but a goodie... half of the family dying, other half pregnant. Klinger, aren't you ashamed of yourself?" Klinger: "Yes sir... I don't deserve to be in the army." "Klinger, it's after 12:00. Put on a dress." (Talking on the phone to his son) "I don't care if your sister did drop an ice cube down your underwear, that's what girls do!" (In reference to General Clayton visiting:) "Do we have enough rye and ginger ale for the general?" Radar": "Nobody Does", Blake: "Well then if nobody does then we don't have to, but make sure we do just in case we don't" (On the phone with ICorps, after someone has used his furniture for firewood) "Hey, I'm sitting in a great big empty here!" (Henry, Margret, and Frank in meeting) "Say something, will you Frank? Even a gurgle will help. You keep this up and someone's going to do an autopsy on you." (Saying goodbye to camp, Klinger wearing a fruit-basket hat) "Klinger, that outfit might just get you that Section Eight." (Saying goodbye to Radar) "You behave yourself or I'm going to come back and kick your butt."
Trivia
In the episode when the fake general {Jack Soo} looks over Blake's 100 year old desk-his hat insignia is that of a Chief Warrent Officer-a clue the drunken Blake failes to see {Literally!}
Portrayals
Only two actors have portrayed the character of Henry Blake: Roger Bowen in the film McLean Stevenson in the television series Coincidentally, both actors died a day apart, on February 16, 1996, and February 15, 1996 respectively, and of the exact same cause, a heart attack.
http://mash.wikia.com/wiki/Henry_Blake
27/03/2014