Edgar McLean Stevenson Jr. (November 14, 1927 â€" February 15, 1996)
was an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as
Lt. Colonel Henry Blake in the television series M*A*S*H, which earned
him a Golden Globe Award in 1974. Stevenson also appeared on a number
of television series, notably The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
and The Doris Day Show.Stevenson was born in Normal, Illinois. He was
the great-grandson of William Stevenson (brother of US Vice President
Adlai E. Stevenson), making him a second cousin once removed of
two-time presidential nominee Adlai E. Stevenson II. He was also the
brother of actress Ann Whitney. His father, Edgar, was a cardiologist.
Their shared middle name, "McLean," came from Edgar Sr.'s mother,
Lottie McLean.Stevenson attended Lake Forest Academy and later joined
the United States Navy. After his service he attended Northwestern
University, where he was a Phi Gamma Delta fraternity brother, and
graduated with a bachelor's degree in theater arts. Afterward he
worked at a radio station, played a clown on a live TV show in Dallas,
became an assistant athletic director at Northwestern, and sold
medical supplies and insurance. He also worked as a press secretary
for his cousin in the presidential elections of 1952 and 1956. He
formed the "Young Democrats for Stevenson."In 1961, Stevenson's cousin
invited him to social functions where he met a few business
luminaries. He followed his cousin's advice to look for a show
business career. He auditioned and won a scholarship to the American
Musical and Dramatic Academy. He made his professional career debut in
The Music Man in 1962 and appeared regularly in Warsaw, Indiana, in
summer stock productions. Before becoming a star, Stevenson appeared
as a contestant on the Password television game show in New York City,
winning five pieces of luggage. After this he appeared in New York
City on stage, and in television commercials. He also performed on
Broadway, and began to establish himself as a comedy writer, writing
for the seminal That Was The Week That Wasâ€"in which Alan Alda
appearedâ€"and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, performing
occasionally on both shows. He also was a regular on the 1970 The Tim
Conway Comedy Hour variety show on CBS. During the late 1960s and
early 1970s, he also appeared in TV commercials for products such as
Kellogg's, Libby's fruit cocktail, Dolly Madison and Winston
cigarettes, in which he was shown sprinting around a parking lot of
Winston delivery trucks and painting over the product slogan,
replacing the "like" in "like a cigarette should" with the
grammatically correct "as." McLean Stevenson Biography, Weight & Height, Age, Nationality & Ethnicity
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