McLean Stevenson [1930-1996]

Playing the role of Colonel Henry Blake on the television series M*A*S*H," was Edgar McLean Stevenson's best known accomplishment. He was born in Normal, Illinois, McLean County, where his father was a doctor, Stevenson's model for Colonel Blake, and lived next-door to his cousin, Adlai Stevenson, later Governor of Illinois. After earning his degree from Northwestern from the School of Speech in 1952 and serving in the Navy, Stevenson returned to work at Northwestern from 1956-1959 in Alumni Relations and the Athletic Department. His first jobs in Hollywood were writing sketches for "The Glen Campbell Show," and his first major role was as Michael Nicholson on "The Doris Day Show" in 1969, before he played the Blake role from 1972-1975. After leaving "M*A*S*H," he tried three of his own series, but all were short-lived. Later conceding that he had misjudged the public when he left "M*A*S*H," he said, "Everybody loved Henry Blake," not McLean Stevenson.