Award winning actor Alan Alda was on the television show M*A*S*H from 1972 to 1983. He is also a best selling author and Broadway stage actor. Alda has worked for the rights of women and as a spokesperson for St. Judes Hospital.

Alda began his career in theater at the in Pennsylvania with small roles acting on stage with his father. He made his movie with a small roll in the film Gone Are The Days in 1953.

After a few small roles in the 1960s, Alda auditioned for M*A*S*H in early 1970. He was the only cast member to be in every episode, and he also directed 32 and helped write 13 of the shows. Alson won five Emmy Awards for his role as "Hawkeye Pierce", and nominated 16 other times.

1. "Laugh at yourself, but don't ever aim your doubt at yourself. Be bold. When you embark for strange places, don't leave any of yourself safely on shore. Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory."
2. "You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself."

• Note: The majority of the links in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.

• January 28, 1936: Born

• 1972-1983: M*A*S*H

• 1986: Hosted the The 58th Annual Academy Awards

• 1989: Crimes and Misdemeanors

• 1993: And the Band Played On

• 1993: Manhattan Murder Mystery

• 1993: Scientific American Frontiers

• 1997: Murder at 1600

• 2000: What Women Want

• 2004: The Aviator

• 2004-2006: The West Wing

• 2005: Wrote Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, and Other Things I've Learned

• 2007: Resurrecting the Champ

• 2007: Wrote Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself

• 2008: Nothing But the Truth