William Christopher (1932- 2016)

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The actor best known as the gentle priest Father Mulcahy on the TV comedy series M*A*S*H, William Christopher passed away on New Year’s Eve 2016. Even though he lived a long life (84 years old) and was able to enjoy the rewards of his hard work on one of the most popular and critically acclaimed shows in television history, it still feels incredibly sad to add losing William Christopher to the long list of beloved performers gone in 2016.

M*A*S*H was of course his main source of fame, but William Christopher also brought his comically mousey demeanor to other shows before landing M*A*S*H, like The Patty Duke Show, The Andy Griffith Show, That Girl, Death Valley Days, Hogan’s Heroes, and as Lester Hummel on three seasons of Gomer Pyle. After M*A*S*H, he co-starred in the spin off also called “After M*A*S*H. He also lent his voice to the “Smurfs” animated series and made appearances on “The Love Boat”, “Mad About You” and the soap opera “Days of Our Lives”.

It seemed like all throughout his career, William Christopher, ended up dressed as either a soldier or a priest or both. But no matter what role he was playing, he brought an amazing charm and gentle humor to the part. His fans’ favorite scenes on M*A*S*H were when he would try to stay calm, try to turn the other cheek and then finally explode with an unmatched passion and swinging a fist. As Father Francis Mulcahy would say, “Klinger, how’d you like the last rites…and a few lefts!” Some of his more memorable moments on the show as Father Mulcahy were the time he was tempted by romantic feelings for a nurse, fought for wartime orphans, disarmed an emotionally disturbed soldier with only a hug and the scene where he took a pie in the face. On M*A*S*H, he ran the gamut of emotions and stretched his polished acting skills from doing slapstick frat boy comedy to performing high drama all while keeping the sweet nature that belong to both Father Mulcahy and William Christopher.

William Christopher appeared in 213 of M*A*S*H’s 251 total episodes. He finally got his name in the opening “chopper” credits in Season 5 of the series and his character was eventually promoted from Lieutenant to Captain.

Outside of acting in local theater productions in his later years including a version of “The Odd Couple” with M*A*S*H co-star Jamie Farr, William Christopher dedicated his time to Autism causes working for the National Autistic Society, He and his wife wrote a book on the subject called “Mixed Blessings” about raising an autistic child.

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Ernie Tripper
Ernie Tripper