M.A.S.H.'s 'Trapper John' is no more as actor Wayne Rogers dies

Wayne Rogers, who held fans spellbound as Trapper John Mcintyre in M.A.S.H, died in Los Angeles on 31 December. He was 82. Rona Menashe, his publicist, told Associated Press his death was caused by pneumonia. Rogers is survived by his wife Amy, their two children Bill and Laura, and four grandchildren

Rogers started his 40-year-long television with Search For Tomorrow. Later, he appeared on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Cannon, Barnaby Jones and the Big Valley. His fan following surged when, in 1972, he appeared as Trapper John, a small-screen adaptation of the theatrical which starred Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould as the original Trapper.

Though Rogers was on the show for the first three of its 11 seasons on CBS, his character was hugely appreciated by the audience, USA Today said. He appeared opposite Alan Alda's Hawkeye Pierce during the first three seasons of the comedy. He left the show in 1975 because he got comparatively short screen time. "If I had known it would run that long, I probably would have kept my mouth shut and stayed put," he reportedly said later, according to Entertainment Weekly's Ew.com.

Rogers also starred in two other series – City of Angels and House Calls – for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe award in 1979. He portrayed the noted lawyer and civil rights activist Morris Dees in the 1996 movie "Ghosts of Mississippi."

Rogers was a regular panellist on the Fox News show Cashin' In. He also earned recognition as an investor in business and real estate, according to the Associated Press.