McLean Stevenson Bio, Age, Spouse(s), Career, TV Shows, Net worth, Death

Edgar McLean Stevenson Jr., popularly known as McLean Stevenson was an American actor and comedian 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. He also appeared on a number of television series, notably The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and The Doris Day Show.

McLean Stevenson Age|Nationality

He was born on 14 November 1927 and died on 15 February 1996 when he was 68 years old. Born in Normal, Illinois, U.S., Stevenson is of American nationality.

McLean Stevenson Spouse(s)|Dating|Is He Married or Divorced?

McLean had a hard time at marriage just like most Hollywood celebrities. He got married to his girlfriend Polly Ann Gordon in the summer of 1957 whom he met while studying at Northwestern University. The marriage only lasted for a while and in 1960, they got divorced.

In 1969, he married Louise Herbert after his divorce with Polly. By but lack they fell out of love and got divorced in 1971. His marriage to Ginny Fosdick was his third and final marriage. On 8 December 1980, the two got married and remained faithful to their wedding vows of always and forever.

McLean Stevenson Family

McLean 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 candidate Adlai E. Stevenson II.

Also, he was 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.

He has three children include a son, Jeff MacGregor. Jeff has two sisters, Jennifer Stevenson, and Lindsey Stevenson. Lindsey is the most famous of McLean Stevenson’s daughter, she appeared in 1982’s 1st episode of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

Mclean Stevenson Daughter

He has two daughter’s namely Jennifer Stevenson and  Lindsey Stevenson.

McLean Stevenson Education

Detailed information is not yet known about his early childhood education, reports say that he had his secondary school education at the college preparatory school, Lake Forest Academy.

McLean Stevenson Career

Upon completion of his high school education, he joined the United States Navy to serve the nation for a brief period of time in line with family traditions. After his service, he attended to attend Northwestern University where he eventually bagged a bachelor’s degree in Theatre 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.

When he was 31 years old, McLean began in show business. During the 1960s, he worked in night clubs and comedy cabarets, did summer stock theater and some television before moving to Hollywood, where he worked as a comedy writer for Tom Smothers. He eventually began acting in sketches.

The McLean Stevenson Show

The McLean Stevenson Show is an American sitcom that aired on NBC on Wednesday nights from December 1, 1976, to March 3, 1977. The series centered on Mac Ferguson, the owner of a hardware store in Evanston, Illinois (McLean Stevenson’s birth state). Mac lived with his wife Peggy and two grown children, divorced daughter Janet, and son Chris. Also living in the household were Janet’s two children, David and Jason, and Mac’s mother-in-law.

Why Did Mclean Stevenson Leave Mash

In an interview, M*A*S*H actor Loretta Swit commented that Stevenson wanted to be the star and felt oppressed as one of an ensemble of eight. She said that before Stevenson left the series he told her, “I know I will not be in anything as good as this show, but I have to leave and be number one.

“Although he had played ensemble parts for several years, he has stated that the primary reasons for his departure were systemic problems with 20th Century Fox, especially disregard for simple comforts for cast and crew on location, and the more lucrative opportunities presented to him at the time.

Stevenson was replaced in the series by Harry Morgan, a friend of Stevenson who had guest-starred opposite him in the Season Three premiere episode “The General Flipped at Dawn”. Morgan portrayed Colonel Sherman Potter for the show’s remaining eight seasons and starred in its short-lived spin-off AfterMASH.

McLean Stevenson Net worth

He died when his estimated net worth was $ 6 Million dollars. As of 2019, his net worth is still not revealed and will be updated as soon as we find out. Detailed information about his property, cars, houses are also not available and we will update you soon.

McLean Stevenson Achievements

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.

In 1962, he made his professional career debut in The Music Man and regularly appeared in Warsaw, Indiana, in summer stock productions. Stevenson appeared as a contestant on the Password television game show in New York City before becoming a star, winning five pieces of luggage. Afterward, 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 Was in which Alan Alda appeared and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, performing occasionally on both shows.

McLean was also a regular in 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 Death

On 15 February 1996, Stevenson was recovering from bladder cancer surgery at the Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center, when he suffered a sudden fatal heart attack and died on the spot.

He is buried in Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. He died a day before actor Roger Bowen, who portrayed Lt. Colonel Henry Blake in the 1970 movie MASH, also dying from a heart attack.

McLean Stevenson Trivia

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”.

During his college days, he was a renowned member of the Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) fraternity, which made him really popular among his peers in school. His popularity earned him the job of assistant director of athletics at the university on completion of his studies.

From 1950 to 1959, McLean Stevenson held a series of jobs, ranging from that of a radio host in Dallas to serving as a medical supplier, an insurance clerk, a seaman, and as a press secretary to the presidential campaign of his cousin, Adlai Ewing Stevenson II. In the last episode of the 1974-75 season, Blake was sent home and his plane was shot down over the Sea of Japan. After leaving “M*A*S*H”, Stevenson headlined in a series of failed TV shows.