"A fella oughta kick the bejesus out of a liberal now and then just to
stay in shape." -Hawkeye Pierce, in "M*A*S*H Goes to Maine", a sequel to the original book.
"...Yes, speaking of Liberals and Conservatives, Hawkeye of M*A*S*H did not become a Liberal until Alan Alda took over the character. Dr. Richard Hornberger, who wrote the M*A*S*H novels, actually served in a MASH unit in Korea, and though the books are predominantly fiction, many of the characters were based on some of the doctors and medics who served in his unit. It is said that much of Hawkeye's personality had many of Hornberger's own characteristics, including his love of golf (thus the pseudonym "Richard Hooker") and the phrase "finest kind" which is used often in the book, less so in the movie, and rarely in the TV series. People who knew Hornberger say that Donald Sutherland modeled his Hawkeye after Hornberger, with all of Hornberger's vocal nuances. Hornberger was said to be rather quiet and shy, and that Sutherland was much closer to the mark than Alan Alda. Interestingly. Hornberger was an extremely conservative Republican, quite different from Alda's more liberal Hawkeye." -Rocky Raven
What a different show we'd have had if Hawkeye was more like a younger Archie Bunker in the Army!
Hawkeye was originally conservative
