Musician and creator of Twisted Village label as well Cambridge, MA based record store of the same name.
When he left "M
A
S
H" in 1975, he was sued for breach of contract, but the case was thrown out because he had no contract. Producers wanted him to sign a morality clause, in which he could be suspended or fired at any time, and he refused because he wanted the same privilege regarding the producers.
Attended Ramsay High School in Birmingham, Alabama, and graduated from the Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tennessee.
Graduated with a history degree from Princeton University , where he was a member of the Princeton Triangle Club, and served in the United States Navy before becoming an actor.
Was the second actor to play the "M
A
S
H" character Trapper John McIntyre, the first one being Elliott Gould in the film MASH and the third one being Pernell Roberts on the television series "Trapper John, M.D." .
In addition to the disputes about contracts, he says he also left "M
A
S
H" because he felt the writers were not giving Trapper John any character development. Specifically, he did not like how the Trapper John character began and ended the movie with the same role significance as Hawkeye (e.g., Trapper John was brought into the movie because the unit needed a "chest cutter") but deteriorated in role significance as the TV show progressed.
Described "M
A
S
H" co-star McLean Stevenson as being "one of the funniest men I had ever met", fondly recalling in an interview one day on the set wherein Stevenson had been goofing around with a fly swatter.
After leaving "M
A
S
H" , he turned down the lead role on the television series "Trapper John, M.D." because he did not want to be typecast as a doctor on television. Ironically, he accepted a role as a doctor shortly thereafter on another television series, "House Calls" .
Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7018 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California, on December 13, 2005.
Chairman of the Board and co-owner, with Ronnie Rothstein , of "Kleinfeld Bridal".
Chairman and president of Wayne Rogers & Co., a stock trading investment company.
Was one of three investors in the Kleinfeld bridal store in New York City and created a chain of bridal stores with initial outlets in Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California.
(August 2003) Has been the managing director of the Stop-N-Save convenience food chains in Tallahasse, Florida, for almost 10 years.
Authored the book "Make Your Own Rules: A Renegade Guide to Unconventional Success". This is a business book on how to succeed in business peppered with personal anecdotes.
Owns three homes: in Los Angeles, California, Destin, Florida, and Deer Valley, Utah.
Survived by his wife Amy Hirsh Rogers, two children Bill and Laura by his first marriage, and four grandchildren Alexander, Daniel, William and Anais.
Good friends with Alan Alda.
Following his death, he was interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
His M
A
S
H
Costar William Christopher died one year to the day after he did.
[on leaving the sitcom "MASH" (1972) in retrospect] If I had,known that the show was gonna run that long, I probably would have kept,my mouth shut and stayed put.
[on the pilot for "Stagecoach West" (1960) ] As soon as I saw it,I thought: "This is really bad" and caught the next plane back to New,York. .
