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Alan Alda is taking on his illness with a smile.
In 2015, the “M*A*S*H” star was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He also has face blindness, or prosopagnosia, which makes it difficult for him to recognize people.
The 89-year-old told People magazine on Wednesday that managing his Parkinson’s has “gone from a part-time job to almost a full-time job keeping track of all these little solutions.”
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Alan Alda starred as Hawkeye Pierce in “M*A*S*H” from 1972 to 1983. (CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)
“But it keeps me always looking for the funny side,” the actor shared.
“Almost every day I’m finding a new way to do something,” the father of three told the outlet. “It’s a little like a game. I’ve found whatever the little problem is, if I keep at it, I can eventually solve it, and then I feel like a million bucks. It’s a way to have a good time under poor circumstances.”
Acting continues to keep Alda busy. Most recently, he made a cameo appearance in Tina Fey’s Netflix series adaptation of his 1981 film, “The Four Seasons.” It has already been renewed for a second season.
Tina Fey and Alan Alda attend a special screening of the 1981 original “The Four Seasons” at Paris Theater on April 27, 2025, in New York City. (Jason Mendez/Getty Images for Netflix)
Alda’s character in Fey’s series is known for offering advice from his wife. It’s no different from real life, he said. Alda has been married to his spouse, Arlene, for 68 years.
“She always says, ‘The secret to marriage is a short memory,’” Alda told the outlet. “We both try to practice being there when we’re there: listening, answering, taking an interest. You can get used to somebody, no matter who it is. I’ve always thought if the Pope and Mother Teresa were a couple, after a few years, they’d have to work it out.”
According to the outlet, Alda met Arlene, 92, during their college days in 1956 at a mutual friend’s party in New York City. When a rum cake fell onto the floor, they were the only two guests who didn’t hesitate to eat it.
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Alan Alda and wife Arlene Alda attend the World Science Festival’s 12th Annual Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images for World Science Festivals)
It was love at first sight.
“[I knew she was the one] when we ate the cake off the floor,” said Alda. “There’s something about flirting over food, and that she laughed at my jokes meant a lot. We still laugh at each other’s jokes a lot, and she’s getting funnier every day.”
And as Alda navigates his Parkinson’s, Arlene continues to be by his side.
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“I don’t have dexterity with my fingers the way I used to, so sometimes she has to tear a package open for me,” Alda explained. “She’s so good-natured about it. I’m always saying, ‘Thank you.’ I don’t get proud. I’m glad that I can do something. Proud seems like a waste of time.”
Back in 2019, Alda recalled to Fox News Digital what it was like filming the final episode of “M*A*S*H,” titled “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen,” which he also directed. The Washington Post reported more than 106 million viewers watched the series finale. The outlet also shared that the episode was so highly anticipated that 30-second advertising slots sold for $50,000, more than some slots for the 1983 Super Bowl.
In addition to this, the United Press International reported that an estimated one million viewers in New York City alone used the toilet after the show ended, pouring 6.7 million gallons of water through the city’s sewers.
Alan Alda portrayed the wisecracking surgeon Hawkeye. (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
Alda said the pressure was on to deliver a final goodbye that fans wouldn’t forget.
“I wanted to end it in a way that showed that everybody was going home with some kind of wound from the war,” said Alda. “That the war didn’t leave anybody the way they were when they started. Sometimes it was physical wounds, and sometimes it was emotional. We wanted to be authentic about that and genuine.”
“I also wanted to give everybody a goodbye, including the extras,” Alda continued. “You know, the audience got to know the extras on the show. So I gave them all speeches about what they were all going to do when they got home. Which didn’t always go well with them because they weren’t used to acting, they were all used to being in the background.”
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Alan Alda was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2015. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
The star admitted he was faced with even bigger obstacles.
“The other challenge in directing the final episode was the outdoor location that we used in the mountains of Malibu,” said Alda.
“It caught fire on a Friday night or Saturday morning, and the entire set burned to the ground. I still had a lot of scenes to shoot there. So I spent the weekend rewriting the script and wrote a fire into it. And the rest of the show took place in another location. But that’s one of the fun things that happen when you’re acting. You have everything prepared. Everything is all set up to go, and then at the last minute, you have to improvise, which is exciting.”
From left: Alan Alda as Captain Benjamin Hawkeye Pierce, Wayne Rogers as Captain Trapper John McIntyre and Loretta Swit as Major Margaret Houlihan, circa 1972. (CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)
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He also told Fox News Digital that his wife’s advice on keeping a short memory to ensure a long marriage “works.”
“Two people can’t live together unless they occasionally have a difference of opinion or a different way of doing things,” he said. “And as you’re working that out, no matter how strongly you feel, I think it’s good to remember that you love this person. It’s easy to forget when you get upset about something. And it shortens up the conversation a lot.”
