Colonel Sherman T. Potter
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Colonel Sherman T. Potter was a fictional character from the M*A*S*H television show. He was portrayed by Harry Morgan.
At the end of the show's third season, McLean Stevenson had left the series, and his character of Henry Blake died on his way home. The producers wanted a different type of commanding officer for the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH). They decided on a man who had made a career out of the US Army—what was called in the show as regular army, and was close to retirement. In a book on the television series, the producers said they wanted a lifer who was on short time. The producers decided to have Harry Morgan fill the role after the strong performance he gave as a visiting General earlier in the first episode of the third season, "the General flipped at Dawn".
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Background
Col. Potter was a man who was both an excellent surgeon and leader. He led mainly by example, always doing his best and encouraging others to do the same. He was at times willing to ignore the letter of regulations in order to abide by its spirit. He was often an easygoing man who enjoyed playing the occasional practical joke on others in his unit. When he found out about the existence of Hawkeye and B.J.'s still, he offered advice on how to make the drinks better (as he once had a distillery while stationed on Guam, which blew up, getting him a Purple Heart).
Despite the distance that military duty imposed upon him, his wife Mildred, his children, and his grandaughter Col. Potter was at heart a family man. He kept in regular contact with his family, and told Mildred all about the people he served with at the 4077th. For the most part Col. Potter and his wife had to maintain a distance relationship, although he was able to meet her for a couple weeks in Toyko at one point.
During his time in the military, Col. Potter had shown that he was a man of integrity. Several times when old friends of his had committed serious errors that had gotten men hurt or killed, Col. Potter would report them to the chain of command. Potter had said once that he didn't care if it cost him every friend he had, but the price of not reporting his friend's errors was too high if even one soldier was hurt or killed. He was also an enlightened man such as when he found out that one CO was deliberately sending black soldiers disproportionally into hazardous duty so that they'd get injured, killed, or sent home faster so he wouldn't have them in his unit. Col. Potter participated in a sting that got the CO to reveal his feelings, and force him to resign.
History Prior to the 4077th
Sherman Potter was from the state of Missouri. (A continuity error occurred one time when he said he was from Nebraska.)
Sherman Potter had first joined the army as a teenager when he lied about his age to get into the cavalry during World War I. One continuity error that occurred later in the series was in the episode "Pressure Points". Potter said he was 62 years old. If that was the correct age for Potter, he would have been in his early 20s in 1914—and would not have needed to lie about his age. So his exact age during the series is debatable. Col. Potter gave distinguished service, earning the Good Conduct Medal. Because he was an enlisted man at the time, he was eligible for the award. Potter noted that neither MacArthur or Bradley had the award.
During World War I, he and a number of his friends had spent the night in a French chateau while under fire. He and his friends had come across a cache of brandy. They proceeded to drink all but one bottle of the brandy. They made an agreement (a tontine) that the last survivor of the group would take the bottle and make a toast to his friends. Potter turned out to be the last survivor of the group, and drank a toast to his old friends, and his new ones in the unit.
After World War I, Sherman Potter entered medical school, and four years later became a doctor. During this time, he married Mildred. Potter went through residency in Saint Louis. After residency, Potter served in the Army in a number of positions up until the time of his service in Korea. Prior to his service at the 4077th, he served as a hospital administrator. He and Mildred purchased a home in Missouri, and raised several children. He and Mildred became grandparents when a granddaughter was born in the early 1950s.
CO of the 4077th
After Colonel Blake left the 4077th MASH, Colonel Potter was assigned to the unit as the CO. As he would later tell Klinger, the first few days were "a might uneasy." He said "no one was jumping for joy" over his arrival. Despite it being several years since having performed an operation, Potter had no problem performing surgery once again.
It took a few days, but once Potter and the rest of the staff got to know each other Potter became good friends with many of the people in his unit. He was particularly good friends with Hawkeye, B.J., Radar, Mulcahy, Klinger, and Major Houilhan. Potter became a father figure to Radar during Radar's time at the 4077th. In return, when Radar found a stray horse, later called Sophie, he gave her to Potter so he could at least care of her. For Potter's part, he was delighted to have a horse again and rode her regularly throughout the remainder of his assignment with the unit. When Radar's Uncle Ed died at the beginning of the 8th season, he helped Radar get a hardship discharge so Radar could return home to Iowa. When Klinger took over as clerk, Potter realized that Klinger needed to adjust to his new job. So Potter took Klinger under his wing, and as a result Klinger did at least as good a job as Radar did. It was Potter's approval that eventually got Klinger promoted to sergeant.
Potter did not get along with Frank Burns. When Frank said he loved being in Korea, Potter said that either Burns or Klinger was nuts, and he had to figure out who it was. When Frank Burns finally had a nervous breakdown and was transferred stateside, Potter had arranged to have Major Winchester assigned to the unit. Winchester was a much better surgeon, but at the same time was somewhat pretentious. Winchester was also angry about being assigned to the 4077th, and gotten into a few arguments with Potter as a result. Potter also had to occasionally deal with the intelligence officer Colonel Flagg.
After the Korean War
With the armistice declared in Korea, the 4077th was disbanded, and everyone in the unit parted ways as they went on with their respective lives. Col. Potter retired from the military, and went back home to Missouri. At the end of the show, Col. Potter had planned on going home to Mildred and being a semi-retired country doctor.
However, Harry Morgan, William Christopher, and Jamie Farr—the three who voted to continue the series at the end of the 10th season—were invited to star in a spinoff series at CBS. This show, called After MASH, had the three actors reprising their roles from MASH. Dr. Potter was the administrator of a hospital in Missouri. Father Mulcahy, after becoming deaf in one ear, was now the hospital's Catholic chaplain. And Max and Soon-Lee Klinger, after experiencing discrimination in Toledo, moved to the area so that Max could take a job as Potter's assistant.
Gary Burghoff reprised his role as Radar for a two part show on his wedding. Edward Winter also reprised his role as Col. Flagg in a guest role. But without the majority of the cast or the writers from the original series, the show was never as popular as MASH was, and CBS decided to cancel the series after only two seasons.
External links
- Finest-Kind.net (http://www.finest-kind.net/characters/potter.php) - M*A*S*H website with character profile
- Best Care Anywhere (http://www.bestcareanywhere.net/potterpic.htm) - M*A*S*H website with character profile