Roger Bowen

Roger Bowen
Bowen in 1971
Born	Roger Wendell Bowen (1932-05-25)May 25, 1932 Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
Died	February 16, 1996(1996-02-16) (aged 63) Marathon, Florida, U.S.
Alma mater	Brown University University of Chicago
Occupations	Actor Novelist Co-Founder, The Second City
Years active	1955–1996
Spouse	Ann Bowen
Children	3

Roger Wendell Bowen (May 25, 1932 – February 16, 1996) was an American comedic actor and novelist, best known for his portrayal of Lt. Col. Henry Blake in the 1970 film M*A*S*H.

Bowen considered himself a writer who only moonlighted as an actor. He wrote eleven novels (including Just Like a Movie) as well as sketches for Broadway and television. He was also one of the co-founders of Chicago's comedy and acting troupe The Second City.

Life and career

A native of

After M*A*S*H, Bowen returned to television and gained a fan following as Hamilton Majors Jr., the pleasantly snooty Ivy League CEO of Continental Flange and supportive boss of Herschel Bernardi on the TV sitcom Arnie (1970–72). He then joined the cast of The Brian Keith Show, and returned to TV commercials and smaller movie roles. In 1976, Bowen appeared in the TV parody film Tunnel Vision, doing a convincing Henry Kissinger impersonation that he was often asked to perform at parties around Hollywood. (The film featured a galaxy of comic stars including Chevy Chase, John Candy, Howard Hesseman and Joe Flaherty, but Bowen received top billing as the others were still relatively unknown at the time.) Bowen also played minor roles in such films as Heaven Can Wait (1978), The Main Event (1979) and Zapped! (1982).

Bowen was a tournament chess player who participated in several events in the 1970s.^[2] In the early 1980s, Bowen enjoyed another round of weekly TV work with recurring roles on House Calls (starring former M*A*S*H sitcom alumnus Wayne Rogers), At Ease, and Maggie Briggs. He made his final credited film appearance in the 1991 comedy What About Bob? starring Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss.

Death

Bowen died of a heart attack at the age of 63 while on vacation in Marathon, Florida.^[1] His death came one day after that of McLean Stevenson, who played Blake for the first three seasons of the M*A*S*H television series.^[3] (Stevenson also died from a heart attack; because of this strange coincidence, Bowen's family did not make the news of his death public until a week afterward in an attempt to minimize any confusion over the two actors and their obituaries.)

Filmography

Bibliography

• Bowen, Roger (1979). Inga. Normandie Publishing.
  ISBN 978-0960298617
  .
• Bowen, Roger (1995). The Silent Fifties. Normandie Publishing.
  ISBN 978-0960298624
  .
• Bowen, Roger (1996). Just Like a Movie. Normandie Publishing.
  ISBN 978-0960298631
  .