MASH's Gary Burghoff Has Quite A Few Hidden Talents

For the first eight seasons of "M*A*S*H" from 1972 to 1979, actor Gary Burghoff starred as Corporal Walter "Radar" O'Reilly, but he's actually done quite a bit outside his stint on the beloved war sitcom. For example, you may be aware of his spinoff pilot, "W*A*L*T*E*R," which aired as a TV movie in 1984 after failing to secure a series order, or his alleged behind-the-scenes feud with "M*A*S*H" co-star McLean Stevenson. Something you may not know, though, is that Burghoff actually had an impressive array of secret talents beyond playing a military clerk on television.

For starters, Burghoff is actually quite the inventor. According to Justia, the actor has four patents to his name, with three of his innovations centering around the world of fishing. He successfully patented his "fish attractor device" in 1992 and was subsequently granted an additional patent for an "enhanced" version of it in 1993. Burghoff also patented a fishing rod he designed in the early '90s. However, the very first of Burghoff's patents was actually completely unrelated to fishing (unless you fish in a really weird way). That was for a "toilet seat lifting handle" Burghoff apparently invented in the '80s and filed a patent for in 1987.

Indeed, while Burghoff is best known for starring on "M*A*S*H," he is evidently something of a real-life MacGyver when it comes to catching fish or making more sanitary household plumbing fixtures. Plus, his talents hardly end there, as Burghoff also has quite a penchant for the arts. 

Before he began pursuing acting, "M*A*S*H" star Gary Burghoff showed a talent for singing and dancing from an early age. He showed a particular interest in percussion, becoming a skilled jazz drummer despite the congenital hand difference he was born with. At one point in the late 1960s, Burghoff even played in a short-lived band called The Relatives alongside a then-unknown Lynda Carter, who would become rich for playing "Wonder Woman." On a similar note, Burghoff actually got to show off his skills behind the kit in a 1973 episode of "M*A*S*H" — in the Season 1 finale, "Showtime," Corporal Walter "Radar" O'Reilly performs a drum solo while playing in a band.

In addition to his talent for drumming, Burghoff has also enjoyed a career as an acclaimed wildlife painter — a passion of his that had the room to blossom in the 1990s, when he decided to scale back on acting to embrace painting and his family life. Speaking to The New York Times in 2004, the actor cast his mind back to 1993, when he had the opportunity to choose which painting of a duck would be printed on government stamps, and had hundreds of candidates to sift through. "I was euphoric," he said, adding, "All of a sudden, I said, 'I'm going to do this.'"

Like so many other things, Burghoff became quickly proficient at painting; by 2004, Burghoff's own animal paintings were being showcased at a Connecticut art gallery. ”I'm hoping to make the viewer see the beauty and soul of the animal,” the "M*A*S*H" alum told the Times regarding what he hoped to accomplish with his work.