David Ogden Stiers Once Did Something Gary Burghoff Never Forgot
Gary Burghoff hated fancy places.
Hated suits.
Hated feeling like he didn’t belong.
Even after MASH*.
Even after the awards.
He still felt like the small kid from Iowa — Radar.
David Ogden Stiers didn’t accept that.
One night, he dragged Gary to the opera.
Gary was miserable.
The whispers started immediately.
“Is that Radar?”
“What’s he doing here?”
Then a man sneered at Gary and called him “your little friend.”
David didn’t smile.
He didn’t joke.
He stood tall, put a hand on Gary’s shoulder, and said loudly:
“This is Gary Burghoff — a real musician, a true artist, and a man with more soul than this entire room combined.”
Then he added:
“If he doesn’t belong here — neither do I.”
They walked out.
Two men in tuxedos.
Eating burgers in a parking lot.
Laughing instead of listening to opera.
Years later, Gary said:
“The world knew him as Winchester.
I knew the man who refused to let anyone make me feel small.”
“He made me feel like a giant.”
And Gary never forgot it. 💙