McLean Stevenson

M*A*S*H won the hearts of millions of viewers throughout the ‘70s. McLean Stevenson, as beloved Colonel Henry Blake, was lucky enough to maintain a supporting role on the show, earning him a healthy $100,000 per episode.Even with such substantial earnings, Stevenson insisted to writer Ken Levine that he would rather be part of a project that offered him a starring role.

As a result, Stevenson was written out of the show during the third season, with one of the most shocking TV deaths in history.Stevenson proved that taking risks doesn’t always pay off, in spite of our best efforts. Either that or maybe he lacked the “star quality” to be a leading man, after all.