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Major Frank BurnsMajor Frank Burns was a character in both the M*A*S*H movie and the M*A*S*H television series. In the movie, Burns was portrayed by Robert Duvall, and in the series he was portrayed by Larry Linville. The Movie In the movie, Frank Burns is portrayed as a very religious man who prays for all the souls to be saved. He also is a firm believer in military discipline who dislikes the undisciplined manner of both Hawkeye (Donald Sutherland) and Trapper (Elliot Gould). When the new head nurse, Major "Hot Lips" O'Houlihan arrives, the pair soon fall for each other. When the two meet in Houlihan's tent, they soon begin making love. What neither of them know is that a microphone had been planted underneath Houlihan's bed. Every sound the pair made during their lovemaking is heard in the clerk's office. Soon Trapper decides that this has to be shared with the rest of the camp, and he puts Burns and Houlihan on the PA. The next morning, Burns gets into a fight with Hawkeye when the latter asks Burns how Houlihan was in bed. As a result, Burns is sent to a psychiatric hospital in a straitjacket. This is the last the audience sees of Burns in the movie. The Television Series In the television series, Major Frank Burns was played by Larry Linville. The character of Frank Burns was diametrically different then Larry Linville was in real life. In the television series, Burns is a firm believer in discipline, and dislikes the fact that Hawkeye (Alan Alda) and Trapper (Wayne Rogers) are undisciplined. At the beginning of the series, Burns and Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Loretta Swit) are a couple. They both share an intense dislike of both Hawkeye and Trapper. Burns is portrayed as a generally incompetent surgeon. He is often seen making mistakes that could have cost those he operated on their lives if the other surgeons hadn't bailed him out. Burns often tried to undermine Lt. Col Henry Blake because of Blake's rather lax approach to those under his command. Several times he went over Blake's head to complain about events at the camp. An example of this is when Hawkeye was appointed chief surgeon over Burns, he went over Blake's head. However the complaining backfired when the General sent to investigate the matter is so throughly impressed with Hawkeye that he tells Blake to send Burns on a long hike. When Blake left, and died on his way home, Burns was initially slated to take command of the camp. However the Army soon appointed a new Commanding Officer, Sherman T. Potter. Everyone except Burns liked the new CO from the start, even Major Houlihan. Burns did not get a long with Potter, often making insulting comments regarding Potter's age. Eventually, Burns and Houlihan had a falling out. Houlihan eventually married Donald Penobscot, another career military officer. The two left on their honeymoon. During their honeymoon, Frank Burns was sent on leave to Seoul. While on leave, Burns suffered a breakdown, and accosted a General's wife. As a result, he was sent back to the states. Much to Hawkeye and B.J.'s disgust, Burns was promoted to Lt. Col, and posted to a VA Hospital in Indianana. Burns was replaced with Major C.E. Winchester III. Burns was written out of the series at the request of Linville. Linville felt that the character of Frank Burns had gone as far as it possibly could in the series, and that they couldn't go any further with the character as Burns had progressed during the course of the series without totally changing that. Burns, Frank Burns, Frank Burns, Frank Burns, Frank
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