Alan Alda has had a long career in the public eye, marked by his many Emmy awards and Golden Globe awards, his defining role as Hawkeye Pierce in one of the most beloved television shows of all time, M*A*S*H, and his reputation as one of the hardest-working and nicest guys in Hollywood.
He also is known for his enduring marriage to his wife of nearly 70 years, Arlene, his happy family life and for continuing to expand his interests to include a podcast, a career in higher education and writing memoirs, even after his 2016 Parkinson’s diagnosis.
Alda also continues to act, most recently seen on the remake of the film The Four Seasons, based on a filmi n which he originally starred. And he’s open to new things, always. As he told PEOPLE, “I really have never made plans for the future. My life is more of an improvisation. I just try to make the best of what’s in front of me.”
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Alan Alda’s Early Years
Born in The Bronx, New York, on Jan. 28, 1936, Alan Alda had a “very unusual” childhood, he told PEOPLE. His dad, Robert (left), who was a vaudeville performer, “was a little controlling, but he was very gentle.” His mother, Joan, battled mental illness, and his parents divorced when he was in his 20s.
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Alan Alda Meets His Wife Arlene Weiss
After attending Fordham University and a brief stint in the Army Reserve, Alda married Arlene Weiss when he was 21.
Sparks flew when they were the only two people at a party to dig into a rum cake that had fallen on the floor, he has recalled.
“We did eat the rum cake off the floor and were inseparable after that. But I was captivated by her even earlier in the meal when I heard her at the end of the table laughing at my jokes. She had me at Ha,” he wrote on X.
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Alan Alda’s Family
Together, the longtime couple has three daughters — Eve, Elizabeth and Beatrice — and several grandchildren. “If I had to go through another generation of adolescence …” he joked of parenthood.
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Alan Alda’s Early Career
“I just kept plodding along,” said the actor of his pre-M*A*S*H gigs, including the 1968 football movie Paper Lion with costar Lauren Hutton, in which he played a sportswriter turned quarterback. “I would work occasionally as an actor, but I was a cab driver and a doorman and tried to sell mutual funds.”
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Alan Alda Gets His Breakout Role in ‘M*A*S*H’
In 1972, he read the script for M*A*S*H, and for more than 250 episodes the actor embodied womanizing Korean War surgeon Hawkeye Pierce even as he commuted weekly from L.A. to his modest house with Arlene and their three daughters back in Leonia, New Jersey. The CBS series ended in 1983; the finale was watched by a record 121 million viewers. Alda won six Golden Globes and two Emmys for the role, plus an Emmy for writing and one for directing.
The surviving cast members of M*A*S*H (including Gary Burghoff, left, in 1976) reunited for Alda’s podcast Clear+Vivid in 2019. And for the 50th anniversary of the show in 2022, Alda reflected on his history with the show: “It seems more like 100 [years]. It feels like it happened to a totally different person. Fortunately, though, this person still lets me live in his house!”
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Alan Alda’s Film Career
The actor starred with Joanna Gleason in Woody Allen’s 1989 film Crimes & Misdemeanors.
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Alan Alda’s Emmy Nominations
For his role in 1993’s And the Band Played On (opposite Matthew Modine), Alda scored yet another Emmy nomination, for outstanding supporting actor in a miniseries or special.
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Alan Alda on ‘E.R.’
On ER in 1999, Alda played a doctor forced to resign from County General after it’s revealed he’s in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. For his part, he was — you guessed it — nominated for another Emmy, for outstanding guest actor in a drama series.
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Alan Alda in ‘Everyone Says I Love You’
Alda joined forces with Goldie Hawn for 1996’s Everyone Says I Love You, a Woody Allen musical that featured a star-studded cast including Julia Roberts, Edward Norton, Drew Barrymore and Natalie Portman.
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Alan Alda’s Oscar Nomination
Alda’s sole Oscar nod was a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role as Senator Brewster in 2004’s The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio.
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Alan Alda on ‘The West Wing’
The actor (with costars Jimmy Smits and Martin Sheen in 2006) received his only non M*A*S*H-related Emmy for his portrayal of a senator vying for the presidency in NBC’s hit series The West Wing.
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Alan Alda in Higher Education
Alda joined the faculty of Stony Brook University in 2009 as a visiting professor. He also cofounded the university’s Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science.
“I started teaching scientists and engineers improvisation to see if it would help them relate better, and it did,” he shared.
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Alan Alda on ’30 Rock’
Another outstanding guest actor in a comedy series Emmy nomination came Alda’s way following his turn as Jack Donaghy’s biological father, Professor Milton Greene, on a 2009 episode of 30 Rock.
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Alan Alda on ‘The Big C’
Again returning to his roots as a TV doctor, Alda joined the cast of The Big C for a few episodes as Dr. Atticus Sherman, an oncologist running a clinical trial.
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Alan Alda on ‘The Blacklist’
Alda’s most recent outstanding guest actor in a drama series Emmy nomination came for his part as Assistant Director of National Intelligence Alan Fitch on The Blacklist.
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Alan Alda on ‘Ray Donovan’
Most recently, Alda appeared on Ray Donovan as Donovan’s psychiatrist Dr. Arthur Amiot. He appeared in the series’ 2022 movie, too.
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Alan Alda’s Long Marriage
“We’ve both gone through changes, but we’re still the same people. Arlene says the secret of a long marriage is a short memory,” he joked of his more than 65 years together with wife Arlene. “It’s kind of surprising, but we still experience a kind of puppy love.”
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Alan Alda’s Parkinson’s Diagnosis
In 2015, Alda was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease; he shared the news publicly in July 2018. Though he admitted it was “scary” at first, Alda learned that an exercise regimen could help stave off progression and he embraced boxing, a version of Tai Chi and — in a workout you’re not likely to see every day — marching to the boisterous compositions of John Philip Sousa.
“My life hasn’t changed much,” said the actor, who first noticed a twitch in his thumb. “I just applied my curiosity to it. I’m constantly reading and trying to figure out the best approaches. So far it’s really interesting — I think it’s helped me understand a little better that everybody has something that they’re coping with.”
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Alan Alda’s Lifetime Achievement Award
In 2019, Tom Hanks presented Alda with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Screen Actors Guild Awards; Alda brought his grandkids to the red carpet.
“You know, it’s really hard to describe to you what it feels like to look out and see my fellow actors, my colleagues, my heroes, to welcome me up there like this. It’s an extraordinary feeling,” he said. “The thing is this comes at a time where I’ve had a chance to look back at my life and to think about what it’s meant to be an actor. I see more than ever now how proud I am to be a member of our brotherhood and sisterhood of actors.”
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Alan Alda Returns in ‘The Four Seasons’
When Tina Fey created a 2025 series based on the 1981 film The Four Seasons, in which Alda starred, it was only natural to bring Alda back on set for a fun cameo.
“The movie meant a lot to me, and people are reacting to her work very much as they did to mine,” he told PEOPLE.
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Alan Alda Turns 90
The star, who still stays busy recording his Clear+Vivid podcast, celebrated his 90th birthday with a meal in New York City, followed by rum cake at home with his family.
“My grandpa is really touched by all the love he’s gotten today,” his grandson wrote while sharing photos from the day.
In 2022, while reflecting on his legacy for the M*A*S*H 50th anniversary, Alda told PEOPLE, “We can’t control how we’re remembered, so I don’t give it much thought. If I leave something behind that someone finds useful, that will be nice.”