Alan Alda Biography

Actor and director, born on January 28, 1936 in New York City, USA. Alan Alda is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce on the long-running television series M*A*S*H. Alda made his Broadway debut in Only in America (1959), and his film debut in Gone Are the Days (1963), but it was his extensive involvement in the television series M*A*S*H (1972–83) that earned him his greatest popularity. He was nominated over 20 times and won numerous awards for the series (including five Emmys), which provided a showcase for his talents as a socially conscious writer, director, and performer.

Alda is also known for his acerbic sense of humor which is demonstrated in such films as The Four Seasons (1981), Sweet Liberty (1985), and A New Life (1988). Later films include Crimes and Misdemeanors (1990), Canadian Bacon (1995), What Women Want (2000), and The Aviator (2004, Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination). In 2004 he joined the cast of the television political drama series The West Wing in the role of a Republican Senator named Arnold Vinick (1999–2006), for which he won an Emmy for best supporting actor in 2006.

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