Major Franklin Delano Marion "Frank" Burns (also known as "Ferret Face") is a fictional character in the M*A*S*H M*A*S*H is a media franchise. Owned in its film and television incarnations by 20th Century Fox, the series concerns a group of fictional characters who served at the fictional 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War. The original incarnation of the series is loosely based on the real 8055th M*A*S*H, and features Hawkeye Pierce film MASH is a 1970 American satirical dark comedy film directed by Robert Altman and written by Ring Lardner, Jr., based on the novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors by Richard Hooker. It is the only feature film in the M*A*S*H franchise. It became one of the biggest hit films of the early 1970's for Twentieth Century Fox, and especially during and television series M*A*S*H is an American television series developed by Larry Gelbart, adapted from the 1970 feature film MASH . The series is a medical drama/black comedy that was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for CBS. It follows a team of doctors and support staff stationed at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in Uijeongbu, South. Burns first appeared in the original M*A*S*H novel by Richard Hooker H. Richard Hornberger was an American writer and surgeon, born in Trenton, New Jersey, who wrote under the pseudonym Richard Hooker. His most famous work was MASH (1968), written in collaboration with W.C. Heinz, and which became the basis for a successful movie and television series, where he had the rank of captain. The character was then portrayed in the film by Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards, and in the television series by Larry Linville Lawrence Lavon "Larry" Linville was an American actor. He was perhaps best known for his portrayal of obnoxious, pious, self-important and inept surgeon Major Frank Burns in the television series M*A*S*H.
The character is only slightly different in all versions; the original Burns was a borderline incompetent and egotistical doctor who blamed others for his own shortcomings (a trait also shared by both his film and television portrayals). In the film he is also a brooding religious fanatic, and on television he was an officious, frenetic, pompous twit obsessed with military order.
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Novel
In the original novel, Captain Burns is described as a well-off doctor who had attended medical school but had no true formal training as a surgeon other than a long apprenticeship with his father in Indiana Indianapolis home to several major sports teams and athletic events including the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, the NBA's Indiana Pacers, the Indianapolis 500 motorsports race. Indiana has several metropolitan areas with populations greater than 100,000 and a number of smaller industrial cities and towns. The state has several well-known colleges. He maintains a dismissive attitude toward those colleaugues (such as the Swampmen) who went through the rigors and demands of a residency for their training. However, his belief in his own superiority masks serious shortcomings in his surgical abilities, which he invariably dismisses as the failures of others involved in the patients' care. When one of Burns' patients dies, "it's either (1) God's will or (2) somebody else's fault" (Hooker, p. 43). This practice comes to a head when he unjustly accuses rookie orderly Private Boone of killing a patient of his. Young Boone is emotionally crushed and an infuriated Duke, who witnesses the scene, walks with Frank to the privacy of the sluice where he delivers a nose-breaking punch and knee to the stomach. A short time later, Trapper assaults Frank after Frank's arrogance and incompetence almost costs a soldier his life. The concern of the surgeons on Frank's team regarding Frank's incompetence causes Blake to nominate Trapper John as Chief Surgeon.
Later, after Burns and Houlihan commence a sexual affair, the Swampmen latch onto it, giving Houlihan the nickname of "Hot Lips". One night in a room just off the OR, Hawkeye makes some ribald comments about the relationship. Burns, having reached the limit of his patience, hurls a coffeemaker at Hawkeye, just as Blake walks in. The next day, Burns is sent away for psychiatric evaluation, leading Duke to remark: "Henry, if I get into Hot Lips and jump Hawkeye Pierce, can I go home, too?" (Hooker, p. 49).
Movie
In the movie and in the subsequent TV series, Frank Burns' rank has been increased to that of Major, presumably for dramatic and story conflict and to replace the book's Major Hobson who was the resident religious zealot in the novel, but possibly also to facilitate the pun "Major Burns". He is portrayed as a very religious Religion is the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or a set of beliefs concerning the origin and purpose of the universe. It is commonly regarded as consisting of a person’s relation to God or to gods or spirits. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories associated with their deity or deities, that are man who prays for all the souls to be saved, but is still not much of a doctor. He also is a firm believer in military discipline who dislikes the undisciplined manner of both Hawkeye Pierce Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce is a fictional character and lead protagonist in the M*A*S*H novels, film, and television series. The character was played by Donald Sutherland in the film and by Alan Alda on television. He is both the main character and the only character to appear in every episode of the television series and Trapper John McIntyre "Trapper" John Francis Xavier McIntyre is a fictional character in Richard Hooker's M*A*S*H novels, as well as the film and the two TV series that followed them. The nickname was derived from him being caught having sex with a woman in the ladies' room on a train, when said woman announced "He trapped me!" (The blurb on the. He also has a tendency to blame others for his mistakes; for example, when he orders a medical device for a man already dead, he blames an orderly A medical orderly or orderly is a hospital attendant whose job consists of assisting medical and/or nursing staff with various nursing and/or medical interventions. These duties are classified as routine tasks involving no risk for the patient he asked to get the device, causing the man to break down crying. This leads to McIntyre punching him and to Duke's comment that, when somebody dies around Frank, "It's either God's will or somebody else's fault."
When the new head nurse, Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan arrives, the pair soon fall for each other. In the film version (unlike the novel) it is only Henry Blake who calls her O'Houlihan. All of the other characters refer to her as "Major Houlihan". This was a mistake on the actor's (Roger Bowen as Lt. Col. Henry Blake) part. But Altman decided to leave this in the film to further show just how befuddled Blake really was. Later, when Burns and Houlihan meet in her tent to dictate a letter condemning Hawkeye, Trapper, and Duke, they soon begin having sex. What neither of them know is that a microphone has been planted underneath Houlihan's bed by Radar Corporal “Radar” O’Reilly is a fictional character in the M*A*S*H novels, the film, the television series, the television pilot, W*A*L*T*E*R, and two episodes of the series, After MASH. The character was portrayed by Gary Burghoff in both the film and on television — the only actor from the film to reprise his role on television, aside (Corporal O'Reilly). Every sound the pair make during sex is heard in the clerk's office (including Houlihan's insistence that Burns kiss her "hot lips", resulting in her legendary nickname). 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, demonstrating noises. As a result, Burns attacks Hawkeye physically (with Trapper adding fuel to the fire by warning Hawkeye to watch his privates because Burns is a sex maniac), and is sent to a psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorder in a straitjacket A straitjacket is a garment shaped like a jacket with overlong sleeves and which is typically used to restrain a person who may otherwise cause harm to him/herself and others. The ends of the sleeves can be tied to the back of the wearer, so that the arms are kept close to the chest with possibility of only little movement. This is the last the audience sees of him in the movie.
It should be noted that the film's Major Burns was a combination of two characters from the novel—-the small-minded twit Captain Burns (who had a liaison with Major Houlihan, as in the film, but did not live in The Swamp [he was moved out a week after Hawkeye and Duke arrived after they complained to Henry Blake]) and the religious fanatic Major Hobson (whom Hawkeye and Duke had ousted from The Swamp because of his obsessive praying).
Television series
In the television series, Major Frank Burns was played by actor Larry Linville Lawrence Lavon "Larry" Linville was an American actor. He was perhaps best known for his portrayal of obnoxious, pious, self-important and inept surgeon Major Frank Burns in the television series M*A*S*H. According to Burt Metcalfe, Linville was an extraordinary actor whose personality could not be anything else than diametrically opposite of that of Frank Burns. [1] (Reportedly, Linville could also be high-strung, and this trait played into his TV character.)[citation needed] Linville based his portrayal of Burns on "every idiot I've ever known",[citation needed] even referring to the character as a man with "a mind that stripped its gears".[2]
While the TV Burns would appeal occasionally to religious and moral values (typically in the process of showing himself up), the emphasis in story lines was more on his surgical and personality shortcomings, than on his sanctimony. Burns' unpopularity with most of the show's other characters can be ascertained by his nickname, "Ferret Face" (which was originally given to him by his brother, as revealed in episode 1.18, and was apparently wide spread even people who only met Burns in passing would develop this nickname for him). When he failed to get his own way, or one of his schemes to discredit Hawkeye would fail, he would go off somewhere and sulk, or would throw a temper tantrum.
