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United States Alan Alda is an Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor, director, and screenwriter, recognized for an extensive career across television, film, and theater that includes his iconic role in M*A*S*H and a later Academy Award nomination for The Aviator.
The Alda Communication Training Company (ACT) was founded by Alan Alda to help scientists and medical professionals convey complex topics clearly and effectively. This initiative empowers individuals to improve communication in various professional settings.
Alan Alda became a visiting professor at Stony Brook University in 2010. He also co-founded the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at the university in 2009, continuing as a member of its advisory board. His work there focuses on helping scientists and medical professionals improve their communication skills.
During his college years at Fordham University, Alan Alda worked for WFUV, the university-owned radio station operated by its students.
Alan Alda was a television spokesman for IBM in 1982 for their personal computers. These commercials were later followed by ads featuring other cast members from the TV series M*A*S*H.
Alan Alda was a television spokesman for Atari Personal Computers, starting in 1982.
Alan Alda helped narrate "Fighting For Life," a one-hour special TV show produced by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in 2005. He is also described as a close friend of Marlo Thomas, who is active in fundraising for the hospital.
Alan Alda previously hosted the podcast 'Science Clear+Vivid', focusing on science communication.
Born Alphonso Joseph D’Abruzzo in Manhattan, New York City, on January 28, 1936, Alan Alda’s early life involved touring with his father, actor Robert Alda, through vaudeville and burlesque theaters. At the age of seven, he contracted polio, which his parents treated with a regimen of hot woolen blankets and muscle stretching, a treatment that aided his recovery. He attended Archbishop Stepinac High School and later Fordham University, graduating in 1956 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. During his college years, he contributed to the university’s radio station WFUV and served in the United States Army Reserve, including six months in Korea as a gunnery officer, though he states he was in charge of a mess tent. In 1957, he married Arlene Weiss, a clarinetist, and they would go on to have three daughters.
Alda began his acting career in the mid-1950s with the Compass Players, an improvisational comedy revue, and later joined Second City and the Cleveland Play House. His television debut was in 1958 on “The Phil Silvers Show.” He made his film debut in the 1963 comedy-drama “Gone Are the Days!” and gained further exposure with “That Was the Week That Was.” A significant turning point came in 1972 when he was cast as Captain Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce in the television series M*A*S*H. This role, which he held for all 256 episodes until 1983, made him a household name and earned him two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. He also took on roles as producer, creative consultant, and co-writer for the series, directing 32 episodes, including the finale, “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen.”
After M*A*S*H, Alda continued to build a career as a writer and director, with his directorial debut “The Four Seasons” (1981) becoming a box office success. He later appeared in films such as “Crimes and Misdemeanors” (1989) and “Manhattan Murder Mystery” (1993), and hosted “Scientific American Frontiers” from 1993 to 2005. His role as Senator Arnold Vinick in “The West Wing” from 2004 to 2006 earned him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. In 2004, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Ralph Owen Brewster in “The Aviator.” Alda has also been recognized for his work in science communication, serving as a visiting professor at Stony Brook University and founding the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science. In 2015, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, but he has continued to act, appearing in “Marriage Story” (2019) and “Ray Donovan” (2018-2020), demonstrating his ongoing commitment to his craft.
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