David Ogden Stiers, Broadway Veteran & Emmy-Nominated M*A*S*H Star, Dies at 75

David Ogden Stiers, the Broadway alum who rose to fame as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III on TV's M*A*S*H, passed away on March 3, according to The New York Times. The cause of death was bladder cancer. Stiers was 75.

Stiers was born on October 31, 1942 in Peoria, Illinois. The young actor graduated from the Juilliard School in 1972 and almost immediately began booking Broadway roles. He made his Broadway debut as Kulygin in a revival of The Three Sisters (1973), following up that performance with turns in The Beggar's Opera (1973), Measure for Measure (1973), Scapin (1973), Next Time I'll Sing to You (1974) and Ulysses in Nighttown (1974). Stiers originated the role of Feldman in Bob Randall and Stephen Schwartz's musical The Magic Show (1974).

In 1977, Stiers joined the Emmy-winning TV series M*A*S*H in the role of Major Charles Emerson Winchester III. Stiers earned a pair of Emmy nominations for his turn, staying with the beloved comedy series through the final episode in 1983. Stiers' extensive Hollywood work also included an Emmy-nommed turn as William Milligan Sloane in the 1984 miniseries The First Olympics: Athens 1896. He voiced the role of Cogsworth in the animated film Beauty and the Beast (1991), earning a Grammy nomination for the movie's soundtrack.

Early in his career, Stiers was cast in four productions at off-Broadway's Good Shepherd-Faith Church. He appeared in the venue's 1972 mountings of The School for Scandal, Women Beware Women, The Hostage and The Lower Depths. Stiers later lent his voice to Broadway as the prologue narrator in the stage adaptation of Beauty and the Beast (1994). He made his final Broadway appearance as General Henry Waverly in Irving Berlin's White Christmas (2009).