very entertaining and creative with his means of
trying to prove he was crazy. I had a lot of fun with
him.
Were you ever concerned about the use of
Middle Eastern stereotypes in regard to Klinger?
A simple answer: NO.
How did the portrayal of Klinger change and
develop over the course of the series?
Over the years he tried so many different ways of
proving he was crazy. Bizarre antics. You name it
and he did it – and he did it to the amusement of the
characters in the show and the audience that
watched it. When Gary Burghoff (Radar) left the
show, the producers figured instead of bringing
someone to replace him, why not make Klinger the
company clerk. We had had so many different
actors come and go in the series that this would be
unique, to try to transform this screwball character
into a responsible company clerk.
Was Klinger originally intended as a Lebanese
character, or was this decided after you were
cast? (Klinger does not sound like a very
What do you think are the qualities that made
Lebanese name?)
Klinger such a popular character across the
world?
Klinger was named after Larry Gelbart’s Chicago
childhood friend. Gelbart was a student at Fairfax
Good writing. I mean that. Also the surprise of
“what in the world” he is going to try next. He was
High School in Hollywood. It was known as the
Jewish High School. Larry’s father Harry Gelbart