David Ogden Stiers

 David Ogden Stiers (October 31, 1942 - March 3, 2018)

Stiers was an actor, voice actor and musician, noted for his roles in Disney animated films, in M*A*S*H as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III and the supernatural fiction drama The Dead Zone as Reverend Gene Purdy. He is also known for the role of District Attorney Michael Reston in several Perry Mason TV movies. Stiers first appeared in the Broadway production The Magic Show in 1974 in the minor role of Feldman. Subsequent early credits include The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Kojak, and Rhoda. In 1977, Stiers joined the cast of M*A*S*H. As Major Charles Emerson Winchester III, Stiers filled the void created by the departure of actor Larry Linville's Frank Burns character. In contrast to the buffoonish Burns, Winchester was a well-spoken and talented surgeon who presented a different type of foil to Alan Alda's Hawkeye Pierce and Mike Farrell's B.J. Hunnicutt. For his portrayal of the pompous but nonetheless multifaceted Boston aristocrat, Stiers received two Emmy Award nominations. After M*A*S*H completed its run in 1983, Stiers expanded his work on television with regular guest appearances on North and South; Star Trek: The Next Generation; Murder, She Wrote; Matlock; Touched by an Angel; Wings; and Frasier, along with a recurring role in Season 1 of Two Guys and a Girl as Mr. Bauer.

Stiers provided voice work for dozens of film and television projects. His first work was on one of George Lucas' earliest films, the critically acclaimed THX 1138, in which he was incorrectly billed as "David Ogden Steers". Stiers has voiced PBS documentary films such as Ric Burns' project New York: A Documentary Film, 2010 Peabody Award winner The Lord is Not on Trial Here Today and several episodes of the documentary television series The American Experience, including Ansel Adams (2002), also directed by Ric Burns. In 1992, he voiced Mr. Piccolo in the animated English-dubbed version of Porco Rosso. He collaborated with Disney on eight animated features, including 1991's Beauty and the Beast, 1995's Pocahontas, 1996's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, 2001's Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and 2002's Lilo & Stitch. He also lent his voice to the direct-to-video Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003) as the Penguin. Stiers was also the associate conductor for the Newport (Oregon) Symphony Orchestra and the Ernest Bloch Music Festival. Stiers died at his home in Newport, Oregon on March 3, 2018 at the age of 75.