When I was in college, M*A*S*H was the most watched sitcom. I don’t think anyone was studying when they played the last episode.

M*A*S*H was based on the the 1970 movie of the same name which was based on the novel M*A*S*H: A Novel About Three Army Doctors by Richard Hooker (pen name for H. Richard Hornberger). The movie starred Donald Sutherland and Elliot Gould as the two main characters. Gary Burghoff, who played Radar, was the only character to be cast in the TV series as well.

The TV Series ran from September 17, 1972 until February 28, 1983. The finale is still one of the most watched episode in US television history. The series is still played on various channels in syndication. There were a total of 251 episodes and lasted eleven years. Many of the stories were based on real-life tales.

Four characters remained on the cast for the entire production – Hawkeye (Alan Alda), Mulchay (William Christopher), Klinger (Jamie Farr) and Houlihan (Loretta Swit).

M*A*S*H did a great job of mixing comedy and drama and still allowing the viewer to be horrified by the atrocities of war. I don’t think this type of sitcom could ever be repeated with another setting.

Every time a celebrity gets engaged, we all want to know about their diamond rings. Celebrities seem to be the best at buying large and expensive diamonds (and then breaking off the engagement or getting divorced a short time later). Here are some of the most fascinating engagement rings:

* Elizabeth Taylor, was given a 30-carat emerald cut diamond by her third husband Michael Todd.
* Diana Spencer was given an 18-carat deep blue oval sapphire circled by fourteen diamonds.
* Michael Douglas presented Catherine Zeta-Jones with a 10-carat antique horizontal set marquise diamond.
* I wonder if Ben Affleck got his 6-carat pink diamond back from Jennifer Lopez after they canceled the engagement.
* Paris Hilton was only engaged for a short time, but wore a 24-carat emerald cut diamond ring.
* Donald Trump presented Melanie Knauss with a 12-carat emerald cut engagement ring.

Ever wonder where some of the old country stars are? You have to look no further than Branson Missouri. Branson is a very popular tourist site that hosts many, many shows and activities. I found Andy Williams, Glen Campbell, Charo, The Oak Ridge Boys, Bill Medley, Tony Orlando and even Elvis are doing show there (ok, maybe not the real Elvis). Next time you are down that way, stop by for a show or two and relive some of the past!

We like to think that movie stars should somehow be exempt to feelings of depression. After all, they have fame and they have money – usually lots of it. But, as the old adage goes – money doesn’t buy you happiness. In fact, it seems that money buys you false happiness in the form of drugs and alcohol. Too many celebrities today want to dull their feelings of depression or loneliness with artificial methods and this just gets lands them in serious trouble.

Recently, Owen Wilson, was rushed to the hospital in an attempted suicide attempt. No one really knows the reason for the attempt, but obviously he wasn’t the happy-go-lucky guy we associated with his movie roles. It also seems he was having problems with drugs. He may now need to spend time in various drug rehabs and try and get his life back together.

As for me, maybe I don’t have fame or money or power, but I would rather be happy!

On September 10, 2007, Jane Wyman passed away at the age of 90. Her son Micheal Reagan stated: “I have lost a loving mother, my children Cameron and Ashley have lost a loving grandmother, my wife Colleen has lost a loving friend she called Mom and Hollywood has lost the classiest lady to ever grace the silver screen.”

Jane Wyman was born Sarah Jane Mayfield on January 5, 1917 in St. Joseph, Missouri. Her parents divorced when she was very young and her mother moved in 1928 to California to try and start an acting career. Her mother could not find any work and neither could Jane so they moved back to St. Joseph where Jane attended high school and began singing on the radio. She listed her birthday as 1914 probably in order to appear older than her 15 years and work legally.

Jane returned to Hollywood in 1932 and was given small parts in various movies. She legally changed her last name to Wyman and became a Warner Bros. contract actress in 1936. In 1946 she was nominated for for Best Actress in The Yearling, but didn’t win. Two years later she won the Academy Award for her role in Johnny Belinda where she played a deaf-mute rape victim. She was the first person to win an Oscar in a sound movie that didn’t speak a word. After the Oscar win, she starred in numerous other films.

She hosted a television series in the 1950s entitled Jane Wyman Theater but it only ran three seasons. She was involved in a few television pilots in the 60s and 70s that never materialized and she retired from show business for a short while.

Wyman was offered the role of Angela Channing in Falcon Crest, the night time soap opera, which was a hit from 1981 to 1990. After Falcon Crest, Wyman played only one more role, that of Jane Seymour’s mother in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, for one episode. Wyman had starred in 83 movies, two television series and was nominated for an Oscar four times.

Wyman had already been married and divorced twice when she starred in two movies with Ronald Reagan. The two married in 1940 and were divorced eight years later. They had three children, Maureen, Michael and Christine (who died at one day old).

Wyman lived in seclusion for the last years of her life. She attended her daughter Maureen funeral and that of President Reagan. In 2003, she moved to a retirement home in Palm Springs, California.