WILLIAM W. CHRISTOPHER ’54

WILLIAM W. CHRISTOPHER, an actor who played Father Mulcahy on M*A*S*H in addition to numerous other roles, died Dec. 31, 2016. He was 84. A member of Sigma Chi, he was a U.S. Army veteran. He began his career in regional plays and later had roles in off-Broadway plays. When he moved to California he pursued guest-star roles on television series, including The Andy Griffith Show, Death Valley Days, The Patty Duke Show, and Good Times. He had recurring roles not only on Gomer Pyle, but also That Girl and Hogan’s Heroes. In 1972 he succeeded another actor in playing the Rev. Francis John Patrick Mulcahy on M*A*S*H*. That became his best-known role. After M*A*S*H* went off the air in 1983, he played Father Mulcahy on the two-season spinoff, AfterMASH. He also had several film credits, including The Fortune Cookie, The Shakiest Gun in the West, and With Six You Get Eggroll. More recently, he was seen on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, in a recurring role in 2012, again as a man of the cloth. His wife, Barbara O’Connor Christopher, survives, as do two sons.