TLDR: David Ogden Stiers spent six seasons playing television’s most articulate snob, then quietly built an entire second career as a classical conductor most fans never knew about. Late in life, he finally said publicly what he’d kept private for decades, explaining exactly why he’d waited so long.
David Ogden Stiers was born in Peoria, Illinois, in 1942, and later moved with his family to Eugene, Oregon. He joined MASH in 1977 as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III, replacing Larry Linville’s departed Frank Burns as the show’s new foil for Hawkeye and B.J. Hunnicutt.
You can read the full story of that earlier departure, in Linville’s own words, in our piece on Larry Linville.
Where Frank Burns had been simply inept, Winchester’s blue-blooded Bostonian snobbery came paired with genuine medical skill, real wit, and an unexpected depth of compassion that made him, in the words of one contemporary obituary, “a worthy adversary” rather than a punching bag.
He Stayed Through the Show’s Landmark Final Episode
Stiers remained on MASH from 1977 through its record-breaking 1983 series finale, watched by an estimated 106 million people.
Fittingly for a character defined by his refined taste, Winchester’s own exit from the 4077th came aboard the only vehicle still available to him: a garbage truck. “What better way to leave a garbage dump,” his character said on the way out.
The role earned Stiers two Emmy nominations, in 1981 and 1982, and Loretta Swit later remembered him warmly as “my sweet, dear shy friend,” adding that “working with him was an adventure.”
He Had an Entire Second Career Most Fans Never Knew About
Beyond acting, Stiers built a genuine parallel career in classical music, serving as associate conductor of the Newport Symphony Orchestra and the Ernest Bloch Music Festival, and guest-conducting dozens of orchestras around the world.
He also became one of Disney’s most recognizable voices, playing the anxious clock Cogsworth in 1991’s Beauty and the Beast, alongside roles in Pocahontas and Lilo & Stitch.
He Waited Decades to Say Something Publicly
In May 2009, at age 66, Stiers came out publicly as gay in an interview with an Oklahoma City blog, telling ABC News afterward, “I am [gay]. Very proud to be so.”
He explained that he’d kept his sexuality private for most of his career specifically because so much of his income had come from family-friendly programming, and he feared what a disclosure might cost him professionally.
He was candid about his reasoning being personal rather than symbolic. “I could claim noble reasons as coming out in order to move gay rights forward, but I must admit it is for far more selfish reasons,” he said. “Now is the time I wish to find someone, and I do not desire to force any potential partner to live a life of extreme discretion with me.”
He Died in 2018, at His Oregon Home
Stiers died on March 3, 2018, at his home in Newport, Oregon, following a battle with bladder cancer. He was 75. His agent, Mitchell K. Stubbs, said at the time that his “talent was only surpassed by his heart.”
You can read more about the rest of the MASH cast in our piece on who’s still alive from the show.
David Ogden Stiers, Frequently Asked Questions
When did David Ogden Stiers come out as gay?
He came out publicly in May 2009, at age 66, telling ABC News he’d kept his sexuality private for most of his career out of concern it might affect income he earned from family-friendly programming.
How did David Ogden Stiers die?
He died on March 3, 2018, at his home in Newport, Oregon, following a battle with bladder cancer, at age 75.
What other career did David Ogden Stiers have besides acting?
He served as associate conductor of the Newport Symphony Orchestra and the Ernest Bloch Music Festival, and guest-conducted orchestras internationally.
What Disney roles was David Ogden Stiers known for?
He voiced the clock Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast (1991), along with roles in Pocahontas and Lilo & Stitch.
