Alan Alda’s ‘M*A*S*H’ Boots And Dog Tags Earn $125,000 For Charity

M*A*S*H may have ended 40 years ago, but its legacy remains treasured to this day. Series lead Alan Alda recently offered up the dog tags and boots he wore throughout M*A*S*H and the resulting auction amassed a whopping $125,000, all of it going to charity.

For 11 seasons, Alda starred as the surgeon Hawkeye in the military dramedy that redefined television history and reached landmarks no other programs have since, including a record-breaking season finale viewership. Since then, Alda has stayed in the spotlight by helping various causes, including communicating scientific research in a more accessible way. This groundbreaking auction will help this very cause.

Alan Alda’s ‘M*A*S*H’ dog tags earn $125,000 for a very personal charity

On Friday, July 28, Alda’s dog tags sold at auction for $125,000. The buyer has not been publically identified but Alda sold his memorabilia through Heritage Auctions, in its Dallas office. Proceeds are going to the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, based at New York’s Stony Brook University. The organization is dedicated to helping scientists communicate information better.

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Alda created the center after taking inspiration from his work on the PBS series Scientific American Frontiers. He saw how his skills as an actor enabled him to articulate information in just about any scenario to a diverse audience and seeks to help researchers do the same.

Alda continues to celebrate and honor ‘M*A*S*H’

“I saw this as a chance to put them to work again,” said Alda, when discussing the choice to auction off the boots and dog tags for charity. The items have a strong history of their own, as the dog tags belonged to actual soldiers and “made an impression on me every day that we shot the show,” Alda said.

M*A*S*H as a whole continues to leave a strong impression on audiences around the country. Its finale, which aired on February 28, 1983, remains the most-watched TV show in U.S. history, drawing in over 106 million viewers.

The new unnamed owner of these treasures also now owns items that helped Alda, who is a six-time Emmy winner, get into character. “There’s an old belief among actors that when you put the shoes of the character on, it’s easier to believe you’re the character,” he revealed, “and I think the boots had that effect on me.”