M*A*S*H star Alan Alda raised concerns among his fans after showing up in a wheelchair at the Los Angeles International Airport. The actor revealed his Parkinson’s diagnosis six years ago, and people are worried he may have recently lost control of his limbs as a result.
Alan Alda’s wife, Arlene, was beside him as they exited the terminal and left in a vehicle. New York City-based physician Dr. Stuart Fischer confirmed that Parkinson’s can “rob you of the ability to walk. It’s a movement disorder that can affect balance and walking. When it’s very serious, the legs and the arms are beyond the control of the patient.”
Alan Alda spotted in wheelchair, fans concerned
Alan, who reportedly “fights his heart out” amid his health condition, announced his diagnosis with a sense of assurance. “A lot of people hear they have Parkinson’s and get depressed and panicky and don’t do anything, just hoping it goes away,” he said. “It’s not going to but you can hold off the worst symptoms. It can get really bad, but your life isn’t over. You don’t die from it, you die with it.”
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He admitted to keeping the news a secret for nearly four years while working and living almost normally except for his twitching thumb. “I’ve had a full life since then,” he noted on CBS’ This Morning. “I thought it’s probably only a matter of time before somebody does a story about this from a sad point of view, which is not where I am.”
Alan’s thriving Hollywood career
The six-time Emmy award-winning actor started out in Hollywood as a supporting actor in Gone Are The Days, the film adaptation of Broadway’s Purlie Victorious featuring Ruby Dee and her husband, Ossie Davis. Alan starred in other productions like 1968’s Paper Lion and The Extraordinary Seaman and the suspense thriller The Mephisto Waltz alongside Jacqueline Bisset and Barbara Parkins.
In 1972, Alan landed his breakthrough act as Hawkeye Pierce in M*A*S*H, which earned him the most recognitions and awards of his career. He was the only character to appear in all 256 episodes— 19 of which he wrote, including the two-and-a-half-hour series finale, “Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen.” More recently, the father of three starred in the 2022 movie adaptation of the series Ray Donovan.
Click here to see the full recent photos of Alan Alda.
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