Major Dr. Anthony Borelli, a retired Red Cross Civilian Medical Advisor consultant, who served in both World Wars I and II in the Army Medical Corps, twice visited the 4077th MASH in Korea, giving advice on new surgical techniques; Borelli, who makes two appearances on the CBS-TV series M*A*S*H, was played by Robert Alda, father to both Alan, who plays Hawkeye Pierce, and younger son Antony Alda, who appears with father Robert and brother Alan as Corporal Jarvis in the Season 8 episode "Lend a Hand" (#20). Major Borelli first appears in the Season 3 episode "The Consultant" (#17).
Character description and synopsis[]
Borelli's first visit in "The Consultant"[]
In his first visit to the 4077th, ("The Consultant", Season 3 episode #17, aired January 17, 1975) Borelli, after first declining an invitation by doctors Pierce (Alan Alda) and McIntyre (Wayne Rogers) to "come and visit a M*A*S*H unit sometime", appears unexpectedly on a friendly visit to the camp by chopper while the camp is relaxing during a short quiet lull in the shelling; After declining to go visit a British Army unit in the signing over for an artery needed for a wounded soldier, Borelli agrees to assist in on the surgery, but then retires to the swamp, and has several drinks; after the surgeons return to the swamp, and more wounded arrive, they have Borelli paged to the OR and the two surgeons scrub in. Borelli is discovered by Radar with a scared, somber look, drunk and unfit to operate, but reasons that Hawkeye can handle the surgery if he directs him, and Hawkeye grudgingly agrees to go through with the surgery, which is successful.
In “Comrades in Arms part one” when they are debating who will go to the 8063rd to demonstrate their arterial graft technique, Margaret claims the right to go because she assisted Hawkeye “when Dr Borelli taught you that technique.”
Borelli's return in "Lend A Hand" episode[]
In "Lend a Hand",(Season 8, episode #20, aired February 4, 1980), Borelli returns to the camp, to lecture on more surgical techniques, which irks Hawkeye. After the other surgeons retire for the evening, Hawkeye and Borelli remain at the Officers' Club, discussing techniques, as the conversation gets around to Hawkeye's choice of drink, which again irks Hawkeye a bit. The events lead them to a Battalion Aid station, where they are forced to cooperate on a difficult operation on a wounded soldier in the field, where they are assisted by a Battalion Aid medic, Corporal Jarvis played by Antony Alda. In spite of the initial friction between the two surgeons, and in spite of heavy shelling that starts, where they both wind up with broken wrists, the surgery is still successful, where both surgeons jubiliantly congatulate each other, both having assisted each other in the procedure with both good wrists, as "Lefty" and "Righty"!