Age, Biography, and Wiki
Alan Alda, born on January 28, 1936, is 89 years old as of 2025. He is the son of actor Robert Alda and has built a legacy in the entertainment industry. Alda is best known for his role as Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce in MASH*, which aired from 1972 to 1983. He is also a six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner and a three-time Tony Award nominee.
| Occupation | Screenwriter |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 28 January 1936 |
| Age | 89 Years |
| Birth Place | New York City, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Aquarius |
| Country | U.S |
Height, Weight & Measurements
Alda's height is typically reported as 6 feet (1.83 meters). However, specific details about his weight and other body measurements are not widely documented.
| Height | 83 m |
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Dating & Relationship Status
Alda has been married to Arlene Alda (née Weiss) since February 15, 1957. They have three daughters together: Eve, Elizabeth, and Beatrice Alda.
He spent his childhood traveling around the United States with his parents, in support of his father's job as a performer; he performed with his father in the less risqué burlesque sketches. His father, Robert Alda (born Alfonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo), was an actor and singer, and his mother, Joan Browne, was a homemaker and former beauty-pageant winner. His father was of Italian descent (D'Abruzzo is a toponymic surname) and his mother of Irish descent. His mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and, according to Alan, tried to stab his father when Alan was six. It has been said that his mother taught him to improvise, an important skill of his: he had to learn how to react to the state she was in, for his own safety.
When Alda was seven, he contracted polio. To combat the disease, his parents administered a painful treatment regimen developed by Sister Elizabeth Kenny, consisting of applying hot woollen blankets to his limbs and stretching his muscles. Alda attended Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York. He studied English at Fordham University in the Bronx, where he was a student staff member of its FM radio station, WFUV. During his junior year, he studied in Paris, acted in a play in Rome, and performed with his father on television in Amsterdam.
Alda was part of the cast, along with David Frost, Henry Morgan and Buck Henry, of the American television version of That Was the Week That Was, which ran as a series from January 10, 1964, to May 1965. He made his Hollywood acting debut as a supporting player in Gone Are the Days!, a film version of the Broadway play Purlie Victorious, which co-starred Ruby Dee and her husband, Ossie Davis. Other film roles followed, such as his portrayal of author, humorist and actor George Plimpton in the film Paper Lion (1968), as well as The Extraordinary Seaman (1969), and the occult-murder-suspense thriller The Mephisto Waltz with actresses Jacqueline Bisset and Barbara Parkins. During this time, Alda frequently appeared as a game show panelist on the 1968 revival of What's My Line?, and on I've Got a Secret during its 1972 syndication revival. Alda wrote several of the stories and poems featured in Marlo Thomas' television show Free to Be... You and Me.
Alda commuted from Los Angeles to his home in New Jersey every weekend for 11 years while starring in M*A*S*H. His wife and daughters lived in New Jersey and he did not want to move his family to Los Angeles, initially because he did not know how long the show would last. Alda's father Robert Alda and half-brother Antony Alda appeared together in the 20th episode of season eight of M*A*S*H, "Lend a Hand". Robert had previously appeared in "The Consultant" in season three.
In early 2005, Alda starred as Shelly Levene in the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross, for which he received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play losing to his co-star Liev Schreiber. Throughout 2009 and 2010, he appeared in three episodes of 30 Rock as Milton Greene, the biological father of Jack Donaghy, played by Alec Baldwin. In January 2010, Alda hosted The Human Spark, a three-part series originally broadcast on PBS discussing the nature of human uniqueness and recent studies on the human brain. In 2006, Alda contributed his voice to a part in the audio book of Max Brooks' World War Z. In this book, he voiced Arthur Sinclair Jr., the director of the United States government's fictional Department of Strategic Resources (DeStRes). In 2011, Alda starred with Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick and Eddie Murphy in the comedy film Tower Heist.
Alda has done extensive charity work. He helped narrate a 2005 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital-produced one-hour special TV show Fighting for Life. His wife, Arlene, and he are also close friends of Marlo Thomas, who is very active in fund-raising for the hospital that her father, Danny Thomas founded. The television special featured Ben Bowen as one of six patients being treated for childhood cancer at Saint Jude. Alda and Marlo Thomas had also worked together in the early 1970s on a critically acclaimed children's album entitled Free to Be... You and Me, which featured Alda, Thomas, and a number of other well-known character actors. This project remains one of the earliest public signs of his support of women's rights. Alda chaired "Men for the Equal Rights Amendment" and was appointed to the International Women's Year Commission.
In 2005, Alda published his first memoir, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: and Other Things I've Learned. Among other stories, he recalls his intestines becoming strangulated while on location in La Serena, Chile, for his PBS show Scientific American Frontiers, during which he mildly surprised a young doctor with his understanding of medical procedures, which he had learned from M*A*S*H. He also talks about his mother's battle with schizophrenia. The title comes from an incident in his childhood, when Alda was distraught about his dog dying and his well-meaning father had the animal stuffed. Alda was horrified by the results, and took from this that sometimes we have to accept things as they are, rather than desperately and fruitlessly trying to change them.
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| Husband | Arlene Alda (m. March 15, 1957) |
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, Alan Alda's net worth is estimated at approximately $50 million, according to recent reports. During his peak on MASH*, Alda was the highest-paid actor on television, earning $300,000 per episode from 1980 onwards, which translates to about $6 million per season or $20 million per season in today's dollars.
Career, Business, and Investments
Alda's career spans film, television, and theater. Besides MASH*, notable roles include films like The Aviator, Marriage Story, and his directorial debut with The Four Seasons. He has also written several books, including Never Have Your Dog Stuffed and If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?. Additionally, Alda is involved in philanthropy, supporting organizations like St. Jude Children's Hospital and advocating for clear communication of science.
Alda began his career in the 1950s as a member of the Compass Players, an improvisational comedy revue directed by Paul Sills. He later joined the improvisational group Second City in Chicago. He joined the acting company at the Cleveland Play House during their 1958–1959 season as part of a grant from the Ford Foundation, appearing in productions such as To Dorothy a Son, Heaven Come Wednesday, Monique, and Job. In 1958, he appeared as Carlyle Thompson III on The Phil Silvers Show in the episode titled "Bilko the Art Lover".
During M*A*S*H's run and continuing through the 1980s, Alda embarked on a successful career as a writer and director, with the ensemble comedy drama, The Four Seasons (1981) being perhaps his most notable hit. After M*A*S*H, Alda took on a series of roles that either parodied or directly contradicted his "nice guy" image. He then partnered with producer Martin Bregman on various films, first with an agreement at Universal Pictures in 1983, then it was moved to Lorimar Motion Pictures in 1986. In 1988, Alda starred opposite Ann-Margret in the marital comedy A New Life. He also appeared frequently in the films of Woody Allen, beginning with Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989).
Alda played Nobel Prize–winning physicist Richard Feynman in the play QED, which had only one other character. Although Peter Parnell wrote the play, Alda both produced and inspired it. From the fall season of 1993 until the show ended in 2005, Alda was the host for Scientific American Frontiers, which began on PBS in 1990. In 1995, he starred as the President of the United States in Michael Moore's political satire/comedy film Canadian Bacon. Around this time, rumors circulated that Alda was considering running for the United States Senate in New Jersey, but he denied this. In 1996, Alda played Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, in Camping With Henry and Tom, based on the book by Mark St. Germain and appeared in the comedy film, Flirting with Disaster. In 1997, Alda played National Security Adviser Alvin Jordan In Murder at 1600. In 1999, Alda portrayed Dr. Gabriel Lawrence, Dr. Kerry Weaver's mentor, in the NBC program ER for five episodes. During the later episodes, Lawrence was revealed to be in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Alda was nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.
Beginning in 2004, Alda was a regular cast member on the NBC program The West Wing, portraying California Republican U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Arnold Vinick, until the show's conclusion in May 2006. He made his premiere in the sixth season's eighth episode, "In The Room", and was added to the opening credits with the 13th episode, "King Corn". In August 2006, Alda won an Emmy for his portrayal of Vinick in the final season of The West Wing. Alda appeared in a total of 28 episodes during the show's sixth and seventh seasons. Alda had been a serious candidate, along with Sidney Poitier, for the role of President Josiah Bartlet before Martin Sheen was ultimately cast in the role. In 2004, Alda portrayed conservative Maine Senator Owen Brewster in Martin Scorsese's Academy Award-winning film The Aviator, in which he co-starred with Leonardo DiCaprio. Alda received his first Academy Award nomination for this role in 2005. Alda also had a part in the 2000 romantic comedy What Women Want, as the CEO of the advertising firm where the main characters worked.
For 14 years, he served as the host of Scientific American Frontiers, a television show that explored cutting-edge advances in science and technology. In 2010, he became a visiting professor at Stony Brook University. In 2009, he was a founder of the university's Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science. He continues as a member of its advisory board. He is also on the advisory board of the Future of Life Institute. He serves on the board of the World Science Festival and is a judge for Math-O-Vision.
Social Network
Alda maintains a professional presence on social media platforms, though he is not highly active compared to younger celebrities. He occasionally shares updates and insights into his life and advocacy for science communication.
After starring in the films Same Time, Next Year (1978), California Suite (1978), and The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979), he made his directorial film debut The Four Seasons (1981). Alda was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Owen Brewster in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator (2004). Other notable film roles include Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993), Everyone Says I Love You (1996), Flirting with Disaster (1996), Tower Heist (2011), Bridge of Spies (2015), and Marriage Story (2019).
During the series' first five seasons, its tone was largely that of a traditional "service comedy" in the vein of shows such as McHale's Navy. As the original writers gradually left the show, Alda gained increasing control, and by the final seasons had become a producer and creative consultant. Under his watch, M*A*S*H retained its comedic foundation, but gradually assumed a more serious tone, openly addressing political and social issues. As a result, the 11 years of M*A*S*H are generally split into two eras: the Larry Gelbart/Gene Reynolds "comedy" years (1972–1977), and the Alan Alda "dramatic" years (1977–1983). Alda disagreed with this assessment. In a 2016 interview he said, "I don't like to write political messages. I don't like plays that have political messages. I do not think I am responsible for that."
From 2018 to 2020, Alda portrayed psychiatrist Dr. Arthur Amiot in the Showtime's Ray Donovan. He reprised this role in Ray Donovan: The Movie (2022). In 2019, Alda appeared in Noah Baumbach's thirteenth film, Marriage Story, as a warm-hearted lawyer who represents a stage director (Adam Driver) during the divorce proceedings. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Alda discussed the effects of his illness, mainly Parkinson's disease, and other related issues. He stated, "I have this tremor. It's not part of the script so I didn't want it to be distracting if Noah thought it would be distracting." Alda has received widespread acclaim for his performance. In 2025 Alda appeared in a cameo role in The Four Seasons, a Netflix miniseries. This was a remake of The Four Seasons which he directed and starred in in 1981.
He was named an Honorary Fellow by the Society for Technical Communication in 2014 for his work with the Center for Communicating Science and the annual Flame Challenge. Alda would like to use his expertise in acting and communication to help scientists communicate more effectively to the public. In 2014 Alda was awarded the American Chemical Society's James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public for his work in science communication. He was awarded the National Academy of Sciences Public Welfare Medal in 2016 "for his extraordinary application of the skills honed as an actor to communicating science on television and stage, and by teaching scientists innovative techniques that allow them to tell their stories to the public".
In Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, Alda described how as a teen he was raised as a Roman Catholic and eventually he realized he had begun thinking like an agnostic or atheist. While he states that he still prays on occasion, he said he wants to find meaning in this life rather than worrying about the next one. He states that when he talks to God it often comes at times of fear rather than out of a sense of belief. Furthermore, he does not like to be labeled as an agnostic, stating in an interview for the 2008 question section of the Edge Foundation website, that it was too fancy a word for him. He argues he simply is not a believer and questions why people are so frightened of others who hold beliefs different from their own.
His third memoir, ''If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating'' (2017), is a story of his quest to learn how to communicate better, and to teach others to do the same.
Education
Alda graduated from Fordham University in the Bronx, New York, with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1956.
In summary, Alan Alda's net worth and career success are a testament to his enduring impact on the entertainment industry and his commitment to philanthropy and education.
In 1956, Alda received his Bachelor of Arts degree. A member of the ROTC, he entered the United States Army Reserve and served for six months at Fort Benning. Despite some erroneous reports on military sites that Alda then served in Korea, he has repeatedly said he did not serve there, instead following up active duty of six months at Fort Benning with a time in the reserves in New York City. In a 2013 interview, he joked that he was in charge of a mess tent.
In 1956, while attending Fordham, Alda met Arlene Weiss, who was attending Hunter College. They bonded at a mutual friend's dinner party; when a rum cake accidentally fell onto the kitchen floor, they were the only two guests who did not hesitate to eat it. He addressed the incident saying "We did eat the rum cake off the floor and were inseparable after that. But I was captivated by her even earlier in the meal when I heard her at the end of the table laughing at my jokes. She had me at Ha." A year after his graduation, on March 15, they were married. They have three daughters: Eve, Elizabeth, and Beatrice. Two of his eight grandchildren are aspiring actors. Arlene sometimes calls him "Fonzi" in reference to his birth name "Alphonso".
