Wayne M. Rogers ’54

The following is an expanded version of a memorial published in the June 1, 2016, issue.

Wayne died Dec. 31, 2015, of complications from pneumonia. 


Born in Birmingham, Ala., he matriculated from the Webb School. At Princeton, Wayne majored in history and was a member of Tiger Inn, the Undergraduate School Committee, and the Orange Key, and participated in Triangle shows. 


After graduation, Wayne enlisted in the Navy. He had planned to go to law school, but while his ship was in Brooklyn, he was seduced by acting when attending a friend’s theater rehearsal in 1955. Wayne started studying acting and dance and began doing stage roles. His first television appearance was in 1959 on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow. Over the next decade he appeared on dozens of series, including Gunsmoke, The Millionaire, and The F.B.I. before winning his star-making role on M*A*S*H*.

At 42, Wayne moved on with his acting career, landing a series lead a year later as a private investigator in City of Angels. He later built a successful career as an investor and money-manager, appearing regularly as a panelist on the Fox News show Cash In. In 1989, he appeared as an expert witness before the House Judiciary Committee, advocating the continuation the Glass-Steagall banking laws.

His last film appearance was in Nobody Knows Anything! Although never appearing on a Broadway stage, he produced a half-dozen plays there in the 1980s.

Wayne married Mitzi McWhorter in 1960. They had two children and divorced in 1983. He is survived by his second wife, Amy; son Bill; daughter Laura; and four grandchildren. The class extends condolences to them and is honored by his remarkable career and his service to our country.