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MCLEAN STEVENSON BIOGRAPHY During the course of the next few months, Red Pepper and Ray will have the privilege of publishing serialized excerpts from the forthcomong book "Freak: The McLean Stevenson Story" by Sir Lord Alfred Muzzletooth. This is the upcoming epic biography of McLean Stevenson that you've probably heard so much about if you follow the literary news. The actual serializing won't begin for another month, but in order to give you a taste of what's to come, we've reprinted the Forward for you here. Freak: The McLean Stevenson Story by Sir Lord Alfred Muzzletooth FORWARD "In the future, everyone will worship Mclean Stevenson" - - - Andy Warhol When Andy Warhol first made that statement in 1978, nobody payed it much mind. Several decades later, however, his statement seems eerily prescient. In the years since Stevenson's death, his status has grown from that of a semi-popular television personality, primarily known for his role as Colonel Henry Blake on "M*A*S*H," to the subject of a small, but forcefully fervent, cult following. In 1996, an internet search using the keyword "McLean Stevenson" yielded a total of 43 entries, with most of those relating to McLean only peripherally, such as web pages devoted to "M*A*S*H" and other television sites. The same search performed in 1998, however, produces over 4000 entries, with more than 100 of them full-blown McLean Stevenson dedication pages. This year at the second annual McLean Stevenson Fan Convention, in Stevenson's home town of Normal, Illinois, more than 10,000 fans and followers gathered together to express their dedication to the late actor(this is compared with the inaugural convention last year, which had an attendance of 375). If these trends continue, and all indications are that they will only increase, then within the next decade Stevenson will reach heights of celebrity on par with the likes of an Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, or James Dean. Upon learning of these facts, it's only fitting that we look at Warhol's statement in a new light. When I worked with McLean on the set of "Hello Larry" in 1979, I had no idea that the work we were doing would go down in history. For me it was just a job, and frankly I needed the money(my stint with the Globetrotters being not nearly as lucrative as one might assume). To McLean, however, it was a labor of love. Even the tiniest of details, such as the brand of alcohol in Larry's refrigerator, or the precise tilt of a schoolboy's cap, were worked out in great detail by the man. I remember one incident quite well, when while filming my first episode, I flubbed a line and referred to a chicken sandwich as a "ham sandwich." McLean was not on the set at the time, and the director saw no problem with it, so the line remained as is and went into post-production as "ham sandwich." Well, when McLean finally saw the scene in the editing room, he threw a fit. He demanded that the scene be re-shot, only by that time the set we were using had been torn down and the studio refused to allocate the funds to rebuild it. McLean was furious! He saw to it that the director didn't work in Hollywood again, and he wouldn't speak to me for weeks. Although for the life of me I couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about, I never flubbed a line again. It was only years later that I discovered the special signifigance of the word "Chicken" and what it meant to McLean(I won't spoil it for you here, dear reader, if you want to find out what it is you'll have to read the rest of this book). Of course McLean soon came around(he always did) and we became fast friends. So it has come to pass that several decades have come and gone, and I have been given the distinct pleasure of writing the forward to the book which you now hold in your hands. It's difficult to know what to say about a man upon whom so much has already been written, at least not without sounding repetitive or cliched. So I'll leave all the analyses of McLean's acting craft to the television critics, and the explanations of the impact of his political machinations to the historians, and just say this: To me, Mclean Stevenson was a friend. And that's how I'll always remeber him. Meadowlark Lemon Glendale, California April 5th, 1998 MCLEAN STEVENSON AND JESUS: SIDE BY SIDE FOR A BETTER TOMORROW illustration by Joshua Raymond

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