Alan Alda's Parkinson's disease management has become 'almost a full-time job'

Alan Alda is taking connected his unwellness with a smile.

In 2015, the "M*A*S*H" prima was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He besides has look blindness, oregon prosopagnosia, which makes it hard for him to admit people.

The 89-year-old told People magazine connected Wednesday that managing his Parkinson’s has "gone from a part-time occupation to astir a full-time occupation keeping way of each these small solutions."

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Alan Alda starred arsenic Hawkeye Pierce successful "M*A*S*H" from 1972 to 1983. (CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)

"But it keeps maine ever looking for the comic side," the histrion shared.

"Almost each time I’m uncovering a caller mode to bash something," the begetter of 3 told the outlet. "It’s a small similar a game. I’ve recovered immoderate the small occupation is, if I support astatine it, I tin yet lick it, and past I consciousness similar a cardinal bucks. It’s a mode to person a bully clip nether mediocre circumstances."

Acting continues to support Alda busy. Most recently, helium made a cameo quality successful Tina Fey’s Netflix bid adaptation of his 1981 film, "The Four Seasons." It has already been renewed for a 2nd season.

Tina Fey and Alan Alda be a peculiar screening of the 1981 archetypal "The Four Seasons" astatine Paris Theater connected April 27, 2025, successful New York City. (Jason Mendez/Getty Images for Netflix)

Alda’s quality successful Fey’s bid is known for offering proposal from his wife. It’s nary antithetic from existent life, helium said. Alda has been joined to his spouse, Arlene, for 68 years.

"She ever says, ‘The concealed to matrimony is simply a abbreviated memory,’" Alda told the outlet. "We some effort to signifier being determination erstwhile we’re there: listening, answering, taking an interest. You tin get utilized to somebody, nary substance who it is. I’ve ever thought if the Pope and Mother Teresa were a couple, aft a fewer years, they’d person to enactment it out."

According to the outlet, Alda met Arlene, 92, during their assemblage days successful 1956 astatine a communal friend’s enactment successful New York City. When a rum barroom fell onto the floor, they were the lone 2 guests who didn’t hesitate to devour it.

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Alan Alda and woman Arlene Alda be the World Science Festival's 12th Annual Gala astatine Jazz astatine Lincoln Center successful New York City.  (Cindy Ord/Getty Images  for World Science Festivals)

It was emotion astatine archetypal sight.

"[I knew she was the one] erstwhile we ate the barroom disconnected the floor," said Alda. "There's thing astir flirting implicit food, and that she laughed astatine my jokes meant a lot. We inactive laughter astatine each other's jokes a lot, and she's getting funnier each day."

And arsenic Alda navigates his Parkinson’s, Arlene continues to beryllium by his side.

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"I don’t person dexterity with my fingers the mode I utilized to, truthful sometimes she has to teardrop a bundle unfastened for me," Alda explained. "She’s truthful good-natured astir it. I’m ever saying, ‘Thank you.’ I don’t get proud. I'm gladsome that I tin bash something. Proud seems similar a discarded of time."

Back successful 2019, Alda recalled to Fox News Digital what it was similar filming the last occurrence of "M*A*S*H," titled "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen," which helium besides directed. The Washington Post reported much than 106 cardinal viewers watched the bid finale. The outlet besides shared that the occurrence was truthful highly anticipated that 30-second advertizing slots sold for $50,000, much than immoderate slots for the 1983 Super Bowl.

In summation to this, the United Press International reported that an estimated 1 cardinal viewers successful New York City unsocial utilized the toilet aft the amusement ended, pouring 6.7 cardinal gallons of h2o done the city’s sewers.

Alan Alda portrayed the wisecracking surgeon Hawkeye. (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

Alda said the unit was connected to present a last goodbye that fans wouldn't forget.

"I wanted to extremity it successful a mode that showed that everybody was going location with immoderate benignant of coiled from the war," said Alda. "That the warfare didn’t permission anybody the mode they were erstwhile they started. Sometimes it was carnal wounds, and sometimes it was emotional. We wanted to beryllium authentic astir that and genuine."

"I besides wanted to springiness everybody a goodbye, including the extras," Alda continued. "You know, the assemblage got to cognize the extras connected the show. So I gave them each speeches astir what they were each going to bash erstwhile they got home. Which didn’t ever spell good with them due to the fact that they weren’t utilized to acting, they were each utilized to being successful the background."

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Alan Alda was diagnosed with Parkinson's successful 2015. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

The prima admitted helium was faced with adjacent bigger obstacles.

"The different situation successful directing the last occurrence was the outdoor determination that we utilized in the mountains of Malibu," said Alda.

"It caught occurrence connected a Friday nighttime oregon Saturday morning, and the full acceptable burned to the ground. I inactive had a batch of scenes to sprout there. So I spent the play rewriting the publication and wrote a occurrence into it. And the remainder of the amusement took spot successful different location. But that’s 1 of the amusive things that hap erstwhile you’re acting. You person everything prepared. Everything is each acceptable up to go, and past astatine the past minute, you person to improvise, which is exciting."

From left: Alan Alda arsenic Captain Benjamin Hawkeye Pierce, Wayne Rogers arsenic Captain Trapper John McIntyre and Loretta Swit arsenic Major Margaret Houlihan, circa 1972. (CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)

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He besides told Fox News Digital that his wife’s proposal connected keeping a abbreviated representation to guarantee a agelong matrimony "works."

"Two radical can’t unrecorded unneurotic unless they occasionally person a quality of sentiment oregon a antithetic mode of doing things," helium said. "And arsenic you’re moving that out, nary substance however powerfully you feel, I deliberation it’s bully to retrieve that you emotion this person. It’s casual to hide erstwhile you get upset astir something. And it shortens up the speech a lot."