I grew up watching M*A*S*H, as reruns, late nights after the news. At 10:30 the show would come on and for 30 minutes I laughed, cried, and learned that in hard times you had to have an outlet of some kind, courtesy of Maj. Sidney Freedman.

The show was about a serious subject, the Korean war, but more about the people and personalities that made a terrible situation bearable.  One recurring character on the show was that of psychiatrist Maj. Sidney Freedman, played by Allan Arbus.

Arbus passed away last Friday, April 19th, he was 95.

In 2009, Arbus was present with other members of the M*A*S*H cast, as they were presented the Impact Award during the 7th annual TV Land Awards.

Sidney always had a handle on reality when others seem to come unraveled with the tremendous pressures of being a surgeon under some very difficult circumstances. Arbus played the character of Sidney so well that co-star Alan Alda (Hawkeye Pierce) once stated that he would find himself opening up to Arbus as though he was an actual psychiatrist.

Allan Arbus as Maj. Sidney Freedman

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