Actor finds meaning ‘in the moment’

Alan Alda, who became a household name with his portrayal of Army surgeon “Hawkeye” Pierce on the 1970s sitcom “M.A.S.H.,” comes across as a genuinely nice, charitable and intelligent person, and that’s refreshing. The actor spoke at the Kavli Theatre in Thousand Oaks on April 16 as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series, sharing humorous anecdotes to illustrate his innovative ideas about the field of communication.

Alda is a visiting professor and founding member of the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at New York’s Stony Brook University, where he helps develop programs to teach scientists how avoid “the curse of knowledge” and to use plain language to get their message across to the public. His theories are being put into practice at his company, Alda Communication Training, which teaches face-to-face and written communication.

To illustrate his ideas, Alda asked a volunteer from the audience to tap out the melody of a song on the onstage podium. The audience tried to guess what the song was based on the rhythmic pattern of the taps. Nearly everyone guessed “Happy Birthday to You.” When Alda revealed that it was actually “The Star-Spangled Banner,” he made the point that although the sender knew what song she was tapping, the message did not reach its audience.

“I want to make people communicate better,” he said. “I want this to catch fire and change the world.”

In addition to his thoughts on communication, he spoke about his philosophy of life.

He grew up surrounded by celebrities. His father, stage and screen actor Robert Alda, was in burlesque when Alan was a child.

“I watched five shows a day from the wings,” Alan Alda recalled. He talked about fame and how he adjusted to it after becoming a star on “M.A.S.H.,” coming to the realization that fame and wealth do not give life meaning.

What is meaningful to him is being aware of what is around him: smelling flowers, seeing colors and being able to communicate “in the moment,” a talent he learned by taking improv classes when he was a young actor.

He related a near-death experience he had in Chile in 2003, which resulted in him having an end-to-end anastomosis, an intestinal operation that he’d “performed” many times in his role on “M.A.S.H.” The experience had a profound effect on Alda’s outlook on life.

“All we have is the present,” he said, paraphrasing the words of ancient Roman philosopher Marcus Aurelius. Alda illustrated his disinterest in material things with another Aurelian quote: “Almost nothing material is needed for a happy life, for he who has understood existence.”

In a Q&A session, Alda talked about his experiences on “M.A.S.H.” and how the cast became a family by using their time in between scenes to get to know one another.

He fondly recalled McLean Stevenson’s “improv rants,” the twinkle in Harry Morgan’s eyes and the show’s famous final episode, which reached an audience of 125 million people. He remembered how empty the city streets were when he went out to dinner the night that program aired.

Although the 83-year-old Alda clearly displays the effects of Parkinson’s disease, he doesn’t let it get him down.

“I play tennis, I box, I march and I juggle—and that’s all before breakfast,” he joked. “I just keep moving and keep positive.”

Good advice for us all.