Alan Alda

The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is the American actor Alan Alda. The son of a vaudeville artist, he shot to fame portraying the wise-cracking, womanising Hawkeye in the television series M.A.S.H. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the part that transformed his life and his initial reluctance to accept it, his childhood years in the burlesque houses of America, and explaining why, despite being a millionaire, he continues to work.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Weekend In The Country by Stephen Sondheim Book: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe Luxury: Italian pasta