Before starring as Norm Peterson in "Cheers," George Wendt's big break was on "M*A*S*H." That's him in the instantly memorable role of Private La Roche, who ends up with a pool ball stuck in his mouth during "Trick or Treatment," the 11th season's Halloween episode. La Roche stuck the ball in his mouth as a joke and now can't get it out, forcing him to rely on the medical assistance of Charles Winchester (David Ogden Stiers), who wants nothing to do with the spirit of the season and has volunteered for duty in the post-op tent so the rest of the doctors can attend a holiday celebration at Rosie's Bar.
Winchester applies a bit of psychological gamemastering to the situation, first pretending not to notice the ball in La Roche's mouth, then declaring that he'll have to remove some teeth to successfully extract it. Eventually, the ball comes out of the private's mouth. According to MeTV, the ball was made of rubber and was a prop, not polyester or phenolic resin as billiard balls normally are.
But Wendt wasn't the only cast member to appear on the show. You might not have noticed this other future "Cheers" star's appearance in the tents of the 4077th. Who was the actor, and who did they play?
