David Ogden Stiers, 'MASH' Actor, Dead At 75

David Ogden Stiers, the actor who portrayed Major Charles Emerson Winchester III on "M*A*S*H," died after losing battle with bladder cancer on Saturday. He was 75.

Stiers, best known for his portrayal as the arrogant surgeon in the Emmy nominated series "M*A*S*H," died at his home in Newport, Oregon, his agent Mitchell K. Stubbs, tweeted on Saturday.

Stiers was nominated twice for an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy or variety or music series, in 1981 and 1982, for the war series (MASH) that revolved around a fictitious army surgical hospital.

Stiers was born in Peoria, Illinois, in 1942. While he was in high school, the family moved to Eugene, Oregon, where he briefly attended the University of Oregon, after which he began his professional career at the Actors Workshop in San Francisco. There he performed in the California Shakespeare Festival and the improvisational comedy group called the Committee, with the likes of Rob Reiner and Howard Hesseman. In 1968, he attended New York’s Juilliard School, where he was mentored by John Houseman. He later joined Houseman’s City Center Acting Company.

Stiers joined the cast of the CBS-TV sitcom "M*A*S*H" in 1977, as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III. He garnered widespread recognition for that particular role.

In addition to his impeccable acting skills, he also provided voice over and narration for Disney’s 1991 animated film "Beauty and the Beast." He voiced Cogsworth — the Beast's clock — and also provided part of the opening narration in the movie, for which he shared a Grammy win, with the cast, for best recording for children and another nomination for album of the year.

In addition to providing a voice over for "Beauty and the Beast," he provided voice overs for Governor Ratcliffe and Wiggins in the animated feature “Pocahontas” in 1995, the Archdeacon of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” in 1996, and Mr. Harcourt in 2001's “Atlantis: The Lost Empire.”

Stiers was also known to voice several video games, including Icewind Dale, Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, as Jeff Zandi in Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, and as Esher in Myst V: End of Ages.

Although he’s most notably remembered for his role in "M*A*S*H," he also acted in numerous films and television shows throughout his career. He had a recurring role in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and also made regular guest appearances on Murder She Wrote. His performance in the NBC miniseries “The First Olympics: Athens 1896” as William Milligan Sloane, the founder of the U.S. Olympic Committee, earned him a third Emmy nomination.

In addition, Stiers frequently worked with director Woody Allen. He appeared in “Shadows and Fog”, “Mighty Aphrodite”, “Everybody Says I Love You” and “Curse of the Jade Scorpion.”

The actor revealed publicly in 2009 that he was gay. He told ABC News at the time that he hid his sexuality for a long time, fearing the ramifications it would have on his career, given that so much of his income was hinged on family-friendly programming.