Farewell to Patrick Adiarte, A Beloved Star of Screen and Stage
It’s always a strange kind of moment when someone from the screen—a figure you grew up watching or felt like you somehow knew—passes away. And that’s exactly what a lot of us are feeling right now with the news of Patrick Adiarte’s death at age 82. The beloved actor, best remembered for his role as Ho-Jon in the original season of M A S H*, passed away this week in Los Angeles due to complications from pneumonia, according to his niece, Stephanie Hogan.
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Patrick wasn’t just a familiar face from the hit series. He had an incredibly rich and often overlooked career in both television and Broadway. Back in the early 1950s, he was already on stage in the original Broadway production of The King and I , and later, he starred as Prince Chulalongkorn in the 1956 film adaptation alongside the legendary Yul Brynner. It’s wild to think how long he’s been part of entertainment history—especially when you consider how young he looked in every role he played. On Broadway, in Flower Drum Song , and even in The Brady Bunch 's Hawaiian vacation episodes, Patrick brought a natural charm that made every scene he was in more memorable.
But his story goes beyond the stage and screen. Born in Manila in 1942, Patrick’s early life was anything but easy. As a child during World War II, he and his family were imprisoned by Japanese forces. His father, who served with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was killed during the war. And despite everything, the family made it to the U.S. in 1946, eventually becoming American citizens with the help of none other than then-Senator John F. Kennedy.
It’s humbling to think about the resilience behind the smile we saw on screen. This was someone who came from unimaginable circumstances and still managed to make a name for himself through art, performance, and quiet strength.
His former M A S H* co-star Loretta Swit mourned his passing with heartfelt words on Instagram, calling him part of the “#mashfamily.” And fans from all over have been sharing their memories—how Ho-Jon seemed “forever young” on screen, how his presence made those early episodes of M A S H* feel grounded in both humor and heart. There’s even a quiet longing in some of those posts, a wish that the character had been given a follow-up or that we’d gotten to see what became of him after heading to medical school in the storyline.
Patrick Adiarte may not have been a household name to everyone, but to those who saw him on stage, screen, and in their childhood memories, he mattered—a lot. His roles were always about more than just performance; they were about presence, identity, and a quiet kind of dignity that stayed with you.
Rest easy, Patrick. You gave us more than we knew at the time—and we’re grateful.
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